Water
It’s been more than seven years since a state-appointed panel of scientists and academics told New Jersey’s Department for Environmental Protection to set limits on various toxic contaminants in its drinking water, but the DEP has failed to act in spite of recent publicity over lead-tainted drinking water in NJ schools and hospitals. Legislators on Monday rapped the DEP on the wrists for its snail-like response, but stopped short of passing a bill that would have required the department to set the standards within 60 days. NJ Spotlight has the full story.
Possibly Higher Gas Bills
South Jersey Gas customers (about 70 percent of Atlantic County homes, apparently) could see their bill rise by $20 a month, according to the company’s latest rate-hike request filed with New Jersey’s regulator. South Jersey Gas says it needs the money to pay it back for improvement work its done to local infrastructure, as well as to meet growing demand (story here via The Press of Atlantic City). We’d love to see more details from South Jersey Gas about the cited growing demand. The company serves Atlantic, Cumberland, Cape May and Salem counties (as well as some parts of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties), a swathe of South Jersey that has broadly been losing population in the last few years, according to Census data. On the other hand, the company has seen more customers switching to gas – but there has to be a limit to that growth, right? This growth argument is also key to the pipeline-through-the-pinebarrens project that South Jersey Gas’ parent, South Jersey Industries, has been pushing in spite of opposition from local environmental groups.
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The rest of the local headlines from the last 24 hours include stories on the casino-formerly-known as Revel maybe opening by Presidents’ Day weekend, some award-winning Atlantic City gardeners, an update on new NJ opioid bills and the struggle local seasonal workers face trying to feed their families. All that and more below:
Pleasantville Police Still Seeking Driver Who Fled Crash–Pleasantville police are still seeking a driver after she fled from a one-car crash Monday afternoon. The crash happened at Ansley and Tunis avenues, where the driver struck a pole and a tree, Captain Matt Hartman said. BreakingAC
Audubon’s The Treehouse Owners to Sell–For about six months, Randy Van Osten has been answering big questions about the future of his Audubon coffee shop, The Treehouse. NJ PEN
Where local reps stand on Trump immigration order–The president\'s recently signed executive order halting foreign nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the country for at least 90 days is not sitting well with some New Jersey lawmakers. New Jersey Herald
Glenn Straub hopes to open shuttered Revel by Presidents’ Day Weekend–ATLANTIC CITY — Glenn Straub’s ongoing effort to reopen the former Revel, now know as TEN, as a casino is scheduled to continue Tuesday. Press of Atlantic City
Master Gardeners win blue ribbon for work at Gardner’s Basin in Atlantic City–ATLANTIC CITY – John Collette was more than a bit surprised when the Rutgers Master Gardeners of Atlantic County won a blue ribbon in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Gardening and Greening Contest for the second consecutive year. Shore News Today
Assembly committee advances $2 Atlantic City hotel fee bill–TRENTON — A state Assembly panel advanced a bill Monday that would add a $2 daily fee on Atlantic City hotel rooms to fund the city’s police and fire departments, which are facing deep cuts under a state takeover. Press of Atlantic City
N.J. opioid bills get committee approval, closer to becoming law–TRENTON — Several bills aimed at fighting opioid addiction in New Jersey are one step closer to becoming law. Press of Atlantic City
What its like to try and feed your family when you’re a seasonal worker–LOWER TOWNSHIP — Lucinda Smith knows that nervous feeling.
She feels it every fall. That’s the time when 61-year-old Smith, who helps care for her 4-year-old grandson, Jimmy Palmisano, sees her shelves getting emptier. Press of Atlantic City