Route 40 (https://rtforty.com/author/sprouseb/page/4/)
Guy Gargan at the Press has a nice story on the fundraiser for Stockton’s crew program where they honored rowing coach Stan Bergman and announced the Alton and Endicott families will provide funds for two new boats, which cost about $40,000 a piece, the Press reports.
New Jersey A.G. Gurbir Grewal is suing ExxonMobil, which is the ninth-largest corporation on the planet or something, for dumping toxic waste in a tidal zone in East Greenwich Township, NJ.com reports.
You may recall Chris Christie let Exxon pay $225 million to settle a $9 billion lawsuit in 2015 when he wanted to be president.
The old Masonic Temple on Hartford Avenue in Chelsea is for sale, and has been for a while, per the big sign on the side of it.
In the 90s, the building was used as headquarters for the Atlantic City Police Department, when it was known as the “Temple of Doom.”
Lobbyists spent $2.8 million last year to stop legislation to give PSE&G $300 million in subsidies. We did that sh*t for free, so let this be exhibit 11,000 in the PowerPoint presentation I am preparing for myself titled: Why You are in the Wrong Business.
Phil Murphy made his budget speech yesterday and the valuable Spotlight says it got a “far less hostile response from fellow Democrats than his budget last year,” while Matt Friedman at Politico says, “Senate President Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Coughlin, both houses’ majority leaders and both budget chairs all said they were in a better place than last year.”
The photographer Brian Rose drove to Atlantic City in a Zip car from New York in November 2016, not long after the election. He started taking pictures around town with a Wanderlust Travelwide 4×5 camera to which he’d attached a 90mm Linhof lens, second-hand.
On an early visit, in the winter of 2017, he estimates, he set up in the South Inlet in the vicinity of Rhode Island Avenue and pointed his camera at the Revel casino.
David Danzis at the Press reports the city cut the amount it pays in legal services by $500,000 for the upcoming year, which is something we’d been meaning to follow up on since Council President Marty Small mentioned it in a council meeting a few months back. They’ve also not approved a change order for legal services since 2016, according to Small.
David Danzis at the Press of AC reports on Carl Icahn, who has effectively taken control of Caesars Entertainment Corp. after getting three new directors on the board–maybe four, depending on how the CEO search works out.
Tax Credit Money
Politico has a fun story about the sale of economic opportunity tax credits that the EDA likes to give out, which jumped from $20 million in 2013 to $200 million in 2017. (paywall)
The idea is that the state gives you, Mister innovate-y jobs-create-y person, a “credit” for one dozen dollars off your next tax bill in exchange for blessing us with your business. But lets say you’re a small business that pays less than a dozen dollars a year in taxes (like Amazon, for instance). You can sell your credits today on the open market, usually for 90% of the face value. “Unfortunately, during our debate about the tax credits, the whole idea of selling them is usually deep in the background.
We heard this morning that Marilyn Schmidt died late last night. She bought the Chatsworth General Store and almost certainly saved it from ruin, as part of a long and interesting life. She was a hoot to hang out with. We’ll miss her.