MONTCLARION: July 20, 2012

“Put Your Money Where Your House Is”.  The owner of Farmstead Cheeses and Wines shares this slogan in response to last week’s Town Crier column on the closure of another small business, The Tulip Grove. The question I posed was “are we doing enough to support shops in Montclair?” Diamond, who is also the vice president of the Montclair Village Association, says over 200 businesses make up Montclair. “We’re dentists, psychologists, cheesemongers, chiropractors, barristas, bagelmen, cobblers, grocers, bankers, realtors, chefs, bakers, kitchen mavens, computer repairmen, camera shop experts, wine and liquor purveyors, booksellers, and a myriad other professions who are committed to making Montclair Village a fun and useful place to visit.” Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: July 13, 2012

Say goodbye to Montclair’s popular infant and baby shop, The Tulip Grove. Owner Jen Frick is moving her family and her business to Lafayette.

Some may consider this a sign. Like the canary in the coal mine, the loss of another small business seems to chip away at the heart of our Village. Frick says the bottom line, however, is there wasn’t enough community support to make her store prosper. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: June 29, 2012

For those of you pushing for secession, Montclair is throwing you a bone. There’s a new mayor in town — a feisty feline who won’t pussyfoot around when it comes to fighting crime.

Yes, Stomper is the new pet mayor of Montclair. Whether she won by a hair is irrelevant. She is a born leader — a survivor who cared for her siblings after her mother was killed near Interstate 580. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: July 21, 2012

Break out the Meow Mix — June is Adopt-A-Cat Month.

Now let’s not pussyfoot around here — cats are better than dogs, and they know it. Cats are cleaner, smarter and perfectly engineered to fit on a human lap. And finally, ask yourself this. What pet catches rodents and leaves them on your doorstep? Duh — only cats. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: June 15, 2012

A longtime hills couple is about to embrace life in rural Montana. After 50 years of running the popular Montclair Pharmacy, Bill and Helen Sullivan have bought a ranch near their childhood home of Anaconda, a mining town that still calls to them today.

“It’s been my dream since I was young,” says Bill, who lived through the Depression and World War II along with his wife. They’re part of the generation that dreams big. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: June 15, 2012

It’s almost summer — do you know where your Christmas lights are?

Most are in storage, tucked neatly between the nutcrackers and the plastic reindeer. But three of my neighbors have re purposed their lights for year-round enjoyment. For this, I’m eternally grateful.

“They’re Fourth of July lights,” says one neighbor, who calls her treetop twinklers patriotic. In September, they flash for the autumnal equinox. In October, for Halloween. With each passing month they splash shards of color across the evening sky. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: June 8, 2012

It’s swimsuit season, and I’m in a panic. My body clearly thinks it’s still winter, and is storing up fat like a squirrel stocking nuts. Add to this the fact that my health club, the Hills, has just opened a new saline swimming pool. Suddenly, all the beautiful people are flocking to be seen on the decks by the jewel-bedecked waters. Their bodies are bronzed and their clothing divine, and they’ve clearly raised the bar for what suffices as swimwear in the hills. All I can do is pray for rain until I emerge from my long hibernation. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: May 4, 2012

If it takes a village to raise a child, then Montclair Village needs help. Too many teens are in town after school and there’ve been recent reports of fighting and other bad behavior. How do we address this perennial problem? One way is for all of us to help.

Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: April 27, 2012

There’s a dark side to spring. Yes, it’s a time for growth and rejuvenation. But it’s also a time for death.

A sweet, spotted fawn died the other night — most likely orphaned after losing his mother.

Lila Travis with Yggdrasil Urban Wildlife Rescue did everything she could. When she got the call from reader Sandra Pohutsky, she rushed over to Clarewood Drive between Village Market and St. Theresa’s School. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: April 27, 2012

A lot of my neighbors are nightwalkers. We meet on the street and exchange pleasantries under the moon.

But after last week’s shooting of a dog walker on Elverton Drive, I’m — quite frankly — a little afraid. And mad.

What does it take to stay safe around here? We have our neighborhood watch groups and our video cameras — do we need to start walking with escorts? Get bigger dogs? Walk only in daylight? Continue reading →