High School Legacies & The Resonance of Cobra Kai

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The following article is a journey. It starts with The Karate Kid and its latest sequel, Cobra Kai, and delves into the life and suicide of my brother, Albert John Mallen, Jr. Along the way, I touch on his fame in youth sports, the sudden death of our father, and my brother’s multiple exposures to trauma as a first responder with the Atlantic City Fire Department. It is my hope that this journey inspires reflection and conversation.

Atlantic City Seeking Public Input On Flood Plan

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Street flooding in Atlantic City has never been so bad, according to fire chief Scott Evans. Evans and others are working on a plan they hope will help the city tackle some flooding by raising houses, improving bulkheads and installing stormwater pumps. The “Atlantic City Floodplain Management Plan”, unveiled at a public meeting earlier this month, is designed to help city residents qualify for a bigger discount on flood insurance premiums.

Atlantic City’s Second Wind Farm In Holding Pattern

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An offshore wind farm planned for Atlantic City’s coast is still waiting for approval. The wind farm would be the city’s second since a pioneering onshore project in 2005 started five turbines spinning to power a county wastewater treatment plant.
Gov. Phil Murphy in January signed an executive order designed to incentivize further the development of offshore wind farms in New Jersey, but companies interested in building an offshore wind farm are waiting to hear who will be allowed to do so. The rules have yet to move on from the desk of the state’s Board of Public Utilities.

‘Best Barber in the World’

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Abdullah Anderson Sr., who is 48, cuts hair five days a week at Omar and Abdullah’s Hair Bazaar at 1208 Atlantic Avenue. He opens his shop at six a.m. two days a week (the other three days he opens at eight), and he works until six or eight p.m. every day.

Where The American Dreamers Work

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You’d be hard pressed to say it was a thriving Main Street, but the barbershop, Mexican restaurant, pizza place, tobacco store, mini-mart and even the closed-looking gift store are all open on the short span of Atlantic City’s Ventnor Ave, between Harrisburg and Trenton. In an age of dying malls and online shopping, something is working here.

Breathe, It’s After School

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Laurie Egrie is walking down the hallway of Sovereign Avenue School carrying a cardboard box filled with odd little balls and popsicle sticks with notelets stuck to them, and she’s wedged an easel-sized writing pad under one arm. The corridor is half dark. School let out 15 minutes ago.

Who Are You Calling a Contractor? – Tuesday’s Roundup

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eorge Norcross has lawyered up – or his company, Conner Strong & Buckelew has – to tell us all that the task force investigating recent EDA credits and grants (many of which went to Norcross-related companies) was “unlawfully constituted” the Inquirer reports. NJ Spotlight reports the lawyers also say the process is “tainted” and political retribution.

Autism Rates, Recovery Coaches, Wrongful Convictions – Friday’s Roundup

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Autism Rates A report published by the Centers for Disease Control said one out of every 23 4-year-old boys in New Jersey is diagnosed with autism, and New Jersey preschool children have the highest autism rates ever recorded in the U.S . The study looked at autism rates across seven states. Recovery Coaches The Press has a cool story about a group of recovery coaches who are working to “fill in the gaps of substance abuse treatment and outreach” in Atlantic City, as Colt Shaw puts it. The Recovery Force of Atlantic County is looking to get office space above St. Mike’s Church.