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June 6-12:
Ocean Dangers
This week, a 45-year-old Bergen County man became the third person to drown off a Five Mile Island beach since Memorial Day. Before this, a 53-year-old man drowned off Wildwood Crest. A 19-year-old swimmer went missing in the water off Wildwood and his body was recovered in Wildwood Crest June 4. In all three instances, the swimmers entered the water at an unguarded location.
A Wilmington, Delaware, man in distress was pulled from the waters near the swim finish of the Escape the Cape Triathlon. He was pronounced dead after transport to the hospital. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
Meanwhile, Stone Harbor Council heard from the borough’s Beach Patrol captain that riptides this year are unusually strong. One factor is the impact of sand bars created by the multiday Mother’s Day storm that took over 200,000 cubic feet of sand from Stone Harbor beaches. Breaks in those sand bars are points of fast currents facilitating strong riptides. Twice in one week, Stone Harbor personnel engaged in water rescues in almost the same location of the 96th Street beach.
To make matters worse, area beach patrols are still struggling to hire a full complement of guards for the summer season. Cape May is having difficulty competing with other county island communities that pay more. Fewer overall applicants mean competition among the towns can be intense.
Weed
Recreational cannabis is now being sold in New Jersey. Reports are that the Garden State’s first recreational cannabis dispensaries took in $24 million in sales the first month of operation. There are 24 locations authorized to retain recreational cannabis products, so far. The closest retailers to Cape May County are in Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic City and Vineland.
With recreational weed sales came a directive from Acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin instructing law enforcement agencies that police officers are allowed to use cannabis off-duty and no adverse action can be taken if they do so. At the same time,Platkin said there was a zero-tolerance policy for officers who are impaired or under the influence when they report for duty. Middle Township Police Chief Christopher Leusner hopes the law will be amended.
Several legislators have introduced bills to prevent police and other first responders from being allowed to use recreational cannabis off-duty. No word yet on the likelihood of any of those bills passing.
The state directives concerning what can and cannot be done in dealing with juveniles who are illegally using cannabis may, according to one education law expert, pose problems for how schools react to students who are using or under the influences of cannabis.
Happenings
As of June 12, both Covid Act Now and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rate Cape May County as having a community risk level of high. The good news is that a runup in new cases over the last two months has not translated into a similar growth in patients with serious complications.
Stone Harbor is preparing for two new restaurants planned for the mall area adjacent to the Stone Harbor Theater.
West Wildwood is the latest municipality to increase its 2022 payments to trash hauler Gold Medal Environmental after the company approached each of the municipalities with which it had existing contracts demanding more compensation due to the unexpected rise in labor and fuel costs.
Cape May enters its 18th month of controversy surrounding the use of affordable housing trust fund monies to pay bonuses for six employees in 2020. So far,resolution of the controversy has proved elusive.
A Stone Harbor coastal consultant told the council last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to pump sand from Townsend’s Inlet the length of Seven Mile Island in order to nourish Stone Harbor beaches. Use of closer Hereford Inlet sand is blocked by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife legal interpretation of a 1982 federal statute.
Wildwood Crest honored two lifeguards who rescued four distressed swimmers in an incident in July 2021.
Wildwood approved a $625,000 contract for two firms to plan and prepare required permits, so the city can close the 18-acre landfill site along the back bay.
Ron Simone resigned as North Wildwood city administrator in order to join county government.
No charges will be filed in the Cape May crash that killed a woman on Lafayette Street. Officials said the driver of the vehicle experienced a medical emergency that led to the fatal accident.
Wonderland Pier, in Ocean City, underwent a state inspection following a death from a fall at the pier in May.
Avalon received a substantial county contribution toward a $2.2 million stormwater pump station to be located at 78th Street and Ocean Drive. A $672,000 contribution from the county is for the benefits the project offers to Ocean Drive, a county road.
Middle Township School District approved a plan to station armed security guards at school entrances. The move follows the mass shooting at a Texas school.
Two people were arrested in Wildwood after police said they left a 3-month-old child alone while shopping in a liquor store.
Around 200 protesters in Ocean City joined a nationwide set of marches against gun violence.
AAA says the national average price of a gallon of gas is now at $5, as of June 13. In New Jersey, that average is $5.06. How this may impact the summer tourist season is unclear.
The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is proposing an emergency rule to deal with the “imminent threat” caused by climate change driven precipitation. The rule would also impact stormwater runoff regulations.
An A-frame “Pizza Slice” house was successfully moved from Wildwood to Woodbine. The house began life as a Sears, Roebuck kit. The efforts of preservationists who did not want to see the structure demolished paid off.
Spout Off of the Week
North Cape May - Nationwide, as long as the drivers on the road accept the high gas prices, the oil companies will continue to take advantage. The lesson I remember from the oil crisis in the 1970’s was that people started using less gasoline; the oil companies had less demand, and the oil crisis was averted. As long as my fellow drivers scream past my car on the GSP at who knows what almost supersonic speeds, we will all keep paying more for gas and consequentially everything else.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
