Covering Controversy
Bill Sprouse interviewed Seth Grossman a few weeks ago about his (now infamous) comments on diversity. Read his piece. It began with an attempt to understand an Agitprop post by Grossman’s discussion group and an interest in figuring out what the Republican candidate for New Jersey’s Second Congressional District stands for.
Dying Malls
“Shoppers arrived Saturday morning and found what resembles a set for a movie about a suburban apocalypse,” writes The Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan about the death rattle of the Burlington Center mall, one of New Jersey’s “worst” and “saddest” failed shopping centers.
The ACUA’s wind farm in Atlantic City – photo by Matt Marcheski.
On our vacation we visited two malls outside of the US. One in my hometown, Havant, which was dead on arrival when built in 1991 (planners, in their infinite wisdom, demolished the center of a town with Saxon and Roman history to make way for the Meridian Centre, which for some years boasted not much more than the local public library). But it seems to have – after 15+ years – finally settled into the landscape as a hub for local services: opticians, a dentist, a school-uniform shop, a hardware-cum-everything store, a dollar store and a cafe. Then in Montreal, we went to a kid-friendly event at the Complexe Desjardins shopping center. It also seemed to be faring pretty well. The kids were both mesmerized by a fountain/light show near the entrance on the ground floor. We speculated about why this mall was flourishing – maybe it has something to do with the Quebec winters, Bill said, and the need to shop indoors. It’s also worth noting that both the UK and Canadian malls were in the centers of towns. (Suburban malls in the UK and Canada are not immune to the anti-suburbia disease that is killing US malls).
It’s harder to see what the future is for suburban malls like the Burlington Center or even the Hamilton Mall. Revival as office space or even a complete makeover as a mixed-use development including homes might make sense. But surely there will need to be more thought about how to connect these places to South Jersey’s towns…. Anyhow. Get in touch with your thoughts and maybe we can write more about this.
In other news: read this feature about how Brigantine has made its beaches more accessible to wheelchair-users, now is the time to speak up if you don’t want to live near radioactive waste, NJ ranks last among states for cost of doing business, there’s a potential NJ energy battle ahead, and a judge has ruled that James Kauffman’s suicide note is evidence.
For all the other headlines, see below:
Murphy Begins To Wind Down PARCC Testing In NJ Schools–As Gov. Phil Murphy promised, PARCC testing is on the way out for New Jersey schools. But what will replace it and how long that will take remain open questions. www.njspotlight.com
NJ Gives Medicaid Patients With Hep C Earlier Access To Life-Saving Drugs–Tens of thousands of New Jersey Medicaid patients diagnosed with hepatitis C will no longer have to wait until they have liver damage for their insurance to cover potentially life-saving medical treatments, thanks to a new state program and public funding that could also reduce the spread of the infectious disease. www.njspotlight.com
Clinging Jellyfish Advisory Expands To Entire Barnegat Bay–The nonnative jellyfish with a powerful sting has been confirmed in the north-central region of Barnegat Bay, making the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to expand a recreational-use advisory to the entire bay, according to the authority. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Atlantic County Hires Michael Fedorko As New Head Of Public Safety–Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson has appointed Michael Fedorko as the new department head for public safety, officials confirmed Tuesday. Fedorko, 73, has worked all over the state in several capacities, with his latest job the superintendent of the New Jersey/New York Port Authority Police Department. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Off-Duty Sheriff’s Officer Helps Save Man From Ocean–An off-duty Atlantic County sheriff’s officer helped rescue a Philadelphia man from the ocean this weekend. Officer David Nguyen was in Atlantic City at about 2 p.m. Sunday when he saw a man slip and fall off the jetty at Vermont Avenue, Undersheriff Mike Petuskey said. breakingac.com
Lakewood Man Charged With Sexual Abuse Of A Child–A Lakewood man was arrested this weekend in the sexual assault of a child. Agileo Ramirez, 31, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated criminal sexual contact and sexual assault in the abuse that went on for the past two years, Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato said Tuesday. breakingac.com
NJ Braces For Dangerous Rip Currents–Tropical Storm Chris is expected to become Hurricane Chris later Tuesday as it continues to spin far off the coast of North Carolina. Forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said Chris — which should become the second hurricane of the relatively slow 2018 Atlantic hurricane season — made very little movement during the past 24 hours but is expected to track north and east Tuesday into early Wednesday. www.nj.com
Video Of NJ College Student’s Rape Was Posted On SnapChat, Lawsuit Claims–A Stockton University student was incapacitated when a man raped her in her dormitory in 2017 and only realized it when she came across videos of the assault on SnapChat in the morning, a federal lawsuit claims. The young woman from Brick filed suit in Camden this past Friday, seeking damages from the now-25-year-old man, Stockton University, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, and other unnamed individuals. www.nj.com
Gloucester County House Explosion Was Caused By Natural Gas, Officials Say–The house explosion that killed a Newfield couple and destroyed their two-story house on Saturday was caused by natural gas, Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto said Tuesday. John Paladino, 73, and his wife Carole, 72, died early Saturday after a blast ripped through their home and pierced the morning calm of their Newfield neighborhood, sending debris flying for blocks and damaging nearby houses. www.philly.com
Hard Rock Casino And Bet365 Form Partnership To Be NJ’s 5th Sports-Betting Site–Hard Rock has signed a partnership with Bet365 to offer sports betting at its new casino on the Atlantic City Boardwalk as soon as it receives approval from New Jersey gaming regulators. Neither company has announced the deal, but its existence was revealed in correspondence from the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, first reported by PlayNJ. www.philly.com