A 96-year-old male driver sustained minor injuries Oct. 21 after his car crashed into the front of Someone’s in the Kitchen in Montclair Village, police said. (Harry Harris/Staff archives)

MONTCLARION: January 17, 2017

It must be something in the water. Montclair motorists can’t seem to keep their vehicles off the sidewalks.

This past week, we reported on the latest car kerfuffle — a sedan slamming into the front of Hula. It was the shop’s owner, Andrea Faber, who emailed me just minutes after it happened — shocked because just three months earlier, a car jumped the curb and hit Someone’s in the Kitchen, the shop next door.

“My first thought was ‘Thank goodness no one was on the sidewalk or looking at our rack,”’ says Faber, who runs the women’s clothing store with her daughter. “Naomi, my daughter, was also glad that no dog was tied up to the parking meter, which is often the case.”

Yikes. I hadn’t even thought of that. Somehow we’ve dodged a bullet in Montclair because I can count six or seven curb-jumping incidents in the past dozen years — and no one’s been hit on the sidewalk.

Let’s face it. Montclair isn’t the easiest place for a senior to navigate a vehicle. The traffic, the hills, the buses and bikes — they all present challenges for older drivers. I’m praying for the self-driving car before I hit my golden years. It may be the only thing that keeps me from jumping the curb, myself, someday.

Email bag: Remember the old Silver Palace restaurant in Montclair? Reader Mike Spencer says the eldest Auyoung daughter, Shirleen, has a new eatery called Qi Dumpling Lounge at 3300 Grand Ave. I’m not sure what a dumpling lounge is — but Mike says he went there for the soft opening earlier this month and enjoyed the stuffed dough balls. He also likes that the Auyoungs are a local family who have served the community for years.

Dine around: Speaking of food, Oakland Restaurant Week (www.oaklandrestaurantweek.org) is Jan. 19-29. Expect a feeding frenzy as folks take advantage of prix fixe promotions starting at $20. This is the seventh year for this event and Oakland’s food scene is really popping. Here are some numbers to chew on: Oakland has well over 900 restaurants, employing some 13,500 people. In 2015 alone, Oakland visitors spent $152 million on food and drinks and our restaurants generated $8 million in sales tax revenue.

Got news? You can reach Ginny Prior by email at ginnyprior@hotmail.com or on the web at http://www. ginnyprior.com.