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

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.

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.

The Weekend

BY  |  Thursday, Jan 26, 2012 6:26pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

It’s Open Mic Night at Trend Coffee & Tea House in Montclair. Share your talent: poetry, spoken word, short story, music, comedy…anything goes. Anyone who has the nerve to get up and perform will receive a free large coffee. Or, just hang out and enjoy the show.

Open Mic Night at Trend Coffee & Tea House
Thursday, January 26 from 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Trend Coffee and Tea House, 411 Bloomfield Avenue, Montclair, NJ 07042
Free

Also tonight in Montclair, MSU history professor and resident Zoë Burkholder will discuss her book Color in The Classroom at Watchung Booksellers. The book examines the way that American schools have created and disseminated specific ideas about race over the course of the twentieth century. Read our full review here.

“Color in The Classroom” with author Zoë Burkholder
Thursday, January 26 at 7 pm
Watchung Booksellers, 54 Fairfield Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042
Free

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New Jersey Transit Will Get Bigger

BY  |  Friday, Jan 20, 2012 1:49pm  |  COMMENTS (16)

You don’t necessarily have to be overweight to feel cramped on a rush-hour ride home on the New Jersey Transit—just sitting between two people on a narrow three-seater with no legroom and several bags on your lap will do the trick.

So it may come as something of a relief to commuters to know that New Jersey Transit is planning to make its seats wider. According to an article in the New York Times today, New Jersey Transit “has a five-year plan to add 100 double-decker train cars that have seats 2.2 inches wider than the 17.55-inch seats found in its single-deck trains.”

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The Weekend: Boogie Nights, Rock n’ Roll, Comedy and More

BY  |  Thursday, Jan 19, 2012 4:30pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

Won’t you take me to Funkytown? It’s not far at all, in fact Maplewood is Funkytown this weekend. The people of Studio B, who bring Story Slams, movie screenings and more, now bring Boogie Nights Disco to Baristaville on Friday night:

From the sound of things, you’ve been wanting to mix it up on the dance floor for some. We have too. In fact, we’ve been wanting to bump, hustle, and electric slide our way right into 2012! So, in honor of National Disco Day in Maplewood (we’re making that up), we’re throwing down some of the best tracks from the Brother’s Gibb, and their more talented contemporaries, and inviting you to come in and shake it. Splits are optional, high kicks are a must. We’re providing a quick disco lesson with our own groove thang, Jaycee. Danny Terrio never looked this good!

So do the hustle, shake your groove thang and dance the night away at the Burgdorff Center For the Performing Arts tomorrow night.

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Male Cat Lost in West Orange

Sunday, Jan 15, 2012 8:03am  |  COMMENTS (12)

This 8-month-old male cat was reported missing on January 14. Vinnie is all gray, except for his paws, chin and bib. If you’ve seen Vinnie, please contact pets@baristanet.com.

West Orange St. Paddy’s Parade May Get Bigger

BY  |  Friday, Jan 13, 2012 12:23pm  |  COMMENTS (7)

News broke this morning that Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade is not going forward this year, because parade organizers feel they can’t protect the participants and spectators. Sad as that may be, it could swell the ranks of West Orange’s parade, which plans to celebrate its 61st year on Sunday March 11.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Stephanie Gallo, chairman of the West Orange parade. “We would love to welcome all the participants from Hoboken. Anybody who wishes to participate, we’d love to have them.” Continue Reading

The Weekend: Theater, Rock Concerts, Modern Dance and More

BY  |  Thursday, Jan 12, 2012 4:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

Lots to do this weekend in Baristaville! Theater, rocking concerts, modern dance performances…there is something for everyone.

Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre, a professional Theatre in Residence at the Baird Center in South Orange, will present the New Jersey premiere of Shooting Star by Steven Dietz. Never before seen in this area, Shooting Star tells the story of college lovers Elena Carson and Reed McAllister who have been snowed in overnight at a middle-America airport an have an unexpected and life-altering reunion.  Elena has stayed true to her hippie-ish, counter-culture path, while Reed has gone corporate and conservative.  As the night gives way to laughter, banter and remembrance, Elena and Reed revisit a past that holds more surprises than they imagined – and a present neither of them could have predicted.  During its run at Trinity Repertory Company in 2009, NPR Radio said, “Shooting Staris a work both funny and sad; a quick and sharp play about our lives, one that gives us all the fun and all the tears of our times.” Dreamcatcher’s production of SHOOTING STAR features Resident Acting Company members Harry Patrick Christian (Montclair) and Laura Ekstrand (Livingston), and is directed by David Christopher (Cranford). Scott McGowan (Maplewood) is Stage Manager, and Paula Clarkson (Metuchen) is Assistant Stage Manager.  The design team includes Jorge Arroyo (Montclair – Lighting), Wesley Krantz (Buffalo, NY – Sets), and Mike Magnifico (Lyndhurst – Sound).

Shooting Star
Friday, January 13 through Sunday, January 29. Performances are Friday and Saturday nights at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm
The Baird, 5 Mead Street in Meadowland Park, South Orange, NJ.
Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online or by calling Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. 

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Featured Comment

Perhaps yesterday's heavy police presence would have been better applied to Mission Street than to the Montclair State campus.
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cathar

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