JANUARY Ann Dassing Sworn in as Caldwell Mayor After attending Caldwell College, living in the Caldwells for 22 years, and serving as a councilman for six years, Ann Dassing was sworn in this past January as the mayor of the town she has called "an ideal place to live and work." In her remarks, Dassing said, "Shared services are no longer buzzwords, but a call to action." North Caldwell Mayor Joseph Alessi was sworn-in for his first four-year term on New Year's Day with so many supporters present that they spilled out of the Council Chambers at Borough Hall. Shortly after being sworn in for a…

The Caldwells and West Essex as a whole might seem like the sleepy suburbs to outsiders. But a look back at a year's worth of stories proves differently. Who can forget the nine-month pregnant woman who waited five minutes before calling the police after filming a bear cooling off in her swimming pool? The video first appeared on Patch and was picked up by television news stations from New York to Philadelphia. Remember the suspected Sunoco bandit who showed up at ShopRite muddy and wet a few hours after he allegedly pulled off a strong arm robbery at a nearby gas station?  Then of course …

There was a lot of activity in our business districts over the past 12 months. Here's a look at 11 businesses that closed, and 11 that opened in 2011: The Caldwells said goodbye to... 1. Ace Hardware—After an unsuccesful attempt to find a business with which to share the 17,000-square-foot retail space in Caldwell, the hardware store closed its doors at the end of August. 2. Anytime Fitness—Rumors swirled that the 24-7 gym in West Caldwell would re-open after locking its doors abruptly at the start of the year. But that never happened. Instead a whole new club came in called SkyClub (see …