MediaWize

The South Ocean City Improvement Association announced Tuesday that it has canceled the annual Fourth of July Bike Parade due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SOCIA’s board thanks everyone for their past participation and looks forward to continuing the bike parade on July 4, 2021.

New Jersey-based senior living provider United Methodist Communities (UMC) announced strategic partnerships with tech providers VirtuSense and Netsmart to implement telehealth strategies to fight the coronavirus. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently awarded UMC the $909,560 grant to fund a remote patient-monitoring platform and telehealth software licenses for its skilled nursing units. Components of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program include resident-based internet-connect remote patient monitoring, video consults and remote treatment. Among its facilities, United Methodist Communities has The Shores, a retirement and assisted living community in Ocean City. The Shores’ sister community, Wesley by the Bay, offers affordable housing in Ocean City for senior men and women, age 62 and above, who qualify under the guidelines of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Ocean City High School seniors Abbey Fenton and Chloe Prettyman have been awarded the annual Upper Township Warrior Lacrosse Program Scholarship. Both were selected because they played at least three full seasons in the Warrior program and also played all four seasons on the high school lacrosse team.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices (BHHS) Fox & Roach Realtors CEO Larry Flick V announced that Fox & Roach/Trident Charities (the charitable arm of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach Realtors/The Trident Group) has pledged $21,000 from the company’s G. William Fox Sr. Memorial Fund to local hospitals in Camden, Philadelphia and Wilmington that serve underprivileged children, families and individuals most in need.

Three more Cape May County residents have died of COVID-19, according to a county press release Sunday. The deaths include an 88-year-old woman from Upper Township, a 71-year-old woman from Lower Township and a 55-year-old man from Dennis Township.

Members of the Miss Night in Venice Committee recently met at the home of Chairwoman Pat Gillian to finalize plans for the upcoming event. The contestant having the highest amount of donations will be crowned Miss NIV on the stage at the Ocean City Tabernacle at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 14. The queen, along with all contestants, will reign over Ocean City’s Night in Venice Boat Parade on Saturday, July 18.

New Jersey Human Services is honoring 12 New Jersey high school and middle school students for their winning entries in the 2020 New Jersey Child Support Teen Media Contest, which celebrated the importance of support from families and loved ones, according to a press release. Two Ocean City High School students – Angela Eggie and Daniel Givens – were recognized for their winning entries in the contest.

The Cape May County released its Business Recovery Initiative public information campaign on Friday. The campaign is intended to assist local businesses and organizations with communicating best practices around COVID-19 to residents, visitors and employees, according to the release. The campaign kicks off about one month after the county submitted its proposal to Gov. Phil Murphy to safely reopen Cape May County’s businesses, and as outdoor dining, non-essential retail shopping, and other industries are now set to commence operations.

Mayor Jay Gillian says the city is working with local retail shops and restaurants as they prepare to reopen on Monday, June 12. Retail stores will be allowed to offer indoor shopping and restaurants can have outdoor dining as the loosening of the statewide coronavirus restrictions continues. "The city is working with owners to make whatever reasonable accommodations we can to help them do business under the new guidelines," the mayor said in a statement Friday. His full statement follows.

A 71-year-old woman from Lower Township has become the latest Cape May County resident to die of the coronavirus. Altogether, the county has had 671 cases of COVID-19 and 56 deaths, according to the latest update by health officials.