Supermarkets, Wind Farms, Football etc. – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Atlantic City’s getting a new supermarket, probably it will be a ShopRite-affiliated supermarket, probably it will be back on Baltic Avenue near Ohio, where CRDA owns one of its many parking lots. If it seems like only two months ago that CRDA approved a consulting contract to explore the issue, bear in mind the consultants seem to have worked even faster than that. Sentence first, verdict after! As they say. The state BPU has rejected, for a third time, a planned 25-megawatt windfarm off the coast of Atlantic City.

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Police, Dancers and Sinatra v. Dino – Friday’s Roundup

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Minority Officers
Joe Atmontavage reports on the lawsuit the Atlantic City Police union, PBA Local 24, filed to halt promotions of officers, which seems on the surface like an odd thing for a union to do, but the union is arguing the promotions would violate the Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act (aka the state takeover) and don’t follow the Civil Service Act (if I read that right). In May, when eight Caucasian officers were promoted as captains and deputy chiefs, the union did not object to the process and wrote a letter affirming the “stance of the PBA is to remain neutral and not become involved in a matter which will ultimately pit member against member.” This time around there are 14 minority officers up for promotions. Also, apart from Chief Henry White, there are no minority officers above the rank of lieutenant. One of the minority candidates (if I’m reading this right) filed a motion saying the union’s turnaround is discriminatory.

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Adventures in Public-Private Partnerships – Thursday’s Roundup

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$900 Million
The City of Atlantic City City Council met for the first time since the mayor’s house was raided by the FBI, and Amy Rosenberg reports, on twitter, that the Council President Marty Small (who lost a bet and had to wear a Cowboys blanket) met with developers on a $900 million non-casino project. https://twitter.com/amysrosenberg/status/1072993789957074945

Who remembers Glenn Straub’s Phoenix Project ($500 million) when he was going to bring “extreme sports,” super yachts, equestrian entertainment and a bunch of other weird sh*t to the Southeast Inlet or Bader Field? Something tells me the current dudes are more credible. Supermarket
In possibly related news, the City Council President Small said the governmental and administrative affairs committee, which he chairs, met with CRDA Monday to discuss a possible 2019 groundbreaking on a major supermarket! (Video here: 17:30 mark)

Close readers of this space will recall that Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, in an interview with ROI-NJ last week, said Atlantic City residents are “yearning” for a suburban-style super-center supermarket or something, since we lack the “diversity” of produce available in Somers Point or Absecon or something.

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beach snow

Sick Time, Supermarkets, ICE + Immigrants – Friday’s Roundup

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Josh Vadell is one of ten Atlantic City Police officers suing over breach of contract after they were not paid for unused sick time.

The state capped payouts for unused time at $15,000, arguing, if I remember correctly, it had the right under the Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act if doing so would assist in the stabilization and recovery of Atlantic City.

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pleasantville sunset

Mayor Gilliam, Snow, Mystery Christmas Tree – Wednesday’s Roundup

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Lynda Cohen has a story on Frank Gilliam’s latest travails, and it involves an interview with Craig Callaway, which makes it extra-worth reading. Also there’s an interview with Nicky Scarfo’s old lawyer, which also makes it extra-worth your time. Moral of the story seems to be: The Mayor’s in some genuine sh*t and that sh*t is speeding fanward rapidly.

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