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Oct. 24 – 30
Winter Virus Season
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), influenza, the return of Covid, Monkeypox (hMPXV) and Parechovirus (PeV) all have the Centers for Disease Control concerned about the impact on the health care system if more than one of these viruses peaking at the same time. The concern also is that RSV and PeV have both shown an ability to cause severe illness in young children.
Health officials have reported that U. S. flu hospitalizations are at the highest level they have been in 13 years this early in the flu season. There is also fear of a winter surge of Covid. Medical researchers say that the number of confirmed cases at present is misleading given the widespread use of home test kits. In New Jersey’s southern region, which includes Cape May County, there are a total of 242 Covid hospitalizations with 32 patients in intensive care.
Monkeypox continues to spread across parts of the country. New Jersey reports 745 confirmed cases, 48 hospitalizations and zero deaths from the virus. Cape May County is one of only two counties in the state to have no confirmed cases.
Testing shows a five-week average as of Oct. 22 of 93 detections of RSV in New Jersey. RSV is not new but is seeing a rise in cases now that Covid restrictions have been removed. The virus usually results in mild symptoms but it can cause serious illness in young children. Nationally, hospitals are seeing a significant rise in pediatric cases.
New Developments for Weed Sales
On Oct. 27, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved 18 new adult-use cannabis licenses.
The new licenses covered three areas of permitted business activity, with eight for cultivation, three for manufacturing and seven for retail sales. There are currently 19 locations authorized for retail of recreational adult use cannabis spread over 13 of the state’s 21 counties. All 19 are also medical dispensaries. The state has 10 medical use-only dispensaries in eight counties. No licenses have yet been approved for any applications from Cape May County.
The CRC was attempting to address several problems with their actions. Supply problems have grown at authorized retailers and approval of new licenses for cultivation and manufacturing is an attempt to address them. Combining the supply issues with so few retail outlets gives New Jersey the dubious honor of having some of the highest prices among the 19 states where recreational adult use is allowed.
A presentation at the meeting showed that sales at medical cannabis dispensaries have declined since April when recreational sales were allowed. Medical cannabis transactions in March totaled 131,472 and by September, that number was 100,847. Pricing information provided in the presentation reported August prices for medical cannabis averaging $414 per ounce and adult use averaging $453 per ounce. These prices can vary by over 25% depending on the dispensary location.
NOAA Winter Forecast
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its winter forecast. For New Jersey, the prediction is for warmer-than-average temperatures with a 50/50 chance of below or higher-than-average snowfall. AccuWeather’s winter forecast calls for below-average snowfall in the Garden State.
With the La Nina remaining in place, NOAA projects a drier South, persistence of drought conditions in the Great Plains and parts of the West, and wetter than average conditions for the areas of the Great Lakes and Pacific Northwest. Warmer than average temperatures are predicted all along the Atlantic Coast.
Happenings
Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron will change his legal representation as he fights charges in a health benefits case. Byron will rely on a court-appointed public defender.
Wildwood Crest received an OK from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for renovating its lifeguard building. At least one town seems to be getting along with the DEP.
Sea Isle City Mayor Leonard Desiderio urges the public to join in lobbying Trenton for changes in laws and directives that he says hamper police ability to deal with juvenile crime.
Cape May County will spend $24 million on a new county services building at the airport in Erma.
Avalon approved a facilities agreement for the use of its 8th Street pickleball complex for a professional tournament in September 2023. Meanwhile, borough police officers have taken to the sport.
Ocean City will join with Avalon and other county towns in raising their beach tag prices for 2023. The highest seasonal tag prices in the county in 2022 were in Cape May Point at $45 and Stone Harbor at $40. At least seven New Jersey coastal resorts have seasonal tag prices in excess of $100 this year, led by Deal with a seasonal tag cost of $150. Oddly, Sea Girt had a daily tag price of $11.98. Hope the taggers had a lot of pennies available.
A county detective who is facing second-degree official misconduct is asking for a dismissal of the charges. The court waits to rule while the parties continue to talk.
New Jersey’s report card from the U.S. Department of Education was mixed. Test scores showed widespread declines from 2019, especially in the area of mathematics. Yet the state did better than the national average in all categories. Learning interrupted by the pandemic faces a long road back.
Bids will be opened soon for the federal beach replenishment project on 7 Mile Island. We will get a glimpse of the added costs of the project caused by the Fish and Wildlife Service ban on the use of sand from Hereford Inlet.
Shore towns that owed lifeguards two years of overtime pay never were told by the state that regulations had changed the status of overtime for lifeguards in 2019. No mea culpa has as yet been offered by the Department of Labor.
Spout Off of the Week
Wildwood Crest – Before we grew up and experienced success, we tried and failed. Very few motivational posters say, “You’ll do great the first time!” We appreciate mentors who molded us into the people we are; sanding off our rough edges, and advising against bad decisions. Why are parents of today’s school children so desperate to prevent their children from experiencing a challenge? The same middle-aged parents that complain “everyone gets a trophy” want to eliminate discomfort in the classroom. Not all of your work earned an ‘A’. Allow your children to experience setbacks and frustration in school.
Read more or submit your own at spoutoff.cmcherald.com.
