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Jan. 30–Feb. 5:
Health Emergency to End
The federal government announced Jan. 30 that it would end the public health emergency (PHE) May 11, 2023.Put in place Jan. 31, 2020, the PHE allowed the government to use emergency powers to combat the Covid pandemic. Evidence now suggests an endemic phase for the Covid virus. What does the end of the emergency mean?
For those seeking vaccines, nothing much will change until the supply already purchased by the government is dissipated. At that point, cost may become a factor for those uninsured or underinsured.
At–home test kits are probably going to get more costly. Individuals with traditional Medicare, for example, will no longer have free tests available. PCR and quick antigen tests ordered by a doctor may no longer be free, although they should continue to be covered by insurance on a cost-sharing basis.
Covid pharmaceutical treatments would be on a cost-sharing basis for those with insurance.
New Jersey instituted its PHE March 9, 2020, and lifted it two years later March 7, 2022.
Numerous other actions were tied to the PHE, from the continuous enrollment requirement for Medicaid to increases for food stamp recipients.
Adjusting to a world without the PHE, in effect, will not impact everyone, but it will have a significant impact on some, especially those dependent on extended benefits or continuous medical coverage.
County Valuations
When Stockton economist Dr. Oliver Cooke addressed the county Chamber of Commercelast month, he stressed the importance of the rising property values to the overall health of the Cape May County economy. The fact that the housing market has been frenzied and trending upward is hard to dispute. Cook warned that 2023 may see a slowing down of the market.
According to state final equalization tables for real property, in the pre-pandemic year 2019, the aggregate true value of property in Cape May County stood at $52 billion, with aggregate assessed value at $50 billion. Assessment values were at or close to true value in each of the county’s municipalities. By 2020, true value stood at $55 billion, moved to $57 billion in the 2021 tables, and streaked to $64 billion in 2022. By 2022, the assessed value of property across the county’s municipalities stood at $52 billion. What had been a gap of $2 billion between assessed value and true value on the tables in 2019 is now $12 billion in 2022’s table.
Now, just about every municipality in the county is at or below the 85% threshold that would normally trigger a revaluation. What has held revaluations at bay has been the frenzied market. A calming of the market in 2023 could start the process of setting revaluation requirements for county municipalities sooner rather than later.
Power Grid
Attacks on the U.S. power grid hit an all-time high in 2022. One of the most reported of them involved damage to two electric substations in North Carolina, where the attackers used assault weapons to disable equipment.
There were 173 direct physical attacks, up over 75% from a year prior, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
While officials seek the best ways to protect the most vulnerable points in the grid, plans are underway to modernize that grid in order to ready it for the demands that will come from the effort to end dependence on fossil fuels.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) issued a noticeJan. 27 concerning changes to rules for interconnecting distributed generation resources to the state electrical grid. This addresses how the state intends to modernize its grid for connecting the distributed offshore wind, solar farms, and other points of energy generation, along with goals to enable even more distributed energy resources.
While much attention has been focused on alternative energy generation, including the recent call for a halt to wind farm development off the coast, plans for grid modernization proceed apace. The U.S. Department of Energy links much of this under the heading of the smart grid.
Meanwhile, the installation of Atlantic City Electric’s smart meters has caused some headaches for hundreds of customers who received erroneous estimated bills well above levels they have historically paid.
Happenings
The county’s Covid alert level was lowered on Covid Act Now, moving from high to moderate risk. The state, as a whole, is also designated moderate risk for community spread.
A Woodbine author has published three books while only 18 years old. Her three novels circulate in county libraries.
A fatal accident on Route 47 Jan. 31 marks the first traffic death in the county for 2023. In 2022, there were 15 traffic fatalities in which eight involved pedestrians.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) has announced his appointment as vice chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as a seat on a House Judiciary Subcommittee.
Fire has displaced individuals in Ocean City. It served as a glimpse of the city’s spirit as community members rallied to help.
The Upper Township School Board has released an unredacted version of the separation agreement between the board and departing Superintendent Vincent Palmieri. The action came in response to a letter from an attorney for the Herald.
Krista Fitzsimons has taken hold of the reins at the Atlantic Cape campus in Court House. The Wildwood commissioner will also serve as director of the county campus, with a goal to increase awareness of the facility and what it has to offer the county.
A judge has ruled that North Wildwood’s $21 million suit against the state Department of Environmental Protection can proceed. The suit is the newest action in an ongoing struggle between the city and the agency over improvements the city feels it must make to its beaches in order to protect lives and property.
Lower Township police have charged a Philadelphia woman with creating a false public alarm after she called in an active shooter emergency at Lower Cape May Regional High School. The threat was discovered to be a hoax. Meanwhile, an Upper Township resident was arrested on child porn charges.
Toll hikes are coming March 15 for five county bridges where the tolls will rise from $2 to $2.50. This is the second of three planning increases that will raise the one-way toll in the bridges to $3 by 2024.
A Rio Grande man was arrested on drugs and weapons charges, as well as for failure to register as a sex offender.
A Philadelphia developer has submitted plans for a rustic, high-end resort in Dennis Township at the junction of Routes 9 and 83. The resort could cost as much as $65 million to $70 million.
Spout Off of the Week
Villas - The Chinese balloon had nothing to do with either weather or spying. It was a quite obvious test of US decisiveness and resolve. We failed.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
