A Hot-Pink Middle Finger
We wrote on Friday about an Atlantic City building that at various points was going to be a Sbarro or a Chili’s or a Crackerbarrel or a Hooter’s and a sports bar and is now a boarded-up hot-pink middle finger to Atlantic City’s de facto planning agency, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. And it is the subject of a lawsuit. If that doesn’t make you want to weep or laugh (in a sad kind of way), consider that the building in question was once the Patsy Wallace building, from which local residents obtained non-perishables as recently as Superstorm Sandy.
In case you missed it, we also looked at local after-school programs that are on the block as a result of planned federal education spending cuts.
Fentanyl
More than 30 pounds of one of the world’s most deadly opioids, Fentantyl, was recovered from several raids by law enforcement – in South Jersey, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
AC Takeover Latest
NJTV has a fresh roundup of the speeches from Friday’s rally to support Atlantic City’s public safety workers, which began just minutes after a court ruled the state has authority to tear up the unions’ contracts under the takeover legislation that gave it control of the city. Meanwhile, former Atlantic County freeholder Colin Bell – who is running for state senate – is taking a hard anti-takeover line, Observer reports.
In the rest of the news from the weekend and this morning, read how South Jersey religious leaders came together to speak out against hate speech, how Atlantic County families are handling shooting deaths and how much money Democratic Governor hopeful Phil Murphy has handed out to state and local Dem. organizations. All that and more below:
Trump Immigration Orders Worry NJ Hospitals–Beyond the nation's airports and borders, the effects of President Trump's executive orders on immigration have reached into hospitals in New Jersey and around the country – touching doctors, medical residents, staff and patients. "It's hard to imagine a venue where the executive orders on immigration would have a bigger impact than a hospital," said Lori A Nessel, a professor at Seton Hall Law School and director of its Center for Social Justice, speaking Thursday in Paterson to 150 staffers, students and physicians of St Joseph's Healthcare System. North Jersey
Legendary Rock Band The Who to Perform at Boardwalk Hall this Summer–One of rock’s most legendary and defining bands, The Who, announced today that they will return to Atlantic City to perform at the city’s historic venue, Boardwalk Hall, for one night only on Saturday, July 22nd. Tickets will go on sale to the public beginning Friday, March 24 at 11AM ET. CRDA | Casino Reinvestment Development Authority | Atlantic City
Porchfest Music Festival Comes to the Jersey Shore–On Sunday, June 11th from 1:00-5:30pm, the streets of Ventnor and Ventnor Heights will be filled with music, as many of South Jersey’s finest musicians sing, play and dance on their porches and front stoops. To hear them, grab a map at the many information stations and then walk or bike around the neighborhood to take in the sounds of this free event. www.pr.com
Art Walk Arrives in Brigantine to Preview Summerlong Event–About 20 Atlantic County artists set up in Brigantine Sunday afternoon with their work on display to give a sneak peek of what’s to come this summer. Press of Atlantic City
Atlantic County to Promote Tourism Beyond Atlantic City–Atlantic County officials are embarking on a countywide marketing campaign for the first time in decades, arguing the area can no longer rely on Atlantic City’s brand Press of Atlantic City
Trump wants to kill this 40-year-old Jersey Shore program–The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium helps Shore towns, teaches school kids and funds university research on the state's coastline. NJ.com
Christie’s drug-crisis fight: How is New Jersey paying for it?–As he pursues a wide-ranging agenda to carry out his promise to battle the addiction crisis during his final year in office, Gov. Christie is looking beyond the state budget to bankroll the effort. Philly.com
‘Most active’ ACPD explosives-detection K9 Boomer dies, police say–ATLANTIC CITY — For the past three years, when the community needed extra protection, Boomer, an explosives detection dog with the Police Department, always seemed to be there. Press of Atlantic City