Russian Invasion
Lynda Cohen has the fun details on what happens when 300 Russians get stuck at the airport after their plane is forced to land in Atlantic City on the way to Cuba. Spoiler: A translator from Stockton helps write thank you notes!
Election Spending
Matt Friedman reports that New Jersey Republicans seeking reelection to the House of Representatives (the one in D.C.) have been out-fundraised by at least one Democrat in each of the three districts where they’re running, citing the latest reports from the Federal Election Commission. But how much fundraising happens that’s doesn’t show up in those FEC reports, you ask? I have no idea, I respond. What are you anyway, a lawyer?
Friedman says “most of the money likely won’t be directed at the Republican incumbent” because there are primaries in the way. And anyway the Koch brothers are just getting started.
Beach Access
The intrepid Wayne Parry goes looking for the historical roots of a new bill to guarantee beach access to locals in stowns where there’s a long history of “trying to keep outsiders off their beaches.”
This isn’t a huge problem down here–though it’s not hard to imagine it could become one in some municipalities (*looks at Longport*)–but it’s not every day you get to watch Parry write about the Roman Emperor Justinian, and the ancient idea that our “bays and rivers are held in a trust for the public, which has the right to swim in them, or sit or walk along their shores.”
In fact, I think Emperor Justinian sponsored a version of this bill that passed but then Christie pocket-vetoed it.
For more news from across the region, see below:
N.J. hired a new company to handle library books. It didn’t go so well.–More than 80,000 books and other library materials should be in the hands of avid readers, library members and students. Instead, those materials are sitting in boxes and warehouses waiting to be transported. www.nj.com
New Jersey adult adoptees’ search for their birth families–When Bob MacNish was 22, his dying father told him that he’d been adopted. MacNish spent the next 50 years searching for his birth parents. www.northjersey.com
NJ will vote for fracking ban in Delaware River basin, Murphy announces–New Jersey will vote to ban fracking in the Delaware River basin, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday, but the fate of a related and contentious practice is still in question. www.northjersey.com
ALARM OVER NJ PENSION SYSTEM’S TIES TO FORECLOSURES IN PUERTO RICO–Four months after being crushed by Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is bracing for a mortgage crisis, with many residents now way behind on their payments. www.njspotlight.com
OP-ED: RESURRECTING NEW JERSEY’S ECONOMY–New Jersey’s economy was obviously not a priority of the red-vote-state-chasing previous administration, leaving it mostly to fend for itself. www.njspotlight.com
Hard Rock to bring back 3,000 jobs–During Tuesday’s first hiring event for the coming Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, a human resources team member got a microphone and welcomed the room of applicants. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Guidance Counselor Pleads Guilty in Health Benefits Fraud–A Pleasantville, N.J. guidance counselor pleaded guilty Thursday to his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy that authorities say defrauded the federal health-care benefits program of more than $50 million. www.philly.com