Atlantic City
There’s an Atlantic City council meeting tonight and the $80 million debt issuance to cover the remaining casino tax settlements is on the agenda, along with a redevelopment plan for Gardner’s Basin, the Press of Atlantic City reports. Gardner’s Basin would be run under a lease/management plan by Scarborough Properties (an Ocean City based developer behind the Shore Medical Center expansion and other South Jersey projects), according to the agenda. Also in the meeting docs – the Tropicana is going ahead with its elevated pedestrian walkway to connect to (the former) Chelsea hotel.
Bacteria
It wasn’t from the ocean or even Lake Margate/Christie, but two children in Atlantic County contracted bacterial infections from swimming at Port Republic’s beach along Nacote Creek. Both children are now well after treatment with antibiotics, but their parents took to social media to raise awareness of infection symptoms, SNJ Today reports.
Sales Tax
A “storm looms on the horizon” for local sales tax revenues, according to a report published Monday by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. New Jersey doesn’t collect sales tax at the local level, but the report still raises an issue that is relevant around here: stagnant wage growth and high living costs are causing people to spend less money on discretionary items. That has repercussions for debt that is tied to receipts from taxes on such items. And in fact, numbers from the Division of Gaming Enforcement show that luxury tax revenue in Atlantic City, which backs debt issued by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, is still falling (along with hotel and parking fees), even as the casinos tout their recovery. Oh, and a new report says personal income in New Jersey has grown just 1 percent a year since 2007.
In the rest of the headlines from the last 24 hours, police are investigating a death at the Tropicana, Egg Harbor Township High School and a handful of other South Jersey schools have been removed from ‘focus’ school status after successfully narrowing the gap between their highest and lowest performing students, here’s a look at everything you might be swimming with in the ocean, Belmar is thinking about banning tents on the beach, “F**ck you, opioids” says an East Brunswick funeral home director, and New Jersey is cracking down on carcinogens in drinking water. All that and more below:
Hey New Jersey, Ever Wonder What’s Swimming With You in the Ocean?–The summer ocean may be inviting, but we can never truly be at home there, Cape May Beach Patrol Captain Geoff Rife points out. Human beings are only visitors. Newsworks.org
Atlantic City Rescue Mission “Souper Chefs” Prepare For Upcoming Cookbook–Forty soup recipes were prepared and plated over three days for photo shoots for the Atlantic City Rescue Mission’s newest cookbook. Press of Atlantic City
New Jersey Removes ‘Focus’ School Status for EHT, Other South Jersey Schools–Egg Harbor Township School District no longer has schools in need of improvement for the first time in five years, according to an announcement made by the New Jersey Department of Education in June. Both Fernwood Avenue Middle School and Egg Harbor Township High School were identified in 2012 as “focus schools,” after the state found that each had a large achievement gap between its highest performing and the lowest achieving subgroups. Shore News Today
EDA approves tax breaks for Pennsauken firm–TRENTON - A Pennsauken pharmaceutical firm won approval Tuesday for a $4.5 million tax break to reduce the cost of an expansion project. Courier-Post
Law on Drinking Water Infrastructure Requires Upgrades of Leaking Systems–A new state law on drinking water infrastructure lays the groundwork for the renewal of some leaky networks of pipes and pumps, typically operated by small, publicly owned utilities. www.njspotlight.com
Peggy’s Law Enacted to Better Protect Elderly Nursing Home Residents–Starting this fall, elderly residents in New Jersey’s nursing homes and other long-term care facilities could benefit from additional protections designed to ensure law enforcement is looped into possible criminal abuse cases right from the start. www.njspotlight.com
Atlantic City Council to consider Gardner’s Basin redevelopment, $80M bond approval–ATLANTIC CITY — City Council could vote Wednesday on an $80 million bond ordinance to borrow for tax appeal settlements, and to move forward with the redevelopment of Gardner’s Basin. Press of Atlantic City
Altantic County shares services to save Atlantic City money–NORTHFIELD — The Atlantic County Freeholders unanimously approved Tuesday three shared-services agreements with Atlantic City that will save the resort more than $1 million and generate close to that amount for the county. Press of Atlantic City
One Dead, One Injured At Atlantic City Casino–A man is dead and a woman hospitalized after an incident at the Tropicana in Atlantic City on Tuesday night. breakingac.com