Downashore: July 2007 Archives

In Ventnor, a family's Fourth fun becomes a big-time bash

Inquirer staff writer Troy Graham writes today about a Chester County family that has turned a family affair at the beach into an annual Fourth of July weekend bash. For 30 years, the Sinclairs have come to Ventnor, but the party really started growing nine years ago. These days, it's wondrous and gigantic display of Philadelphia-area traditions - block party and Shore, friends and family, hot food and cold beer. (Photo: April Saul / Inquirer)
Read the full story.
Share your family's Fourth traditions at the Shore. Click the comment links below.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 1, 2007 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cover story: Band grosses $1 million a year at the shore

"It's not every day you see the lead singer of a rock band apply ice to his privates on stage (through his shorts) after a bit of a microphone mishap while singing "99 Red Balloons" midway through the third set." That's how Inquirer staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg starts her feature story on what may be the shore's most successful cover band. (Photo: David M Warren/Inquirer)
Read the full story.
Click here for a slide show of the band in action during a gig at the Ocean Drive in Sea Isle City.
Tell us your favorite band/group/singer at the Shore by clicking on the comments link below.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 1, 2007 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ultimate beach bum

No, he's really not worried about skin cancer. The Inquirer's Amy Rosenberg tells the tale of Bruno Battaglia, a 59-year-old unabashed sun worshipper who sits on Ventnor's Newport Avenue beach for eight hours at a stretch, every day. Battaglia is, Amy tells us, "the Jersey Shore's ultimate beach bum, a dude with a California mentality and Peter Frampton hair, who toughs it out in Ventnor because, well, that's where his mom lives." Read the full story here.
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Posted by Kristen Graham on July 3, 2007 9:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bruno Touches a Nerve

That's the foot of now-notorious sun worshipper Bruno Battaglia up there, carving his patented sand ottoman so as to provide for proper ventilation. Bruno, an unapologetic beach bum at the age of not-quite-59, seems to have touched a bit of nerve among readers today. While some thought the story "a nice thing to read with all the troubles," lots of people were offended by Bruno's devotion to a care-free, activity-free, work-free, shade-free lifestyle on the Ventnor beach. "Are you kidding me with this guy?" said one caller. "Get some pride. Get some self respect. And we love the beach." Others objected to his glorification of tanning, his dismissal of any possibility of getting skin cancer, and to his plan, at 100 years, to do himself in right there on the beach. Christina Matsinger, reading the story with disgusted coworkers in Broomall, said the story was merely "promoting laziness": "Could you find nothing more entertaining then a 59 year old bum who takes advantage of his poor mother and sits and does nothing productive with his life, but instead wastes away in a lounge chair on the beach?!" Steve Hill wrote: "This guy is a lazy loser who has accomplished nothing in his life and you are celebrating it? The self-absorbed sun king is not someone worthy of print space in your newspaper. Surely there are more meritorious topics to cover." To which I say, I am all ears. If anyone has any ideas for stories about people hanging on the beach in Jersey that might fall under the category of "meritorious" and "substantial," please, send them my way. Also, people wanted to know how Bruno supports the lifestyle, beyond his explanation of freelance masseuse and various and sundry types of mooching and housesitting. Let's just say his expenses are shockingly low.

Posted by Amy S. Rosenberg on July 3, 2007 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ocean City home sales climb on Philly ad blitz

The national real estate market may be sluggish, but agents in Ocean City are bucking the trend, the Press of Atlantic City reports. The resort city’s Board of Realtors can point to a 17 percent jump in residential sales through May 31. Nicholas Marotta of Academy Real Estate, board president, give some credit to a marketing campaign in February targeting Philadelphia. One recent home buyer, Keith Hausknecht of Warminster, Bucks County, told the Press he and his wife wanted to buy in Ocean City because of its small-town vibe and its family atmosphere.

Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 3, 2007 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

They Were Supposed To Be On the Beach, But Instead...

...They were crowding the lobby of the Tilton 9 in Northfield for matinee showings of Ratatouille and Evan Almighty. Hey, you had your Fourth of July weather on Memorial Day, remember? In any case, for a local like myself, who has weathered the shore movie theaters year round for a decade, it was a pleasant little shock to be in the midst of the movie throng. Forget surround sound. This was surround-people. Usually, I'm one of about 5 people watching the movies down here, and always, the only one to perceive, or care, about the myriad mishaps that have been known to plague your shore movie going experience. Sound off. Blurry screen. Movie starting 20 minutes late. Titanic shutting off before Celine sings. One time, during Amelie, the projection was so out of whack that the subtitles were below the screen, invisible. Still, I was the only one of the dozen or so people in there to get up and point this out to management. We're just not wired down here that way, I suppose. So it's always reassuring when the shoobies come to the movies. Even before Ratatouille began today, the man behind us was on full alert to possible problems. "The sound's low," he said, during a preview. It got better. But I knew this was one time I wouldn't have to be the one to complain. Thanks guys.

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Posted by Amy S. Rosenberg on July 4, 2007 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cape May Designer Show House opens door ... to 1840s

At this year's Cape May Designer Show House at 608 Hughes St., the kitchen on the first floor was designed by Jeffrey Holloway. (Inquirer staff photos by April Saul)

Cape May’s Hughes Street has been called one of the prettiest in America. Even prettier now because of the efforts of 25 area interior designers, decorators and artisans, an army of contractors, and Bill Saponaro, who has a love for old houses and for preserving his adopted hometown, writes Kathleen Nicholson Webber in The Inquirer. Through Oct. 14, the circa 1847 Memucam Hughes house at 608 Hughes will be receiving guests daily as the third annual Cape May Designer Show House.
Read the full story and enjoy the photos by Inquirer staff photographer April Saul.

Designer Linda Daly is getting the billiard/poker room and media room ready to show.

Continue reading "Cape May Designer Show House opens door ... to 1840s" »

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 5, 2007 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Better late than never

Sea Isle City shot off their fireworks Friday night after rain and wind forced a postponement on the Fourth. The crowd was a lot smaller than recent years, but the weather was perfect. And while the display won't put you in mind of the fireworks launched over the Art Museum in Philly on the night of the Fourth, at least the Sea Isle chiefs didn't empty the beaches before lighting up the skies. In fact, those gathered in beach chairs, on blankets and lined up along the promenade seemed to enjoy the show.

Fireworks light up the skies on the beach in Sea Isle.

A light stick creates a colorful aura around my son Cavan's head after the fireworks show.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 7, 2007 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Police: Arrests, confiscations of illegal fireworks down

Police departments at the Jersey Shore reported a relatively quieter Fourth of July holiday this year, according to the Press of Atlantic City. No significant arrests or confiscations were made last week, a sign that holiday revelers are beginning to heed the state's zero-tolerance policy on illegal fireworks.
Read the full story.
Did you see fewer fireworks freelancers in your town? Let us know. Post a comment below.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 10, 2007 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Featured events this week at the shore

Sand sculpting contest - 9 a.m., Wednesday, July 11, at the 6th Street Beach, the first one of the season. Information: 525-9300.

War of the Shore - The 18th annual Ocean/Viking Showdown Sportfishing Competition, known as the “War of the Shore,” will take place from Wednesday, July 11, through Sunday, July 15. The showdown is open to all Ocean or Viking owners, and includes four days of fishing, cocktail parties, and dinners for the captain, crew, and families. Information: http://www.sjmarina.com/

Phillies Home Run Derby - Sunday, July 15, at Dealy Field, for boys and girls ages 7 to 15: 1 p.m. for boys 10 to 12 and girls 7 to 15; 2 p.m. for boys 7 to 9; and 2:30 p.m. for boys 13 to 15. Rain date: Sunday, July 22.

Summer Beachfest 2007 - Saturday, July 14 (Rain date: Sunday, July 15), beginning at noon at the Huntingdon Avenue Beach. Featuring music by D.J. Peter Crook, games, bocce-ball, volleyball, tug-of-war, treasure hunt, face painting, sand sculpting, surfing demonstrations and food. Interested in volunteering? Call 609-823-6658, ext. 371.

Stone Harbor Triathlon - Sunday, July 15. Begins at 7:30 a.m. at the Stone Harbor Yacht Club. This event is closed to entrants. Watch the quarter-mile swim, 11-mile run and 3.1-mile bike.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 10, 2007 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Report: Global warming could spur flooding at beaches

Global warming may spawn more flooding at northeastern U.S. beaches unless heat-trapping emissions are curbed, scientists said in a report, according to Bloomberg.com. Atlantic City could experience the equivalent of a once-in-100-years flood as frequently as every year or two, according to the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of more than 50 researchers and economists.

Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bookbinder's at the shore: lower prices, meatier menu

One big difference between Bookbinder's new outpost at the Jersey Shore and the Old Original operation in Old City is the lower prices, reports Inquirer Table Talk columnist Michael Klein. The restaurant, in Linwood, has entrees in the $20s. There some other differences, too.
Read the Table Talk column.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 10:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Surfers get their thrills along the shore

The Jersey shore is known for its beaches and boardwalks, but don't sell it short as the home of some great surfing, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Read the full story.
Hey surfers, tell us your favorite surf spots on the south Jersey coastline.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In Ocean City, Miss New Jersey reigns supreme

At an Ocean City press conference today, it was announced that Amy Polombo will retain her Miss New Jersey title. She is seated between her mother, Jennifer Wagner, and her attorney. (David M Warren/Inquirer)

Amy Polumbo will be allowed to continue her reign as Miss New Jersey and to represent the Garden State in the Miss America pageant, local contest officials announced Thursday afternoon in Ocean City, reports The Inquirer's Rita Giordano. Polumbo's future was put under a cloud after she went public with what she said was an attempt to blackmail her with embarrassing, personal photos.
Read the full story.
Photo gallery: The blackmail photos revealed.
Poll: Do you agree that Miss New Jersey should retain her crown?

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 10:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wildwood staking claim as home of rock-n-roll

Bill Haley and His Comets made music history in 1954 with their live debut of "(We're Gonna) Rock Around the Clock" at the HofBrau Hotel in Wildwood.
(Photo: Great Wildwood Chamber of Commerce)
Officials and residents in Wildwood, which in recent years has put a high polish and a healthy dose of kitsch on its 1950s- and ’60s-era motels to promote tourism, are saying that their town is the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, according to a story in the New York Times. But Gloucester City in Camden County wants to cut in right there.
Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 11:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Singer John Oates buys shore place in Asbury Park

Architectural sketches of the Esperanza. (www.esperanzanj.com)
Lavallette has Joe Pesci, Mantoloking lays claim to James Gandolfini, and now Asbury Park can list North Wales native John Oates among its part-time residents, reports the Newark Star Ledger. Oates, half of the famed Hall and Oates singing duo, which headlined the recent July Fourth celebration in Philly, closed a deal yesterday with Metro Homes Inc. to buy a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in the yet-to-be-built Esperanza. For $675,000, the newspaper said, the guitarist will get 1,500 square feet of space on the sixth floor of the smaller of two towers comprising the $100 million building on the city's oceanfront.
Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 11:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wildwood's new trams' mission

The new tramcars on the boardwalk in Wildwood look like the rest of the fleet. (April Saul/Inquirer)
Four spiffy new tramcars are the first added to the boardwalk fleet in more than 40 years, writes Inquirer staff writer Jacqueline Urgo. But visitors may not notice ... until they sit down for the ride.
Read the full story.

At Rampage Trailer in Middle Township, Paul Tripoli (left) and Bob Brown work on a seat cushion for the new trams.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bellying up to the bar at the shore - one guy's faves

Don Wilno, who writes the Watering Hole column in the Asbury Park Press, has selected his favorite shore bars and taverns in a two-parter. He started with places in Monmouth County and wrapped up with watering holes in Ocean County.
Monmouth County | Ocean County

Have your own favorite watering hole at the shore? Share it with us. Leave us a comment.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lollipop Concert in Ocean City Thursday night

The Ocean City Pops will perform a Lollipop Concert with the Youth Opera of South Jersey at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 19, at the Hughes Performing Arts Center, 6th Street and Atlantic Avenue. The production is H.M.S. Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan. Admission: Adults, $5; children free. For tickets, call 609-525-9248 or order on-line at www.ocnj.us. The event is sponsored by Gillian’s Wonderland Pier.
And there's plenty more events this week at the shore.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A taste of Paris in North Wildwood

A French bistro in North Wildwood? This shore town is known for several things — its annual Irish festival, its profusion of Irish pubs, its proximity to the doo-wop-and-honky-tonk extravaganza that is Wildwood — but fruits de mer isn’t one of them, writes David Corcoran of the New York Times. Yet he found it - at a sprawling yellow Victorian with a huge rooftop sign: Claude’s Cafe. The well-heeled diners who pack those rooms every night in season are on to something: in ambition, pricing and execution, this is no mere cafe, Corcoran writes.
Read the full story.
The restaurant Web site is at www.claudesrestaurant.com.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At shore, family traditions gain flavor with LaBan

In photo at left, Vincent Chiarella, chef-owner of Gia in Wildwood, with wife Beth and daughter Mia, 19. At right, Phillips Seafood at the Pier at Caesars in Atlantic City, where the menu's highlight is the classic fish-house fare.

Big money has been pouring into new casino restaurants in Atlantic City, as well as Moshulu owner Marty Grims' growing stable of snazzy eateries. But Inquirer restaurant Craig LaBan says his most memorable experiences this summer happened to be at shore places that are the legacies of family traditions. Read Craig's second take on dining at the shore. [Read Part One here.]
Have your own favorite restaurant at the shore? Tell us about it. Leave a comment below.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Making waves

Surfing is bigger than ever at the shore this season, Philadelphia Weekly reports. And it's just swell after Labor Day. In Ocean City, N.J., surf culture is a year-round sport ingrained in the indigenous community.

Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 19, 2007 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Belmar again hosts sand castle contest

Greg Askins of Toms River works on his sand castle during the 21st Annual New Jersey Sand Castle Contest, held Wednesday at the 18th Avenue beach in Belmar. (AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Bradley J. Penner)
A list of winners will hopefully be available at www.njsandcastle.com by the time you check.
And here's how to build a sand castle. And more sand castle-building resources can be found at www.sandcastlecentral.com.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 19, 2007 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

N. Wildwood approves hotel, indoor waterpark resort

Artist's rendering of the 90,000-square-foot indoor waterpark to be called Seaport Village Pier. (WB Resorts Development)

The North Wildwood city council has approved a plan for a $175 million hotel-and-waterpark resort that would create 400 year-round, permanent jobs, the Philadelphia Business Journal reports. The 16-story hotel between 21st and 22nd streets, to be developed by WB Resorts Development, would include 425 rooms and a 90,000-square-foot indoor waterpark on the beach called Seaport Village Pier. The resort is slated to open in 2010. Corrected July 20th.
Read the full story.
Listen to Andrew Weiner of WB Resorts describe the resort, the proposed timeline for construction, and describe the jobs the resort will create. All MP3 clips furnished by Lubetkin & Co. Communications.

Artist's rendering of the exterior boardwalk, with the hotel on the left connected to the indoor waterpark on the right, connected by a covered skywalk.
(WB Resorts Development)

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 19, 2007 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Breathing room for a boardwalk classic

The amusement park on the Steel Pier of the Atlantic City boardwalk, facing closure last year when Donald Trump indicated he would develop the property across from his Taj Mahal hotel-casino, received a one-year reprieve in the spring. Now, with the project far from a done deal, there is hope the amusement park may see many more summers, reports Robert Strauss of the Daily News.

Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 20, 2007 8:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A.C. casinos expanding to stave off competition

The last piece of vertical steel is raised into place atop the new second tower of the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City. (AP Photo/The Press of Atlantic City, Tom Briglia)

Atlantic City's 11 casinos are busy expanding to compete with Las Vegas while fighting off unexpectedly strong competition from slots parlors in Pennsylvania and other neighboring states, the Associated Press reports. As part of the flurry of activity, executives at the Borgata Casino and Spa held a "topping off" ceremony today for its second tower. The Water Club, which at 457 feet will be one of the tallest buildings in Atlantic City when it is completed early next year, will include 800 new guest rooms, a two-story "spa in the sky," five swimming pools and other luxury amenities. The cost: $400 million.
Read the full story. And here's what's going on at the casinos for the next week.

Harrah's $550 million expansion includes the construction of a large dome, seen here in February. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 20, 2007 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Inspectors examine log flume ride after accident

State amusement ride safety inspectors Monday examined a log flume ride one day after an accident injured five people at Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, N.J., the Newark Star Ledger reports. The accident occurred when a car on the Canyon Falls Log Flume that was being pulled on a conveyor belt to near the top of a steep ramp unexpectedly slid backward and struck a car at the bottom of the ramp.
Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 24, 2007 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Goodbye beach tag, hello electronic wristbands

Fifteen-month-old Jeffrey Friedel of Philadelphia plays alongside a lifeguard boat on the beach in Ocean City, N.J. The city is considering eliminating beach badges and issuing electronic bracelets to paying customers. (Mel Evans/AP)

If Ocean City's plans come to fruition next summer, the resort would be a place where an electronic wristband can pay for access to the beach, food, drinks and parking, and can even send a text message to a mother's cell phone if a child strays too far away from her beach chair, the Associated Press reports.
Read the full story.

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Posted by Bob McGovern on July 24, 2007 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seven injured in LBI deck collapse

Safety tape marks the scene where seven people were injured, one seriously, when an outdoor deck collapsed this morning at a home in Ship Bottom on Long Beach Island. (Michael Sypniewski/AP)

Seven people were injured, one seriously, when an outdoor deck collapsed this morning at a home on Long Beach Island.
Read the full story.