Police Sick Time
Josh Vadell is one of ten Atlantic City Police officers suing over breach of contract after they were not paid for unused sick time.
The state capped payouts for unused time at $15,000, arguing, if I remember correctly, it had the right under the Municipal Stabilization and Recovery Act if doing so would assist in the stabilization and recovery of Atlantic City.
The ten police say they are owed $900,000. Vadell says he’s owed $65,000+.
Fireman Injured
Elsewhere in public safety, acting fire captain Shaun Moore was injured when he fell through a hole, battling a fire inside a building near the Texas Avenue School.
Supermarket
Sheila Oliver did an interview with ROI-NJ the other day and discussed a number of topics, including bringing a supermarket to Atlantic City. I was interested to hear Atlantic City residents are “yearning” for a suburban-style super-center supermarket or something, and that they currently don’t have the “diversity” of produce other communities have.
My neighborhood guy sells fresh coconuts and guayava and about six different kinds of subtropical root that I don’t even know the names of. Granted they could be a little cheaper, but I’m not sure the “diversity” is the issue, in Lower Chelsea anyway. I’m starting to sound like Seth Grossman.
ICE + Donald
Here’s an instructive pair of stories:
NJTV says ICE is ramping up activity among New Jersey’s 500,000 undocumented immigrants, in response to the AG’s directive limiting law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, the New York Times profiles one of those undocumented immigrants, Victorina Morales, who has worked since 2013 as a housekeeper at the Bedminster golf course owned by the President, who is a strident critic of immigration/immigrants while also being a lifelong conman.
Morales, and a former coworker, Sandra Diaz, spoke on the record at great personal risk to say Trump is sometimes an asshole but sometimes tips well. Naturally they are not the only undocumented workers at his properties. And it’s hard to get the orange (makeup) stains out of his golf shirts (I’m not kidding).
More saliently, the boss’s “tone” on immigration seemed to embolden Morales’ supervisor who, “frequently made remarks about the employees’ vulnerable legal status when critiquing their work…sometimes calling them ‘stupid illegal immigrants’ with less intelligence than a dog.”
They expect to be fired.
For more feats of journalism from across your region, see below:
Atlantic City mayor’s legal issues taint political future–One day after being involved in a fight outside a casino nightclub, Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr. filed campaign paperwork with the state for the 2021 Democratic primary. Three weeks to the day after the state received that paperwork, Gilliam’s home was raided by federal investigators. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Stockton discounts tuition for summer 2019 courses–Under the summer tuition plan, one four-credit course will cost $1,680 tuition and fees. www.downbeach.com
STOCKTON HIRES FORMER GEORGE WASHINGTON ASSISTANT DAVE LORBER AS NEW BASEBALL COACH–Stockton University has selected Freehold, New Jersey native Dave Lorber as its first full-time head baseball coach. Lorber brings 10 years of experience as an assistant coach at the college level to his new role at Stockton, which has upgraded the head baseball coach position from part-time to full-time. glorydaysonline.com
Hancock House massacre subject of historical society program–The Revolution War massacre at the Hancock House in Lower Alloways Creek Township will be the focus of the program at the Salem County Historical Society's Quarterly Meeting. www.nj.com
NJ SUES POLLUTERS OF LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES, WANTS ‘ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE’–Hundreds of Little League players use a Camden park that’s contaminated with lead and arsenic from a former factory and is being cleaned up with state dollars because the responsible party went out of business long ago. www.njspotlight.com