DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Can you mention a recent local celebration related to Independence Day?

Sincerely,
Paula Revere

My daughter’s Montclair travel softball team won its first Summer 2021 game, in East Hanover. Given that some British monarchs hailed from the House of Hanover, TAKE THAT King George III.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Um…that king was mad in a different way. Actually, Paula was referring to Montclair’s July 3rd car caravan that took place instead of this year’s pandemic-canceled July 4 festivities. Comment?

Sincerely,
Bumper Crop of Vehicles

Great to honor local COVID heroes and esteemed longtime Glenfield teacher Dan Gill that day. I saw the caravan from my window while reading “The Woman in White” and listening to a Joni Mitchell album, so…read “White,” and “Blue.”

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Another nice celebration, on July 6, marked the reopening of the Bellevue library branch. Was “The Woman in White” author Wilkie Collins among the notables in attendance?

Sincerely,
What the Dickens

Maybe, maybe not. He died in 1889, but not before also writing “The Moonstone” about the plaque-bearing rock in front of astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s childhood home on Princeton Place.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
The first event of this year’s Montclair Jazz Festival is scheduled to take place next Thursday, July 15 as the returning festival moves its musical offerings downtown. Is there a Jazz House Kids connection?

Sincerely,
Jazz You Like It

Yes, Jazz House Kids has a wi-fi connection.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Back on June 30, Succeed2gether launched Pathways Forward to support students and their families from middle school through the first year of college with advice, academic prep, and more. Excellent?

Sincerely,
Nothing Succeeds Like Succeed

Excellent. And if college-cost numbers continue to rise, I have no problem with Succeed2gether being renamed Succeed3gether or Succeed4gether to account for inflation.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Speaking of money, a quarterly infrastructure charge is being added to local water bills. Is a quarter (25 cents) per resident enough?

Sincerely,
Spare Change Is Gonna Come

If I had a nickel for everyone who confused “quarterly” with “quarter,” I’d have…no nickels. Just my two cents.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Also, Vote Montclair says it has enough signatures for a referendum to move our town’s municipal elections from May to when other elections are held in November. Are you okay with that, if enough signatures get certified?

Sincerely,
Spring-to-Fall Paul

Could save on election costs and increase turnout. Plus Halloween masks bearing the likenesses of Montclair politicians probably wouldn’t be stored away until December.

DEAR MONTCLAIRVOYANT,
Are there really Halloween masks bearing the likenesses of Montclair politicians?

Sincerely,
Cosplay’s the Thing

No. Which explains why those masks wouldn’t be stored away until December.

 

 

Dave Astor, author, is the MontClairVoyant. His opinions about politics and local events are strictly his own and do not represent or reflect the views of Baristanet.