South Jersey Politics
There’s a battle going on between George Norcross’ South Jersey Democrats and their North Jersey brethren over who will lead the State Assembly next year as Speaker. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Andrew Seidman has the details. Maybe it seems like yet another childish political fight but it should matter to Atlantic County residents at least, since current Speaker Vincent Prieto has not been afraid to cross swords with Norcross’ man in charge of the Senate, Stephen Sweeney, over issues such as the Atlantic City takeover. And if you want more details, read Tuesday’s Politico piece by Matt Friedman on the speaker fight and how the prospect of (independently wealthy) Governor Phil Murphy will do little to water down Norcross’ influence.
Ventnor Pier, via @leannwnuk on Instagram
Crime Reporting
The 2014 disappearance of an Egg Harbor Township man is now being investigated as a homicide after his remains were found this year. This piece of news was not routinely released by the county prosecutor’s office. What happened was local star crime reporter Lynda Cohen noticed that the county had recorded 11 homicides this year and she only knew about 10. Lynda, doing her job, asked about the discrepancy (no one else did) and uncovered the story, potentially opening the door to new information coming to light that matters to the community and the victim’s family. This is another reminder why #localnewsmatters and why you should all go and check out Lynda’s site BreakingAC.com and come and see us, with Lynda, at the Little Water Distillery next Wednesday to hear what it is exactly that local reporters do, and how you can support our efforts to continue doing it.
In the rest of the news from the last 24 hours, Twitter-famous shark Mary Lee was hanging out off Atlantic City on Wednesday (now she’s off Long Beach Island), Shop Rite has extended its sponsorship of the Seaview Resort-based LPGA event through 2023, and Atlantic City has switched around some concert dates for the summer. All that and more below.
CORRECTION – in yesterday’s Route 40 Roundup, a link to a piece on Atlantic County’s planned legal fight against the PILOT agreement with casinos incorrectly stated the amount the county could spend in that fight. The upper limit for the county’s legal bills on the case is $500,000.
Changeover at Haddon Farmers Market Threatens to Boot Viable Businesses–There's a deal looming to demolish the Haddon Farmers Market, with DuBell Lumber looking to build a new headquarters on the site, and the existing - remaining - tenants have 30 days to vacate. That means a loss of local jobs, access to groceries, and a crippling blow to a pair of viable businesses that are asking for enough time to relocate up the road. NJ PEN
Ocean City Grad Sean Mooney a Finalist for National Pitcher of the Year–St. John’s University freshman Sean Mooney was named a finalist for the College Baseball Foundations National Pitcher of the Year Award. Press of Atlantic City
Colleges Commit to Revitalizing 5 NJ Cities, Including AC–Nineteen of the state’s public and private colleges and universities have signed agreements to help revitalize Atlantic City, Camden, Newark, Paterson and Trenton. Stockton University and Atlantic Cape Community College are the colleges committed to working in Atlantic City. Press of Atlantic City
Atlantic City Electric to Modernize Grid–Atlantic City Electric will spend $79 million on system upgrades and new infrastructure to its electric grid to further improve system reliability during the next five years. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities announced Wednesday its approval of PowerAhead, the electric company’s grid-resiliency program. Press of Atlantic City
Child Care Options Lacking in South Jersey, Report Shows–Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties trail the state in providing center-based child-care options for infants and toddlers who may need care, according to a new report. The report, “No Room for Babies: Center-based Infant-Toddler Child Care in Short Supply,” finds only 13.9 percent of the need for infant and toddler care in Ocean County is met, while Cape May County had 17.2 percent. Press of Atlantic City
South Jersey Towns Eliminated From ‘Best Main Streets’ Contest–The quest for bragging rights in a national Main Street competition has come to an end for two South Jersey towns. Haddonfield and Maple Shade were eliminated by voters this week from a field of 25 towns in the running for the online contest by Independent We Stand, the America’s Main Streets competition. Philly.com
SJ Entrepreneur Hopes to Make Waves With New Shoe–Runnemede designer Shane Pisko - a web developer by trade - designed a new boat shoe. Now it's for sale. Courier-Post