Look Back in Local History
May 16th 1894 – R. H. Thorn was Ocean City’s postmaster that year. He came to Ocean City in 1885 and opened a store at Eighth and Asbury selling hardware and furniture. In 1887, he purchased two adjacent lots and built stores at 803 and 805 Asbury Avenue. In addition to providing furniture for most […]
School Choice push was forward-thinking for Ocean City School District
Other districts suffering big budget cuts As the group of stories in this week’s edition of the Sentinel shows, opting for Interdistrict Public School Choice and expanding it early has proved a financial blessing for the Ocean City School District. And as surrounding districts struggle with declining state aid, forcing them to make serious cuts […]
Opinion: Visibility matters for Pride events to reach out and to support
We Belong Cape May County held a Pride rally and march June 1 on the Ocean City Boardwalk followed by a festival with supportive community organizations at the Civic Center. It was the second annual rally and march We Belong sponsored for the LGBTQIA+ community. There is a need for this, because visibility matters. After […]
Opinion: Forget party politics; hold kindness rallies
There has been a change in the attitude of the public, more than likely caused by politics and the media. Even at local council and commission meetings, residents seem to be angry and suspect their governing bodies are up to no good. In the world in general, it’s as if a giant vacuum cleaner hose […]
Editor’s Desk: ‘This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.’
Neville Shute’s 1957 novel, “On the Beach,” is about how people in Australia wait and prepare for deadly radioactive fallout, swirling around the world after a nuclear war, to finally reach their distant shores. I read that in middle school while the Cold War was still raging. It added to my apprehension about how a […]
Our View: Elected officials owe their loyalty to their constituents first
The Republican primary for Upper Township Committee is intense. Tough and sometimes nasty election fights in local politics here and around the country are not out of the ordinary, but one aspect is much newer. It’s something that was part and parcel for federal offices, the Senate and House of Representatives, but lately has filtered […]
Editorial: Returned school aid not nearly enough
New funding formula desperately needed Gov. Phil Murphy touted two bills he signed last week returning some of the state aid to districts that have been facing serious aid declines. While he makes the legislation sound rosy, the impact is anything but for districts including Upper Township, Somers Point and Mainland Regional High School. As […]
John H. Andrus II: Requiem for an editor
In a low brick building on Eighth Street, with business offices in the front and a line of printing presses in the back that would shake the walls when they ran, The Sentinel-Ledger of the 1990s continued to operate much as it had for more than a century. Each week – twice weekly in the […]
Editor’s Desk: Working in a place with real corruption
And a community that didn’t mind The day I arrived to manage a small daily newspaper in Naugatuck, Conn., as a young man in the 1980s, the receptionist said I had a collect call from the mayor, William Rado. She asked if I wanted to accept the charges. “Why is the mayor calling collect?” I […]
Thankful it’s not a divisive (local) election
The sky won’t fall no matter which combo of candidates wins Ocean City voters should be pleased that they have choices in the May 14 municipal election. Having choices means they get a say in deciding who will be their representatives on Ocean City Council. There are two candidates in three of the four ward […]