Dormant Casinos
Dormant casinos can be dangerous as the collapse of a chunk of the entranceway ceiling at the Atlantic Club showed earlier this week. Steve Ruddock of PlayNJ takes a look at Atlantic City’s other closed casinos and ponders on the lack of maintenance at Trump Plaza. Ruddock argued that the Atlantic Club is out of the way at one end of the boardwalk. Meanwhile, pedestrians are constantly walking under Trump Plaza to get to The Walk outlets to the Boardwalk. (And there is already broken glass there from where someone clumsily removed Trump’s name from a sign inside the former casino’s elevated walkway).
Prescription Probe
The U.S. Attorney’s office for New Jersey on Thursday announced the ninth guilty plea in the ongoing investigation into prescription benefit fraud in and around Atlantic County. The latest plea was made by pharmaceutical representative Richard Zappala. Zappala, from Northfield, received almost $1.5 million in kickbacks tied to $4.3 million of prescription charges paid by the state’s pharmacy benefits administrator. You can read Zappala’s plea here and the information here.
A Wawa’s Last Waltz
“Those of us who are old, or old-fashioned, or committed to academic notions of the mom-and-pop ideal, may fail to appreciate the hold a chain convenience store can have on the hearts of the faithful. They’re supposed to be indistinguishable. But people develop their attachments—to the people who work there, the people who shop there, hold the door, become part of their lives as we make it part of our daily routine. I don’t know if this is a triumph of the human spirit or of corporate branding, but on Wednesday, people wept for the closing of a Wawa—their Wawa—even though there are two others within three miles and probably another twenty offshore. Those of us who are old, or old-fashioned, or committed to academic notions of the mom-and-pop ideal, may fail to appreciate the hold a chain convenience store can have on the hearts of the faithful. They’re supposedto be indistinguishable. But people develop their attachments—to the people who work there, the people who shop there, hold the door, become part of their lives as we make it part of our daily routine. I don’t know if this is a triumph of the human spirit or of corporate branding, but on Wednesday, people wept for the closing of a Wawa—their Wawa—even though there are two others within three miles and probably another twenty offshore.” Read more via Route 40
In the rest of the day’s headlines, the army corps will be done in Margate by May, Christie’s appointees to a taskforce reviewing property taxes yesterday endorsed the unauthorized release of a report that appears to show the interest-arbitration cap that checks police and firefighters’ salary increases has reduced property taxes BUT some experts think this might backfire (NJSpotlight reports), Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority will operate independently of the regional grid by swapping its wastewater for electricity, Dr James Kauffman pleaded not guilty on Thursday to guns and obstruction charges, Zara opened at the Cherry Hill mall, and read how a heartbroken doomsday prepper from South Jersey is helping save hurricane victims. All that and more below:
Fashion Giant Zara Opens First South Jersey Store–hose excited by last year's announcement that international fashion company Zara was opening its first South Jersey store will have to wait no longer to paw through the trendy, fast-fashion clothing on the racks. The giant 26,000-square-foot store opened in the Cherry Hill Mall Thursday. www.nj.com
Atlantic City’s Dormant Casino Problem is Becoming Dangerous–Some of the city’s largest, and most well-known structures sit vacant. And in at least one case, is falling apart. www.playnj.com
Cape May Zoo Unveils Baby Camel–The Cape May County Park & Zoo unveiled a baby camel to the public this week. The camel, named Walter, is of the Bactrian species with two humps that came from the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Kauffman Pleads Not Guilty On Gun, Obstruction Charges–James Kauffman pleaded not guilty Thursday to gun and obstruction charges. The former endocrinologist appeared briefly in court, the once-brown hair that rings his balding head now pure white. breakingac.com
Wastewater for Electricity: South Jersey Utility in Swap Deal With Trash-to-Energy Plant–Camden County is putting its waste to work on overtime. The Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, the agency that treats most of the county’s sewage, launched a project Thursday to swap one million gallons a day of effluent from its Camden wastewater treatment plant for energy produced by a nearby power plant, whose primary fuel source is trash. www.philly.com
How a Heartbroken Doomsday Prepper who Lost Everything is now Saving Hurricane Victims–You probably wouldn't expect to find a doomsday prepper's compound at the end of a nice cul-de-sac off of Tuckerton Road, otherwise lined with large houses with pools. www.nj.com
Margate Tells Residents Army Corps Will be Gone by May–Residents on Tuesday told the Board of Commissioners they want the Army Corps of Engineers off their beach by spring, and city officials said they should be gone by May, after which the city would be responsible for its new beach drainage system. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Feds Net 9th Conviction in $25M State Benefits Prescription Scam–A ninth man admitted his role in a scam that defrauded the state health benefit programs out of millions of dollars. www.nj.com