Back-Bay Flooding
Not enough attention is being paid to “insidious” back-bay flooding, which plagues thousands in New Jersey who live on waterfront areas behind or on the bay side of barrier islands, Wayne Parry reports for the Associated Press. Many studies are being conducted, as government slowly seems to be realizing that flooding from bays is as much of a problem as the somehow sexier beachfront flooding. And municipalities are starting to invest in dredging, pumps and renovating drains. According to the article, Ocean City is also investing in raising roads – something that has not yet had much traction around Longport, Margate, Ventnor and Atlantic City.
Downbeach Invasion
Absecon Island’s year-round residents are used to the annual invasion of the Memorial-Day-to-Labor-Day crowds, but it was a little different this weekend in Margate, reported Amy Rosenberg for The Philadelphia Inquirer. In fact, there were 12 arrests of kids and teens all under 20, after a fight involving 300 kids broke out on the beach by Lucy the Elephant. If you haven’t already read about it, you can probably understand that it generated a lot of discussion on social media. Reactions ranged from “there’s nothing for kids to do around here” to “we should be grateful to the visitors, most of whom come in peace and pay more than their share of property taxes.” Maybe the not-so-great weather was a contributing factor too. What is for sure is that the divide between locals and second-home owners is becoming more pronounced on the island, as the year-round population shrinks and each year more houses are demolished to make way for towering mansions. And the state is using Atlantic City to make the case that the summer crowds are no justification for maintaining a year-round public safety force that can deal with the holiday influx. All that is setting the stage for more events like last weekend’s.
Ventnor revived its multicultural school fair and it will help restore your faith in humanity – read our report here.
The Pine Barrens, via @brielle_priest on Instagram.
In the rest of the news from the last 24 hours, Wawa is planning to open two new stores in Burlington County, Atlantic County could spend up to $500,000* fighting the PILOT agreement for Atlantic City casinos, South Jersey airports are getting over $5 million in federal grants, and did you know there are actually four different gardening zones in New Jersey?
*an earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated the upper limit set for the county’s legal fight.
And finally… What keeps you from paying for news? Do you remember when you used to buy a newspaper? We’ve talked before about how the news industry is a big hot mess right now, particularly in our area. At Route 40 we are trying to produce quality reporting and we need your help to pay for it (you can find out more about our membership program here, and you can come and meet us at Little Water Distillery next week to hear more from us and Lynda Cohen of Breaking AC about how we are trying to build sustainable digital news businesses in the area). If you live closer to Philly, you should check out our colleague Matt Skoufalos from the NJ News Commons network. Matt has been running NJPen for three years over in Camden County and he writes here about the difficulty of making the business sustainable.
Trump’s Justice Dept. Probes Possible Discrimination Against Muslims–In what could be a significant test of President Donald Trump's relationship with a religious minority he antagonized on the campaign trial, WNYC has learned the U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether a New Jersey town discriminated against local Muslims by denying their application to construct a mosque, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. www.njspotlight.com
Gubernatorial Candidates Talk Undocumented Immigrants, Legalized Pot–Two of the hottest topics in the run-up to the gubernatorial primaries are undocumented immigration and the legalization of marijuana. To make a general observation, the Democratic candidates tend to be more liberal in their approach to both. www.njspotlight.com
Renewed Push to Tackle and Tame Out-of-Network Medical Bills–Hoping to jump-start what they consider a comprehensive reform, a diverse group of healthcare and business advocates have called on Democratic leaders to vote this week on a long-debated bill to reduce the growing impact of out-of-network medical insurance bills. As of Tuesday evening, the legislation had yet to be included on the list of topics the Senate Budget Committee was scheduled to address when it next meets Thursday, and Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), the panel’s chairman, had not responded to the advocates’ request. www.njspotlight.com
Atlantic City Police Department featured on National Geographic TV series–The Atlantic City Police Department was featured on National Geographic television Tuesday night. “Breakthrough: Predicting the Future” included a look at “predictive policing.” BreakingAC
Double Dutch Event Looks to Jump Start Improved Atlantic City Park–Indra Owens grew up in Atlantic City. But she never played in the park honoring the first African-American resident to die in World War II. BreakingAC
CASA Volunteers Recognized For Helping Children in Foster System–Twelve Atlantic and Cape May County residents were recently sworn in as Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers by Judge Nancy Ridgway. The swearing-in ceremony was the culmination of 30 hours of classroom instruction in child advocacy, the court system and cultural competency. Shore News Today
Cape May County Prosecutor’s Defamation Claim Against Former Wildwood Mayor DeMarzo Dismissed–A Cape May County Superior Court judge has dismissed county Prosecutor Robert Taylor’s defamation counterclaim against former Wildwood Mayor Gary DeMarzo and former City Prosecutor Samuel Lashman due to lack of evidence. Taylor said Tuesday he plans to appeal the decision “at the appropriate time.” Press of Atlantic City
State Investigation Clears Pleasantville School Officials–A state Department of Education investigation into complaints about alleged improper actions by Pleasantville School District employees has concluded there were no violations of education statutes or regulations. The state Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance responded to a complaint filed by Facilities Director William “Speedy” Marsh. Press of Atlantic City
Atlantic City Celebrates Its Rich Boxing History With Hall Of Fame–There was a time, not too long ago, that Atlantic City, New Jersey, was a thriving boxing town. The city had its collective claws in almost every major fight that took place, and featured some of the best that ever fought, like Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Arturo Gatti, just to name a few. philadelphia.cbslocal.com