Lawyers Win AC Takeover, AC Police Get Pay Cuts & Wind – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Lawyers Win AC Takeover
Many people predicted this, but with news yesterday that Atlantic County will follow the Atlantic City Fire Department in taking the state of New Jersey to court over the constitutionality of the state’s AC takeover, it really feels like the only winners now are the lawyers. Taxpayers, who will be footing the bill doubly for the state’s lawyers and the county’s lawyers, are the losers in this equation. We’ll be watching closely to see what burden this places on local budgets – get in touch with us via social media (links above) or email if you have thoughts or comments. AC Police Get Pay Cuts
Would it be too much to hope for a state takeover team that at least had some class? Their complete lack of it was on display yesterday, when it became apparent that – in the middle of a state of emergency – they imposed pay and incentive cuts across the Atlantic City Police Department.

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Water, AC Public Safety Campaign, Family Entertainment Project – Tuesday’s Roundup

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Water
How is it where you are? We are watching trash floating down the street in Ventnor. The rain has eased in the last hour, but the storm warning is in effect through 1 pm today.  If you want to keep up with the latest, The Press of Atlantic City has a rolling weather service on its page here. AC Public Safety Campaign
“Don’t Gamble On Safety” is the message of a publicity campaign supporting Atlantic City’s public safety workers, who are facing the threat of significant cuts to their contracts under the state takeover.

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Atlantic County’s Zombie Homes, Snow, Offshore Wind – Monday’s Roundup

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Atlantic County’s Zombie Homes
There are more than 4,600 foreclosed and vacant homes in Atlantic County, also known as “zombie” homes. We put together an interactive map so you can drill down and see what your corner of the county looks like. Atlantic City has had a lot of attention for its foreclosure crisis but actually the foreclosure rate at the start of the year in Galloway and Egg Harbor Township was twice that of AC. The full story, with the map, is here. Snow
No one seems to be at all sure quite how much snow we could see overnight and into tomorrow, but it is going to be very wet and windy starting from this evening as the Nor’easter rolls in.

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Regulating AirBnB, Pinelands Pipeline Problems, Boardwalk Beans – Thursday’s Roundup

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Regulating AirBnB
New Jersey is looking at regulating and taxing the ‘home-sharing industry’, which is dominated by AirBnB, and matters in a lot of ways to South Jersey, where both formal and informal hospitality is still a huge industry. The Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee has recommended two bills to the legislature – you can read more about it here, via the New Jersey Law Journal. Pinelands Pipeline Problems
One of the companies behind the project to build a controversial gas pipeline through the Pinelands in South Jersey is considering selling its stake, NJ Spotlight reports. The company – Newark-based PSEG Power – says it wants to focus on its core business. It’s not clear what ramifications (if any) this could have for the pipeline project, which was recently approved by the Pinelands Commission.

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Blueberry Farmers’ Visa Worries, AC Auction, Craft Brewing – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Blueberry Farmers’ Visa Worries
It’s that time of year again – South Jersey’s blueberry farmers are talking to employment agencies, trying to scramble together enough of a crew to hand pick their fragile crop. Farmers in the area have struggled in recent years to find enough workers with legitimate temporary work visas and this year they are even more worried. A third-generation Hammonton farmer told CBS here the immigration restrictions could push him out of business. AC Auction
There is another Atlantic City property auction tomorrow (starting at 10 am, lasting until properties are sold). Details are here, via the website of AC Auctions, which is running the event.

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Samson’s Slap on the Wrist, Historical House Demolition, AC Conflicts – Tuesday’s Roundup

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Samson’s Slap on the Wrist
David Samson, former attorney general and ex-Port Authority boss who requested United Airlines put on a special flight to take him from Newark to his weekend home in South Carolina, was sentenced yesterday to a year of house arrest (which he will spend on his “estate” in SC, WNYC reported). He pleaded guilty to felony bribery charges that carried a 10-year prison sentence. When you spend time in Mexico reporting on government corruption, you spend a lot of time listening to people tell you that their justice system is broken. Politicians and public servants go unpunished for bad behavior and that creates an environment that feeds influence-peddling, nepotism and bribery. It won’t be the last time I say it: New Jersey and Mexico have more in common than a lot of people think.

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Brown Park, Safe Communities, Boardwalk Starbucks, Dunes – Monday’s Roundup

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Brown Park
Atlantic City’s Brown Park, which has drawn headlines for all the wrong reasons in the past, is now standing testament to some incredible community work in the city. The combined wills of planning director Elizabeth Terenik, Councilman Kaleem Shabazz and several others, plus a financial contribution from Stockton Island Campus developer ACDevCo and some government funding, have performed nothing short of a total facelift on the park and the work isn’t even finished yet. Read The Philadelphia Inquirer piece by Amy Rosenberg here and check out the pictures. Safe Communities
On the subject of working across city communities to make places safer for everyone, you should watch this piece by SNJ Today on the Coalition For A Safe Community. The project, which began in Atlantic City and Pleasantville, has recently expanded to Galloway Township and Egg Harbor City and there are plans to add more municipalities in Atlantic County.

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Howler, Atlantic City Optimism, NJ Lobbying Dollars – Friday’s Roundup

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Howler
The Route 40 Howler is back with a piece here looking at how the state’s lawyer in court (against the firefighters) this week suggested that one reason the state wanted to take over Atlantic City was so that it could “come after” the firefighters. The police and the county’s public employees are also in the state’s sights. “We have to be able to go after everybody,” explained the state’s lawyer. Atlantic City Optimism
Away from the firefighters’ lawsuit, there was a tangible dose of optimism injected into the city with the news of the Taj Mahal purchase. Read Amy Rosenberg’s piece for The Philadelphia Inquirer here and The Press of Atlantic City piece, from Nicholas Huba and Erin Serpico, here.

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Taj Mahal Refit, Stockton Sustainable Farm, Tennessee Ave Project – Thursday’s Roundup

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Taj Mahal Refit
Hard Rock International, along with the Morris and Jingoli families, on Wednesday said it will pump $300 million into the Taj Mahal to reopen it as a casino – which is obviously HUGE news for Atlantic City and Atlantic County, since about 3,000 jobs were lost when the property closed in October. It’s such a big deal that Gov. Christie wanted his share of credit for it. The project will also likely be something of a bonanza for the construction industry (hence, presumably, Jingoli and Morris’ involvement) since casino building projects run on the pricey side, especially when they involve turning minarets and elephants into neon guitars. We tried to extrapolate from financial statements how much will be spent on construction and how much the Hard Rock team actually paid for the property (probably not a lot, was our conclusion) – read that story here. Stockton Sustainable Farm
A little while back we hung out with some Stockton students and employees on a small corner of their Galloway Township campus where they are conducting a big experiment in farming, without running water or electricity.

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AC’s Executive Takeover Order, NJ Budget Rundown, The Rt 9 Object – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Executive Takeover Order
AC’s firefighters and the state met in an Atlantic City courtroom on Tuesday to make their case for or against (respectively) job cuts and contract changes. The state’s attorney Ron Israel (who’s billing the state – ie taxpayers – $350 an hour) said last year’s Stabilization Act gives the governor “nonnegotiable prerogative” to change contracts in the city (except for teachers…) Judge Mendez asked, then, whether he had any role in the case before him. Israel said “Respectfully, no.” The judge seemed bemused. The firefighters’ lawyer compared the state’s action to President Trump’s order on immigration.

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