Greystone Hospital, Hefty Price Tags For Managers and the Casino Union Weighs in on the AC Takeover Plan, in today’s Route Forty Roundup
Local 54 President Bob McDevitt issued a statement supporting the state’s takeover of Atlantic City, saying he did not want the town to “flat-line any longer.” Meanwhile an appeals court ruled the Taj Mahal casino could break its contract with union workers.
$2.6 Million
That’s the amount Atlantic City’s state-appointed emergency managers are charging for a year’s work, according to invoices compiled by Reuters. “It is not clear what taxpayers have to show for it,” Hillary Russ reports.
North Jersey Casino Plan Advances
The state senate budget committee voted 9-2 in support of a proposal to expand casino gambling to North Jersey, NJ.com’s Brent Johnson reports. Senator Jeff Van Drew, D.-Cape May, said Atlantic City would become “a dust bowl” if North Jersey casinos become reality.
Cumberland County homeless director Diane Strozyk held a workshop for volunteers seeking to count accurately the numbers of homeless people in South Jersey, NJ.com’s Don Woods reports. The count’s set for Jan. 27. This year the survey’s emphasis is on homeless veterans.
The South Jersey Times’ editorial board pens an irate, kind of, follow-up to yesterday’s news that Rowan University spent $925,000 on a house for its president, noting that it’s “silly” to pretend a university is not going to provide nice digs for the president, gratis. “[I]t’s all part of the compensation package these days,” STEB writes.
The Howler wonders if that’s not exactly the problem. NJ’s foreclosure rate, btw: tops in the nation.
161!
It’s the number of bald eagle pairs nesting in New Jersey and NJ Spotlight’s number of the day. Back in the 80s, there was only one.
For heftier fare from Spotlight, attempt Charles Ouslander’s Modest Proposal for fixing the pension mess. “The state’s abject failure to properly fund the various state-administered pension plans is a bipartisan disaster committed by both the Legislature and several governors over the past 20 years.”
The iconic Greystone Psychiatric Hospital was demolished finally in October, amid protests by preservationists. You can watch it heartbreakingly put back together in this spectacular drone footage, courtesy of Jody Johnson at GlideBy JJ. Hat tip to Weird NJ.
Gloucester County freeholders floated a plan that would provide two years of college free at Rowan to interns who work for the county in a department that aligns with their majors. I made a mouthful of that. Read the story.
South Jersey congressman Donald Norcross introduced a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. “CEOs at major corporations earn 74,000 percent than the American minimum wage. That’s not a level playing field,” he said. (CBS via Politico)
The Holgate section of LBI is vulnerable while dune construction is on hiatus, someone said. The Asbury Park Press reports.
The number of cycling deaths in New Jersey jumped to 18 in 2015, the highest number since 2008 and a 64% increase from the year before, The Record’s John Cichowski reports. Overall, road fatalities have been falling, but fatalities to walkers and bikers have remained “stubbornly high.”
Egg Harbor Township could be putting a new liquor license up for sale, The Current’s Laura Stetser reports.
Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. would expand its refugee program to include more people fleeing violence in Central America, amid a backlash over raids and deportations of families, the Guardian reports.
This dude stole a lot of stuff.