Mr Cheatham
Atlantic City’s very own gadfly extraordinaire, William Cheatham, has long been trying to persuade younger people in the city to join him. Read Bill Sprouse’s profile of Mr Cheatham on Route 40 here and learn some more about the man who’s been married 71 years, including through two testing election campaigns.
East Point lighthouse, via @memorieslostintime on Instagram.
Teaching English
Most people have no idea that many schools in South Jersey have long-running and successful bilingual programs. We visited Pleasantville’s Washington Avenue school and met a bilingual teacher who was once a student in the same school. Elinor Comlay also took a deep dive into the various challenges facing bilingual and English-as-a-second-language programs, ranging from worries about parents being deported, to school funding issues. Also – did you know that school enrollment in general in New Jersey is flat over the last five years, but enrollment of limited-English speakers is up 30 percent? Take a look here.
Dunes
Ventnor’s mayor and commissioners yesterday called a press conference to say that they are still talking to the state to try and minimize the impact of beach replenishment and dune work that is now scheduled for mid-June through mid-July. Businesses are worried that fewer summer-home owners will come down for the season, or might come for fewer weekends. The word from the commissioners is that the city is doing everything it can to persuade the state to reschedule and that’s not entirely impossible – the work depends on special dredgers and has already been held up because of equipment issues. Amy Rosenberg has more details for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Get your taco on – we know you all know that no one in Mexico celebrates cinco de mayo, but there’s one city in Mexico – the home of a battle against the French that took place on 5/5 – where they kind of celebrate it with a battle reenactment. We tried to find some people from that city (Puebla) here in Atlantic County, but we failed. We did, however, find some really great tacos in Atlantic City at El Rincon del Sabor. Order the tacos de alambre, $8 for three stuffed with delicious grilled beef, melted cheese and fresh salsas on the side. Oh, and they’re made with fresh tortillas.
In the rest of today’s news, three of the 20 Republicans who voted no to the American Health Care Act yesterday were from New Jersey (including district 2’s U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo), here’s an Atlantic City rebound story, Cumberland County could get a new jail, and Atlantic County’s Hirsh Singh won’t be allowed to take part in the Republican debates for governor. All that and more below:
Brigantine to Join County in Lawsuit Challenging Casino PILOT–Brigantine plans to join a chorus of Atlantic County municipalities in passing a resolution to join the county in litigation challenging the constitutionality of the state PILOT law, Mayor Phil Guenther said at the May 3 City Council meeting. Guenther and Deputy Mayor Andy Simpson attended a meeting of the Atlantic County Mayors Association April 28 in Brigantine to discuss what action should be taken after the state reneged on its agreement to give the county 13.5 percent of the revenue to be collected as payment in lieu of taxes under the casino PILOT law. Shore News Today
It’s Forest Fire Season. Are We Out of the Woods?–For many in South Jersey, a warm, dry and virtually snowless winter may have been welcome. But John Sanford, a section forest fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, was busy tending to dozens of small fires in February, well before the start of the spring brush-fire season March 15. Press of Atlantic City
South Jersey Loses Another Independent Grocer — And a Pine Hill Friend–After doing business in the heart of Pine Hill for 65 years, Perk's Family Market is shutting down. The popular deli department in the store on Erial Road closed a couple of weeks ago; hand-lettered “40% off” signs are taped to the front windows; many shelves are bare. Philly.com
South Jersey Property, Once Home to Family of Kodak Founders, Now For Sale–The expansive home even had one of the nation's first electric refrigerators, found in the butler's pantry and catering area. Philadelphia Business Journal