Taj Mahal Refit
Hard Rock International, along with the Morris and Jingoli families, on Wednesday said it will pump $300 million into the Taj Mahal to reopen it as a casino – which is obviously HUGE news for Atlantic City and Atlantic County, since about 3,000 jobs were lost when the property closed in October. It’s such a big deal that Gov. Christie wanted his share of credit for it. The project will also likely be something of a bonanza for the construction industry (hence, presumably, Jingoli and Morris’ involvement) since casino building projects run on the pricey side, especially when they involve turning minarets and elephants into neon guitars. We tried to extrapolate from financial statements how much will be spent on construction and how much the Hard Rock team actually paid for the property (probably not a lot, was our conclusion) – read that story here.
Stockton Sustainable Farm
A little while back we hung out with some Stockton students and employees on a small corner of their Galloway Township campus where they are conducting a big experiment in farming, without running water or electricity. They also have a compost project with two local businesses. Read more about that here and watch the video here.
Tennessee Ave Project
The Press of Atlantic City interviewed the businessmen who want to turn the beachblock-end of Tennessee Avenue into a walkable, bikeable place where you can mill from coffee shop to bar to small, independent eatery or stop just to hang in a nice city spot. Read the story here.
The rest of the headlines from the last 24 hours include this piece about a project for an asphalt processing plant in Galloway Township, news that the Absecon school tax rate could rise, and The Press of Atlantic City’s full story on the purchase of the Taj Mahal. All that and more below:
First Thunderstorms, Now Snow?–It will be briefly cold with some rain and possibly snow showers tomorrow. Press of Atlantic City
South Jersey Documentarian Wins International Award–A local documentary project from Atlantic City that featured students' effort to raise awareness about beach cleanliness has won international praise. On Wednesday morning, the New Jersey Clean Communities Council, or NJCCC, presented Martin Fiedler of Just Right TV Productions, LLC with an international award. www.snjtoday.com
South Jersey Escapes Most Storm Damage–For the second time in less than a week, strong thunderstorms swept through parts of South Jersey. Most of the area remained unscathed, with a quick burst of wind and rain lasting only ten to twenty minutes during the middle of Wednesday afternoon. Press of Atlantic City