Donald Wittkowski

The Cape May County Bridge Commission is planning a three-stage toll increase that would raise the fare by a total of $1.50 on the five coastal bridges it operates. According to a summary of the plan released by the agency Tuesday, the toll would increase by 50 cents in 2022, 50 cents in 2023 and 50 cents in 2024. The current toll of $1.50 for cars would double to $3 once the increase is fully implemented by 2024.

Dozens of unpaid appointees sit on a variety of boards and commissions that may not be generally well known to the public, but are still an important part of Ocean City’s local government. They include the planning and zoning boards, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Library Board of Trustees, the Tourism Development Commission and others. There is even a Shade Tree Commission that oversees the planting and maintenance of trees and shrubbery on public streets and property in town. City Council approved an ordinance Thursday night to temporarily end term limits for the appointees on those boards and commissions to avoid the need to make “massive appointments” by the end of the year.

The agency that operates five toll bridges linking the Cape May County shore communities along the scenic Ocean Drive is proposing a 50-cent fare increase to generate extra revenue to maintain antiquated bridges dating to the 1930s. Karen Coughlin, executive director of the Cape May County Bridge Commission, said that the toll increase, if given final approval, would take effect sometime in 2022 and be the first one since 2009.

Now 89 years old, Warren Reiner has lived in Ocean City’s West 17th Street neighborhood since 1952 and is a local authority on the chronic flooding that occurs in the bayfront community. So much so that the retired mechanical engineer wrote a community newsletter for 10 years to keep his neighbors informed of the tidal flooding that swamps the low-lying area. He stopped writing the newsletter last year, but was happy to hear the news from Ocean City officials Saturday that plans are moving ahead for a long-awaited, flood-mitigation project that is expected to be completed on West 17th Street by next Memorial Day.

New safety improvements are planned at the intersection of 20th Street and Bay Avenue to protect students at the Ocean City Intermediate School when they cross the road in a heavily traveled section of town, Mayor Jay Gillian announced Thursday night. Speaking at a City Council meeting, Gillian said one student was nearly hit by traffic recently and another was struck last year, underscoring the need for safety upgrades next to the school. “It’s a high-volume area down there, so it’s something we need to keep our eyes on,” he said while giving a report to Council.

Two years ago, the Republican challengers succeeded in their goal to “Flip the First” by defeating the Democratic incumbents in a hotly contested election in the First Legislative District. There was no such drama – or flipping – this time around. In a landslide victory Tuesday night, the Republican slate of Sen. Michael Testa and Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen maintained GOP control of the South Jersey district that includes Cape May and Cumberland counties and a small part of Atlantic County. In the Cape May County Commission race, Republican incumbent Leonard Desiderio was unopposed in winning his seventh term on the board that oversees county government ...

Bayview Manor, an affordable housing complex for senior citizens, is getting a facelift to transform the outdated building from the 1960s into a more attractive companion for a brand new project next door. The Ocean City Housing Authority is sprucing up the facade, replacing 150 windows and adding a new roof to the five-story building on West Avenue near the corner of Sixth Street. City Council President Bob Barr, who also serves as chairman of the housing authority’s board, said Bayview Manor has been showing its age and needs to be renovated both inside and out.

In his strongest statement yet about the project, Mayor Jay Gillian outlined a series of “benefits” he wants for Ocean City from the developer of a wind energy farm that is proposed off the South Jersey coast and would include massive turbine blades visible from the shoreline.

When Margaret Papai’s daughter, Liza Dingman, suggested that the two take the annual New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge tour together, Papai had one reaction. “She’s crazy! To drive all that way is crazy,” Papai confessed as she and Dingman burst out in laughter. But on Saturday, both of them were traveling throughout New Jersey, making their first five stops to visit 10 lighthouses, three life-saving stations, one museum, one virtual site and the Lighthouse Society of N.J. over the weekend to complete the challenge. Papai’s feelings that her daughter was “crazy” quickly faded when the two walked into the Ocean City Life-Saving Station and were treated to an authentic re-creation of what the architecturally striking yellow building was like in the late 1800s and early 20th century.

A large sign in front of the Music Pier that advertises the shows at Ocean City’s premier entertainment venue is so hopelessly old-fashioned that it requires a worker to climb a ladder and then manually change the letters. Now, city officials are considering getting rid of the antiquated sign that overlooks the Boardwalk at Eighth Street. Hoping to showcase the concerts, festivals and other special events held at the Music Pier in a better way, members of City Council believe it is time for a new sign that would feature the latest in digital advertising technology.