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A civil jury found former Atlantic City police Officer John Devlin used excessive force in the 2013 arrest of Steven Stadler and found the Atlantic City Police Department had policies in place that allowed violence by its officers to go unchecked. Two other officers in the case, Glenn Anthony Abrams Jr. and William Moore, were cleared.
An abbreviated Roundup today while we’re juggling paid work and some travel, but you will probably want to read this story about a developer looking to bring a recording studio (and offices) back to the Camden building where the Victor Talking Machine Co made musical history. You might also want to cast your eye over this story on how the wind power industry in NJ is trying to pivot (with a spotlight on the planned project not far from Atlantic City), plus read the latest on the AC Democrats’ plan to bring charges against Mayor Frank Gilliam.
Today’s Roundup is abbreviated since we are in the process of celebrating the long weekend by moving our household (two kids, one cat, endless boxes of accumulated items etc) out of the freezing-cold Ventnor beach house and into (a hopefully warmer place in) Atlantic City. So here’s the brief lowdown on what’s going on around town.
It’s A Small Town Thing
Local business person and all-around man about town Mike Einwechter has been charged by Ventnor police with stealing funds raised at a benefit concert he organized for the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. The outrage on Facebook was deafening (and ongoing). Einwechter – who has a large social media presence – apologized there and said he was talking to a lawyer, before logging out of his account. This is your daily reminder that South Jersey is a Small Town place. And that it’s always worth questioning nonprofit organizations. There are nonprofits running our hospitals and bidding for government contracts that receive much less scrutiny than some guy everyone in a small town has a story about.
The incisive Amy Rosenberg reports on Sheila Oliver, who could be the most powerful official in Atlantic City after being named head of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs by the next governor. Oliver was elected lt. governor November 7.
One of Atlantic County’s most criminally untapped resources is its train line connection to Philadelphia. (Of course, part of the reason it’s criminally untapped is because years of under-investment have rendered the train service infrequent and slow.) Now a new report published Tuesday by the Regional Plan Association says that local zoning that prohibits multifamily development outside train stations is a major obstacle to expanding transit-oriented development, particularly in New Jersey.
A significant chunk of the $5.7 million spent on the past election by the NJEA’s Garden State Forward super PAC came from membership dues. “Many members were under the impression that the money spent on the race was only from voluntary donations,” found NJTV’s Leah Mishkin.
A pharmaceutical sales representative from Galloway on Monday became the 11th person to plead guilty in an ongoing investigation into health insurance fraud in South Jersey. Most of the guilty pleas so far have come from pharmaceutical reps and other people who are not public employees, as Amy Rosenberg reports for The Inquirer. The investigation, however, hinges around millions of dollars in prescriptions that were written for teachers, police and firemen in and around this area, according to documents released by the U.S. attorney’s office for the district of New Jersey.
There are miles and miles of wide (more than six feet) firebreaks in the pinelands, often built and maintained by local residents, as well as paid contractors. But the Pinelands Commission is considering a change to its Comprehensive Management Plan that would require a permit for the construction and maintenance of any firebreak wider than six feet.
uperior Court Judge Julio Mendez on Monday denied a request by Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian’s campaign to be present when the county’s 6,100 vote-by-mail ballots are reviewed by staff of the Board of Elections, reports Amy Rosenberg for The Inquirer. The campaign had wanted to challenge ballots it contends were improperly submitted – but Mendez did set some particular requirements on the election board to safeguard mail-in ballot documentation.