Opinion

This week Montclair Local's reporter Gwen Orel reported on the reinstallation of a controversial Trump painting removed from an exhibit at the Montclair Public Library due to explicit language. The painting, Gwenn Seemel’s “Hello Sh*tty, Available in a White House Near You! (Grab Him ...

By Debra Caplan In November 2018, Montclair voters turned out for the midterm elections, with a robust 64 percent of registered voters showing up at the polls. But our municipal elections, held every four years in May, are a different story...

Thank you, Dottie In response to Dorothea Benton Frank’s “Town Square” from April 11 (“Mega-mansions: the other side of the story,” page 12): I too am a long time Montclair resident of a “historic” home and not sure why it’s historic other than it being old. We’ve maintained our home because it’s what...

By Dorothea Benton Frank Town Square is a space for longer-form essays from Montclair residents designed to generate discussion on specific topics affecting the town. They solely reflect the opinions of the author. Topics and submissions (maximum 750 words) should be emailed to opinion@montclairlocal... Read More ...

Rentals make up 42 percent of the housing market here in Montclair. But with no rent-control ordinance in place, and new owners taking over buildings, long-term renters are seeing their rents rise as much as 30 percent when their leases expire...

The dangers of using pesticides in your garden We, the 51 members of the Edgemont Roots & Shoots Club, are writing to remind everyone of the dangers of using pesticides in your garden. Pesticides are very dangerous because they affect our whole environment. Wh...

Last week we reported on a group of residents who are looking into whether school board members should be appointed or elected.

The sound of leaf blowers As long as the soundtrack of outdoor Montclair continues to be the drone of the leaf blower, why not build an Indy-styled motor raceway? We could have the thrill of watching a car race, as well as enjoying the nonstop sounds and smells of the internal combustion engine...

Last week, we wrote that the Montclair Mayor and Council may vote at its April meeting to ban single-use plastic bags from all businesses, a move that would require merchants to comply by July. The ban would not apply to produce bags, product packaging, and pharmacy, newspapers and laundry bags...

Conditions at the Essex County jail This is about our relationship with the freeholders, the money we send them and what they do with the money. It’s about the immigration detention facility that the county maintains on Doremus Avenue in Newark. E...