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Press of Atlantic City

By Michelle Brunetti

Bills to expand health insurance coverage to cover cochlear implants for young people, link Atlantic City International Airport to Atlantic City via transportation projects, and streamline municipal courts were signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Phil Murphy.

All three bills were sponsored by state Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, the New Jersey Senate Republicans said Wednesday in a news release.

The bills on transportation and municipal courts were sponsored in the Assembly by members Don Guardian and Claire Swift, R-Atlantic.

“With these new laws, insurance companies will provide the necessary benefits and coverage for cochlear implants for individuals under 21; tourists may soon be able to more easily reach Atlantic City casinos and businesses; and municipal courts will be made more efficient by no longer being required to hear State Police or county police cases originating from outside the participating municipalities,” Polistina said.

Bill S1110 allows the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to use its funds for a transportation line from Atlantic City International Airport to Atlantic City casinos and businesses.

Bill S2535 amends “Grace’s Law,” S-467, which was named in honor of Grace Gleba, who advocated for hearing-impaired children. The original law required all health insurers in the state to provide medically necessary hearing aids for children 15 years and younger.

Bill S4040 clarifies that regional municipal courts will no longer be required to hear State Police or county police cases originating from outside the participating municipalities.

Stockton University

By Mark Melhorn

Galloway, N.J. — Stockton University will receive a record $42.18 million in state aid from the fiscal year 2024 budget approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy last week.

The funding is a 17.7% increase from 2023’s $35.8 million and a 129% increase over the amount Stockton received five years ago, $18.4 million.

“This additional funding will go a long way toward helping Stockton continue to fulfill its students-first mission of developing engaged and effective citizens,” said Stockton President Joe Bertolino. “It will allow us to mitigate the cost of higher education and provide more opportunities for first-generation and economically disadvantaged students.”

The funding includes $4.6 million for Stockton’s Atlantic City campus, $250,000 for the newly renamed Dr. Elizabeth Elmore Center for Economic Development and Financial Literacy and $1 million to support continuing planning for the future of the Atlantic City campus.

The budget also includes Stockton’s outcomes-based allocation of $7.9 million — a $5.1 million increase over last year positively reflecting upon the university’s initiatives to improve outcomes for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students, among other criteria.

“This could not have been achieved without the support of our budget resolution sponsors, state Sen. Troy Singleton and Assemblywoman Carol Murphy. We are also grateful for the advocacy of Sen. Vince Polistina, Assemblywoman Claire Swift and Assemblyman Don Guardian who voted in support of the budget containing the Stockton appropriations, and Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald, who shepherded the budget resolution through the Assembly,” Bertolino added.

“We applaud Senate President Nick Scutari and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin for including Stockton’s appropriations in the budget legislation, and Gov. Phil Murphy who signed the budget into law,” Bertolino said.

WPG Talk Radio

By Harry Hurley

Brigantine, New Jersey Mayor Vince Sera has announced that there will be a joint community meeting to address the issue of offshore ocean wind energy that is currently in the works.

This is despite mounting opposition of every shore community that has seen what appears to be a record number of dead mammals regularly washing ashore.

Sera has been a great leader at the local level in keeping focus on this issue.

Ventnor, Margate, and Brigantine will be holding a joint community meeting on Saturday, May 20, 2023, from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m., at The Dominic Potena Arts Center, located at 7804 Amherst Avenue in Margate, New Jersey.

No one has done more at the federal level, or, any level of government than United States Congressman Jeff Van Drew, R-NJ-2.

Van Drew has relentlessly called for a moratorium on the furtherance of offshore ocean wind energy until we learn more about the environmental impact of proceeding with this development.

The community meeting speakers will include:

• United States Congressman Van Drew
• New Jersey State Senator Vince Polistina
• Dr. Bob Stern, Save LBI Chris Placitelle, Esquire
• Mayor Vince Sera, Brigantine

The joint community meeting is sponsored by the Downbeach Coalition, in direct partnership with Senator Polistina and Assembly Members Claire Swift and Don Guardian.

It has been stunning to witness how the forces behind the offshore ocean wind development are fighting ahead at breakneck speed … regardless of the massive opposition to their plans.

The usual environmental groups, who typically speak out with great regularity, have also been silent or quiet about the potential negative environmental impact.

Opponents have merely called for a pause, in order to investigate whether or not this form of energy may have negative consequences.

Here (see directly below) are all of the details for the upcoming joint community meeting in one glance: