Water
How is it where you are? We are watching trash floating down the street in Ventnor. The rain has eased in the last hour, but the storm warning is in effect through 1 pm today. If you want to keep up with the latest, The Press of Atlantic City has a rolling weather service on its page here.
AC Public Safety Campaign
“Don’t Gamble On Safety” is the message of a publicity campaign supporting Atlantic City’s public safety workers, who are facing the threat of significant cuts to their contracts under the state takeover. A judge is currently tasked with deciding whether or not the state has the authority to make changes to the firefighters’ contracts that could halve the Atlantic City Fire Department. Lynda Cohen at Breaking AC has the details here. The state’s argument is that police and fire have expensive contracts (even they’ve both seen major cuts in recent years). On the other hand, the lawyers making the state’s arguments are charging taxpayers a small fortune ($350 an hour) and the state’s record of spending in Atlantic City includes such multi-million-dollar follies as the laser lighthouse (uber alles?)
Water Park
Some good news for the south end of the boardwalk yesterday, with news that the empty Atlantic Club would be converted into a water park and family entertainment complex, per The Press of Atlantic City. We hope it happens. The developers were previously interested in a project on Bader Field that never came to fruition.
The rest of today’s news includes the headline that PSEG Power sold its stake in the PennEast Pipeline, a look at how NJ’s Sandy victims could wind up paying for Trump’s border wall, and the shutdown of a Lower Township dredging dump site because of storage violations. All that and more below:
N.J. Supreme Court enters fray over pay hikes for public workers–TRENTON -- Public employee unions and government officials clashed Monday in a case before the state Supreme Court that could determine whether workers across New Jersey will get pay raises. NJ.com
Poor, Elderly Stand to Be Hardest Hit Under GOP Healthcare Plan–The lowest-income New Jerseyans of all ages, and most of those 60 and older, regardless of income, would be the biggest losers under the Republican plan to amend the Affordable Care Act, according to a nonpartisan analysis of the issue. www.njspotlight.com
CRDA hopes master plan streamlines development process–ATLANTIC CITY — Live in the city. Work in the city. Play in the city. Press of Atlantic City
N.J. experiences largest private sector job growth in 16 years–Gov. Chris Christie on Monday heralded the state’s fiscal health as new figures showed New Jersey last year experienced the largest spike in private sector job growth since 2000. Politico PRO
N.J. colleges ask: Why does Christie want to cut student success program?–To the dismay of many New Jersey colleges, Gov. Christie has proposed a funding cut for a respected financial aid program that provides intensive support for educationally and economically disadvantaged students and has helped tens of thousands graduate since its founding almost 50 years ago. Philly.com