Donald Wittkowski

James Dambach recalls the time that surfers went zipping by in front of his Ocean City house. Another time, there were kids floating on inflatable rafts. Dambach, 67, a retired Philadelphia police lieutenant, doesn’t live in an oceanfront or bayfront home. His house at 14th Street and Haven Avenue is landlocked. Most of the time, it’s landlocked. During storms, Haven Avenue is swamped with floodwater – so much so that kids occasionally float by on rafts or surfers are pulled on their boards while tethered to pickup trucks driving down the street, he said. Dambach was among a dozen residents who attended an hour-long public meeting Saturday organized by Third Ward Councilman Jody Levchuk to discuss local issues. When Levchuk opened the floor to residents, they urged him and other city officials to solve the flooding problems that occur on Haven Avenue and West Avenue in the area between 14th and 17th streets.

The agency that oversees the five toll bridges connecting Cape May County’s seashore towns along the Ocean Drive approved a 2021 operating budget Thursday that does not include a fare increase for motorists. The Cape May County Bridge Commission has discussed the possibility of raising the $1.50 toll off and on for the past three years, but has held the line so far. In the past, the commission has indicated that a toll increase will be required at some point to help Cape May County finance a major capital construction program, including the possible replacement of the aging Townsends Inlet and Middle Thorofare bridges. However, Karen Coughlin, the commission’s executive director, explained during the monthly board meeting Thursday that the agency has not had any discussions recently about raising tolls for 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrats Liz Casey and Brendan Sciarra are pushing for change on a Cape May County freeholder board completely controlled by Republicans. Heading toward the Nov. 3 election, they have made that the central theme of their campaign while seeking the two open seats this year on the five-member body that oversees county government. They outline their priorities and campaign strategy in an interview.

City Council paid tribute Thursday night to the late Frank McCall, a former member of Ocean City’s governing body whose career in Cape May County politics and government service spanned more than 30 years. At the start of their meeting, the Council members bowed their heads to observe a minute of silence in McCall’s memory. McCall, 73, died Oct. 4 at his Ocean City home surrounded by family members, according to his obituary. He was remembered by the Council members as a consummate gentleman who distinguished himself in politics, government service and in athletics as a basketball player for Villanova University in the 1960s.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, heading into the final weeks of his re-election bid for his South Jersey district, is anxious for Congress to get a stimulus package approved to help the economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. However, he is frustrated with what he calls the “political gamesmanship” being played by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “It’s important. We need one more traunch. We need one more time where we can help people, where we can help businesses, where we can make sure this economy survives,” Van Drew said of the proposed stimulus legislation. Van Drew also discusses an array of other topics in an interview with MediaWize, the publisher of OCNJDaily.com.

Ever since the Ocean City Life-Saving Station opened as a “living museum” in 2017, visitors have been treated to an authentic re-creation of what the building was like in its early 20th century heyday. But that is only on the first floor. The second floor of the architecturally striking yellow building, though, has been sealed off to the public, as if some great treasure more than 100 years old was locked behind the doors to protect it from prying eyes. Actually, it’s not that dramatic. The museum has been slowly going through a multiyear transformation that is about to enter its fourth and final phase – the renovation of the second floor.

One of the grand dames of Ocean City’s Historic District has seen better days. The three-story house at 615 Wesley Avenue has a weather-beaten exterior, overgrown vines creeping up its steps and a battered white fence. But this 118-year-old home dating to the Edwardian era is considered historically significant – so much so that the Ocean City Historic Preservation Commission wants to save it from demolition. In September, the commission rejected plans to demolish the house and is expected to formalize its action in a resolution at its Oct. 6 meeting.

The good-natured chants resounded through the Ocean City Farmers Market on Wednesday morning. “Four more weeks! Four more weeks!” the vendors at the popular summertime market called out in unison. Unfortunately, though, the farmers market closed out its rather unusual – but ultimately successful – season on Wednesday after a 14-week run amid the coronavirus pandemic. Fear not, market aficionados, it will return next summer. “All of the farmers did just as well this summer as last year. We had good crowds, too,” said Rose Savastano, special events coordinator for the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce, the sponsor of the farmers market.

Tabernacle Baptist Church, Ocean City’s oldest surviving church, has been saved from a tax sale. Shari Thompson, chairwoman of the Tabernacle Baptist board of trustees, said a community fundraising effort has helped the church pay off virtually all of its overdue taxes for 2019 and 2020. “This community has been very nice to us,” Thompson said in public remarks during City Council’s meeting Thursday night. She also extended her thanks to the Council members and Mayor Jay Gillian for their help in solving the financial crisis just days before a tax sale was scheduled for the historic church property on Oct. 1.

Imagine a gigantic sock filled with sand and buried in the beach or dunes. Well, you’ve pretty much got the idea of what a geotube is and how it looks. Despite their decidedly low-tech design, geotubes are considered an important tool to protect shore communities from coastal storms – essentially acting as a bulkhead to block destructive waves from crashing ashore. Now, Ocean City wants to add new geotubes to some of the beaches in the north end of town that are particularly vulnerable to the ocean’s wrath.