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Oct. 30-Nov. 5
Ørsted
On Halloween the Danish wind farm developer Ørsted shocked us all with an announcement that the company would “cease development of the Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 projects.”
In Trenton, Gov. Phil Murphy called the decision “outrageous” and he vowed to continue the state’s offshore wind initiative, saying the “future of offshore wind in New Jersey remains strong.”
In Cape May County, officials held a news conference to celebrate the decision and to emphasize the role that the county’s “unrelenting opposition” played in driving Ørsted to withdraw. County officials said they would remain wary of new efforts to put wind farms off the coast. Meanwhile, officials savored the moment when they helped to defeat what they termed the industrialization of the ocean.
Ørsted’s decision blows a sizeable hole in the state’s plan to achieve 100% clean energy by 2050. It also leaves Murphy with a headache as Democratic candidates for the state Legislature have been campaigning while defending the offshore wind initiative.
Voter Registration
Cape May County has long been a bellwether of the state Republican Party. The last Democrat to win countywide election was Jeff Van Drew who has since declared himself a Republican. It is not unusual to see municipal elections with nominally partisan governing bodies that have no Democratic Party challenger.
There is some evidence that a slow evolution of Democratic hopes in the county should not be completely ignored. As the 2023 general election takes place, a look at the history of voter registration points to some hope for a more contested future in county politics.
According to state voter registration data, in 2000, the year in which the county hit its population high point in the U.S. Census, registered Democrats represented 14% of all registered voters. Republicans that year were 40% and independents and other party registrants represented 46%.
Since then, even with an overall population decline, voter registration has risen by 10%, with Democrats in 2023 representing 23% of the total. In short, Democratic registrations have grown by 88% since 2000. That growth came at the expense of independents or those who were undeclared, a category that lost 21% of its 2000 registration level in the period to 2023.
Republicans still have the largest share of the registered voters, at 43% in 2023, but Democrats are actually showing some life in the county. Their growth in voter registrations has been slow but steady.
School Consolidation
This week we reported on a school feasibility study that looked at various forms of reorganization of education for students in Woodbine, Dennis Township and Middle Township. Among those options was the creation of a regional school district for the three municipalities. The study did not gain much support among officials in the three districts, with David Salvo, the superintendent of the Middle Township School District saying, “There are no plans for consolidation/regionalization at this time.”
What energized this study in the first place was the continuing loss of state funding following the state’s decision to phase out adjustment aid. Pandemic relief funds and one-year funding from the state have masked some of the problem, but barring a change in state policy, county school districts are going to be expected to manage with significantly less funding from Trenton.
In the county, thus far, consolidation has been rejected every time it has been studied. Cape May County has 13 municipal school districts and two county districts. With the loss of state aid, the prospect for the future may involve higher school property taxes.
Happenings
Sea Isle has formally broken ground on a new dog park with an appreciative audience of dogs who brought along their humans for the event.
Wildwood’s Dave Ingersoll barely escaped death in Vietnam. His story helps us recall why we celebrate Veterans Day.
Middle Township Fire District No. 3, Green Creek, won voter approval for the purchase of a new fire truck estimated to cost around $1.3 million.
Problems on the roads persist even with the summer congestion gone. A Villas man fell off an electric skateboard and was hit by a moving vehicle on Halloween Eve, while a pedalcyclist was struck by a car near Lower Township Hall.
La Mer owner Gus Andy passed away in October at the age of 85. He was remembered by friends and family for a life that spanned continents and generations.
Two new lawsuits have been filed against the borough of Stone Harbor. One is by a Stone Court property owner challenging the Planning Board’s denial of development plans for the property and the 1980’s-era ordinance that limits renovations in the area known as the Courts. The other comes from the borough’s terminated administrator, Robert Smith, who was one of two former employees to file tort claims with the borough.
Two more arrests for child porn were announced by the County Prosecutor’s Office, adding to the frequency with which this crime has been uncovered in Cape May County.
Avalon is limiting parking times in the municipal lots that serve borough hall, the local school and the free library.
Sea Isle City is altering its first floor elevation rules just months after the council adopted them. The goal is to have more “reasonable” regulations for properties in low-lying areas of the city.
This year’s Code Blue process has been outlined by county Information Officer Diane Wieland, including information on pick-up times and locations by the Fare Free Transportation system.
It looks as though that controversial shed in a Wildwood Crest homeowner’s front lawn will be removed soon. Items in the front yard shed will be removed to a backyard shed.
Sea Isle added funding to its capital plan in order to cover the added expense associated with this year’s federal beach replenishment. Like everything else the cost of dredging and moving sand has gone up.
A marine environmental group, Oceana, has issued a new report that catalogues the number of large ocean vessels that speed through regulated zones meant to have reduced speed to avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales.
Cape May held a town hall meeting in which residents were updated on major city projects and given the opportunity to question the mayor and council on local concerns.
A boater fell asleep and his boat ended up on an Ocean City beach. The boater was charged with boating while intoxicated.
Work has resumed on the Wildwood Boardwalk renovation after a Superior Court judge lifted restraints that had been put in place in response to a lawsuit impacting the contractor.
Spout Off of the Week
Cape May County – When the next developer comes in to pick up where Orsted left off, and you can guarantee someone will, just put them beyond the horizon and the opposition will cease. What a bad idea to make them visible.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
