Route 40 (https://rtforty.com/)
The world-famous Atlantic City boardwalk appears (wiggle word) about to get a little longer, according to a first-hand analysis by yrstrly at Route 40, who just took a bike ride down to 101 Boardwalk, which is a gem by the way. (Did you know it was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers to be hurricane-proof? I’m talking about the semi-circle between New Hampshire and Oriental Avenue.)
But this new stretch of boardwalk – from the corner of Oriental, down to about Grammercy – is very clearly not officially open to the public. In fact a sign says “DANGER” “DO NOT ENTER” and “AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY” but that sign was being roundly ignored by pedestrians Thursday who were out enjoying the weather, and the opportunity offered by whom or whatever had pushed the barrier out of the way.
As devoted customers of the Pic-a-Lilli Pub in Atlantic City, we are sad to report that Kip is leaving as the manager, according to a FB post of his last week. Sorry we missed it, but the kids were on vacation. Also, due to budgetary concerns, Route 40 has had less disposable income to drop on tails (hot) on Friday nights, so we haven’t been in there so much.
Atlantic City Council on Wednesday night voted in favor of allowing open containers in certain parts of the city’s Tourism District. The city by itself has no power to permit local bars and restaurants sell take-out drinks. But the council’s move was an important step to show the state that the city wants the law changed, officials in favor of the legislation said.
Lynda Cohen has more intel on the prescription-fraud scheme that’s been the talk of the town(s) for almost a year now – it involved a shell company called Boardwalk Medical and you can read details here. You’re going to have to pay more for a state portrait of Chris Christie than for any other governor, The Record reports.
Phil Murphy fired back at Texas Governor Greg Abbott after Abbott wrote yesterday that New Jerseyans should consider moving to Texas because the taxes are lower there. This reminds me of the time some Texas state troopers saw a big bird in the sky and word got out the Jersey Devil had for some reason fled to Brownsville and my grandmother had to intervene to stop these people from Smithville (“the Concerned Citizens for the Return of the Jersey Devil”) who were going to fly down there in a hot-air balloon to retrieve our local cryptid. My grandmother was from old Leeds Point “Bay People” stock and she loved to sit around and listen to millionaires complain about their taxes. God I miss her. Elsewhere in immigration, undocumented persons paid more than $14 million in taxes in Atlantic County in 2017, and they paid $587 million statewide, according to a report that was no doubt compiled by liberals.
$4.325 Million
CRDA has agreed to chip in $4.325 million in hazard pay to ensure the Miss America Pageant will be held in Atlantic City this year, everyone reports. Kudos to Amy Kuperinski for linking to that image of the board of directors. Amy Rosenberg points out they denied a request for $50K to expand a community gardening project. I’m not mathemagician but $50K is $0.050 million, right? In related news, the governor of Texas says you should move there because the taxes are lower.
Hard Rock’s going before the CRDA today to seek both preliminary and final site approval for their project to redo the Taj Mahal and does it seem weird to do preliminary and final at the same time? It seemed weird to Jim Kennedy – the former CRDA head – who tweeted, “I’m a big fan of Hard Rock Atlantic City. But, it’s just wrong for the CRDA to conduct a same day Preliminary & Final Site Plan approval process. The reason there is a two step process is it’s a deliberative process.” We called the CRDA spokespeople for comment, but they never get back to us. I wouldn’t get back to us either.
Happy Monday Campers! Don’t mind the flooding. There’s nothing we can do about it. In realer news, Carl Icahn is selling Tropicana. Yay him.
Why was President George W. Bush at the Borgata yesterday? Lynda Cohen knows. Is she going to tell us? What are you hiding, Lynda? PSE&G finally got its big subsidy bill, referred to euphemistically here as a “clean-energy” bill.
Taxing millionaires is supposed to chase them off to South Carolina, where they live together in a big mangrove swamp and swim in piles of money all day, but that’s not what actually happens according to this report, which alleges “even in New Jersey, migration of high-income taxpayers in response to ‘millionaire taxes’ has been relatively unimportant.”
Should it be harder to get a job as a cop on the ACPD if you stabbed your wife’s ex four times? I don’t know. You tell me, Mr. Wizard.
Today’s big regional headline is a 22.5% increase in gross operating profit by Atlantic City’s casinos, which the A.P. calls “good news for the seaside gambling resort” and a “jackpot” for someone. Could have fooled me! Who are the six people left in Atlantic County who think casino profits still correlate with local happiness/security/contentment?
Happy Monday, Route 40 Readers! We went up to Asbury Park Saturday where we saw Atlantic City future, and it’s Volkswagens, cat lounges and kale ice cream. Fasten your seat-belts, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
The New York Times profiled Andy Kim, the Democrat looking to unseat Tom MacArthur in the 3rd Congressional district. Meanwhile, MacArthur called Kim a cheater for owning a condo in D.C. and a few days ago, somebody suggested Kim was a communist.
Hard to tell what would hurt Kim more among the Pineys of Ocean County: actual evidence of a scandal or an endorsement from the New York Times.
STATS ALERT: Last year Atlantic City had its lowest visitation rate since 1982, back when Engelbert Humperdinck and Tom Jones were regulars on the casino circuit. Hang on I’m being told Engelbert Humperdinck and Tom Jones are still regulars on the casino circuit.
Politico has an interesting story on the chief impediment to Phil Murphy’s agenda in the New Jersey legislature. Namely, the head of his own party there, Steve Sweeney.
A New Jersey Superior Court Judge dismissed the criminal complaint against Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam over a $10,000 campaign donation he allegedly stole from the city Democratic Committee that, allegedly, had just worked to elect him a few months earlier. The whole thing was kind of weird, if you ask me. But it seems to be over. The mayor was holding a press conference as we typed. Elsewhere at the Press of AC, Nicole Leonard takes a dive into the important question of whether New Jersey should adopt an “involuntary-commitment” law that would allow people with an abuse disorder (to opioids mostly) to be sent into treatment against their will.
Ventnor natives Sean Hughes and Emily Van Duyne have started a new podcast called Exit 38, after the ramp on the Garden State Parkway that points you to Atlantic City.