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Aug. 11 to 17
The Energy Crisis
If you are busy dealing with an unexpected and painful case of whiplash, you are not alone. Swinging your head one way and then another as you try to keep track of all the explanations for the record high electric bills that are eating into the household budget will do that.
It is impossible to talk about the recent news without spending yet more time on the very high price of electricity and the many groups and individuals trying desperately to distance themselves from the decisions and actions that have brought us to where we are.
New developments include Gov. Phil Murphy signing legislation to require the Board of Public Utilities to investigate PJM Interconnection, with a report due long after he has left office. Murphy is also seeking to codify into law the aggressive energy goals he set via the extensive use of executive orders, including the goal of 100% zero emissions energy by 2035.
Meanwhile, PJM is busy deflecting Murphy’s attempts to paint it as the villain in the energy price crisis by pointing to supply/demand imbalances caused in part by New Jersey’s “failed policies.”
The Republicans are also blaming Murphy again this week, saying, as GOP Assemblyman Alex Sauickie did, that “the cause of skyrocketing energy bills lies with the governor and the Democratic-controlled Legislature.”
Additionally, the BPU has not yet ruled on Atlantic City Electric’s request for an 8% hike in the distribution rate, which would be on top of the already high supply rate increases that took effect in June. The optics are not good, since the repeated delays on the Atlantic City Electric request increasingly look like an attempt to push that decision to after the election.
Murphy’s plan to codify his goals into law during the lame duck session of the Legislature after the election and before the inauguration of his replacement will not be the only climate-related action planned for that last gasp of life from the Murphy administration. January is set as the point when the governor’s Department of Environmental Protection is expected to adopt new land use rules for the coastal zone, the Resilient Environments and Landscapes rules, better known as REAL.
Unlike T.S. Eliot’s ending to his famous poem “Hollow Men,” this administration appears ready to go out not with a whimper but with a bang.
Chronic Absenteeism
A new Rand research report points to the continued problem of chronic absenteeism in public schools, especially in urban areas. Absenteeism is tied to performance and to a slide in levels of learning. The report published Aug. 14 said many youths don’t think being chronically absent is a problem.
In New Jersey the definition of chronically absent is missing 10% or more of scheduled school days. The state includes absenteeism in school district performance reporting, so numbers are available.
For the 2023/2024 school year, the state Department of Education released reported absenteeism numbers in April 2025. Across 15 Cape May County operating school districts (a 16th, missing in the report, is the Special Services district), five basically kept pace with the state average for their type of district, five did much better than the state average, and five had absentee rates higher, and at times much higher, than the state average.
A state average is calculated for school districts with a similar mix of grades. Percentages represent the proportion of students in that district who meet the definition of chronically absent, missing 10% or more of the school days. The average for the state for districts with the same grade distribution is shown as a comparison framework.
The five districts that did better than the state average were Cape May City, Lower Cape May Regional, Stone Harbor, West Cape May and Wildwood Crest. The best record was at West Cape May, which reported 2.4% of students chronically absent compared to 13.7% for all pre-K-to-6 districts in the state.
The five districts that basically tied or came within a percentage point or so of the state average for their type of district were Avalon, Dennis Township, Lower Township Elementary, Middle Township and Ocean City. In all five cases the chronic absenteeism at the schools was between 12% and 14%, as it was for similar districts in the state.
The five districts that did not equal or beat the state averages were Cape May County Technical, with a chronic absenteeism rate at 26.1%, North Wildwood at 29.4%, Wildwood at 22.5% and Woodbine at 36.4%. The fifth district in this category was Upper Township, which missed equaling the state average by more than 2 percentage points but did not have a chronic absentee rate over 20%. Upper Township came in at 16.5%, compared to the state average for pre-K-to-8 schools of 13.8%.
New Jersey Sues Trump
In the 30 weeks since President Donald Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, New Jersey has sued the Trump administration 32 times. The state is not alone in this resort to the courts to oppose Trump administration actions, but state Attorney General Matthew Platkin has been busy. The state’s 2026 budget, with a record spending level of $58.8 billion, included added funds for hiring the extra lawyers this level of litigation requires.
The New York Times published a summary of the lawsuits against the administration on Aug. 14, placing them into categories of immigration, birthright citizenship, federal employee firings, climate and environment issues, funding freezes and cuts, transgender rights, Medicaid qualifications and others.
As you might expect, Republican comments have not been friendly regarding Platkin’s actions. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2) said Platkin is “out of step” with what New Jerseyans want and need.
New Jersey is one of 20 states suing over conditions placed on the distribution of transportation disaster recovery funds as one example. A variety of internet sites have begun tracking various actions by states against federal agencies or policies. One site, the State Litigation and AG Activity Database, says, “Suing the federal government has become the most prominent form of coordinated national AG activism in recent years.”
New Jersey is one of a small number of states where the attorney general is not elected by the voters. Only seven states do not elect the AG, and in five of those the attorney general is appointed by the governor. Whether this pace of litigation will be continued is just another of the many issues that will be on the plate of the new governor following her/his Jan. 20 inauguration.
Week in Review
*Police arrested a Green Creek man and confiscated 2,100 bags of heroin and $10,000 in cash as the result of searches at several residences and a car.
*At the July 15 meeting where a police union representative cautioned the Stone Harbor Council that lack of a police contract was at the root of recent resignations in the ranks of the police department, the borough added to those ranks by swearing in two new officers.
*West Wildwood held a ceremony that is rare in the municipality that is listed at 0.36 square miles – a ribbon-cutting for a new business, Tom’s Cafe.
*A bomb threat closed a portion of the boardwalk in Wildwood on Friday, Aug. 8, but no device was found.
*A two-alarm fire caused extensive damage to a home in the north end of Ocean City on Friday night, Aug. 8. There were no injuries.
*A house fire destroyed a single-family residence in West Wildwood on Tuesday, Aug. 12, but the lone occupant was not injured, fire officials said.
*A decision on an 8% Atlantic City Electric rate increase request is still the subject of closed-door negotiations between the utility and the BPU, with the possibility that no decision will be reached until after the November elections.
*President Trump has proposed a budget that would significantly reduce federal funds for public education.
*The mother of a young man who drowned off Hollywood Beach in Wildwood Crest two years ago has brought a new lawsuit against the borough and the Wildwood Crest Beach Patrol.
*The Cape May County Technical School District has opened registration for its Adult and Community Education fall classes, offering residents a wide range of opportunities to learn new skills, advance careers, and explore personal interests.
*The Board of Public Utilities approved a plan Aug. 13 to reduce monthly electricity bills by $50 in both September and October. Unlike the $30 credits that the state’s four distribution utilities are applying to bills in July and August, the state funds will not have to be paid back.
*The Cape May County Airport was again the topic at the Tuesday, Aug. 12, Board of County Commissioners meeting, with not many details being given.
*The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is investigating a number of issues in the state’s cannabis market, including product safety, labeling accuracy and potential misrepresentation of potency claims.
*Increases in disastrous weather and in costs for building materials and labor have led to a national crisis in insurance coverage, an insurance representative told the Avalon Council on Aug. 13.
*The North Wildwood City Council plans to require contractors to contain construction debris, including plastic sawdust from vinyl fencing and other types of dust, debris or contamination.
*As electricity prices plague voters in advance of the November election, Gov. Phil Murphy has doubled down on his effort to place the blame for the high prices on grid operator PJM Interconnection.
Spout Off of the Week
Bravo Zulu to Wayne Whalen and the volunteers who have restored Coast Guard motor lifeboat 36538. I visited its famous restored sister, 36500, in Cape Cod, after learning about its role in what is still considered the greatest rescue by small boat in the Coast Guard’s history. The 36538 is on my list to visit, as I want to pay respect to the crews who took it into harm’s way to assist those in peril.
Cape May County
