New council member, incumbents take the oath of office

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield Township Council reorganized at the Municipal Building on Wednesday, Jan. 3, swearing into office its three ward council members. Nicholas Joanow, the senior council member with the most time served; Jenny Mundell, an incumbent appointed to a chair vacated earlier this year; and Sarah Cruz, a political novice, each expressed personal gratitudes […]

Bloomfield health officer receives state recognition

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Bloomfield’s Health Officer Michael Fitzpatrick has received a Certificate of Achievement from the NJ Local Boards of Health Association on Thursday, Dec. 14. Fitzpatrick has been with the Department of Health and Human Services since 2009, following a career in both the private and the public sector. He was nominated for the […]

Town police give holiday gifts to 300 kids, 130 families

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Thursday, Dec. 21, the Bloomfield Police Department gathered in the Bloomfield Municipal Courtroom to continue its long-standing annual holiday toy drive, where more than 1,500 new toys were given to Bloomfield children and families. Bloomfield Police officers had been storing the donated gifts in the Youth Aid Division, and after Thursday’s municipal […]

Our neighbors talk about their hopes for 2018

BLOOMFIELD/GLEN RIDGE, NJ — New Year’s resolutions anyone? It seems that most people had them and when this newspaper asked some of the individuals who made Glen Ridge and Bloomfield news in 2017 to share theirs, the response was surprisingly good. What was requested, by email, was a personal resolution and/or one the respondent would like […]

Four windows earn honors in 2017 competition

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The winners of the annual holiday window display competition among 13 downtown storefronts were announced by the Bloomfield Center Alliance on Dec. 26. Judges selected Gail Ann’s Beauty Salon for the second straight year while the “people’s choice” winner, as determined by online voting, was Ricciardi Brothers Paints. The salon is located at […]

Our churches are reaching out to comfort the needy

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Like followers of good King Wenceslas, a 10th-century Bohemian monarch known for his helping a peasant, congregants in Bloomfield houses of worship are tending to the needy this holiday season, too. But Pastor Diana Wilcox, of Christ Episcopal Church of Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, said there is more meaning to the Wenceslas story […]

Making Christmas merry — it’s a Tice family tradition

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — On Friday, Dec. 8, Bloomfield residents Steve, Lorajean, Kyle and Emily Tice continued their annual tradition of dressing as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and Santa’s elves for children in the neighborhood and providing hot chocolate and cookies at their Bolten Place home. In recent years, Steve, who plays Santa, and his family […]

Margaret Dunigan, 75, is laid to rest at Sacred Heart

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A requiem Mass for Margaret Dunigan was celebrated Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Sacred Heart Church. Dunigan, who held many honorary civic titles, served on the Bloomfield Township Council 2002-2007 and 2010-2013. She died Dec. 13 at the age of 75. Delivering the homily was Bishop Paul Bootkoski, retired from the Archdiocese of Metuchen. […]

Demarest students learn about net neutrality on the web

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Keeping up with current events, Demarest Elementary School fifth- and sixth-graders were given a lesson in net neutrality by media instructor Rosemary Vetrano on Friday, Dec. 8. The policy of net neutrality is the ability for an individual to have equal access to all websites regardless of the data it may contain. The […]

The Bloomfield post office: busy, busy busy

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Letter deliveries are not peaking during the holiday season anymore, according to Bloomfield post office Officer-in-Charge Jason Kagle, but package deliveries more than make up for it. “I’ll go to the dock and you look at the back of a 2-ton truck with at least 200 parcels and you cannot believe one man […]