Current News		Winter News 2010
		Spring 2010
		SUMMER

AVALON POLICE SEEK PUBLIC’S HELP WITH SOLVING ASSAULT, ROBBERY CRIME

(Avalon, NJ)—The Avalon Police Department is investigating the robbery and assault of a
woman who was riding her bicycle in the community on the evening of Sunday, April 26th.
Police are looking for the public’s help with catching the persons responsible for this crime.

At approximately 8:30pm on Sunday, April 26th, a female was assaulted and robbed while riding
her bicycle home from the Princeton Bar. The victim told police that upon exiting the bar she
began to ride her bike in a westbound direction on the 200 block of 21st Street when she
encountered four teenage males riding their bikes. The males assaulted the victim with an
unknown weapon and took $55.00 in cash from her pocket.

The victim received assistance at the scene from a couple who happened to be driving by as the
assault took place. The couple transported the victim to the Avalon Police Station and dropped
her off.

The four suspects are described as white males, all between 15-17 years of age. One suspect was
wearing a distinct black and white zippered jacket with a pattern made of human skulls; he also
wore a matching black baseball-style hat with the outline of a single skull covering the entire
surface. A second suspect was wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt, and flip flops. The third suspect
was wearing dark-colored Speedo surfing shorts with a matching zippered top. There was no
description given for the fourth suspect.

The Avalon Police Department would like to speak to the unknown couple who provided assistance
to the victim, and to anyone who may have witnessed, or have information about, the assault
and robbery. If you have any information about this crime, please call in your tip to
Cape May County Crime Stoppers at (609) 465-2800. You can also call the Avalon
Police Department Tip Line at (609) 967-3411; your identity will be kept confidential, and the
Avalon Police Department will also offer a cash reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads
to the arrests of the suspects.

Tips can also be emailed in to the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office new Web Tip Line at
www.cmcsheriff.net. All tips sent in to law enforcement authorities about this crime
will be kept confidential.

NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR APPEAL OF PUBLIC ACCESS RULES
Court strikes major blow to NJDEP; Avalon Mayor says “Corzine and the DEP are simply out of control”

(Avalon, NJ)—The New Jersey Supreme Court issued an order on Thursday, April 23rd, deciding not to consider an appeal filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regarding its own policies regarding public access to beaches and bay fronts in the Garden State. The ruling by the court means that the Borough of Avalon has successfully defeated the NJDEP on this issue, and the regulations that the department tried to impose on coastal towns in New Jersey will not become law.

“The Borough of Avalon is very pleased with the decision by the state’s highest court not to consider an appeal of the rulings made by the appellate court”, said Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi. “These latest regulations that the state tried to force down the throats of every coastal town in New Jersey prove once again that Governor Jon Corzine and the NJDEP are simply out of control”.

On November 19, 2008, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court invalidated new public access rules that the NJDEP had adopted by regulation and included in a new version of the State Aid Agreement, which shore communities must sign in order to get beach replenishment funding. The regulations mandated 24 hour a day, seven day a week access to beaches, bay fronts, and marinas; the proposed regulations also mandated shore communities provide parking spaces and public bathrooms near the beach but did not indicate how many parking spaces would be needed, nor did they provide any plan for local towns to accomplish these goals.

“The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled today that the order for certification on the appeal was denied”, said Avalon Municipal Solicitor Stephen Barse.

In the NJDEP’s petition for certification to the New Jersey Supreme Court, it argued that “…The Appellate Division’s decision improperly limits the department’s ability to ensure meaningful public access for all publically-funded shore protection projects, including reasonable provisions for amenities which are essential to providing such access”.

“That statement by the NJDEP is simply ludicrous, and shows that the state of New Jersey, under Governor Corzine’s leadership or lack thereof, is more interested in social engineering rather than engineered beaches”, Pagliughi said. “Avalon proved that it provides more than adequate parking spaces and public bathrooms for public use. This was all about the NJDEP attempting to provide public access around the clock to beaches without an ounce of thought or consideration to public safety”.

Avalon argued that the public access issues were flawed because they would permit beach access even during coastal storms and other events that threaten public safety. Avalon, and other coastal communities, would have needed to secure permission from the NJDEP before they could legally close beaches during weekends and overnight hours when storm conditions or other hazards are present.

“We experienced an unfortunate incident in Avalon last summer where medical waste came ashore on a Saturday afternoon in August”, Pagliughi said. “If we would have went along with the NJDEP’s new regulations, we would have first had to get approvals from the department to move people off of the beaches before we could legally do so. That’s just nonsense. Coastal officials certainly know better if it’s safe to be on the beach more than bureaucrats in Trenton.”

Avalon has continued to address beach issues in the Borough, and throughout the state of New Jersey. Last week, Pagliughi travelled to Washington, DC and met with the office of Vice President Joseph Biden to talk about long-term funding for beach nourishment projects in the United States. On Tuesday, April 28th, Pagliughi will also host a town meeting with coastal and tourism leaders at the Avalon Community Center to discuss Governor Corzine’s proposed cuts to the beach nourishment and tourism promotion budgets in the state of New Jersey. That meeting will start at 6pm.

“Governor Corzine just doesn’t get it”, Pagliughi said. “He employs thousands of people in the NJDEP so the department can develop flawed policy that even a small community like Avalon knew was illegal from Day One. Now, for the second consecutive year, Corzine wants to take more money out of vital beach projects in the state. Perhaps Mr. Corzine’s business home on Wall Street didn’t have a beach, but he needs to wake up and realize the state he governs has one, and produces billions of dollars of income for New Jersey. We promise to have a very open dialogue Tuesday evening with coastal leaders to once again prove to the Governor that he needs to pay attention to the shore community in the state of New Jersey”.

AVALON MAYOR MEETS WITH VICE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE, SENATE STAFF ON BEACH FUNDING
“The time to act on behalf of our beaches is now”; big meeting to be held on April 28th to talk about various strategies

(Washington, DC)—Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi met with Vice President Joe Biden’s office and other officials on Wednesday, April 22nd to get questions answered about the future of beach nourishment programs throughout the United States.

“The time to act on behalf of our beaches is now”, Pagliughi said. “I am very grateful to the office of Vice President Joe Biden for listening to our concerns of not only Avalon residents, but coastal residents along the entire Jersey Shore and the rest of the United States. This country cannot afford to ignore its beaches, which fuels the economic engine of tourism in Avalon, New Jersey, and many coastal states”.

Pagliughi met with Ms. Evan Ryan, the Assistant to the Vice President for Intergovernmental Affairs at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Pagliughi expressed deep concerns about the constant fight for federal beach nourishment dollars, and about the federal Office of Management and Budget’s plans of providing zero dollars for beach projects in the United States.

“Ms. Ryan listened and understands the problems associated with ignoring funding for beach projects”, Pagliughi said. “I have asked for another meeting with the Vice President and with OMB to engage discussion about why we need to invest in our beaches. Avalon has successfully put the issue in front of the Vice President’s staff, and hopefully another meeting could change federal policy for the benefit of millions of coastal residents, homeowners, and people who depend on beaches for their livelihoods”.

Pagliughi notes that shore communities struggle to develop long range goals and strategies for beach maintenance programs due to an annual battle for funding on the state and federal levels. During this economic downtown, the federal government is focusing its efforts on job creation and economic stimulus. According to a new state report, over 443,000 jobs in New Jersey in 2008 were directly related to tourism, which also generated $7.7 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue. Cape May County’s tourism is second in the state in generating tourism expenditures, at $5.06 billion last year.

“This is not about suntans”, Pagliughi said. “Beaches are proven to very important to coastal communities like Avalon on two fronts. First, beaches generate jobs and are connected to virtually every single segment of our economy in Cape May County. Second, beaches are always the first line of defense in the event of a coastal storm. It’s not ‘if’ we will get a major storm, the question is ‘when’. Hopefully the federal government learned lessons from Gulf hurricanes earlier this decade. It’s better to invest in beaches now to save lives and property”.

Pagliughi also met with Kristen Michaels, Projects Director for Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Keith Rochford, Special Projects Director for Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and with Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) during separate meetings during the day on Wednesday.

“Our senators and congressman know the importance of the beaches in the state of New Jersey, and I value their time and efforts”, Pagliughi said. “And I know our Vice President, Mr. Biden, comes from the coastal state of Delaware which is scheduled to receive at least three beach renourishments in the next year and a half. I’m hopeful all parties can engage in a productive conversation to protect the millions of lives and homes along our nation’s beaches”.

Avalon will continue the discussion on the economic threats to beach nourishment and tourism promotion funding from the state of New Jersey during a town hall meeting on Tuesday, April 28th, at 6pm at the Avalon Community Center, 30th and the beach, Avalon. Pagliughi has invited elected, tourism, chamber, and business leaders to this meeting to discuss Governor Jon Corzine’s intentions of stripping millions of dollars away from beach and tourism projects in the 2009 state budget.

“The governor’s budget is reckless and irresponsible”, Pagliughi said. “I assumed that the elected governor of the state of New Jersey would know the importance of beaches and tourism to his state’s economy. I assumed wrong. Mr. Corzine will soon learn that his Wall Street-mentality does not apply to the state of New Jersey, and will not be tolerated by coastal leaders from the southern part of the state”.

AVALON SCHEDULES DUNE GRASS PLANTING ON SATURDAY, APRIL 25TH

(Avalon, NJ) - One of Avalon’s biggest community events of the year will take place on Saturday, April 25th, 2009 as volunteers participate in a dune grass planting event. This year, 12,000 dune grass stolons will be planted on Avalon’s dunes.

Each year, dozens of Avalon residents and volunteers from all segments of the community pick up special tools and plant dune grass. Civic organizations, school students, and even summer visitors come to Avalon to help plant the dune grass stolons. This year, volunteers will be meeting at the Avalon Community Hall at 30th Street and the beach at 8:30am for complimentary coffee and donuts. A brief presentation will be given on how to properly plant the dune grass. Avalon borough vehicles will take volunteers to their planting sites at 9:00am for the actual dune grass planting.

Volunteers will be invited back to Community Hall for a free lunch, and planting will resume at 1:00pm, if necessary. If an afternoon planting session is needed, it will end no later than 3:00pm. In the event of rain, planting will be postponed until the following day, Sunday, April 26th.

If your organization would like to participate in this year’s dune grass planting event, please call Sue Keen at 967-5924 or Dave Haberle at 967-3066 no later than April 10th. Please provide the number of volunteers in your group when you contact the borough.

Avalon Home and Land Owners Association

The Avalon Home and Land Owners Association held its annual “Community Connections” event on Saturday, April 11th at Avalon’s Community Hall, 30th and the Beach. Hundreds of Avalon residents and homeowners attended the event to learn more about local community groups, programs, and to listen to “Hot Topics” discussions.

COMMUNITY NEWS: BRENDAN BOREK FOUNDATION HOLDING MAJOR GOLF TOURNAMENT

(Avalon, NJ)—The Brendan Borek High Tides Memorial Fund is holding its 4^th Annual Brendan’s Fund Golf Tournament on Friday, April 24^th at the Avalon Country Club.

For $100, golfers will be able to enjoy golf, a golf cart, breakfast, lunch, and a tshirt.

Breakfast will be served at 8am, with the tournament starting at 9am. There will be plenty of door prizes, and raffle prizes offered at this year’s event.

If you would like to play in this tournament, sponsor a hole, or make a donation, kindly contact Steve at 609-231-3421 or email smsrips@comcast.net.

For more information on this event, and on the 19^th Annual Spirit Walk at Wildwood Catholic High School on Saturday, May 2^nd, please log on to www.brendansfund.org.

Commentary In The Ocean City Gazette About State Budget Cuts
(Ann Richardson's column The Business At Hand appears weekly in the Ocean City Gazette and the Upper Township Gazette.)

Let’s examine local officials and their interest in the community
While Ocean City’s mayor went silent on the Wizard of Wall Street, Avalon’s mayor promised a collective effort, the mother of all South Jersey battles to challenge Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed cuts in tourism and shore protection funding.
Warning that the “mind-boggling” cuts defy common sense, fiscal responsibility and vision, Avalon Mayor Martin Pagliughi said the plan is “pure political arrogance, reckless, short-sighted and dangerous,” causing us to lose tourists, revenue, tax receipts, jobs and business.
“Great plan, governor,” he said, and he was just warming up.
Sen. Jeff Van Drew called the funding cuts “stupid,” and as I previously reported, there was “no word from city hall” concerning the proposed cuts.
No word until Mayor Sal Perillo realized he was virtually the only elected official among South Jersey’s shoreline supporting Corzine. Somehow that was everyone else’s fault.
Perillo penned a lengthy ditty in response to my column in the March 25 Gazette detailing the combined efforts of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce and Board of Realtors to battle the proposed cuts in beach re-nourishment and tourism funding. I stressed the importance of both to our resort community’s economic well-being and included supporting comments by a host of area legislators.
Corzine, more comfortable in Manhattan than the Jersey Shore, doesn’t get it, nor does Perillo. Cape May County generates $5.1 billion annually in tourism revenue, creating 91,000 tourism related jobs, employing one out of nine people. Tourism revenue saves every family $1,330 in taxes.
Perillo complained that I “did not see fit” to contact city officials to see what efforts are being undertaking to secure re-nourishment funding. As seems to be a habit of late, the mayor missed the point.
The column was not about today, or even tomorrow. Beach re-nourishment is about the future, it’s about building on the extensive efforts of our Congressional representatives, former Ambassador and U.S. Rep. William J. Hughes and Rep. Frank LoBiondo, to secure funding so that our families and future generations can continue to enjoy big, safe beefy beaches. It’s about protecting and promoting our area’s biggest natural resource, it’s about protecting life, limb and property in the event of a big storm.
If Perillo disagreed with the draconian cuts, he had every opportunity to let us know. When he took office, he instituted an e-mail alert system to better communicate with the public. We’ve gotten press releases notifying us, among other things, about paper shredding day, Earth Day, Earth Hour Challenge, light bulb giveaways, municipal wireless, local businesses going green, solar, solar and more solar, environmentally-friendly fuel, rigid plastic recycling and Planet Aid, not the Clothes Closet, needing donations.
And I was supposed to contact Perillo about the most important threat to our economy in a generation? I eagerly awaited a press release, but it never arrived. Shouldn’t he have taken a stand on such a critical issue?
If Corzine succeeds in slashing the Shore Protection Fund from $25 million to $18.75 million and tourism from $10 million to just $7.5 million, we stand to lose a lot more than sand.
Perillo conveniently tried to change the subject – how dare we not contact him? He then proceeded to detail last year’s musty news, the heralded $7.5 million beach re-nourishment project and promote his “quiet and cooperative” approach to work with his buddy, Corzine to secure future funding.
Have I missed something? Isn’t “transparency” important in government?
Every area legislator but Perillo, including Van Drew and company, came out of the box with a press release condemning Corzine for daring to consider cutting something so vital to our area, what’s up with Perillo’s silence? Who is he representing?
I’m not sure where Perillo was during the infamous Halloween storm of 1991. Northenders might remember the ocean washing over the bulkhead at Brighton Place and right through the glass doors on the condominiums by the Boardwalk. Home furnishings were floating towards Corinthian Avenue, powered by wild waves and high tides. Sections of the Boardwalk washed away, the beach was decimated and homes were nearly destroyed.
The Jersey Shore Partnership (JSP) was created in the wake of this disastrous storm, to guarantee that state and federal funding would be available to protect New Jersey’s 127 miles of coastal shoreline from such damage. It is the state’s leading advocate and champion of beach re-nourishment and restoration to protect our coastline, “a natural treasure, major contributor to the state’s tourism industry, and a favorite destination for fun and relaxation.”
The JSP advocated a $15 million fund for beach re-nourishment, which was later increased to $25 million. The funding commitment, a state law, is matched by federal dollars, enables the state to safeguard its shoreline, protect the ecosystem and prevent serious flooding and erosion.
Cognizant that Corzine’s proposed cuts would but funding below legal minimums, it didn’t take long for the JSP’s Dr. Richard Dewling to issue a statement. Not only was $9 million “borrowed” from the fund last year, a host of future state and local projects are now hanging in the balance as they would no longer be eligible for federal funding through the Stimulus or Omnibus bill. Thanks to Corzine, Kansas will get funding for corn, but New Jersey will miss the re-nourishment gravy train.
“This creates a very critical situation for the future of our beaches,” Dewling wrote. “The Shore Protection Fund, thanks to the governor, is slowly ebbing away. The legislature took action in 1991 to protect our beaches and tourism by providing a dedicated source of funding through the real estate transfer tax, Corzine is going to allow it to wash away.”
The JSP gets it; 25 million Americans – one of every 11 – live within 50 miles of the Jersey Shore, 35 million people live within 100 miles.
“These are not just homeowners along the beach, this diverse population represents an enormous economical force,” Dewling wrote. Beach communities like Ocean City provide $19 billion, one half of the state’s tourism revenue, to the state’s economy. “While we cannot foresee the time and hour of the next severe storm, we can state with certainty that the storms will come. Beach replenishment has proven to be an engineering solution that is economically feasible, environmentally sensitive and vital to the stability of the state’s tourism economy.”
With the elimination of federal funding, Dewling says a dedicated Shore Protection Fund is critical, yet our mayor takes a stab at Pagliughi for pointing it out.
“While other municipalities were criticizing the state and challenging in court the state’s beach access regulations, Ocean City was working with the state to establish a constructive partnership,” Perillo wrote, referring to Pagliughi.
Last year, Ocean City coalesced to the state’s demand for 24-hour beach access and a bathroom requirement that would have placed costly port-a-pots by the beach on East Atlantic Boulevard.
Pagliughi, no suck-up to state Democrats, decided that wasn’t the right thing for Avalon and took the state to court. Avalon won, and that’s why we don’t have unsightly port-a-pots, though we did agree to provide them so maybe we’ll have to provide them yet.
You have to admire Pagliughi’s gumption, and he didn’t advise that Avalon’s business community back off the governor because he was working deals behind closed doors. He promised to seek every legal option to ensure that there will be no legislative tinkering destroying the original purpose of the funding law.
“With one budget address, New Jersey’s governor has single-handedly put the entire state coastline on red alert while endangering the lives, property and income of millions of state residents,” Pagliughi said. “To date, I haven’t expected much out of this governor, and this budget address is a complete insult to every resident. Corzine’s out of touch, Wall Street mentality is reflected in this budget, and we see what a complete mess Wall Street is.
“This is not about suntans and a day at the beach,” he said. “This is about real, sustainable protection of lives and property. Does he think someone will wave a magic wand over New Jersey beaches and give us millions of dollars? Our governor needs to wake up and realize that over 140 miles of our coastline is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, and that our beaches generate tourism and fuel the state’s economic engine.”
Pagliughi said it was “reckless” to jeopardize tourism funding since every dollar invested in tourism promotion reaps $36 in tourism revenue.
“Does the governor get it?” he asked. “If he’s such a great self-proclaimed businessman and money manager, wouldn’t he invest in tourism and shore protection and not cut the budget by 25 percent? I’d love to know how cutting tourism promotion funding is going to help the bottom line of the state.”
Pagliughi promised to engage all elected Cape May County officials in the quest to restore funding.
“Avalon is not afraid to take on the State of New Jersey and the failed policy coming from Corzine’s leadership,” he said adding that local officials have successfully banded together to battle Trenton in the past. When it comes to our beaches and tourism, I can promise you state officials have not experienced their biggest fight from this part of the state.”
Cape May County Freeholder Len Desiderio said he’s on board. Recalling last year’s campaign by Garden State farmers to save the state’s agriculture department, with tractors and livestock parading towards the state capital, he said shore area residents should march with beach chairs and colorful buckets and shovels to show the governor that Cape May County won’t be pushed aside.
“We’ll have a march on Trenton, we’ll do it big,” Desiderio said. “This budget is a disaster; tourism is our lifeblood. It’s like our roads, our infrastructure, we don’t exist without it. This is about jobs.”
I suppose we’ll count Perillo out of the big march. He’ll be resting on his laurels, or brokering the next deal. No mayor stays in office forever, what happens when Perillo has moved on, Corzine is a has-been and the funding is cut?
Perillo chided fellow elected officials for “issuing press releases aimed at other levels of government.” Perhaps the back room deals he so openly brags about work when feathering one’s own nest, but they don’t do much to help our community.
Hats off to those elected officials who have the best interests of the community at heart.

Ann Richardson can be e-mailed at annrichardson@catamaranm edia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 223.

A LETTER FROM AVALON MARTIN PAGLIUGHI REGARDING THE 2009 BEACH FILL