Downashore: News Archives

Day after dune, missing its duneness

Hey, aren't dunes supposed to be, like, round? This newly-concave dune at Dorset Avenue in Ventnor had its middle carved out by that freakishly ferocious nor'easter yesterday that pounded our house overnight, flooded the roads that usually flood and made grocery shopping an Olympic event. I'm sure that Ventnor police officer found it amusing watching me hanging on to my shopping cart in 75 mph sustained winds in the parking lot, feeling imperiled for possibly the first time since I moved to the shore, but do I get a prize for my thoughtfulness in making sure the cart got back to the cart corral? (Sent it with the wind at my back, only way to do it). Still, schools were open and people went about their usual business, barreling their SUV's through two feet of water and taking note of trees on their sides, roots exposed. As the day wore on, it became clear: this was one of those nor'easters that sneaks up on the weather people but pounds a punch way bigger than the hyped storms. As Jen Miller details below, Ocean City was even more of a mess, with the bridges closed in the afternoon and lots of erosion. It was December in mid-May. Now, is everyone looking forward to Memorial Day?

UPDATE: Here's a link to Jackie Urgo's story and Tom Gralish's photos.

Posted by Amy S. Rosenberg on May 13, 2008 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

"I can hear it now: Route 49 is closed, man..."

Vineland?
For a huge music festival organized by the people behind Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and festivals in Glastonbury and Reading, England?
That's a tough one to wrap your mind around at first, Vineland, N.J. being more associated with depressed economic conditions, migrant workers, chicken farmers and a drive-in movie theater than alt rock music festivals featuring the likes of Amy Winehouse, the White Stripes and Dylan. But waddaya know, Vineland is suddenly a cool global brand. It's already, as my well-read colleague notes, the name of a Thomas Pynchon book (set in California), and Patti Smith, who grew up in nearby Woodbury, wrote about Vineland in a song aptly titled "Ain't it Strange." So maybe it was inevitable. Bring it on. We're always ready for drop-ins at the shore in August. What's another 150,000 who bring their own sleeping bags? Fairmount Park's dunderheaded loss is the Jersey shore's gain this summer, Vineland being just a few dozen miles of curvy back roads from most shore points, pretty much suburban Jersey shore. As one commenter on the Vineland daily newspaper's website joked, "I can hear it now: Rte 49 is closed, man." Hopefully not route 40, though. Who knows, one day, telling people you hang at the Jersey shore may yield this response: Hey, isn't that near Vineland?

Posted by Amy S. Rosenberg on November 28, 2007 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the books, an embarrassment of riches

Avalon Free Public Library director Norman Gluckman with a page-turner. A law mandating a percentage of taxes for libraries has some towns wanting a share of surpluses. (Tom Gralish/Inquirer)

Town leaders in Avalon and Ocean City are singing the blues precisely because their libraries are in the black, reports the Inquirer's Maria Panaritis. They say the extravagant Shore real estate market, combined with an age-old state law requiring that a fixed percentage of local taxes go to libraries, has created piles of unspendable cash. They want the ability to transfer surplus bucks away from books and onto the municipal ledger, even as libraries around the state struggle for adequate funding.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 19, 2007 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thousands expected for today's airshow in A.C.

All eyes won't be on the slot machines in Atlantic City casinos today, The Associated Press reports.

Thousands are expected to line the beach and boardwalk for the annual airshow.

The "Thunder Over the Boardwalk" show will feature flights by the Air Force Thunderbirds, Army Golden Knights parachute team, an F-15E Strike Eagle Demo Team and numerous civilian aerobatics.

Parking will be at a premium and traffic is expected to be heavy.

More information at www.atlanticcityairshow.com.

Taking photos at the show? Email them to us at downashoreblog@gmail.com and we'll post them.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 15, 2007 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

British tourist stabbed to death in Margate

Authorities say a British tourist was stabbed to death in Margate over the weekend, the Associated Press reports.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office says Paul Ritch was on a two-week vacation to the United States and was with some friends from New Jersey. The 37-year-old went to the beach, ate dinner and visited some night spots.

Police responded to an emergency call about 2 a.m. Sunday near North Washington and Monmouth avenues. Ritch was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later.

The medical examiner says Ritch suffered a single knife wound to his heart.

There's no word on a suspect and the murder weapon has not been recovered.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 13, 2007 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Will mammal center be stranded?

A female gray seal with a broken back gazes out from a small pool at the stranding center. Sometimes, the center takes in newborn seals that crawled onto highways. (Akira Suwa/Inquirer)

The Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, the only organization in New Jersey authorized by the state to rescue distressed marine mammals, may close in three years if local officials decide there is a more valuable use for the waterfront property it leases from the city, the Inquirer's Jacqueline L. Urgo reports. The venerable marine veterinary-care center opened 22 years ago on land leased from the city for $1 a year. That property, which runs along a back-bay tributary known as the Bonita Tideway, is now worth $3 million to $5 million, the City of Brigantine estimates. The city figures it can get more than a dollar a year when the center's lease expires in 2010.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 12, 2007 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ocean County beach designated a "beach bum'

Beachwood Beach West in Ocean County has been designated a "Beach Bum" by the National Resources Defense Council, which publishes an annual list of "beach bums" and "beach buddies." The beach violated public health standards 51 percent or more of the time samples were taken.

This year's list is based on the percentage of monitoring samples tested during the 2006 beach season that violated public health standards and practices that buddies use to help protect the public from exposure to beachwater pollution.

This is what NRDC said: "Beachwood Beach West is a small, river beach located in the town of Beachwood. It is a local beach with a short beach season primarily used for shallow water wading. The beach is in a low-lying area and receives storm water discharge from a major state roadway and an aging state-constructed storm drain. Local efforts to protect the beach include vacuuming storm drains prior to the beach season to minimize overflows, hiring a company called Geese Chasers to scare off waterfowl several times a day during the feeding and nesting periods, and using police officers to enforce poopscoop ordinances. Sixty percent of samples taken exceeded bacterial standards."

Here's the NRDC's 2006 "beach buddies," so designated for monitoring beach water quality regularly, violating public health standards less than 10 percent of the time, and taking significant steps to reduce pollution: North Carolina: Kure Beach and Kill Devil Hills Beach; Wisconsin: Sister Bay Beach and North Beach; California: Laguna Beach; Michigan: Grand Haven City Beach and Grand Haven State Park beaches; and Maine: Libby Cove, Mother’s, Middle, Cape Neddick, Short Sands and York Harbor beaches.

The rest of the "beach bums," so designated for violating public health standards 51 percent or more of the time samples were taken: California: Avalon Beach (north of Green Pleasure Pier) (53%) and Venice State Beach (57%); Maryland: Hacks Point (60%) and Bay Country Campground and Beach (56%); and Illinois: Jackson Park Beach (54%).

See a NRDC map and see how clean is your beach.

Video: America's 'Dirtiest' Beaches

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 8, 2007 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In Cape May, it's the cats vs. the birds

Feral cats at Douglas Memorial Park in Cape May gather last Friday for mealtime.
(David Gard/AP)
It's the cats versus the birds in this resort town, where cats are as much a part of genteel culture as rainbow-colored Victorian bed-and-breakfasts, and the annual World Series of Birding highlights its reputation as one of the prime bird-watching spots in North America, the Associated Press reports.
The federal government may intervene on the side of the birds, setting both fur and feathers flying in Cape May. Cat lovers fear the felines will be euthanized, while bird lovers want to make sure rare species aren't wiped out.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 7, 2007 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ocean County man kills wife, then self, with nail gun

An Ocean County man drilled nails into his wife's head and chest with a construction nail gun before turning the tool on himself in what investigators are calling an apparent murder-suicide, the Inquirer reports.

James B. Tomkinson, 77, of Stafford Township was pronounced dead this morning at the Atlantic Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for head and chest injuries he inflicted on himself, according to township police and the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.

The day before, Tomkinson, a retired school teacher, killed his wife Susan, 76, with the nail gun, inflicting fatal head and chest injuries, while in their Cutlass Avenue home, police said. Police were summoned to the scene after a relative discovered the couple and called 911, said Lt. Thomas Dellane.

The motive is still under investigation. Dellane said there were no prior police calls to the house.

Stafford Township sits west of Long Beach Island.

Google Map: Where it happened

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 7, 2007 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Horizon blimp one of just 20 in the world

The Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey airship will cruise the state through October.

Spent any time at the Jersey Shore in the last several years and you've probably seen it. Maybe even heard its drone. It's the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey airship, which has cruised the shoreline for the past 10 years. That 132-foot, white and blue blimp is rarer than you may imagine, reports the Toms River Times: one of only about 10 airships operating in the United States, and a mere 20 worldwide.
Read the full story.
See the blimp's flight schedule.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 6, 2007 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Summer workers of the world, united

Lucy Polakova, second from left, and other students from Colombia, Serbia and the Czech Republic gather in the second floor kitchen of the boarding house in Wildwood. Below, Diana Jaramillo, 21, of Colombia. (Ed Hille/Inquirer)

Lucy Polakova, 22, a lifeguard at Morey's Piers, is part of a brigade of global workers at the Jersey Shore whose reach this summer extends even to those goth - authentically so - kids from Bulgaria who make your lattes at Starbucks. "I'm working from 7:30," says Polakova, a tall no-nonsense blonde with piercing blue eyes. "I'd rather go to sleep. That's the most biggest problem. The Serbian guys talk really, really loud."
And so it goes at 328 Magnolia St., the Inquirer's Amy S. Rosenberg reports, where Polakova is one of 20 lifeguards, ride operators and food workers from Morey's who each cough up $100 a week to live together in a three-story rooming house. It's like MTV's Real World meets the Jersey Shore meets Eastern Europe, all in the shadow of the tilt-a-whirl.
Read Amy's story.
And the Inquirer's Howard Shapiro writes that You're never too old to work that cool summer job.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 5, 2007 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ventnor to restore Shore's last public fishing pier

Ventnor's public oceanfront fishing pier is the only one like it left on the New Jersey coast. Supporters say keeping it is important to the resort town's identity. (Eric Mencher/Inquirer)

Ventnor City officials have decided it is time to fish and not cut bait on a $3.2 million plan to restore the Shore's last public fishing pier, the Inquirer's Jacqueline Urgo reports.
Read the full story | Photo gallery: The Ventnor fishing pier

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 5, 2007 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Pier pressure: Va. play targets gentrification of boardwalk towns

Lou Ann K. Behan, a lawyer-turned-composer-playwright who grew up at the Jersey Shore, has a new musical comedy, "Over the Boardwalk," premiering tonight in Reston, Va., the Washington Post reports. The play is set in 1963 but highlights what Behan describes as widespread current efforts to "gentrify the boardwalk scene at shore towns from Atlantic City to Ocean City and down the coast."

The boardwalk-on-the-beach culture, with the attendant images of cotton candy, honky-tonk music and inexpensive, family-style entertainment, may soon be a thing of the past, she tells the Post, if developers continue to remove the old piers. "If we gentrify all of these vacation spots, where will the working-class families go?"

Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 2, 2007 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alcohol marring teen nights at boardwalk

Alcohol may bring an end to teen nights at Jenkinson’s nightclub on the boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach, the Associated Press reports. Owners plan to discuss the problem today.

The club sets aside Tuesday nights for teens to dance and no alcohol is sold. However, dozens of teens have been charged with alcohol-related offenses, including 12 with underage drinking this past Tuesday. They ranged in age from 14 to 17. Authorities believe most are from out of town and use public transportation to get to the town.

A Jenkinson’s spokeswoman told the Asbury Park Press the club might eliminate the program or change the night that it’s held.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 2, 2007 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bike bell carries heavy toll: $572 fine

How serious is Belmar about cracking down on noise after dark? Just ask Joseph Palermo, who was fined $572 for letting a woman ring the bell on his bicycle, the Asbury Park Press reports.

Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 2, 2007 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pinky goes gold

An argyle-clad plastic Pinky surveys his beloved Atlantic City.
(Sharon Gekoski-Kimmel / Inquirer)

More Mr. Atlantic City than Mr. Peanut ever was, Pinky Kravitz is an original, the ultimate insider in a town where everyone wants to believe they're the ultimate insider, the Inquirer's Amy Rosenberg reports. For 50 years he has broadcast his daily radio show, Pinky's Corner, from all over the resort town.
Read the full story.
Hear audio from Pinky's Corner, then and now: 1960s | July 31, 2007
Photos of Pinky, through the years: InsideCelebPics.com

Posted by Bob McGovern on August 2, 2007 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Boardwalk Art Show this weekend in Ocean City

The Ocean City Arts Center will present its 45th Annual Boardwalk Art Show this weekend. One of the largest summer art shows on the East Coast, the event will be held Friday to Sunday on the Ocean City Boardwalk, between Seventh and 14th streets. The show will feature the work of artists from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and 10 other states will offer oils, acrylics, watercolors, pen and ink, photography and mixed media. The show is limited to fine arts only and does not include three-dimensional art such as pottery, carved art, glass or sculpture.

Artists begin setting up at dawn Friday and judging begins at 10:30 a.m. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 30, 2007 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sixers' Beach Bash set for Aug. 4 in Sea Isle

After a two-year hiatus, the Philadelphia 76ers' “Beach Bash” will return to the Jersey Shore on Saturday, Aug. 4, from 4 to 7 p.m. The event, to be held at La Costa Lounge at Landis Avenue and JFK Boulevard in Sea Isle City, will benefit Sixers Charities, which assists organizations that focus on youth recreation, health and education.

The fun will include outdoor carnival-type games, inflatables and appearances by Sixers mascot Hip Hop. Inside La Costa Lounge, fans will be served by celebrity guest bartenders like Hugh Douglas, Marc Zumoff, Tom McGinnis, Big Daddy Graham and Keith Jones. Sixers alumni will be on hand to sign autographs. A yard sale and silent auction is also planned.

At the same time, the Sixers organization will unveil its 2007-08 Sixers Dancers, who will show fans what they can expect during the season.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 30, 2007 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alleged toe sucker apprehended in Ocean City

Ocean City police may have closed the bizarre case of the toe-sucker, NBC10.com reports. On Friday, officers investigated a reported sighting of a man who harassed a juvenile on June 25. The man, who police said matched the description of a man who allegedly sucked and licked a 12-year-old girl's foot after helping her untangle her kite, fled police. He was taken into custody after a short chase.

Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 30, 2007 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Belmar officials reading blogs of rowdy renters

Monitoring blogs is the newest tactic in Belmar's long-running effort to keep its notoriously rowdy group rentals under control in one of the Jersey shore's last true party towns, the Associated Press reports.

Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 29, 2007 8:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Avalon: solitude for families comes at a price

Nothing reflects the change in Avalon - to a quintessential family-oriented town - more than the renovation last winter of the Princeton Inn, the New York Times reports. Since 1971, when the Princeton Hotel added a vast barroom, “the P” had been the quintessential shot-and-beer shore bar. When the Princeton reopened in the spring, however, it had marble bar tops, served mussels and dainty salads. The transition was lamented by few.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 26, 2007 11:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just call them angels ... at the meter

When you're on vacation at the shore, a parking ticket can be a real turn off. But Cape May business owners are trying to help one quarter at a time, NBC 10 reports. They search for those who have parked without paying. But instead of wings, these angels come with quarters.

See the report.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 26, 2007 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Officials: Body found in ocean might be missing artist

Authorities are trying to determine if a body found floating more than four miles off Tom's River on Sunday is that of Jeremy Blake, a New York artist who went missing on July 17, the Associated Press reports. Blake, 35, disappeared a week after his girlfriend, filmmaker Theresa Duncan, 40, committed suicide in their East Village apartment.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 26, 2007 3:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Bread Man" brings North Jersey taste to Toms River, LBI, SIC

Known as "The Bread Man" to customers, Joe Lombardi brings a little taste of North Jersey and New York to the Jersey Shore, reports the Asbury Park Press. He visits six or seven Jersey Fresh markets weekly and operates his new store, Italian Cucina in New Hope.
Read the full story.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 25, 2007 9:00 AM | 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 24, 2007 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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.

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

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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 24, 2007 9:06 PM | 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)

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 20, 2007 5:52 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 20, 2007 8:49 AM | 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)

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

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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 19, 2007 1:29 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 19, 2007 1:24 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 10:27 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 10:17 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 9:27 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 16, 2007 5:58 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 11:28 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.

Posted by Bob McGovern on July 12, 2007 11:10 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?