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June 23 to 29
Immigrant State
As the battle rages over appropriate policies regarding immigration in the United States, a look at the status of immigrants in New Jersey can be informative. Roughly one in four New Jersey residents is foreign-born. The actual number the Census Bureau gives us is 24.2%.
A quick profile on this population shows that 33% of foreign-born residents of the Garden State speak a language other than English at home, although 75% are proficient in English.
While one in four of the population in the state are foreign-born, 23.6% of the state’s immigrant population is undocumented. That amounts to about 5.7% of the state’s population. In Cape May County about 4.6% of the population is foreign-born.
According to the American Immigrant Council, whose numbers are supported by the Census Bureau, the leading country of origin for New Jersey’s foreign-born population is India, followed by the Dominican Republic and then Mexico in third place. A full 80% of the foreign-born New Jerseyans come from Latin America (49%) and Asia (31%).
The foreign-born comprise 30% of the state’s workforce, including 43% of the STEM workers and over half of the home health-care aides. Construction and manufacturing are industries with the highest share of immigrant workers. General services jobs like housekeeping, home health aides and manicurists are also high employers of immigrant labor.
Immigrant household income in New Jersey is calculated at $134 billion, with $95 billion in spending power and $40 billion in total taxes paid, including $12 billion to Social Security and $3.3 billion to Medicare.
Regardless of the position one takes in the immigration debates, New Jersey has the second-highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the country, and that population is spread across a multitude of layers in the state, complicating any policy development. The issues span red and blue states, with Florida reported at 22% foreign-born population.
“Jaws”
For those of us old enough to remember, June 20, 1975, was a big day. It marked the release of the movie “Jaws,” and many of us stood in lines to buy tickets. There were no streaming services. This movie was seen on the big screen with popcorn in hand. The 50-year anniversary of the movie is an occasion to remember the contemporaneous reports of a drop in beach attendance and a heightened fear of stepping into the ocean by some who saw the movie.
Roughly 21% of U.S. adults saw the movie in 1975. Today that figure, according to Gallup polling, is 78%. In 1975 it was a movie for the younger crowd, with younger adults the most likely to have seen the movie. Only about 4% of seniors saw it at its release. Even if one looks to Gallup data from September of that year, more than two months after its release, 40% of those 18 to 29 had seen it, and another 21% said they planned to do so. For seniors, 4% had seen it and another 5% said they would. Now, of course, those young people are today’s seniors. Similar polling shows almost universal viewership among the older crowd.
For U.S. adults in 1975, 18% said “Jaws” was the “most frightening movie they’ve ever seen,” and 35% said it increased their fear of swimming in the ocean. Among women, those who spoke of an increased fear of the ocean was 47%.
But “Jaws” is not the movie it once was with the young. Barely half (53%) of those 18 to 29 say they have seen it. Maybe with anniversary showings of the movie across the country some of those Gen Z adults will finally see what scared their grandparents so much. If they are visiting Cape May, “Jaws” on the beach is an annual event.
Regardless of the attraction to today’s younger crowd, the movie still sits on the American Film Institute’s list of the top one 100 films of all time. Its domestic gross of $260.7 million and worldwide box office take of $477.9 million made it the top-grossing film of 1975, with estimates that its inflation-adjusted domestic gross in 2025 dollars would be $1.5 billion.
High Schoolers
The majority of high school students say they feel underprepared for postsecondary life. This comes from a June 10 report from Jobs for the Future, Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation. In the report, only 30% of high schoolers said they felt “very prepared” for what comes next.
Even among students who have a specific interest in mind like a college degree, less than half said they felt “very prepared.”
In a survey of Gen Z high schoolers, both students and parents said they were unaware of the choices that were available after secondary school graduation. They knew of the option to go on to higher education and of the alternative of directly entering the workforce, but high schools had not done the job of making students aware of options like “certification programs, internships, apprenticeships, military options or entrepreneurship.”
Among graduates, less than half said their high school prepared them for options other than college or a job. Many said their high schools did not prepare them for any option. Direct experience didn’t help with half the students, unlike their counterparts in earlier generations, saying they had never held a job. Fewer had any knowledge of internships.
Compounding the problem is the fact that about half of hiring managers said they were reluctant to hire Gen Z graduates. A report by Reume.org said many of the hiring managers cited Gen Z unprofessionalism, excess phone use and poor time-management skills.
Compared to even just five years ago, potential employers said the recent crop of high school graduates seems unprepared for jobs. They cite a lack of preparation on soft skills as well as technical skills.
“Earn and learn programs” like apprenticeships, internships and work study can help address the deficiencies, but both students and their parents say they know little about them. They are not a focus of most high school preparation. A Government Accountability Office report points to benefits that employees receive from such programs, including better retention and fewer workforce gaps.
Week in Review
*Residents concerned about or downright opposed to developer Eustace Mita’s plans for a luxury resort hotel on the Wonderland Pier property in Ocean City heard about an alternative June 21.
*The Cape May County chapter of the NAACP held its fifth annual celebration of Juneteenth at the Martin Luther King Jr. Rec Center in Whitesboro on June 21.
*A Maryland man was killed and two other persons were injured when two cars collided on Route 47 in Goshen June 22, police said.
*Sea Isle City bid thanks and farewell to two long-serving members of its governing body at the City Council’s June 24 meeting.
*Ten Scouts reached the highest level of Scouting on June 21 when they were promoted to Eagle Scout in ceremonies at the First Methodist Church of Cape May Court House.
*A 13-year-old was killed and two others were injured in a two-car crash on Court House-South Dennis Road in Cape May Court House on June 23.
*Six people have been charged with conspiring to transport stolen property derived from burglarizing consignment shops across multiple states, including the Queen May store in Cape May City, and taking designer handbags and other items.
*The Sea Isle City Council has endorsed a new housing element and fair share plan as adopted by the Planning Board, bringing Sea Isle into compliance with state rules regarding New Jersey’s newly reformed affordable housing system.
*The county commissioners will be taking back control of Cape May Airport from the Delaware River and Bay Authority when the DRBA’s lease of the property ends in 2029.
*Chief Financial Officer Francine Springer has been named Wildwood Crest’s interim administrator and Municipal Clerk Patricia Feketics the borough’s interim deputy administrator.
*A one-car accident took the life of a Belleplain woman on Thursday, June 19, after her vehicle left Woodbine Avenue westbound in the Belleplain section of Dennis Township and struck a tree, authorities said.
*The U.S. Coast Guard Training Center-Cape May said farewell June 24 to Capt. Warren Judge and welcomed Capt. Amanda Lee as the commanding officer of the nation’s only Coast Guard training facility.
*A 28-year-old Wildwood man has been arrested and charged with the sexual assault of a minor, authorities said.
*Atlantic Cape Community College has been awarded a $474,227 National Science Foundation grant for its Industry-Linked Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Pathways for Computer Programmers project.
*Members of the public confronted the county commissioners last week over what they claimed was rude or condescending behavior toward the residents they represent.
*Daniel Lockwood, a former Middle Township mayor, Republican Party leader and Cape May County director of facilities and services, died suddenly on Sunday, June 22. He was 57.
*Assembly Democrats introduced legislation June 26 that would direct the Board of Public Utilities to work with neighboring states on alternatives to PJM Interconnection’s electricity capacity and transmission market.
Spout Off of the Week
$60 from BPU for July/Aug ($30/mo) to offset high electric bills is not only insufficient, it’s insulting. And the best part, we have to pay it back! Bless their hearts it’s “interest free.” Gee thanks. Insult to injury; BPU Commish says the public needs to be ‘educated’ on how to use less power to lower costs. What a condescending *#! People with 2nd homes not in use for months have bills in the 100’s of $’s! Not using ANY power but a $200 bill? Guess we should live in the dark with no heat or air. Politicians create energy crises then place the cause and cost at our doorsteps. How typical.
Court House
15 Officers in County Got Major Disciplining in 2024
