Maplewood’s Tasty Celebration for Black History Month

BY  |  Sunday, Feb 19, 2012 10:55am  |  COMMENTS (0)

Chef Jesse Jones came to the Maplewood Memorial Library on Monday night ad brought his New Carolina Cuisine with him. As party of the library’s Black History Month’s celebrations, Chef Jesse came and cooked two dishes for roughly 30 people in the audience.
He prepared his vegetable jambalaya first, then his famous Dirty (VooDoo) Shrimp (which was featured on MyFoxNY). Continue Reading

Millburn Deals with Clean-Up and Camera Crews

BY ,  |  Monday, Aug 29, 2011 5:00pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Photo: Joy Yagid

In the Hurricane Irene lottery, Millburn, NJ drew a very unlucky number. When the Rahway River crested its banks, water surged into the downtown business area, causing widespread and sometimes severe property destruction.

But business owners and residents are handling the situation with grace, spirit and no small amount of good humor.

“We had two feet of water in the dining room, and the basement was completely full,” said Tinga Taqueria owner Dana Crowe, taking a break from clean up outside the restaurant.

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Memorial Day Parade in Maplewood

BY  |  Monday, May 30, 2011 4:22pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

The day started out with a thunderstorm but the weather cleared in time for the start of Maplewood’s annual Memorial Day Parade. The parade kicked off at 9am with Maplewood’s finest leading the way down Maplewood Avenue. Veterans, the township committee, and almost every boy and girl scout followed behind them. They were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd cheering and clapping them on. A few of the bystanders came out to say thank you and to shake the veterans’ hands.

Also in the line of march, was the first aid squad, the fire department and the original 1966 Bat Mobile.

The parade ended at the municipal building where the names of the dead were remembered and a wreath was laid at the memorial. The Columbia High School Band played each of the armed forces’ anthems followed by a single trumpet playing ‘Taps’.

Young Torpey Apparently Elected Village President

BY ,  |  Tuesday, May 10, 2011 8:45pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

 

9:17 p.m. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Essex County Clerk says that Alex Torpey, 23-year-old candidate for South Orange Village President, has won by 13 votes. But provisional ballots still need to be counted and could turn the results around. “This is not how I thought it would end,” said Torpey at Cryan’s, where he is celebrating with friends and supporters.

According to the Essex County Clerk’s election results site, Torpey has 706 votes to Janine Bauer’s 693.

Torpey tweeted this at 9:30 p.m.

I am 13 votes ahead. Provisional ballots still to be counted….too close to definitively call….

Bauer’s three slate-mates ran unopposed for the council trustee slots. In Verona, Frank Sapienza and Michael Nochimson were elected to four year terms on the Verona Town Council. Coverage on MyVeronaNJ. Photos by Joy Yagid.

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Kill A Watt and Save Some Green

BY  |  Friday, May 06, 2011 11:30am  |  COMMENTS (2)

I thought this would be easier. Use a device called a Kill A Watt to see where and how much electricity is being used in my home. It’s all the rage to be ‘green’ and bring your own water bottle, but would this a chance to see what’s going inside the home with things we don’t give much thought.

We all have items plugged in that have become part of the mental wallpaper of our lives. Cordless phones, laptop and cell phone chargers as well as the more obvious refrigerators and large screen TV’s.

I picked up the Kill A Watt at the Maplewood Memorial and Hilton library branches. Part of the Maplewood is Green initiative, the Kill A Watt allows residents to check power consumption and make informed decisions on electric usage. Continue Reading

Coffee with…Joe Strupp

BY  |  Wednesday, May 04, 2011 12:54pm  |  COMMENTS (3)

Joe Strupp is a classic newspaper reporter. He’s also an ordained minister as well, but more on that later. He was born in Wisconsin, moved to Summit, which he considers his hometown, at age seven. He started his career at the Daily Journal in Elizabeth, went west to San Francisco to work for the San Francisco Independent and then came back east and on to become senior editor for Editor & Publisher magazine. He’s written a novel – The City and County. He’s currently an investigative reporter for MediaMatters.org. He came to live in Maplewood for all the same reasons everyone else does. He loved the small town feel, the great schools, the railroad line into NYC and the fact that it’s not as upscale as Summit.

But locally, he’s know best for his blog, The Maplewoodian, and stirring the pot. The blog came about after the resignation of then Mayor Ken Pettis. Strupp found it odd that no one covered the story. The New Record had a short piece on it a week later and the Star Ledger had a mention long after the event. Strupp launched the site on New Year’s Eve in 2008. His tag line? “News, Views & Rants.” Strupp is not shy about speaking his mind. Baristanet contributor Joy Yagid spoke with Joe Strupp about the state of media today, Maplewood and about becoming an ordained minister.

Why do you think Maplewood was a hotspot for the hyperlocal phenomenon?

Maplewood is a media mecca. Same as Montclair with Baristanet. Many, many media folk here. Maybe they all had the good idea at once. The Maplewoodian was the first site. Maplewood Online is a different animal but I tell Jamie Ross he is the great grandfather of the hyperlocal. The New York Times’ The Local came in March 2009 and Patch after that. Now there are only two left, Patch and MOL. [Actually, The Local handed over its territory and contributor list to Baristanet last year.]

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Coffee with … Alan Paul

BY  |  Monday, Mar 21, 2011 3:12pm  |  COMMENTS (1)

Alan Paul's new book, Big in China

Alan Paul's new book, Big in China

The book, Big in China, chronicles what happened when Alan Paul’s wife was offered a job in Beijing that required the entire family of five to relocate from Maplewood N.J. to China for three years. In the book, Paul narrates what it’s like to move to a culture that on the surface seems very different from the one he left behind and on being the ‘trailing spouse’. Paul, a writer for both SLAM and Guitar World magazines, started a personal blog and eventually a column, The Expat Life for the Wall Street Journal, on the everyday challenges anyone would face when moving to a place where you don’t speak the language. But somewhere along the line, he stumbles into a grand adventure that ended up with him forming a band, Woodie Alan with guitarist Woodie Wu, that was named the Best Band in Beijing and toured China.

Baristanet contributor, Joy Yagid, spoke with Alan Paul about the writing the book, the band and his family’s experience in China. Continue Reading

Coffee with … Julie Burstein

BY  |  Wednesday, Feb 09, 2011 3:17pm  |  COMMENTS (10)

Spark How Creativity Works by Julie Burstein

Spark How Creativity Works by Julie Burstein

Julie Burstein, a Maplewood resident, is a writer, media producer and host with a passion for creativity in everyday life.  In 2000 she created Studio 360, public radio’s premiere program about pop culture and the arts, hosted by Kurt Andersen.  They won a Peabody Award for their American Icons show about Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, which can be heard here.  Studio 360 is produced by PRI and WNYC.

Over the years, she’s also worked as a producer and arts reporter at National Public Radio and with Terry Gross at WHYY, and she often guest-hosts for Leonard Lopate on his show on WNYC.  She led the Studio 360 team for many years, and the only thing that could take her away from the excitement of producing a weekly show was the opportunity to write the first Studio 360 book. Spark: How Creativity Works will be published by Harper this month. She also has a Spark blog, which can be read here. Baristanet’s Joy Yagid caught up with Burstein in Maplewood. Continue Reading

Gift Guide 2010: Hostess Gifts with Class and Glass

BY  |  Thursday, Dec 23, 2010 1:30pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Need a hostess gift full of class? How about a John Derian glass paperweight – from $65 to $75 or a set of glass coasters for $105. The fantastic images are reminiscent of the Victorian Age and Audubon. Available at Jerry Rose Floral and Event Design in Maplewood.

Be Safer, Leave a Light On

BY  |  Tuesday, Dec 07, 2010 10:30am  |  COMMENTS (10)

South Orange Trustee Michael Goldberg has a very simple idea that he feels will make South Orange safer. Leave your porch light on at night.

Back in October, Trustee Goldberg and South Orange Police Chief Chelel were invited to go on a “Light Walk” by Seton Hall University SGA president Melissa Boege. The purpose of the walk was to show Goldberg and the Chief what the streets surrounding the university look like to students. Goldberg was struck by the lack of light.

From his blog, Goldberg states, “The most glaring issue I noticed was the huge number of homes that did not bother to simply have a porch light turned on outside. In all neighborhoods, especially where the homes are relatively close to the street, the light provided by porch lights makes an enormous difference in the perceived (and real) safety of the area. We all love the gaslights in South Orange, but everyone knows that they provide limited light, resulting in dark sidewalks…”

Goldberg has even gone as far to start a Facebook page called “Light the Night” and is urging everyone in South Orange to ‘like’ it. He has posted on Maplewood Online about saying “I urge you all to “Like” the page and help spread the word to your friends and neighbors, in order to improve the safety both for our homes and pedestrians walking along our sidewalks.”

Baristaville’s other gas lit town, Glen Ridge, is also quite dark at night, charming though it might be. GR and SO residents, do you routinely leave your porch lights on at night or do you feel it spoils the mood?

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