MediaWize

The public is invited to a free program titled “Green Yards: Environmentally Friendly Garden and Lawn Care” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at the Ocean City Free Public Library. Jennifer Sawyer of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension will speak on utilizing native species in the garden, good water management practices, green lawn care and more.

With a shot of frigid weather expected to move in, Cape May County has declared a “Code Blue” emergency for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for all communities. Nighttime temperatures are expected to drop into the 20s in each of those days. Code Blue conditions are in effect when the temperature falls to 32 degrees or lower. People seeking shelter in a warming center should contact their local municipality. Additional resources are available by calling 2-1-1.

New Jersey American Water will replace approximately 10,280 feet of aging water mains in Ocean City this winter, the company announced in a press release. A list follows of the streets that will be affected.

The Ocean City Free Public Library will hold a spring book sale next month featuring traditional and audio books, CDs and more. The sale is Friday, March 27 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday, March 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the library atrium.

The Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority is replacing and rehabilitating the force mains that carry wastewater to the treatment plant on the bay at 45th Street. The work is being done on 31st Street from Haven Avenue to Bay Avenue and Bay Avenue from 31st Street to Eighth Street. Details follow on construction work scheduled during the week of Feb. 17-21.

There is an old adage in sports: “You either win or you learn.” Friday night, the Ocean City High School girls basketball team was on the receiving end of one of those lessons, suffering a 66-44 loss to conference rival Mainland. The loss dropped the Red Raiders to 16-6 overall, while Mainland improved to 15-5. Senior Abbey Fenton led the way in scoring for the Red Raiders with 18 points, all of them coming from three-pointers. Cadence Fitzgerald of the Mustangs led all scorers with 20.

Mayor Jay Gillian announced that starting on Tuesday, 11th Street will be closed from West Avenue to Central Avenue to allow for restoration of crosswalks from water company work. Traffic patterns on West Avenue, Asbury Avenue and Central Avenue will remain unchanged and provide access to local businesses. In another construction project, Bay Avenue will be open to traffic next week from 34th Street to 18th Street as the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority wastewater main project moves northward. Detours will be in effect from 18th Street to 14th Street and from Eighth Street to Ninth Street.

After two days of intense competition, five age-division winners and 20 finalists battled to the top at the first stop of the 2020 East Coast Toyota USA Surfing Prime Series on Jan. 26 in Sebastian Inlet in Florida. In her first ever Prime event, Ocean City's Sophia Whelan made the podium in Girls U16.

The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual installation of officers and board of directors event Thursday night in the ballroom at the historic Flanders Hotel. A diverse selection of business owners from realtors, to builders, surf shop owners and restaurateurs all took time away from their businesses to celebrate the newly installed Board of Directors for 2020.

Stockton University senior Julie Coker of Union Beach, Monmouth County, has the best autograph from Justin Bieber – his signature on the bottom of a giant $100,000 check, which he presented to her live on MTV Feb. 7 to honor her work on mental health awareness. Bieber was interested in helping someone involved with mental health. He and his team chose Coker for her work with Active Minds, a nonprofit supporting mental health awareness and education to young adults. Coker is president of the Stockton chapter and also serves on the national Active Minds Student Advisory Committee...