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December 19 to 25:
On the Move
New census figures show that the primary drive of population growth in the United States is net international immigration. Data shows that such immigration added over one million people to the aggregate population from 2021 to 2022. Positive natural change, the result of native births vs. deaths, added only 245,080. Without international immigration, the country’s population would be largely static.
The natural increase was the result of the largest year-over-year increase in the number of births since 2007. The period following the Great Recession, 2007-2009, saw a drop in the natural increase of the population, with more deaths among the aging population and numbers of adult women postponing childbirth. Covid also contributed to the natural population decline, as pandemic deaths mounted.
The international movement of people was not the only message in the new census data. In the year during the worst of the pandemic scare, from July 2020 to July 2021, there was an absolute decline in the aggregate population of the country’s 56 largest metropolitan areas, each with population in excess of one million. Smaller cities and rural areas gained population as a result of this domestic shift.
A Brookings analysis speaks of the “outsized role” of domestic migration in dispersing population from urban centers to smaller locations. The study showed that international migration into the New York metropolitan area was sufficient to help off-set some of the steep decline in domestic migration out.
Covid Increase Less than 2021
The CDC has designated 18 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, including Cape May County, as high Covid community level areas. At least one major school system in Passaic County has reinstituted a mask mandate. Covid hospitalizations are at their highest level since February. The seven-day average for confirmed Covid tests is up 9% from the previous week, and 58% in the last month.
Despite all the numbers that suggest a new bout with the Covid virus, the expected December increase in 2022 was considerably smaller than the surge the state experienced in December 2021. On Christmas Day 2021, the state dashboard reported 16,626 confirmed. On Christmas Eve this year the confirmed cases reported were 2,343.
Covid hospitalizations on Christmas 2021 stood at 2,463 and this year they are at 1,391. While the numbers are rising there is no evidence to suggest we will see the same surge that we experienced last year. Yet it is also clear that Covid is increasing its presence. That represents a risk, especially to the elderly, this holiday season.
Winter With a Vengeance
Sure, Dec. 21 is the first official day of winter, but the change in seasons hardly requires this level of emphasis. As the calendar turned the page of the winter season, the National Weather Service called for a “once-in-a-generation type event.” The frightening term for what we are experiencing is a “bomb cyclone“in which a rapidly intensifying storm is associated with a sudden and dramatic drop in atmospheric pressure. Climatologists tell us that the significant increase in pressure difference makes the winds stronger.
Thousands of flights canceled, holiday travel disrupted, massive pileups on snow covered roads, and record-low winter temperatures characterized Christmas 2022. As of this writing, the storm has already claimed a number of lives.
The University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability argues that global warming is the culprit causing harsh winter storms along the eastern United States.
The argument being that a warming earth, due to greenhouse gas emissions,causes the arctic to warm faster due to the amplifyingeffect of snow.
The huge snowstormsearly in 2021, followed by this bomb cyclone, make predictions that this is a once in a generation event suspect. Wintertime hazards appear to be more frequent and more severe.
Earlier this year, Winter Storm Kenan brought 15+ inches of snow to part of Cape May County and damaged beachesin a number of shore communities. This year temperatures struggle to make it out of the low teens.
Happenings
Wildwood car rally participant Gerald White was formally indicted on 18 counts including vehicular homicide. White has been in the county jail since September 25.
Sea Isle City is reviewing a $40 million 5 year capital plan. A major emphasis in the plan is stormwater management along Landis Avenue.
Upper Township School District brought in a retired Superintendent from Lower Cape May Regional to manage the district while a replacement Superintendent is sought.
Plans for a municipal pier concession in Stone Harborrequire more study according to a majority of the borough’s council members. Hopes of renewed back bay cruises for summer 2023 will have to go on hold.
North Wildwood School District is responding to parental concerns over bullying at Margaret Mace School. A new notification system will be implemented.
Parents and relatives of patients at the Woodbine Developmental Center have expressed concern over unexplained injuries suggesting abuse.
Middle Township found ways to accumulate enough end of year funds to cover a costly emergency appropriation the township was forced to make earlier in the year because of a budget error. The appropriation will not now impact the 2023 budget which already faces the challenge of state health insurance hikes.
The state has passed new restrictions on the ability to carry a gun. The new gun legislation was opposed by a number of county groups. Cape May County has four municipalities that have declared themselves second amendmentsanctuaries.
Some Upper Township citizens are expressing concerns about local government transparency. The latest issue to rouse concern was the unanimous passage of the 2023 salary tiers in the township.
In an attempt to address the high rates of veteran suicide the Veterans Administration Medical Center is kicking off a new Veteran Peer Suicide Prevention Team.
The National Flood Insurance Program was reauthorized through September 30, 2023 as part of the $1.7 trillion FY 2023 budget bill.
The Middle Township school bus driver who spend time between trips helping children learn to read was honored by the township.
Spout of the Week
RIO GRANDE – Thank you Herald newspaper for another great year of hard work! Happy Holidays and the best in 2023!!!
