Montclair Local

Margaret Valentine, a high school English teacher and supervisor of English teachers and a longtime resident of Montclair, died on July 22, 2022, surrounded by her loved ones, after living with stage four cancer for more than three years. She was 76. Ms. Valentine was born and grew up in...

The NJ Transit Montclair-Boonton Line (MOBO) service has been suspended in both directions between Newark Broad Street and Montclair State University (MSU). According to the NJTransit website, the suspension is due to a downed tree in the overhead wires near Glen Ridge. The NJ Transit MOBO Twitter account (@NJTransit_MOBO) tweeted...

George A. Engstrom of East Falmouth, Massachusetts, formerly of Montclair and Essex Fells, died on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, at home following a short illness. He was 81. Mr. Engstrom was born in 1941 in Montclair to the late Gerald and Elizabeth (Engeman) Engstrom and graduated from Montclair High School in 1959.

Joseph P. Vidulich of Montclair, an attorney, died in his home on Aug. 14, 2022, in the presence of his wife, Cindy Carlson, and other family members. He was 66. Mr. Vidulich was born in New York City to Julia and Joe Vidulich, first-generation Americans from the former Yugoslavia, and raised in Cliffside Park. He attended Xavier High School, where he played basketball.

MONTCLAIR - The Egan & Sons team captured the 2022 spring championship recently for the Montclair Men's 30-and-over Softball League. Egan & Sons defeated The Outlaws, 9-4, on July 16. The Egan’s team has won four titles in recent years as they have taken home the 2017, 2018 as well...

A year of wrangling between Montclair and Ascend, the company seeking to become the town’s first licensed seller of recreational marijuana, ended Tuesday night when the Township Council approved Ascend’s application. As soon as this Friday, the small shop with the abstract blue leaf logo on Bloomfield Avenue can expand its business from a medical marijuana dispensary and welcome a new clientele.

Yasuhiko “Yass” Hakoshima, an acclaimed mime artist and former longtime resident of Montclair, died peacefully on July 31, 2022, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 93. Mr. Hakoshima was born in 1928 to Asaka and Yasugoro Hakoshima of Fukuoka City, Kyushu, Japan. He was...

Patricia Jean Longo of Fairfield, formerly of Montclair, a nurse for many years at St. Vincent Healthcare & Rehab Center in Montclair and then in Cedar Grove, died on Aug. 7, 2022. She was 89. Born in Montclair in 1933 to the late Vincent and Ruth DeMaio, Mrs. Longo lived...

Following a nationwide search, the Montclair Public Library board of trustees has announced that the interim director, Janet Torsney, will be the new library director. Earlier in her career, Torsney served as assistant director of the library, giving library leaders a chance to witness her work firsthand. During the search for a new director, she stepped in as interim director, replacing former Director Peter Coyl, who left in 2021 to take a new position at the Sacramento Public Library in California.

Pauline Davis of Montclair, a retired customer service supervisor for the Montclair Post Office, died on July 24, 2022. She was 83. Ms. Davis was born in 1938 to Walter C. and Mable A. Brown Davis in Dillwyn, Virginia. She graduated from Carter G. Woodson High School in Dillwyn, and then from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. At an early age she joined Mount Olive Baptist Church in Dillwyn.

The Rev. Arthur K. “Terry” Wing III of Newton, who formerly served the congregations of St. Luke’s and St. James Episcopal churches in Montclair, died on Aug. 1, 2022. He was 88. Rev. Wing was born in Newark and grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Chatham and Nutley....

Joanna Sullivan Kelly of Roseland, formerly of Montclair, died peacefully on Thursday, July 28, 2022. She was 87. Mrs. Kelly was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Mortimer Sullivan of Montclair. She attended Lacordaire Academy and graduated from Bucknell University. She received three master’s degrees and a doctorate in education from Lehigh University.

It's been a getting-acquainted process for the new Montclair High School football coaching staff and the 2022 players in the early going. The Mounties started practice on Aug. 10 under a new regime for Montclair football after the school board approved the hiring in May of Jermain Johnson, who comes over from Belleville High School.

Montclair High School graduate Konrad Miklaszewski could have easily taken his lacrosse skills to a lesser program on the next level. But the All New Jersey first team player is looking for a challenge by heading to Yale University. It was only four years ago that the Bulldogs won the...

Last week, Montclair High School graduate Grace Fitzgerald was packing her bags en route to her days in college, at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She also was packing her field hockey sticks. Fitzgerald made the most of her senior year at Montclair as one of the top defenders...

Today, Aug. 15, is City Hall Selfie Day, or #cityhallselfie, across the country. This social media event was born in 2015 to show some local government love, or #localgov love. With Montclair Township officials in discussions about the future of the Montclair Municipal Building, this is an opportune time to...

This article was reported and written by Craig Wolff, senior consulting editor. Seven years ago, Essex County took a new, and at the time, novel step in confronting gun violence — compelling gun manufacturers who sell arms to local police departments to detail how they are fighting back against illegal gun trafficking and keeping guns out of the hands of unlicensed users. The message: Don’t do that and you don’t get a contract with the county.

MONTCLAIR – It is pretty much a matter of days until Montclair Kimberley graduated senior Patricia Columbia-Walsh will be walking down the halls of the University of Pennsylvania. The All New Jersey third team and All Super Essex Conference American first team lacrosse player will be arriving in Philadelphia...

Employees of Montclair’s Church Street Starbucks, located at 40 South Park Street, voted this week to join Starbucks Workers United. “I’m very happy with the outcome – a unanimous vote for the union,” said Celeste Cruz, a partner at the store and observer for the union. “All we want is to be true partners with Starbucks and have a seat at the table. Now that we have crossed this first hurdle and have a union it’s time to negotiate a fair contract.”

Montclair eating and drinking establishments will be able to offer outdoor service for at least two more years under state legislation signed by the governor this month. On Aug. 3, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill (S-2364) to extend expanded permissions for restaurants, bars, distilleries and breweries to use fixtures and equipment enabling them to serve customers outdoors in private areas, on sidewalks and in other municipally designated outdoor areas. Initially, the permissions – established because of the COVID-19 pandemic – were set to expire this year on Nov. 30. The new expiration date is Nov. 30, 2024.