Coming March 4-10: Bloomfield Restaurant Week

BY  |  Monday, Feb 06, 2012 11:00am  |  COMMENTS (4)

Bloomfield restaurants are getting together to pull off their first restaurant week March 4-10. Here’s your chance to sample some great restaurants at discount prices, including the upscale Orange Squirrel ($35 dinner) and Mes Reves ($30 dinner), old favorites like Senoritas ($30 dinner) and Stamna ($30 dinner). Or you can just gobble up Thai and Filipino offerings all week. And somehow Fitzgerald 1928 of Glen Ridge ($28 dinner) sneaked in. Read about all the current participants, and their restaurant week offers, here. Baristanet is proud to be the media sponsor of the event. See a slideshow of current participants after the jump and tell us which Bloomfield restaurant you love most.

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Glen Ridge Crime: DWIs and an Injured Pedestrian

Friday, Feb 03, 2012 3:10pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

From Lieutenant Fred Egnezzo:

Date/Time:     1/28/2012 @ 2:38 AM

Incident:         Driving While Intoxicated Arrest

Description:   Officer Michael Medico arrested Bradford Watson 2nd, 33 of New Brunswick, N.J. for driving while intoxicated on Bay Ave.  He was transported to headquarters for processing and later released.

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Bukowski Shelter to Hold Valentine’s Day-inspired Adoption Event

BY  |  Friday, Feb 03, 2012 1:10pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

The John A. Bukowski Shelter for Animals in Bloomfield will hold a Valentine’s Day-inspired Adoption Event that will include reduced adoption fees of $25 for all animals. The event begins this Saturday, February 4, and will run through Sunday, February 19. There will also be an open house on Saturday, February 11, and Sunday, February 12, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Shelter employees and volunteers socialize the animals in residence and help potential adopters find the perfect companion for their families. In addition, a volunteer dog trainer works closely with the adoption committee to assist with proper placement of the dogs that are available for adoption. Adoptions for both cats and dogs include spay/neuter, vaccinations, and a comprehensive medical evaluation.

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The Problem of Other People’s Driving

BY  |  Friday, Feb 03, 2012 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (71)

We all have our pet peeves when it comes to driving–or rather, when it comes to other people’s driving. For me, it’s those drivers who park on the side of the road and exit their car by swinging their door wide open without bothering to see if there is any oncoming traffic. I have lived in four states, and driven in many more, and this seems to be a driving (or parking) trait that is unique to New Jerseyans. It drives me bonkers, and I have narrowly missed taking off a car door several times because of it.

Then there was the school bus that my husband and I saw speeding up the quiet, narrow street where my son’s preschool is located. We chased it in our Honda–our then-4-year-old strapped in the back seat–trying to get a name, a license plate, anything. But because we stuck to the speed limit–and the school bus didn’t–we never caught up.

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The Weekend

BY  |  Thursday, Feb 02, 2012 3:30pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

This has been a strange winter. It’s been warm, practically snow-free and it’s going so fast. It’s already February! Usually winter makes me want to hibernate, but with temps this warm, I’m going out much more often. Here are some ways you can get out this weekend.

The world premiere of Reparation by Gino Dilorio at Luna Stage happens next weekend on February 9, but you can get a sneak peak of the play about an “investment banker who has made a career by playing the race card finding himself out of options and out of friends” tonight, February 2, at the West Orange Public Library. Tony nominated actor Frankie Faison will perform a scene from Reparation followed by a discussion, led by Luna’s artistic director Jane Mandel,  with the playwright Gino Dilorio. It’s all part of WOPL’s Black History Month of sceduled events.

Scene from “Reparation” and Discussion
Thursday, February 2 at 7 pm
West Orange Public Library, 46 mount Pleasant Avenue, West Orange, NJ
Free. Advance registration is required. Sign up online or by calling 973.736.0198

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Property Taxes Up 20 Percent Under Christie

BY  |  Monday, Jan 30, 2012 8:30am  |  COMMENTS (36)

Property taxes are eating up a larger share of family income under Gov. Chris Christie than under previous governors, primarily due to a sharp reduction in direct property tax relief over the past two years. In fact, net property taxes are 20 percent higher under Christie than they were when Democrat Jon Corzine left office two years ago.

With property tax credits and rebates included, the average New Jersey homeowner paid $7,519 in net property taxes last year — compared with $6,244 in 2009 — according to statistics released by the state Department of Community Affairs on Friday.

That $1,275 increase represents a 20.4 percent hike in net property taxes — which is the amount of money that the average New Jersey household actually pays in property taxes after property tax rebates or property tax credits are subtracted. Continue Reading

Glen Ridge Gala Raises About $50K

BY  |  Sunday, Jan 29, 2012 12:00pm  |  COMMENTS (10)

Glen Ridge library director Jennifer Breuer, wearing a very un-librarian-like one-shoulder red frock, thanked library patrons who ponied up $100 apiece to attend the Glen Ridge Gala at the Glen Ridge Country Club last night. Carol Harpster, president of Friends of the Library, estimated that this year’s gala — an annual event with a different beneficiary each year — raised about $50,000 for the library.  In addition, Friends of the Library, presented a $20,000 check from member contributions. The library, which turns 100 this year, is planning to use the money to digitize its historic assets.

Weather Warning: Strong Winds and Cold Expected

Friday, Jan 27, 2012 3:36pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

The National Weather Service is issuing a weather alert for the area for early this evening, which could result in downed trees and power lines:

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS THE REGION EARLY THIS EVENING… AND BEHIND IT… A STRONG NORTHWEST FLOW WILL DEVELOP. WINDS WILL RANGE FROM 20 TO 30 MPH WITH 40 TO 45 MPH GUSTS. WINDS SHOULD SUBSIDE TO 10 TO 20 MPH LATE THIS EVENING.

THESE WINDS COULD PRODUCE SOME DOWNED TREE LIMBS AND POWER LINES… CAUSING ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES AND LOCALIZED ROAD CLOSURES.

The cold front is part of a larger weather system that is moving across much of the East coast.

Glen Ridge Country Club Seeks Variance

BY  |  Friday, Jan 27, 2012 12:15pm  |  COMMENTS (15)

On Wednesday, the postal service delivered certified letters to residents of Bloomfield and Glen Ridge who live within 200 feet of the Glen Ridge Country Club. The club seeks a zoning variance to build a fifth tennis court, and to omit a solid fence around it. The current statute permits only four courts on private property. The public is invited to the Board of Adjustment meeting on February 9 to voice their opinions of the proposed waiver.

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Should Voters Decide on Gay Marriage?

BY  |  Friday, Jan 27, 2012 10:56am  |  COMMENTS (21)

Gov. Chris Christie has long maintained that he would veto any same-sex marriage bill that came across his desk. This week, however, he changed his tune slightly. On Tuesday, a day after he nominated an openly gay man to serve on the state’s highest court, he proposed putting the same-sex marriage issue on the November ballot, leaving the decision to the people of New Jersey.

Democrats have rejected the idea. “Marriage equality isn’t like sports betting,” Senator Raymond Lesniak, a Union County Democrat, told the New York Times. “It’s a civil right, which is already guaranteed in our Constitution. It’s up to the Legislature to guarantee these rights.”

Newark Mayor Cory Booker agrees, and gave an impassioned speech yesterday, saying that civil rights issues should not be put “to a popular vote subject to the sentiments, the passions, of the day.” Watch the video below and then take our poll at the bottom.

Featured Comment

When I was a teenager back in the dark ages I thought the most romantic songs were "Don't Worry, Baby" and "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys. But my romantic life back then was more in tune with "Love Stinks" by the J. Geils Band.
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Howard Beale

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