School Board Problems
The Press of AC’s Claire Lowe has a great story on the lack of candidates for school-board elections. Lowe reports there are 82 races in the Press’s coverage area, and in 17 of them, there aren’t enough candidates to fill the open seats.
“Experts have said the large number of districts in the state is a contributing factor, as is the amount of time required and the lack of pay for the all-volunteer positions.”
Trouble on the Bike Paths!
A group of young males, aged 12 to 14 (estimated), have been giving passersby the finger(s) and doing wheelies, etc. on the Northfield-Somers Point bike path, causing consternation among the local house-owning community. I don’t know about you, but I think we need way, way more bike paths.
Drugged Driving
“In New Jersey in 2016, 103 fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs, 92 for alcohol,” a spokesperson for AAA Northeast said the other day. They put out a report finding the incidence of drugged driving has risen sharply. The last time more drivers killed on the roads tested positive for drugs than for alcohol was 2007.
For more feats of journalism from across your region, see below:
Should New Jersey Democratic Officials Keep Jailing Immigrants for ICE?–Democratic officials in North Jersey have long relied on a little noticed source of revenue to keep taxes under control and public workers employed: jailing immigrants. www.wnyc.org
Meet the ‘czars’ trying to sell New Jersey towns on sharing services–Their rhyming names make them sound like the stars of a buddy-cop comedy. www.philly.com
Corrections Officer Indicted For Smuggling Drugs Into South Woods–A South Woods State Prison senior corrections officer is accused of taking money to smuggle drugs to an inmate. breakingac.com
Toxic dump has been on most-contaminated list for 35 years. Now it’s getting cleaned–Years of chemical manufacturing left its mark on the environment at the site of the former Hercules plant in South Jersey. www.nj.com
More vintage photos of fun in the summertime in N.J.–In this gallery of vintage photos from around New Jersey, we can see that summertime fun can be anything anyone wants it to be when the weather's fine. And here are links to other galleries you'll enjoy. www.nj.com
NJ GAS TAX LIKELY TO INCREASE BECAUSE REVENUE IS COMING UP SHORT OF TARGET–While a final ruling is going down to the wire in Trenton, it’s appearing more likely that New Jersey’s gas tax will increase by at least a few pennies later this year thanks to a 2016 law. www.njspotlight.com