New Jersey shore town faces off in court with state DEP over disappearing dunes

North Wildwood sand dunes
North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello looks at materials to build a bulkhead, Wednesday, Jan. 04, 2023. New Jersey DEP is suing the city of North Wildwood over plans to build a bulkhead, from 13th to 16th Avenues, to reinforce the sand dunes. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Steven Rodas | NJ Advance Media for NJ.comface

Morning trips to the beach in North Wildwood are routine for Mayor Patrick Rosenello, who has lived in the city since 1977.

To appreciate the views sure, but lately to survey sand dunes which until recently were the only thing standing between homes and waves prone to become fiercer amid storms.

Last October, the remnants of Hurricane Ian wiped away about 80 feet of sand dunes there. While the city reinforced the area, that dwindled to about 30 feet in December.

Where does it stand in the New Year?

“Literally 10 feet, I walked it this morning. There’s nothing left,” Rosenello told NJ Advance Media.

To better protect residents and homes in North Wildwood — where about 5,000 people live and as many as 40,000 visit each summer — Rosenello said the city plans to build an $800,000 steel bulkhead on the beach near 15th Avenue.

In October, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection blocked the town’s emergency request to build the bulkhead, pointing to no immediate threat to loss of life nor severe property loss, court documents showed. But Rosenello disagreed, saying more nor’easters are imminent and reinforcements have been required for years and especially now given the impact of Ian.

The state asked the Superior Court at the end of 2022 to take action by filing a request for a temporary injunction to end the work — equipment to build the bulkhead is already on site. While the emergency action to halt the work was not put in place, the DEP and North Wildwood are due in court Jan. 17, wherein the city will make a case over why the injunction should not be imposed.

Read the full story here

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Hackensack Riverkeeper accepting scholarship entries

Students at sixty-six high schools eligible for Riverkeeper’s environmental award 

Hackensack Riverkeeper, the citizen-steward of the Hackensack River Watershed, is pleased to announce it is accepting applications for the 2023 Utzinger-Vellekamp Scholarship. Now in its twentieth-third year, the program honors the memory of two founding Trustees who passed away while actively serving on the organization’s board. 

Established in 2001 as the Hackensack Riverkeeper Environmental Scholarship, it was renamed in 2003 to honor trustee Ronald Vellekamp, who died the previous year. In addition to serving on the Riverkeeper board, Mr. Vellekamp was a science teacher, Scout leader, and ranger at Palisades Interstate Park. From 2003 through 2019, the Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship awarded a total of $17,000 to some of the most talented and environmentally literate high school graduates in Bergen, Hudson and Rockland counties. 

Margaret Utzinger passed away in August 2018, after devoting over a quarter-century to the Hackensack River, first as co-founder of the Hackensack River Coalition in the late 1980s, then as founding Trustee of Hackensack Riverkeeper in 1997. During her twenty-one years on the board, she served two terms as president and remained an active, engaged trustee throughout. Her name was added to the award in 2020.

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“They say you never forget the people who got you to where you are today – and they’re right,” said founder and Executive Director Captain Bill Sheehan. “Would there be a Hackensack Riverkeeper had Ron and Margaret not stepped up? Probably, but probably not as successful and effective as they helped make it. I know they’d be proud of the work we continue to do and the young scholars we inspire and support.”   

The 2022 Utzinger-Vellekamp Scholar was Ms. Ashley Park, of Wyckoff, NJ a graduate of Bergen County Tech, located in Teterboro, NJ. Without question, hers was the most advocacy-driven application ever considered by the review panel. Ms. Park is now a member of Princeton University’s Class of 2026. 

This year Riverkeeper looks forward to supporting another college-bound senior who excels academically and who shows a clear, strong commitment to environmental protection. 

Teachers and guidance counselors at sixty-six high schools in Bergen, Hudson, and Rockland Counties are eligible to nominate a student for the award. Copies of the scholarship criteria have been sent to the guidance departments at each. Applications must be postmarked no later than Earth Day, April 22, 2023. 

The most important requirement is that all applicants live and/or attend school within the 210-square-mile Hackensack River Watershed. A list of watershed municipalities is available at www.hackensackriverkeeper.org. As regards students residing in dual-watershed communities like Paramus or West New York, NJ, or Ramapo, NY, nominators need to ensure a student’s eligibility before submitting an application on their behalf. 

The review panel, led by Sheehan and Program Director Captain Hugh Carola, will consider each application and weigh the students’ academic achievements, environmental extracurricular activities, and future plans. The winner of the $1000 unrestricted award will be announced by June 1, 2023. 

Additional information and full scholarship application criteria are available on Hackensack Riverkeeper’s website, by emailing Carola at Hugh@hackensackriverkeeper.org, or by calling him directly at 201-968-0808, extension 2. 

The Utzinger-Vellekamp Scholarship is supported by members of the Utzinger and Vellekamp families and by Hackensack Riverkeeper’s World Series of Birding team. Additional donations to support the scholarship fund are greatly appreciated. All donations are tax-deductible. 

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Philly DA Larry Krasner argues that the courts should step in to block his impeachment trial

Krasner’s lawyers urged Commonwealth Court judges to declare the ongoing impeachment drive legally baseless. Attorneys for the legislature said the process was constitutionally sound.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner at a press conference in November.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner at a press conference in November.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

By Nick Vadala, Philadelphia Inquirer

Lawyers for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner urged Commonwealth Court judges Thursday to declare the ongoing impeachment drive against him legally baseless, saying the Republican-led effort in Harrisburg was a dangerous attempt to remove a locally elected Democrat over ideological disagreements — and not impeachable conduct.

During a virtual hearing, Krasner’s attorneys called the impeachment effort a “profound distraction” for the city’s top prosecutor and his office, and said judicial intervention was required to halt what they view as a process marked by fundamental flaws. Krasner is scheduled to be tried by the state Senate next month.

“The stakes could not be greater,” said John S. Summers. What GOP lawmakers are seeking, Summers added, “is not only the erasure of votes and elections, but they are asking for a rule that says any time the majority party doesn’t like the policies of [another] party, we’ll go impeach the guy, and we can get a trial. … That is a constitutional crisis. That is an invitation to chaos.”

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Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders took a different view, telling the judges that the House and Senate have acted within their constitutional authority in approving articles of impeachment against Krasner and that the courts, therefore, don’t have a role in a process that remains ongoing.

“The courts have no jurisdiction in impeachment proceedings, and no control over their conduct, so long as actions are taken within constitutional lines,” said Lawrence F. Stengel.

The legal sparring was the latest development in the contentious impeachment effort. Republicans have accused the reform-oriented DA of enacting policies that have fueled the city’s shooting crisis and several other offenses.

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Krasner has denied the allegations and said the case against him should be dismissed.

He filed suit in Commonwealth Court challenging the validity of the impeachment drive and submitted a petition earlier this month asking judges to declare the proceedings unlawful. Beyond arguing that legislators had found no evidence of the “misbehavior in office” required for impeachment, his lawyers said the legislature lacks the authority to oust local officials and were improperly stretching impeachment proceedings over two different legislative sessions.

Thursday’s hearing was an opportunity for judges to hear further argument on how or whether they might intervene. They did not make a ruling, or provide a timeline for when they might do so.

Read the full story here

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It’s a dogfight in Harrisburg over which party sets the legislative agenda

The state House is a mess, with each side claiming they are in the majority and Republicans potentially passing amendments after Democrats won more seats.

Democrats in Pennsylvania won the majority of seats in the state House this fall, powered by voter backlash to the fall of Roe v. Wade.

But come next year, it’s anybody’s guess which party will actually hold the speaker’s gavel.

A razor-thin victory by Democrats, combined with a handful of vacancies and the hardball political culture in the state capitol, has kicked off a high-stakes battle for control of the House.

Related:
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At the heart of the matter is a disagreement over which party has the right to set the special elections to fill seats that became empty because two Democratic state House members resigned for higher office and another died. Democrats want to hold the contests — which they are expected to win — right away, allowing them to claim their majority next year. GOP legislators, meanwhile, hope to push back the date for three more months, in the process keeping their majority intact.

Both parties see the ensuing fight as not just as a matter of political power, but democratic governance and the rule of law itself. Privately, they fear the next few weeks could plunge the state into an unprecedented level of chaos.

Read the full story here

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Turning a notorious Superfund site into a park. Good idea or not?

Mayor is among those with questions about the proposed settlement

By TED GOLDBERG, NJ Spotlight News

A deal to clean up one of the nation’s most notorious Superfund sites, located in Toms River, is drawing blowback from environmental watchers and residents who say their family’s health was harmed. But the state Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward with a cleanup settlement at the former Ciba-Geigy plant, which illegally dumped chemicals throughout its operation and allegedly caused a child cancer cluster.

Under a settlement proposal with the DEP, most of the site would be turned into a protected park, and BASF, the successor company to Ciba-Geigy, would pay $100,000.

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“$100,000. Let me tell you something, that could be spent within a week in a child’s treatment,” said Linda Gillick, who blames Ciba-Geigy for her son’s cancer diagnosis.

Toms River Mayor Mo Hill is uneasy about the proposal. “It’s not clearly explained who’s going to be controlling and paying for the upkeep of the environmental center and the property itself,” Hill said. “They have a ten-year commitment, but what happens after that ten years? We don’t feel it’s fair for the town of Toms River to have to pay for this after the damage was done.”

DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette emphasized that the settlement is to address environmental damage, not health problems.

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PA Gov. Shapiro’s six new deputy chiefs

The deputy chiefs of staff will serve key roles in Shapiro’s leadership team, and they will work directly with state agencies, officials, and communities.

By FOX43 Newsroom

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Governor-Elect Josh Shapiro on Thursday announced the appointments of six deputy chiefs of staff to join his administration.

“These individuals will bring decades of experience – from state, local, and federal government work, to leadership in organized labor and issue advocacy organizations – to the table as they join the Shapiro Administration,” the Shapiro administration said in a press release.

“The Deputy Chiefs of Staff will serve key roles in Governor-Elect Shapiro’s leadership team, and they will work directly with state agencies, stakeholders, government officials, and local communities all across Pennsylvania as they assist in advancing the Governor-Elect’s top priorities.

The six deputy chiefs of staff who will be helping lead the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to grow the economy, improve schools, and make communities safer are:

  • Joseph Lee: Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Opportunity
  • Lindsey Mauldin: Deputy Chief of Staff for Health and Human Services 
  • Danielle Okai: Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic Development
  • Michael Pipe: Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety
  • Sam Robinson: Deputy Chief of Staff for Consumers and the Environment
  • Tori Shriver: Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Workforce Development

“With these dynamic, smart, and capable public servants joining our team as Deputy Chiefs of Staff, our Administration will hit the ground running to streamline communication, operate nimbly, and get things done for Pennsylvanians,” said Governor-Elect Shapiro’s incoming Chief of Staff Dana Fritz.

“Governor-Elect Shapiro and I are ready to get to work with this diverse and experienced group to build an economy that works for everyone, improve our schools to ensure our children receive a quality education and make communities across the Commonwealth safer for our families.”

Read the full story here

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