Columns
-
•July 5, 2023
That Was Some July 4th Flash Mob; Turbine Stalagmites and LBI Tourism
How about that holiday showing of over-packed peopleness? It was like a spontaneous sun-worshiping flash mob. And no, amigo, it was not just a same old/same old July 4th. While Fourths of the past…
-
•July 5, 2023
Anticipation Builds for ZR-1 Launch
Those of us who can recall the space race of the 1960s can remember the roller coaster ride of preparing for a launch, then only to have it postponed for a mechanical malfunction or bad weather. The…
-
•June 28, 2023
Is That … Summer? Plus More Beach Haven Skate Park Saga and Tropical Surf
Some devilish news this week. Someone stole the famed Jersey Devil from in front of Lucille’s, a favorite eatery out in the Pine Barrens. That’s a bummer because it made a great landmark for anyone…
-
•June 28, 2023
Odd Disappearance of Humpback 2; Turbines for There Could Make It to Here
How does one discreetly dispose of a washed-up, quite-deceased 20-ton humpback whale? A small, highly private town in Massachusetts likely knows, but apparently isn’t telling. I might know why.
-
•June 28, 2023
ZR-1 Airship Has Lofty Goals
At a time in our nation’s history when it seems possible the word “United” could be removed from the name of the country, it helps to look back at a time and series of events that did appear to give…
-
•June 22, 2023
Possibility of Better Waves, Certainty of Great Music Festivals This Summer
My favorite observation this week was that of the C.J. Hesse Companies and/or the Ocean County Roads Department digging a 10-foot-deep hole into two lanes of the Ship Bottom Circle on the first week…
-
•June 21, 2023
Add Smoke to Haze, Hot, and Humid; BOEM Meeting Comes Off Disingenuous
The famed three H’s of summer – hazy, hot and humid – have suddenly found themselves forced into making room for … smoky.
-
•June 21, 2023
Klan’s Influence Spreads in Ocean County
During the summer of 1923, Jersey Shore residents watched as the “new KKK” tried to establish its presence locally and flex its muscle. Lakewood, Point Pleasant and Asbury Park all experienced cross…
-
•June 20, 2023
Never Seen in All My Born Days; Clearing Skies Can Hurt Survival
Life experiences: those deep-seated happenings that get tattooed on the inner skin of your brain, maybe marked by the colloquial thinking “I ain’t seen nothing like that in all my born days.”
-
•June 19, 2023
Savoring Those Tastes of Summer; Small, Clean Surf to Come
I am going to bet that in your beach bag, in the hold of your boat or stuffed at the bottom of your backpack is a half full bag of potato chips. Or at least there will be one within the next few…
-
•June 14, 2023
Klan Claims to Support Law and Order
The rise of the Ku Klux Klan at the Jersey Shore in 1923 caught many by surprise. Most residents linked the Klan with the racial oppression and atrocities committed in the predominantly…
-
•June 8, 2023
New Jersey Gone Global Surf Star Ben Gravy to Visit LBI After Windy/Wintry Weekend
The global surf sensation who happens to be from New Jersey, Ben Gravy, is coming to LBI to hang out and surf on Sunday. All are invited to “Ben’s BBQ” at Wave Hog Surf Shop in Ship Bottom for a meet…
-
•June 8, 2023
Gregg Allman’s First Born Carrying Torch to Lizzie Rose
“These days I seem to think a lot about the things that I forgot to do for you, and all the times I had a chance to.”
-
•June 7, 2023
Close to Losing Swath of South Jersey; Turbines Offer Great Real Estate to Big Oil
That was my initial read upon seeing the recent Bass River wildfire going full bore. It burned from Thursday into Friday. Keep that time frame in mind since it roundaboutly validates the famed life…
-
•June 7, 2023
The Klan Declares Its Intentions
The rise of the KKK at the Jersey Shore in 1923 seemed to be meteoric. In February newspapers described the Klan’s activities as quiet and inactive, but by May there were reports of cross burnings…
-
•May 31, 2023
Coming Down Off Memorial Day Weekend With Waves and Warming Water
Waves were ridden; clams were shucked. And fashion officially dictates that women’s pants (jeans, joggers and bikini bottoms), which have been on the rise for nearly a decade, now be hiked up to…
-
•May 31, 2023
Great and Not So Great Outdoors; World’s Worst Gas Accompanies Turbines
The mountain laurels are out of their bloomin’ minds, which is a wonderful thing. Sure, they always go a-blossoming right about now, but this year there must have been some sort of Red Bull rainfall.…
-
•May 31, 2023
The Klan Goes Public at the Shore
On Feb. 16, 1923, in response to the rising presence of the KKK nationally, the Asbury Park Press ran an article giving the results of a recent survey.
-
•May 25, 2023
Reggaefest Brings Rainy LBI to Life
Who wants to wait for Memorial Day weekend to get into summer? Sure, when it rains, it pours, and Saturday, it poured. Unfazed, the Island drank with gratitude. The long-awaited rain fed the late…
-
•May 24, 2023
Some New Changes to LBI This Summer; One Day of Waves Among Lots of Days of Wind
Who remembers hearing “100 days until Memorial Day weekend”?
-
•May 24, 2023
Permit Means Double Trouble for Barnegat Bay; America Failing on the Cargo Shipping Front
First, an important update on the trenching of Barnegat Bay, planned in the name of making wind power deliveries to Oyster Creek.
-
•May 24, 2023
Ku Klux Klan Infects the Nation
The year 1923 brought the realization that “yes, it can happen here” to many who had avoided facing a problem that was sweeping the nation. The story really begins eight years earlier.
-
•May 18, 2023
G. Love, Chuck Treece Set to Bring Surprise Summer Pre-Game Show to LBI
The time has come, as spring loosens its relentless grip on the shore, for venues all across our humble sandbar to roll the sidewalks back out to bathe in golden sun rays and be tread upon by sandy…
-
•May 17, 2023
Sandbars Are Excellent, All We Need Is a Wave
I’m going to start this week by saying that we live in some divisive times. Some politicians on the national scene have actually been teasing the idea of a second civil war.
-
•May 17, 2023
Eyeing Possible Bay Trenching Should Protests Fail; Great Visual Relief Offered By Homes on the Horizon
As an army of feisty Island folks immerse themselves in the oceanic wind turbine ruckus-upus, there is a quiet need to move up yonder in time – to check out the what-if zone.
-
•May 17, 2023
Whiskey Evidence Slowly Evaporates
In the age before the internet and widespread conspiracy theories, the 1923 Prohibition raid on Clam Island took enough twists and turns that today would spark thousands of clicks and headlines.
-
•May 16, 2023
Bass Keep Omega-3 in Mind; Awaiting Device to Measure Madness
I spent the better chunk of my life on the “health food” bandwagon, though falling off on many a sugary occasion.
-
•May 10, 2023
Where Did the Whiskey Go?
During the winter of 1923, suspicious activities around an island just inside Barnegat Inlet owned by Lakewood millionaire George J. Gould led to one of the largest Prohibition raids in Ocean County…
-
•May 7, 2023
Nicknaming Surf Spots; Beach Haven Skate Park Talk Goes in Circles; Gem of a Day of Surf
It was June 2007 and the weather was fantastic.
-
•May 5, 2023
Daring Deer Found Grazing the Open Dunes; Striped Bass Regs Get Even Tighter for Anglers
It didn’t come as a monumental surprise to hear that a couple explorative white-tail deer were seen pussy-hoofing around LBI. Such visitations might have taken place in the past, though I’ve never…
