Donald Wittkowski

Corsons Inlet Bridge has a serious case of pothole-itis. A Swiss cheese-like array of potholes has pockmarked the bridge’s concrete deck, forcing drivers to carefully navigate their way across the 76-year-old span that connects the shore towns of Ocean City and Strathmere. However, the Cape May County Board of Commissioners awarded a $151,841 construction contract on Tuesday to repair the bridge’s decking, safety walk and curbs.

A giant excavator sent its claw crashing into the roof of one of the cottage-style homes that had been part of the Pecks Beach Village housing complex since the 1960s. It took only a few minutes Wednesday for the excavator to all but obliterate a house that had stood for about 60 years. The claw scooped out a mouthful of wood, twisted metal and broken glasses in an awful crunching sound as the house was reduced to rubble. Although somewhat sad, the demolition of the tiny old home and others just like it at Pecks Beach Village on Fourth Street is the first step in clearing out the site for development of a project that will provide affordable housing for Ocean City families.

Are high-rise hotels on the Boardwalk in Ocean City’s future? The issue has become a hot topic leading up to the May 10 mayoral election amid fears that high rises could dramatically alter or damage Ocean City’s family-friendly image. Even the possibility of a high-rise hotel having a liquor license has been mentioned.

How much sand can $24 million buy? Next year, Ocean City will find out exactly how much. The city has been approved for a major beach replenishment project that will restore eroded sections of the shoreline with huge amounts of fresh sand. City Business Administrator George Savastano said the project is expected to be completed before the summer season of 2023 and will cost around $24 million.

Noah Lepore, 8, and his 3-year-old sister, Giuliana, were swinging their lightsabers like fully trained Jedi Knights while following the commands of their costumed Star Wars instructors. “Are you ready?” one instructor shouted authoritatively. “Lock your left shoulder. Lock your right shoulder. Duck!” Noah, Giuliana and the rest of the kids on stage at the Ocean City Music Pier during the OC-Con convention crouched down and then quickly popped back up to go on the attack with their lightsabers.

Each summer, lifeguards from beach patrols along the Jersey Shore showcase their tremendous athletic skills in rowing and swimming championships. Tom McCann Sr., a retired captain of the Sea Isle City Beach Patrol, envisions South Jersey lifeguards comprising a potential pool of athletes to represent the United States in another prestigious competition – the summer Olympics. “Our goal is to have the South Jersey guards in the Olympics,” McCann said in an interview Saturday. “They don’t have to be lifeguards. But I think they’ll be predominantly lifeguards, both male and female.” Hoping to create a program to develop future Olympians, McCann and other alumni from beach patrols in Cape May and Atlantic counties have formed a new group called South Jersey Coastal Rowing to promote the sport.

Reflecting a strong financial recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ocean City officials unveiled a proposed $88.8 million municipal budget for 2022 that keeps local property taxes stable and includes a record amount in surplus funding. During a detailed presentation on the spending plan Thursday night to members of City Council, Chief Financial Officer Frank Donato said the resort’s robust real estate market helped to keep the tax rate the same.

Ocean City has been approved for a $17 million beach replenishment project that could begin as early as the fall of 2022, according to the federal agency that will oversee the work. The money comes from the newly approved $1.5 trillion federal spending bill. Steve Rochette, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that supervises beach restoration projects, said the funding is a key step leading up to the award of a contract to a private company to do the work.

Since the 1960s, an enclave of modest, cottage-style homes on the south side of Fourth Street has provided affordable housing for Ocean City senior citizens. The 20-unit Pecks Beach Village housing complex survived countless floods, coastal storms and even a hurricane or two over the past 60 years or so, but now it will face something that will be too formidable – the wrecking ball. Demolition crews are expected to begin tearing down the now-empty, one-story buildings later this month, officials with the Ocean City Housing Authority said during their monthly board meeting Tuesday.

Emphasizing Ocean City’s strong finances, Mayor Jay Gillian announced Thursday night in his annual State of the City address that there will be no tax increase in the 2022 municipal budget. “I’m here to report tonight that the state of the city is stronger than it’s ever been,” he said while delivering his speech during a City Council meeting.