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A traditional graduation for Ocean City Intermediate School eighth-graders was not possible this year due to COVID-19. But that did not deter Schools Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Taylor, OCIS Principal Michael Mattina and a host of other administrators and faculty to cheer on the graduates and celebrate their milestone on Monday. The school district held a processional at the intermediate school to recognize the honorees who joined in a drive-through ceremony.

Walking along a busy Boardwalk in Ocean City on Saturday, bicycles zip by, people munch on candy and pizza and some businesses begin to open up. Life is slowly returning to the new normal -- but not quite. Looming above the Boardwalk, a towering blue rollercoaster with tight twists and turns – the Gale Force – has yet to give thrillseekers a rush this summer. And like the rollercoaster at Playland’s Castaway Cove at 11th Street and the Boardwalk, the rest of the amusement rides are either shrink-wrapped, covered or just not operating. At Sixth Street and the Boardwalk, Gillian’s Wonderland Pier would typically see families stream in while kids giggle on toy cars, frog rides and the iconic carousel. But all of the rides are ghostly quiet now. A new amusement called the Frisbee also has no riders. Until Gov. Phil Murphy says amusement parks and arcades are allowed to reopen again -- after COVID-19 shuttered a host of activities -- families will just have to stroll by these two amusement parks.

An 86-year-old woman from Dennis Township has become the latest Cape May County resident to die of the coronavirus. Altogether, the county has had 672 cases of COVID-19 and 57 deaths, according to the latest update by health officials.

The Cape May County Zoo is reopening this weekend. At 10 a.m. on Saturday, with new precautions in place to keep visitors, staff and the animals safe, the entrance to the zoo will open once again. Among the safety measures, visitors will be asked to maintain social distancing from other groups and families.

In just a couple of weeks, the north end beaches of Ocean City will be getting a lot more sand. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will pump more than one million cubic yards of new sand to widen the beaches and replace what was lost to coastal storms.

The Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association on Wednesday launched a change.org petition urging Gov. Phil Murphy to lift the remaining restrictions that prevent all of Ocean City’s businesses from safely opening for the summer, according to a release. The petition -- https://www.change.org/OpenOCNJNow -- notes the ongoing economic hardship caused by the restrictions, especially as they apply to restaurants and amusement parks, arcades and water parks on the Boardwalk. The petition reads:

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, officials at the Ocean City Free Public Library hope to begin construction this fall on a $1.3 million renovation of the second floor. The library is seeking a $660,000 state grant to help fund the project.

When Gov. Phil Murphy gives the go-ahead to allow libraries to reopen, the Ocean City Free Public Library will be ready. Library officials have a five-phase plan geared toward keeping the patrons and staff safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while still providing what makes the library an epicenter of activity for the community.

Ocean City's Boardwalk merchants say they have a plan in place to meet all of the safety guidelines to protect customers and themselves from the spread of COVID-19. They also warn that if Gov. Phil Murphy does not allow them to open soon, it may mean the end of some of the businesses. According to an Ocean City Boardwalk Merchants Association survey released Friday, revenue in 2020 is down by more than 50 percent for more than three in four Boardwalk businesses -- and merchants universally say the season is in danger of being lost if state-imposed business restrictions are not lifted soon.

Teachers and the Parent Teacher Association want all of the eighth grade graduating students from the Ocean City Intermediate School to know that they are special and will be missed when they take the big leap into high school next year. And because of the pandemic, with events, field trips, parties and activities canceled and the eighth grade version of graduation “promotion” still up in the air, faculty and the PTA decided they should do something to let the 111 students know how important they truly are. On Friday, OCIS teachers delivered custom-made signs to the students along with T-shirts supplied by the Ocean City Education Association, headed by high school art teacher Paul Matusz.