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March 31 to April 6
O Canada
Canadian tourists have a special relationship with Cape May County. As evidence, the county tourism website has a section in French, more than one campground and motel employs staff who speak French, and Wildwood sports Canadian-named motels like the Royal Canadian, Quebec and Fleur de Lis.
That special relationship has important economic consequences for county tourism. A 2023 county report said Canadian travelers amounted to “almost 10% of our July and August visitor base.”
This year inflation, a poor exchange rate, and tariffs and border rules have already begun to significantly reduce the number of Canadians crossing into the United States. Some local business owners are concerned, and there are signs that indicate they should be.
Reports show web search traffic to Jersey Shore locations was down in January and February. OAG Aviation reports that passenger bookings from Canada to the United States are down 70% over the same period last year. Border Protection data show almost 500,000 fewer Canadians crossing into the United States by land in February compared to the same month last year.
While economic issues are having an impact on travel, there are also reports of growing Canadian unease over the American political climate and even remarks made about Canada becoming the 51st state.
The Canadian Snowbirds Association has been reminding Canadians who spent the winter in the U.S. to plan for their return to Canada. They may find themselves paying a surcharge on products they bought while in the U.S. if they have exceeded their personal exemption.
New registration requirements also come into play if Canadian visitors plan on staying more than 30 days. A complaint was filed in U.S. District Court by nonprofit organizations against the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies challenging the new travel policy, called the Alien Registration Requirement. The complaint states that the rushed new policy “reverses the government’s long-standing approach to registration in a manner that will cause confusion, fear, and significant economic disruption.”
For their part, local business owners in Cape May County are just hoping they will continue to see all those Canadian license plates beginning in late June.
Microsoft Turns 50
It has been 50 years since Bill Gates and Paul Allen officially started Microsoft on April 4, 1975. The first product the company developed and sold was Altair Basic. You can see the original source code for it here.
What makes the anniversary of Microsoft’s journey poignant is the way it brings home how young the revolution is that started in that era 50 years ago. The leaps into a new future came rapidly from companies that achieved unimaginable success and even those that didn’t. In this era came Apple as well as Radio Shack and Commodore. The late ’70s saw Atari bring out Pong.
By the early ’80s Microsoft’s operating system powered the IBM PC, Apple announced a new user interface with Lisa, Microsoft followed with Windows, and AOL introduced home computer users to the internet. Smartphones followed, with the Blackberry in 1999 and the first iPhone in 2005.
In leaps and bounds the world of home computing moved from floppy disks to cloud computing, from computers on the desktop to smartphone computers in your pocket, from limited access to something called the internet to participation in a networked world that has upended the retail, entertainment and political spheres.
The Census Bureau puts the median age of Cape May County’s permanent population at 54 years old. That means for many of us on the upward side of that median, there are clear memories of the early years of the revolution that Microsoft was part of and that we all, for good and bad, still wrestle with today.
Fiscal Uncertainty
As lawmakers in Trenton still debate Gov. Phil Murphy’s record $58.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2026, officials from the state Treasury Department and the Office of Legislative Services warned the Senate Budget Committee about the high levels of uncertainty that surround the budget process this year.
The good news that officials brought to the meeting is higher than anticipated revenues for this year. The prediction now is that the current fiscal year may end with revenues $456 million higher than projected in the budget. Those dollars will be welcome given the $1.2 billion structural deficit embedded in Murphy’s proposed budget for next year.
Among the factors increasing the uncertainty are the changes being announced almost daily in federal funding for a variety of programs that impact state government. Related issues like the stock market collapse of recent weeks could also mean less income tax revenue in the near term.
Treasurer Liz Muoio reminded the lawmakers of the federal funding cuts that are coming without much prior warning. Some of the cuts have even been retroactive, she said. In terms of federal dollars, the biggest uncertainty is probably Medicaid. The state received roughly $14 billion in federal Medicaid funding. Muoio said the risk increases in programs like Medicaid since it is a reimbursement program for expenditures already made using state funds.
The fact that federal money can easily disappear was brought home to local municipalities when federal earmarks were lost in the recent Republican budget deal. In New Jersey more than $200 million in project funding was suddenly gone, leaving 211 projects up in the air about their funding.
Funding lost in Cape May County included $900,000 for a new fire truck in Wildwood, $1.5 million to aid in the development of a new desalination plant in Cape May and just over $4 million for flood mitigation efforts in Wildwood Crest. In all, the three projects totaled $6.5 million in expected federal support.
Across the state, earmark funding was removed from projects in each of the 21 counties, ranging from just under $3 million for four projects in Cumberland to 18 projects totaling $21.9 million in Monmouth County.
Week in Review
*The Cape May Islanders, a Special Olympics co-ed basketball team, won the gold as Division 12 state champions in a tournament held March 29-30 in Wildwood.
*Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian’s 2025 budget proposal calls for a spending increase of 5.5% and a local purpose tax rate hike of 7%. If approved, the tax rate increase would come on top of a 7.5% hike last year, making for a two-year jump of 14.5%.
*A joint Assembly and Senate hearing in Trenton spent six hours trying to discern the factors driving up electricity bills. Despite posturing and politicking, there was agreement that the state needs more electricity generation to address the present imbalance between supply and demand.
*The Wildwood Crest Board of Commissioners has passed the borough’s 2025 municipal budget, which is supported by a less than 1-cent tax rate increase.
*More than 140 people marched across Cape May City and staged mock deaths on Saturday, March 29, to protest the United States’ withering support for Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War and to call for an end to the conflict.
*Ocean City will allow construction of a 120-foot cellphone tower on city property in the southern end of the island to resolve a lawsuit.
*A concept plan for the second part of the Cape May County Veterans Cemetery improvement project was presented March 25 to the county commissioners, who gave it a nod of approval.
*The Wildwood Crest Board of Commissioners has honored the Crest Memorial School seventh and eighth grade boys basketball team on its unblemished winning record.
*A proposal to put a lid on rising electricity supply prices in New Jersey and other states for two years was welcomed when it was announced in January, but the plan has not yet received a key federal approval, an approval that is not guaranteed.
*The Middle Township High School Lady Panthers softball team honored strikeout record holder Carie VanArtsdalen at their home opener March 31 at the Boyd Street fields.
*Stone Harbor homeowner Joshua Weikert will compete in the 2026 “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions later this year after winning $100,202 and six games on the popular TV game show.
*A “joke” bomb threat at Wildwood Catholic Academy resulted in police questioning a student and a search of the student’s residence.
*Jamie Moscony, superintendent for the two county school districts, presented each district’s 2025-2026 school year budget to the county commissioners March 25, with the respective school boards afterward passing the new budgets.
*The Middle Township Police Department has introduced its new HERO Campaign Patrol Vehicle as a moving reminder of the importance of safe and sober driving.
*Stone Harbor property owners will see a jump of $125 per quarter for water and sewer utility services beginning this spring.
*At an April 1 virtual Board of Public Utilities hearing several Democrats used the open public comment opportunity to show that they, like Republicans, are angry at what rising energy prices are doing to constituents.
*The speed limit on Route 147 going into North Wildwood has been reduced from 50 mph to 25 mph.
*Cape May City is requiring trucks carrying construction debris through town to have secure coverings over their loads.
*The Stone Harbor Borough Council is looking into an agreement with Wildwood Crest for shared uniform construction code services.
*Wildwood is getting the word out early: It is going to be strictly enforcing laws it believes will maintain peace and safety in the community.
Spout Off of the Week
Villas – What’s with these loud vehicles idling a half hour in front of house early mornings I with head lights shining in windows. It’s illegal for one thing and totally unneighborly for another. Cut it out … and off. Thanks
