News Digest

Too much news piling up before the weekend. I'll have to just offer a quick list and will admit to not having read it all thoroughly:

As Muir Woods celebrates its 100th anniversary, CNN stopped by to see the celebrations. On April 21st the park will waive its already low admission fee. (Photo by Tonya, h/t to Mom)

A judge in Superior Court has found that a large greenhouse complex would be a violation of the farmland preservation status of a farm in Hunterdon County.

The Star-Ledger tags along as the NJ Main Street program drops in on a few towns for makeovers that sound more like something from HGTV than professional practice:

Along the Church Street promenade, the team admired such architecture as the Spanish Revival of the block-long landmark Hinck buildings but stopped in front of the Montclair Antiques Center, which was missing a few Art Deco enamel glass panels from its façade.

Ted Lippincott of Montclair's Historic Preservation Commission tells the team the owner has appeared before the commission with a suggested remedy.

"He has been back to us 10 times. He wants stucco," Lippin cott said.

"No. No. No. No," the design team said in a loud chorus.

The NY Times has a great piece in the sports section about hiking the Batona Trail down in the Pinelands. While it is no AT, the flat trail sounds like a great long trip. Here is all you need to know about the author:

I, too, was a broken man. Worst of all, this was an adventure I had devised and persuaded my wife, Jen, to take. Now, it was she who was surging ahead, growing stronger the farther we hiked.

Busy news day.