Christie to Lead Debate on Eliminating County or Municipal Government

BY  |  Tuesday, Feb 14, 2012 9:42am  |  COMMENTS (30)

Gov. Chris Christie said yesterday he would lead a debate over whether to eliminate municipal or county governments in New Jersey.

He was speaking to an audience of over 500 at the Caldwell Community Center during a Town Hall meeting.

“We need to make a choice and we haven’t been forced to make a choice before,” Christie said. “I think we need to make a choice one or the other.”  Christie’s comment came in response to an audience member who voiced concern about duplicative services.

“I will be happy to lead the debate .. on which government do you think is more efficient and effective,” Christie said.

Continue Reading

Coffee With … John Schreiber of NJPAC

BY  |  Tuesday, Jan 10, 2012 9:00am  |  COMMENTS (0)

In July 2011, John Schreiber joined NJPAC as president and CEO after “putting the spinach in the popcorn” as executive vice president of social action and advocacy for Participant Media, the global entertainment company that brought us Waiting for Superman, Food, Inc., The Cove, Charlie Wilson’s War and other socially-relevant movies.

As a student at Haverford College, Schreiber got his first taste of show business when he coordinated music events at the school.  Shortly after graduating, he was hired by George Wein, the creator of the Newport Jazz and Folks Festivals, and worked for him almost 20 years.  Since then, he has produced films, and created, curated and produced a multitude of events including the KOOL and JVC Jazz Festivals, Hard Rock Live (VH-1), the Emmy and Tony Awarding-winning show, Elaine Stritch At Liberty, The President’s Summit for America’s Future, the Kennedy Center’s Open House multi-cultural festival, George C. Wolfe’s Harlem Song and Carnegie Hall’s American Popular Song celebration.

Tara Williams sat down with Schreiber to talk about his programming plans for the sixth largest performing arts center in the U.S. (Hint: Grammy Award-winning bassist and Baristaville resident Christian McBride will be involved), creating social action campaigns and working with George Wein and Elaine Stritch.  Continue Reading

Montclair’s Warren Zanes: Performer and Professor of Rock and Roll

BY  |  Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 2:45pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Last week as I was chauffeuring my almost nine-year-old son home from piano lessons I heard Billy Joel’s Piano Man on the radio. I belted out the lyrics (isn’t the song one big sing-along?), while tears streamed down my face because I haven’t heard the song in such a long time. Welcome to 40. Music from the proms and parties I attended in the 1980s are now being played on the oldies station. So, when my editor asked me to interview Warren Zanes (http://www.warren-zanes.com/), former guitarist for the Del Fuegos, a rock and roll band that got some airplay in the 80s on MTV—the touchstone to my youth—I jumped at the chance.

This New Year’s Eve, Zanes, 46, of Montclair, will “mix up a buffet table” of songs from his three solo CDs, I Want To Move Out In The Daylight (“my divorce album”); People That I’m Wrong For; and Memory Girls, (possibly) songs from the del Fuego albums (he has invited brother Dan Zanes, the Grammy Award-winning musician/songwriter of children’s music and former front man for the Del Fuegos), along with “real rock and roll band stuff” at First Night Montclair 2012. He has also invited Montclair residents producer/performer Don Fleming and musician/song writer and WFMU radio host Michael Shelley to join the line-up.

“I don’t play a lot of shows because I’ve got my job, my writing; I’ve got my kids (two elementary school-aged sons, Lucian and Piero),” says Zanes, sitting at his dining room table. “I love doing it — I’ve done just a few solo shows recently — but I don’t do it a lot. But I’ve really been wanting to do it in Montclair. I was very happy when they brought the idea to me.” Continue Reading

Are You Moving Your Money on “Bank Transfer Day?”

BY  |  Friday, Nov 04, 2011 1:30pm  |  COMMENTS (37)

“Bank Transfer Day,” a 75,000-person strong Facebook-based movement urging people to take money out of big commercial banks and put it into credit unions, is tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 5.

It was inspired by Bank of America’s decision to start charging customers $5 a month in debit card fees. Even though B of A nixed that proposal earlier this week after blowback from customers, some people are still shopping for smaller, gentler banking situations. Continue Reading

Hear Creepy Organ Music at Montclair Church

BY  |  Friday, Oct 28, 2011 10:30am  |  COMMENTS (1)

In the mood for some sinister tunes to get into the Halloween spirit?

You and your kids may not recognize Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor by name, but once you hear it, you’ll know you’ve heard one of the most famous organ pieces in the world in a creepy movie or haunted house attraction. Central Presbyterian Church organist Jonathan Hall will play this piece, along with other Halloween music, on the church’s four-manual pipe organ in “Music in a Minor Mode,” a short musical program dedicated to the season of ghosts and goblins, this Sunday (10/30), starting at 3 p.m. Continue Reading

Bloomfield’s Historical Society To Bring Edgar Allen Poe to Life in Lecture

BY  |  Monday, Oct 24, 2011 3:00pm  |  COMMENTS (0)

Learn about the master of mystery and the macabre, Edgar Allen Poe, tomorrow, (Tuesday, 10/25), at 8 p.m. at the Bloomfield Civic Center (84 Broad Street).

Ava Caridad, The Historical Society of Bloomfield’s newest board member, will examine Poe’s difficult childhood – and consequently unhappy adult life – and how they are reflected in his writings.  Caridad will also paint a picture of life in the 19th century as America’s favorite troubled soul and one of the earliest American writers of the short story experienced it.

For more information about the free event, call 973-743-8844, email info@bloomfieldhistorical.org, or visit the Bloomfield Historical Society.

Bloomfield’s Democratic County Committee Says Joanow Declined to Join Party Ticket

BY  |  Monday, Oct 24, 2011 2:00pm  |  COMMENTS (20)

Last week, we shared Geoff Gove’s blog post on Bloomfield Greenways, where Democratic District Rep. Pat Gilleran questioned why Bloomfield environmental town counselor Nick Joanow was not being supported by the Bloomfield’s Democratic County Committee. The blog post showed a Broad Street billboard ad that did not include the second ward councilman.

According to Bloomfield’s Democratic County Committee Chairman’s Peter Strumolo, Joanow didn’t want to join the party ticket.  In an email to Baristanet, Strumolo says: Continue Reading

What’s the Scariest Movie You’ve Seen?

BY  |  Monday, Oct 24, 2011 10:51am  |  COMMENTS (30)

Scared to take a shower after watching “Psycho”? Afraid of basements after screening “Silence of the Lambs”? It’s that time of year. Vote for the creepiest movie in our poll.

Angeloni’s Abbondanza of Food at Caldwell Restaurant

BY  |  Friday, Oct 21, 2011 1:00pm  |  COMMENTS (2)

When the Baristanet Ladies asked me to join them at Angeloni’s Restaurant and Pizzeria (owners Nicholas and Irma Conforti invited us to sample their fare free of charge), I wasn’t overly excited about trying another Italian restaurant in northern New Jersey. Four courses and two and half hours later, we all felt like we found our favorite casual Italian eatery and places as honorary members of the Conforti clan. We had also consumed enough food to use up any extra Weight Watchers points for the next two months. Continue Reading

What’s Wrong With This Billboard?

BY ,  |  Friday, Oct 21, 2011 9:30am  |  COMMENTS (26)

The bottom line according to Democratic District Rep. Pat Gilleran: the Bloomfield Democratic Committee is not supporting its own candidate, Nick Joanow.

Bloomfield Greenways blogger Geoff Gove snapped this billboard on Broad Street in Bloomfield and asks…

“What’s missing from this Democratic billboard on Broad Street?
Answer: Nick Joanow, the Democratic candidate who overwhelmingly won his primary to qualify for Line A on his party’s ticket.”

Democratic District Pat Gilleran has a theory as to why Joanow was left off the Line A advertisement:

Bloomfield environmental Town Councilor Nick Joanow is not being supported by the Bloomfield Democratic County Committee. Rumor has it that Bloomfield’s Mayor Ray McCarthy has been campaigning for the Republican candidate, Kent Weisert.

When reached for a comment in response to Gilleran’s statement, Mayor McCarthy said, “Anything from Pat Gilleran, I have no reason to answer.  It means nothing.  Pat Gilleran is trying to make trouble where no trouble exists.”  Nick Joanow did not respond to an email request from Baristanet for a comment.

Read Geoff’s full blog post here and comment below.

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Oh I get it now ....A meat and greet.
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