| 2012: | Jan. | Feb. | March | April | May | June | July | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. |
July 26, 2012
AVALON took second place in the 22nd Annual Lifeguard Classic, held in Atlantic City this past weekend. Sea Isle City finished fifth and Stone Harbor finished eighth in the competition. Congratulations to all three teams for their great performances in lifeguard competitions throughout the summer.
THE HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS are bringing four games to the Wildwoods Convention Center with games nightly at 7pm from August 8-11. The team has also added a 2-hour skills clinic for kids ages 6-14 on Wednesday, August 8 from 10am to 12 noon. The clinic will be run by the Globetrotter stars, and one roster spot includes a voucher to any game. The clinic is limited to 75 spots, so visit ticketmaster.com for tickets to the clinic or games.
WIND FARM: Fishermen's Energy now has all permits required to begin construction of an offshore wind farm about 3 miles from the Atlantic City beach. Construction is expected to begin next year, with a half dozen turbines operating by 2014. The $200 million project is expected to create 30 or more permanent jobs while producing 20 to 25 megawatts of electricity.
LAST MINUTE VACATION? If you're flexible with your dates, we can still find you a last minute vacation rental. Contact me with your requirements to get started!
July 19, 2012
MARKET ACTIVITY remains high; 29 new purchase contracts were written in the local market during the month of June, plus a dozen more during the first two weeks of July. Sixty properties are currently under contract, with settlement scheduled as far out as December 31. Thinking about buying your own place at the shore? Jump in--the water's fine!
AVALON MAYOR Marty Pagliughi will become Cape May County's emergency management director, taking the place of outgoing director Frank McCall. Freeholder Gerald Thornton said, "He's done some really great things in Avalon. I've been impressed and the state has been impressed."
JITNEY SERVICE may be coming to Avalon and Stone Harbor. The idea was discussed by officials that attended a July 2 meeting. Jitneys ran in Sea Isle City for this year's Polar Bear Plunge, and began operating daily on June 22nd. Merchants in Avalon and Stone Harbor support the idea; if ordinances are passed allowing jitney service it could be in place for next season.
An evening cruise is the perfect way to enjoy a beautiful sunset!
AVALON HARDWARE owner Bob Clark purchased a brand new handicapped beach chair and donated it to the borough. Avalon now offers 13 of the surf chairs to the public at 9th Street, 30th Street, and 80th Street. There is no charge for use of a chair. A "thumbs up" to Mr. Clark for his generous donation of a new surf chair!
THE BEESLEY'S POINT BRIDGE will be torn down, with part of the demolition beginning as soon as this fall. The bridge carries Route 9 across nearby Great Egg Harbor Bay, linking Cape May County with Atlantic County. A new southbound Garden State Parkway bridge is to be built in that same area; the remainder of the Beesley's Point Bridge will be torn down as part of that project, which is expected to occur in 2013. The bridge has been closed, despite the protests of public safety advocates, since 2004, when major structural problems were discovered.
CONGRATULATIONS to Zac Campbell, of the Stone Harbor Beach Patrol, for winning the can run, during the Beschen-Callah Memorial Lifeguard Races this past Friday. The can run simulates a surf rescue, and Zac completed his run in 48 seconds. Zac is the son of my colleagues, Brian and Jane Campbell.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE: I'd like to congratulate my son, Paul, on his baseball season. When the regular season concluded Paul was proud to be named to Upper Township's 8U All Star team. After a long tournament season, Paul and his teammates took second place in their final, hard-fought tournament. For me it was a pleasure coaching Paul and his younger brother, Dan, during the regular season, and coaching the all star team!
July 12, 2012
"73% BELIEVE it's a good time to buy a home," according to mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, as reported in the New York Times July 9th. Confidence among buyers continues to return. In the local market, the number of properties sold in the first six months of the year increased by 22%, from 138 in 2011 to 169 in 2012.
STONE HARBOR'S LIFEGUARDS won the Cape May County Lifeguard Championship, besting Ocean City (2nd Place), Sea Isle City (3rd Place), and Avalon (4th Place). Congratulations to the Stone Harbor team on their first place finish, their first in the 28-year history of the event.
LAST WEEK'S HEAT made even the islands feel hot, as evidenced by the sign at Sturdy Savings Bank on Dune Drive, which indicated a temperature of 104 degrees! Within a couple of hours the seabreeze cranked up, dropping the temperature by 20 degrees and providing some much needed relief! This week we've enjoyed high temperatures in the low 80s, and daily seabreezes.
The sign at Sturdy Savings Bank indicates a temperature of 104 degrees. A seabreeze brought relief shortly thereafter.
THE OCEAN is "walk-in warm!" Thanks to hot weather and favorable winds, surf temperatures are in the mid-70s, making an ocean swim quite enjoyable!
LIBRARY ON SECOND AVENUE: Stone Harbor Borough Council cast a 4-2 vote on July 3 in favor of locating the new library on Second Avenue between 93rd and 94th Streets, instead of the 95th Street beachfront location that had been considered. The library and its location have long been contentious issues in the borough; the issue has been discussed in various forms since at least 2007.
SLOW DOWN, ENJOY IT! Summer's in full swing--slow down, take a breather, and enjoy it! Catch a movie on the beach, take in a concert, go fishing, or fly a kite with your kids. You'll be glad you did!
July 3, 2012
"THE HOUSING MARKET is starting to recover." - NY Times, June 27, 2012. The Wall Street Journal ran a similar article the same day, stating "Home-sales data released Wednesday provided fresh support for the view that the strong start to the spring home-buying season marks the beginning of a recovery, not a temporary blip due to an unusually warm winter."
CAPE MAY COUNTY escaped most of the damage caused by a line of heavy thunderstorms that passed through South Jersey early Saturday morning, causing extensive power outages in Atlantic County. While over 100,000 people in Atlantic County are still without power, there is almost no evidence of the storms in Cape May County.
FLOOD INSURANCE EXTENDED: Congress passed a five year extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, ensuring the availability of flood insurance for home buyers. 235,000 people in New Jersey and 5.6 million nationwide have flood insurance.
Rows of colorful kayaks await their owners at Avalon's Kayak Park.
SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING is being considered in Cape May County as a way to boost recycling rates. More recycling means less waste in landfills, which helps reduce trash collection costs for taxpayers. The county will poll its sixteen towns to find out which are willing to transition to single stream recycling. If a majority are willing, the county will switch.
AVALON REAL ESTATE AGENCY is proud to once again be a sponsor of the High Heel Race benefiting the Melanie Finley Ovarian Cancer Foundation. This year's race will take place on Saturday, July 28 at 3pm on 21st Street in Avalon. There's a $25 entrance fee. Learn More
FIREWORKS! Who doesn't love 'em? There will be plenty of fireworks displays to choose from this July 4th! Here's where to find them:
Stone Harbor, 80th Street, at dusk; Sea Isle City, JFK Boulevard, 9pm; Avalon, 30th Street, 9:15pm.