Tax Breaks
A report by Pew Charitable Trusts has faulted the tax incentives doled out to New Jersey projects, such as the over $1 billion that has gone to Camden development projects and the millions of dollars used to fund Stockton’s Atlantic City campus, the Courier Post reports. New Jersey’s tax incentive program is classified as ‘trailing’ the leading programs in other states in part because it has not program to regularly evaluate the tax incentives. The state’s Economic Development Authority said the report incorrectly characterizes its programs, which are evaluated. You can read the Pew report here. You might also be interested in the State Auditor’s report from earlier this year into selected incentive programs, which also found some flaws with the Camden projects.
Stockton Housing
Speaking of tax incentives, The Press of Atlantic City reports that Stockton University’s board on Wednesday agreed to raise the cost of its student housing to between $3,000 and $5,422 per semester for the 2017/18 academic year. The Atlantic City campus will open in 2018 and feature beachfront accommodation for some students, funded by debt, tax credits, $2 million from ACDevCo and $18 million from the university. Stripping out the costs of the teaching building, parking garage and South Jersey Industries’
Egg Harbor City lake and campground, via @darleenstamps on Instagram.
headquarters, the new residence facility (which includes ground-floor retail, teaching space, faculty apartments, a police sub-station, a mail room and a fitness center) is worth an estimated $100.8 million, the university told us. Subtracting land costs of $6 million gives you a cost-per-bed price of $177,842 or $436.78 per square foot, which is well above the median for student housing. The university says that excluding the non-residence area in the building, the actual cost of the housing comes to $111,697 per bed, or $316.80 per square foot. That’s still more than the cost of a condo in Atlantic City’s Bella, or the Ocean Club, but it’s less than the median for student housing in the Northeast, the university said. Meanwhile, Stockton’s faculty and staff are completing their second year without a contract.
In the rest of the day’s news, an open-records request revealed that ACUA paid $97,500 to settle a discrimination lawsuit last year, BreakingAC reports that Atlantic City police seized 6,000 bags of heroin from one home search on Wednesday, Ventnor says its beach isn’t available for dune work this summer, and The Onion has a take on Greyhound’s Lucky Streak bus service. All that and more below:
Charter Flights Up Again at ACY–For the fourth month in a row, charter flights at Atlantic City International Airport are up, according to a report issued by the South Jersey Transportation Authority. Press of Atlantic City
New Area Code Revealed, Get Ready to Start Dialing ‘640’–The new area code for South Jersey has been revealed, get ready to dial 640. The 609 area code was expected to max out its number options by late 2018, a year earlier than originally forecasted. www.snjtoday.com
AmeriHealth New Jersey Lost Money, But How Much?–Cooper Health System, which owns 20 percent of AmeriHealth New Jersey, said its share of the health insurer's 2016 loss was $5.29 million, down sharply from a $9.26 million loss the year before. Based on Cooper's 20 percent stake, that would translate into overall AmeriHealth New Jersey losses of $26.43 million last year and $46.28 million the year before, but the New Jersey insurer's majority owner, Independence Health Group, disputed the magnitude of the losses. Philly.com
A New Era for Cumberland County College–Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernandez will be formally inaugurated as Cumberland County College President this week. The ceremony signals the official installation of the college’s leader — and coincides with the College’s 50th Anniversary. www.snjtoday.com
Meet Burrito, a super rare cat who’s looking for a home–A male tortoiseshell cat occurs in only 1 in 3,000 births, experts say. NJ.com
Nuclear plant worker ‘deliberately’ tried to hide error, officials say–The now-former PSEG Nuclear employee was conducting tests on safety equipment when he made the mistake. NJ.com
Pleasantville man arrested in shooting that damaged homes–A Pleasantville man was arrested Tuesday night, after two homes were damaged by gunfire. The homes included one on Franklin Boulevard, which had been struck a year ago, striking the woman in the foot as she held her infant grandson, police said. BreakingAC