Gardner’s Basin
Atlantic City Council voted 5-4 after an hour’s long discussion to proceed with a lease-and-management plan for Gardner’s Basin, the city’s 11.6-acre public park that is home to the Atlantic City Aquarium and Gilchrist restaurant. The plan would hand over running of the site to local developer Scarborough Properties and allow them to add a new restaurant, a water taxi, mini golf and other facilities, Erin Serpico reports for The Press of Atlantic City.
East Point Lighthouse by Bill Wranich (@bilwran on Instagram)
Costco
An existing Shop-Rite lawsuit against a Cherry Hill ordinance the supermarket chain says was tailored to open doors to Costco could void the recently-approved redevelopment plan that green lighted the warehouse store’s construction, Kevin Riordan reports for The Inquirer. Also – read Matt Skoufalos of NJPen on residents’ concerns about the project, which is set to be built (future legal challenges aside) on a site earmarked for a mixed residential-and-commercial and transit-focused development that would have given Cherry Hill the downtown it never had.
Dr. Kauffman
A grand jury has indicted Dr. James Kauffman on weapons and obstruction charges after he pulled a gun when investigators came to his office with a search warrant, Lynda Cohen reports for BreakingAC.com. The investigators had a warrant related to an investigation into prescription benefits fraud that has since led to five guilty pleas. Kauffman’s warrant – unlike others issued for the same investigation – also mentioned homicide. Kauffman’s wife April Kauffman was found killed at the Linwood house they shared in 2012. The homicide case has never been solved. Cohen reports: “The investigation is separate from the one into his wife’s killing, but could be helped, those close to the case have said.”
In the rest of the day’s news, Lakewood Township’s planning board is coming under pressure to control development, a Cape May-based National Guard squad is heading to Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma’s arrival, ‘beach-spreading’ (the Inquirer-coined phenomenon by which beachgoers use beach items to take up more space than they need) could go into the dictionary, and a deadly mosquito-borne equine illness has killed a Cumberland County horse and has officials urging South Jersey residents to vaccinate their pets. All that and more below:
After Two Years, South Jersey Family’s Dog Found via Microchip–After going missing more than two years ago, a local pup is finally back home where she belongs. Dog owner Geneva Boone has been hoping for a miracle and this week her dreams came true when officials with the Gloucester County Animal Shelter called to say her little Princess was coming home. www.snjtoday.com
Jewish Family Services Awarded $15,000 to Boost Food Pantry–A Margate organization has received some much-needed funding to help support its community outreach programs. Officials with the Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced on Wednesday, September 6th, that it has awarded the Jewish Family Services agency with a grant for $15,000 to fund an intake department and food pantry. www.snjtoday.com
Gloucester City Arts and Heritage Festival is Passion of Local Woman–When she was voted out as president of the Gloucester City historical society nearly a decade ago, Mary Lou Adams felt certain that her role presenting this blue-collar Camden County town in a more cultural light was far from over. “I just knew I had to keep going because I didn’t want to give up showing the world what a great place this really is — how much history and culture is really here,” said Adams, 69, a retired human services worker. www.philly.com
Woman Surrenders Cocaine, Asks Millville Police for Help–A local woman surrendered herself, her crack cocaine, and her cocaine pipe to police Sunday, saying she needed help. Courier-Post
Feds: Menendez Sold Senate Office ‘For a Life of Luxury He Couldn’t Afford’–U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez used the power of his office to advance the “financial interests and personal whims” of a wealthy Florida eye doctor who bribed the senator with access to a lifestyle that read “like a travel brochure for the rich and famous,” a prosecutor said Wednesday in federal court. Philly.com