As we all work to deal with COVID-19, our county and municipalities are forced to continue their essential operations while protecting government employees and facing the additional costs brought on by the pandemic.
In July, I wrote an article for the Herald titled, “Pandemic Changes Bicycle/Pedestrian Paradigm.”
In March, the pandemic forced county schools to close their facilities and abruptly pivot to all remote learning.
Cape Issues reported on the ambitious county bridge plan Sept. 16. We outlined the plan, which stretches over 15 years and promises to replace or rejuvenate many of the bridges that deteriorated beyond their useful life (https://bit.ly/300JbLh).
In August, Cape May County and the Cape May County Bridge Commission issued a bridge replacement and improvement plan.
Cape May County has long had a problem with the decennial census. In 2010, the county had the worst response rate in the state. In 2020, the numbers are just as bad.
In New Jersey, there have been recommendations/regulations that have affected our employment status, where we work, if we have a job, where we eat, and where we exercise.
Every four years, the federal government requires recipients of federal transportation funds to update long-range plans for how the funds will be distributed and used.
As our nation works through our response to COVID-19, the conflict associated with ingrained racism, and what it means to the quality of life in the U.S., Cape Issues wants to encourage the citizens of the county to weigh in on these issues and the ongoing challenges we face.
Cape Issues is a group of county residents who gather regularly to focus on issues they see as vital to the future of the county. One of those issues is the county’s public education system.
Commendation and public attention are in order for our Atlantic Cape Community College, and their recent program offerings publication regarding “Workforce Development, Certifications, Professional and Community Education” for spring 2020 (January-August).
The Cape Issues team was established in 2008 as a non-partisan volunteer group to advocate for the betterment of life in Cape May County, a very broad goal.
Representatives of Cape Issues met recently with newly elected State Sen. Michael Testa (R–1st) to introduce Cape Issues to him and to discuss how he would approach some of the current challenges facing Cape May County.
Healthcare impact has two components: 1) the direct impact of healthcare jobs and technology on the economy; and 2) the impact of the emerging interest in Social Determinants of Healthcare (SDOH) such as homelessness, jobs, education, transportation, poverty, child care, home healthcare, people released from prison, and food insecurity.
The Cape Issues team is committed to engage the public to consider and support efforts to enhance the county and an environment with opportunities that support future generations of our citizens.
The public gathered at Atlantic Cape Community College's Court House campus for a Cape Issues-sponsored discussion of the county’s ongoing efforts to establish a centralized emergency dispatch system.
Office of Emergency Management Director Martin Pagliughi said Wildwood Crest would be fully integrated into the system throughout May.
Cape Issues will host a meeting May 29 at Atlantic Cape Community College’s Court House campus, starting at 6 p.m.
As reported by Vince Conti in the Sept. 5, 2018 edition of the Herald, "On Aug. 9, the New Jersey Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup released its report, Path to Progress.
Cape Issues is a group of Cape May County citizens who gather monthly to focus on issues they see as vital to the welfare of the county. As the Herald reported in an article on Nov. 6, Cape Issues is considering the recommendations of the state’s Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup, a state…
In August, a task force appointed by Senate President Steve Sweeney presented a report with 30 recommendations aimed at easing the state’s financial burden. Among those recommendations was a proposal to consolidate school districts across the state.
As reported in the Herald's recent series on the county’s new central 911 dispatch system, the success or failure of that system will be determined by concerned residents like Tom Henry of Seaville who encountered a critical 911 problem last year that he wants everyone to know.
In Parts I and II of this series about the new countywide emergency dispatch system, the Herald learned that new communications technologies have arrived in Cape May County.
Part II of the series examines both human and financial benefits associated with central dispatch and how improved public safety can be achieved at reduced costs to taxpayers who live in municipalities that choose to participate in the system.
Life in Cape May County has become more complex; we want to live our lives as safely and simply as possible. Part of the challenge of feeling safe is getting the right police, fire, or emergency medical professionals to help quickly in time of need.
Those who seek to make government work more effectively or more efficiently often point to consolidation as a solution, and with good reason, too. There have been several cases where government consolidation has reduced operational redundancies and overall costs, sometimes also improving services.
“The era of high-stakes, high-stress standardized testing in New Jersey must end, and I will see that it does.” Gov. Phil Murphy made that promise as he campaigned for the office of the state’s chief executive.
In an article published in late September 2017, we pointed out that annual polls concerning national public school systems consistently, and by large majorities, give school systems a grade of C or less.
Travel conditions on Sea Isle Boulevard are unsafe, and after three years the work is less than 50 percent complete.
Today’s technology has created the option for a personal environment which almost eliminates the need to verbally communicate face-to-face with anyone.
This proposal is based on information obtained by two members of the Cape Issues Group, Joe McDevitt and Mike Keaney regarding the reconstruction of Sea Isle Boulevard. This project was started several years ago and is slated for completion around 2020.
The renewed interest in completing the long-delayed Route 55 has rekindled the established traditions of bureaucracies.
In the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallop Poll concerning the national public school systems, 83 percent of Americans give public schools a grade of C or less.
By Tom Henry - The renewed interest in completing the long-delayed Route 55 has rekindled the established traditions of bureaucracies.
A question about Route 55 raised at a meeting of Cape Issues, a citizens’ group that meets at the Herald building, moved Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton to act.
Following the completion of State Route 55 from Route 42 in Camden County to Port Elizabeth in Cumberland County in 1986, there have been numerous meetings and discussions about finishing Route 55 to have it link with the Garden State Parkway in Cape May County.
Over the past few years there has been a resurgence in new home building and existing home renovations in Cape May County, especially on the barrier islands.
Has the dream come true? That was the question asked in the Herald’s six-part series on Atlantic Cape Community College. In the view of the Cape Issues committee, the answer is, No.
Greg Lalevee traveled many roads from his Bridgewater home to arrive here by 7 a.m. May 3 so he could speak to Cape Issues members.
By Art Hall, Publisher - At our Feb. 2 Cape Issues meeting, we had the pleasure of welcoming into our committee Jon Gibson, a recent college grad who is interested in learning about and contributing to the efforts our group focuses on.
We at Cape Issues are continually seeking community input in order to help create a broad-based vision for Cape May County’s future.
Can we reduce taxes and at the same time be safer? The answer is, yes, and our county is in the process of making that happen.
At the Oct. 7 meeting of the Cape Issues Committee, the subcommittee assigned to review the facts associated with the question of the Lower Township Municipal Utility Authority (LTMUA) dissolution gave the report of their findings as follows.
The Cape Issues group has watched with interest the controversy concerning the dissolution of the Lower Township MUA.
Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton and Freeholder Kristine Gabor want to make Cape May County residents aware of the impending deadline for county residents whose homes were insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Answers to a dispute between the City of Cape May and the Borough of West Cape May proved as hard to grasp as water running through the Wilbraham Park master meter on Oct. 21.
Once again the Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) took center stage at council’s regular meeting on Oct. 21.
At a Borough Council meeting on Oct. 15, it was announced that the original proposed site for the September 11th Memorial has become yesterday’s news.
What can one learn from a sign? The Dune and Beach Trail project on 44th and 48th Street in Avalon will soon answer that question with an introduction of 10, 16x24 inch signs.
Ninety people, four easels, one goal: to speak about drug addiction in Cape May County and problems faced by those touched by it.
There is a special section of Stone Harbor that is has always been rather peaceful. However, this quiet cul-de-sac at the end of Second Avenue and 123rd Street could be destined for a surge of activity.
John Wilson of Wildwood Crest takes the position personal responsibility must play a part in the drug addiction problem in the county and nation.
Delegates from Japan Ecosystem Conservation Society (JECS) visited the Meadows Restoration at The Nature Conservancy’s New Jersey’s chapter Sept. 19.
Barbara Tomalino of Court House defends Cape May Regional Medical Center, while Randall Bauer of Stone Harbor remembers Sept. 11 and other tragic events in America’s history.
