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Sept. 5-11:
9/11 Anniversary
If you are 30 or older there is a good chance you remember exactly where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001. Pew surveys report that 93% of us remember exactly what we were doing when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. It was an era when TV was the dominant news source and sets were turned on across the nation as people called family and friends, frantically telling them to turn on the set.
In a 2016 Pew survey, 9/11 joined the JFK assassination, the moon landing and the fall of the Berlin Wall as one of the historic events of our lifetime. For the oldest among us, it joined Pearl Harbor, VJ Day and Hiroshima as events that changed the way we think about the world.
On this 21st anniversary of the historic event, we must be mindful of the fact that an ever-growing group of Americans were not yet born or were too young for the reality of 9/11 to imprint itself on their memories. This is the task of ceremony and Cape May County had no shortage of events to remember that day. The county held its own remembrance, as did a half dozen municipalities.
Hurricane Season
In May, we reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted an above-average storm season. For the 2022 hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, NOAA forecast 14 to 21 named storms of which 10 could become hurricanes and three to six major hurricanes. In mid-August, NOAA said it stuck by its prediction even given a slow start to the storm season.
Sept. 10 was the climatological peak of the hurricane season. It is the date when the most named storms and hurricanes blew across the Atlantic basin according to historical records. Things were unexpectedly quiet.
This is the first year since 1941 when no named storm roamed the Atlantic from July 3 to Aug. 30. Having the normally busy month of August spawn no named storm has not occurred since the start of the modern satellite era. All this during a La Nina year which should make the Atlantic basin more rather than less active.
Officials remind us that about 60% of the hurricane season still lies before us. Fiona and Gaston, the next names on the storm list, have not yet formed. This has been the quietest start to a hurricane season in over 35 years, but if T.S. Elliot will allow the alteration of his poetry, what starts as a whimper can end with a bang.
School
School has started across the county with hopes of a normal year. One carryover from the pandemic will remain this year: state-mandated testing for all students. While many districts have said the Start Strong testing does not produce any original insights, the state has held firm in mandating the standardized tests. The Department of Education has expanded the window for testing by three weeks, extending the deadline to October 21.
The state Department of Education says the tests are needed because of the evidence that the pandemic had a long-term impact on student learning. The state did waive the graduation test for high school students in the Class of 2023.
Happenings
Cape May awarded an engineering services contract that moves forward the city’s efforts to replace its aging desalination plant.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses’ door-to-door ministry will resume now that the organization has ended pandemic restrictions on in-person activities.
A paddleboarder in trouble was rescued in Stone Harbor but a Pennsylvania man drowned at an unguarded beach in Ocean City.
Litigation brought against the Herald for reporting what happened at a public meeting was dismissed by the courts, representing a victory for press freedoms essential for keeping the public informed.
ICONA is pushing for a redevelopment designation for an oceanfront area where it hopes to build a seven-story five-star hotel. The need for a redevelopment area is not resonating with the city’s governing body. Meanwhile, the slate of candidates for four of the city’s five council seats is final. The council selected in November may decide the redevelopment issue.
Middle is the latest municipality to introduce regulations aimed at preventing the building of permanent structures at the township’s campgrounds.
A Wildwood drug bust pulled in close to $1 million in drugs and cash. Federal DEA agents assisted Wildwood Police and the County Prosecutor’s Office with the investigation.
Assemblyman Antwan McClellan’s Black Heritage Trail Bill was signed into law by Governor Murphy.
An Edison man won what one Wildwood arcade owner bills as the Skee-Ball World Championship.
Lower Township has introduced an ordinance that would apply a 3% occupancy tax to short-term rentals. The only towns currently applying a municipal occupancy tax permitted under state law are Middle Township and Cape May City.
Stone Harbor has introduced an ordinance that would change its Utilities Department into a division of public works. The council also voted on new salary ranges for a number of positions including those of mayor and council.
Even Cape May City is not immune from resident complaints about juvenile drug use in summer crowds of young people that have become a phenomenon at the shore since the state intensified its juvenile justice reform initiative in 2020.
Wildwood Crest is considering permitting a liquor license in the long-dry town as part of a downtown redevelopment of the area home to Wildwood Linen along New Jersey Avenue.
Just after the U. S. Drought Monitor listed Cape May County in severe drought status, the region received much-needed rain. The drought designation status is published each Thursday the week ending the previous Tuesday. An updated listing this Thursday should show the impact of the recent rainfall.
The former Oceanview Motel has been sold. Its new owners are investing $12 million in renovations with the expectation of reopening in 2023 as the Madison Resorts Wildwood Crest.
Spout Off of the Week
North Cape May – RE: The Cape May comment on the difference between a Moped and an E-Bike. Yes, there is a difference, and this comment is coming from someone that rides a full size, legally registered motorcycle. The difference is the “idiot” riding either one of those vehicles without a helmet or regard for safety.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
