Wednesday, May 16, 2012
With visions of 1994 dancing in metropolitan fans' heads, who do you think will win?
It isn't always pretty. In fact, it rarely is. When the two top ice hockey squads in the New York-New Jersey metro area lace them up, it's always a spectacle. But it's never more so than when the matchups come in the playoffs. Of course, we're talking about the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers (sorry Islanders fans, but the '80s are behind us). The two NHL teams begin their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals series Monday night (8; NBC Sports Network) for the right to head to the Stanley Cup Finals. Of course, most fans remember the last time these two faced each other for that right. It was 1994. For Rangers fans, it was the precursor to a fantastic Stanley Cup championship victory over the Vancouver Canucks and the end …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Michael Woods writes about his problem with parking in Montclair.
I've been attempting over the last year to have the Montclair Parking Authority address the problem of "time limit parking streets" within the township. I will be addressing the MPA advisory board about this issue at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 16 during its meeting at the municipal building. As I'm sure you are aware, the MPA has been struggling with financial debt since its creation. As a result, the MPA enforcement officers have been aggressively issuing summonses on streets where time limit parking exists. I live on Gates Avenue between Union Street and Hawthorne Place, which is a residential neighborhood. We have two-hour parking restrictions on that section of Gates Avenue. Sadly, because it is a residential neighborhood, the …
Monday, May 14, 2012
"Negative ads work and will be found in every campaign in the future," he says.
Third Ward losing candidate Chris Swenson—who has worked on Democratic campaigns for the US Senate, Congressional seats as well NJ Senate and Assembly races—answers a few questions now that the local election is over. Campaign retrospective: What are your first thoughts with the election now behind us? I congratulate the entire Jackson slate and Bill Hurlock for their victories. My hat’s off particularly to Sean Spiller, who worked hard and deserved his win in the Third Ward. I congratulated him on election night. Both he and Jeff Jacobson are good guys. All the new council members have a difficult time ahead of them and will need a lot of help to get Montclair to a better place. They should know a lot us are willing to pitch in. My …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Inspired by a chid's question, the editor ponders what the world would be like if God was a mother.
When my son, Jack, was three-years old he asked me if God had feet. Seeing how thrown I was by that question (does God have feet?) he softballed me with this follow-up: how do we know God is a father and not a mother? Instinctively, I answered, “Because no mother would ever create order out of chaos and then go and undo it by creating man." “Also," I continued, "Two days tops to create a universe because no mother has the luxury of seven days to get anything done." His question did force me to think what the world might be like if God was a mother. And so I wrote: If God Was a Mother, her Commandments would read: Do not waste thine time carving what I say onto stone tablets for no one will read them and, undoubtedly, someone will break …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
A fantastic, but anonymous, statement on motherhood is making the rounds in Montclair today ... but who wrote it? Email Shelley@patch.com.
We are the moms. We make playdates. We love playdates. We avoid playdates. We beg for playdates. We drive carpools. We rely on carpools. We use carpools to find out who is dating. We wonder what is meant by “dating.” We commute to the City. To Newark. To Trenton. By bus. By subway. By car. By foot. We drive suburbans. Minivans. Mini-SUVs. Hybrids. We hate to drive. We text and drive. We don’t drive. Our kids are in college. In pre-school. In middle school. In day care. In high school. They are in the play. In the playoffs. In love. In a phase. In diapers. In cliques. In a funk. In a Big Boy Bed. Inconsolable. Indifferent. Incredible. They are on the honor roll. On drugs. On the third Harry Potter book. On Facebook. On Travel. On to us. …
Friday, May 11, 2012
A state legislative committee approved a bill this week that would bar the practice.
Can an employer force you to reveal your Facebook or other social media password as a condition for getting hired or keeping your job? That issue began to get some attention in March after a statistician in New York reported that during an interview with a potential employer, the woman interviewing him had searched for his Facebook and, upon discovering that it was private, asked him for the password. The statistician, Justin Bassett refused and left the interview, according to the Associated Press. But the story brought to light other instances where employers have sought similar access to social media accounts, and have led several states to consider legislation to ban the practice. California's assembly voted Thursday to approve such …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
"I woke up this morning and was as happy as on any morning waking up as mayor of Montclair," he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jerry Fried predicted that mayoral candidate Robert Jackson would win the local election with 40 percent of the vote. He predicted that Karen Turner would come in second with 35 percent and that Harvey Susswein would come in third with 25 percent. On Tuesday night, Jackson, a former mayor leading the Montclair 2012 slate, did even better than Fried had anticipated, raking in 3,878 votes, or 48 percent. Turner received 2,516 votes, or 31 percent, and Susswein received 1,682 votes. On Wednesday afternoon, Fried—who was campaign manager for Deputy Mayor Kathryn Weller-Demming—chatted with Montclair Patch about the election and reflected on the various campaigns. Q) What's your overall feeling today about how the …
Karen Turner seeks to set the record straight Wednesday
Robert Jackson, elected mayor Tuesday night by a wide margin—and others on his Montclair 2012 slate—have vowed to move Montclair forward and to start the healing process following a long and contentious race. "I guarantee you there will be a big difference. A new Montclair. A new future," he told supporters Tuesday night. But will he be able to bring together a town that became increasingly divided between supporters of three very different slates over the last few weeks? Tim Barr, who ran as an at-large candidate on the For Montclair slate, said there absolutely has to be some healing. "We all care about the town ... I think it would be helpful for [Jackson] to use the ideas of those who didn't get elected ... I think many of those who …
Other candidates are invited to email Shelley@patch.com with any final statements
Candidates who were not successful in their campaigns began issuing statements of gratitude and congratulations Wednesday morning. Here are just a few below. From LeeAnn Carlson: I’d like to thank the residents of Montclair who engaged in a real and substantive debate about the challenges and choices facing our town. I’d also like to thank all our supporters for their commitment to what was a collaborative and ultimately positive effort. My sincere congratulations and best wishes to Robert Jackson and our new Town Council. They achieved a hard-fought win yesterday and received a strong mandate from the voters, which should provide momentum to build on as they address the issues and opportunities that face our town LeeAnn Carlson From …
The only exception was a win by Bill Hurlock in the first ward
Following a contentious and hard-fought race, Robert Jackson was declared the mayor of Montclair just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday night, garnering nearly half the total of 8,024 votes cast in the nonpartisan local election. Jackson, who led the Montclair 2012 slate, received 3,842 votes compared with 2,508 for Karen Turner, of the Real Progress Montclair slate, and 1,676 for Harvey Susswein, of the For Montclair slate. It was nearly a clean sweep for Montclair 2012, with Robin Schlager, Sean Spiller, Bob Russo, and Rich McMahon all racking up wins. The only exception was in the first ward, where newcomer Bill Hurlock beat Councilor Rich Murnick, who was running for re-election on the Montclair 2012 slate. Surrounded by throngs of noisy …
michael woods
9:53 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Follow up. My concerns were heard today by the Montclair Parking Advisiory Board. I want to thank the entire board for there concern and understanding with this problem. There willingness to find the solution is greatly appreciated. Thank you more ›