With the holidays behind us, the last present opened, the final seasonal cookie consumed, a hush falls over Long Beach Island. Long gone are the tourists of August frolicking in the waves and standing in snaking lines at the ice cream parlors. Now the Island is left to its inhabitants and we pivot to the time of year that belongs only to the locals.

It often makes me wonder if any of those beachcombers who come to LBI in the warmer months, to get their yearly dose of summer fun, ever think about what happens to this beachside town after the traffic…