The Business At Hand :: Jersey Shore Business Journal

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," silly old me!

2008-07-03T17:31:15Z

I read a letter to the editor in the Gazette yesterday, and have been chomping at the bit to get to my blog to discuss it. It was one of those days; doctors appointments and then I got invited to something for our Sandpaper publication, and "oh, could you write about it for tomorrow's paper," that kind of thing, and well, here I am, ready to fire back.
As you might recall, I wrote a column two weeks ago referring to a group of students who approached the Ocean City Board of Education in regards to a student publication called "The Speakeasy." OCHS Principal Dr. Matt Jamison, with the approval of Supt. Dr. Kathleen Taylor and the OC Board of Education, decided to thankfully, and finally, review publications coming out of the various clubs and activities, including this literary magazine.
A particular entry caught the attention of Jamison, interestingly written by a teacher. It contained profanity, bad profanity, and referred to topics that would not be appropriate for a school sponsored, taxpayer funded publication. Bad words, bad, bad topics. Inappropriate. He said no, and would not allow it to be published with this entry in it.
The students approached the BOE at a public meeting bemoaning the "censorship," First amendment, and so forth.
In my column, I discussed the difference between "appropriate," and "inappropriate" as it relates to high school students. Right and wrong, yes and no, that sort of thing. I applauded the school administration for saying no to children; the content was not appropriate for a high school publication. Yes, thank you someone has some common sense in our anything goes world.
I have discovered in recent weeks that most people agree with me, however they will not speak up. No one wants to be "made fun" of the way I was the next week. Deemed old fashioned and out of touch, the writers excoriated me for my beliefs. Too bad, I thank God for those who brought me up believing as I do, it makes life a lot easier when you have values and morals, rules to live by, those sorts of sometimes inconvenient truths about living a good life.
I also mentioned in my column that had I gone to battle over my First amendment rights I would have come face to face with my Uncle Scott, Scott Johnson who was at that time principal of OCHS. Teachers Joe Bonner and James Pulvino, advisors for the school newspaper, the Billows and yearbook, the Caravel would not have ever, ever allowed such a thing nor would we have asked, let alone taken issue with it publicly. INAPPROPRIATE, again, being the key word.
So I've taken a lot of heat, and many of you, running into me in various locales around town have kindly asked, in not so many words, how I still walk amongst you with so many arrows. Not a problem; stick to your core values and you'd be surprised how easy it is.
Why should I be intimidated because a certain segment of our population has lost their moral compass? Why should I be intimidated because I'm not a socialist? Why should I be intimidated because of my conservative roots and values? See, its pretty easy.
However, that being said Jean Bell's letter infuriated me. A little background. Jean hung out, as you might say, in a social group that at one time included my parents. After she was divorced, I recall my parents being part of a little support group that helped her, a single mom starting over.
Long time ago, but I do remember her sitting in our living room, in the kitchen, and so forth. I remember her borrowing a car, that sort of thing. We were neighborly, there when she needed help I suppose.
Years later when she retired I wrote a story about her, one of the early single moms launched back into the workforce, now retiring. I'm struggling with whether I'd take it back if I could. I recall then principal Dr. Joann Walls saying that she succeeded because of the Jean Bell's of the world. True.
Still struggling here.
Here is the letter she wrote. She was a teacher during the years my Uncle Scott was the principal. Keep in mind while he was the principal, I was a student, bearing the same last name. Everyone knew; not all of his decisions were popular. As an adult, reflecting upon this time, I am filled with pride; I think he was wonderful. At the time, it was tough. I had to develop thick skin. He was determined and stubborn, but those who knew him well knew a man with a wicked sense of humor and a lot of kindness.

To the editor:
Thought I wouldn't touch this one with a ten foot pole, in spite of the excellent letters published in last week's Gazette regarding the controversy over "censorship" at the high school. However, having recalled teaching at that institution, I can think of some fairly "iffy" content published in the then literary magazine. Of course, nothing to match the language commonly used in the hall by today's students.
But, what really provoked a chuckle goes back to the '70's. As advisor to the junior class, we planned for the prom by choosing a theme. It was "Time in a Bottle," a lovely song evoking memories to last a lifetime. Summoned to the principal's office I was told that it was inappropriate as it involved the use of alcohol. What? Perhaps the review policy was in place 35 years ago? And yes, it was Ann Richardson's uncle who was principal at the time. So, after much laughter from the students , and with tongue in cheek, we chose another theme: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Anyone recall what this involved? It was approved. So much for "censorship."
Jean Bell.

Well, wasn't that lovely of her? Yes, I have thick skin, I really don't care if she pokes fun at me. Yes, she and the students had quite a chuckle! "After much laughter," ... ha! ha! ha! See, I told you how hard it was to be Scott Johnson's niece! I am trying to remember, 35 years ago would have been 1973 - junior class would have been my husbands class - it's quite possible I was at that prom! I don't remember the theme, but I did go in 1973.
Anyway, Jean Bell, the teacher/junior class advisor met with the students, laughed about pulling one over on the principal and allowed them to go forward with a prom theme that she knew to be a reference to drugs! Wow, isn't that cool?? Yo, way to go Jean!!
You know how out of touch I am with counter-culture anything? I knew enough to know that with the Beatles, anything could be a reference to drugs. However, I had a father who didn't fall far from the tree so to speak, and I was not allowed to have Beatles albums at that time. ( I bought them in college) Remember the "Mother Mary comes to me" reference? Yeah, well my dad banned the Beatles.
Anyhow, reading her letter I knew "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" meant something, but what? I had to go out. I asked a bunch of people, but most of my friends were duds like me in high school, slightly uninformed about serious drug use and counter culture. We all knew it meant something, but what? I thought about it all day, dumb old me.
It wasn't until I checked Wikipedia that it became apparent. Lucy, L in the Sky, S, with Diamonds, D. LSD! Yes, it's easy to put a puzzle together after the fact, isn't it?
Wow, Jean Bell is really way cool! LSD!!!
I bet it feels really good 35 years later, ten years after Scott Johnson's death, to spill these beans, too! Kudos to Jean Bell for being such a good teacher!!

This is what Wikipedia had to say:

Julian's drawing

According to the Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon's son, Julian, came home from nursery school with a drawing he said was of his classmate, a girl named Lucy. Showing the artwork to his father, young Julian described the picture as "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds."

Julian later said, "I don't know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show dad everything I'd built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea for a song about 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'." ^[4]

His son's artwork appears to have inspired Lennon to draw heavily on his own childhood affection for Lewis Carroll's "Wool and Water" chapter from Through the Looking-Glass. At least one lyric was influenced by both Carroll and skits on a popular British radio comedy programme (The Goon Show) making references to "plasticine ties", which showed up in the song as "Plasticine porters with looking glass ties". A parody of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", recited by the Mad Hatter, appears in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Carroll's work has also been cited as having influenced Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" which refers to a character from Through the Looking-Glass and his two books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works.

[edit] Who was Lucy?

The Lucy referred to in the song was probably a classmate of Julian's at Heath House School named Lucy O'Donnell, born in Weybridge in 1963.^[5] She has met up with him on a few occasions in the last few years, and occasionally appears on daytime shows for the anniversary of the "Sgt. Pepper's" album. She is featured in the book "A Hard Day's Night". She now lives in Surbiton in Surrey, and owned a nanny agency for children with special needs until she was taken ill with psoriatic arthritis and lupus some years ago.

There is another candidate for the original Lucy: British comedian Peter Cook's daughter, Lucy. Lennon and Cook were seeing quite a bit of each other at the time (Lennon made a guest appearance on Cook's TV show Not Only... But Also as a doorman). According to Cook's biographer, Harry Thompson, Lennon told Cook's then wife, Wendy, that the song was inspired by Lucy Cook.

According to documentary film that was shown on Russian TV, the title may refer to Lyudmila Zykina (or "Lucy") who met Beatles in restaurant and sung a Russian folk song for them.[1].

Reference to drugs and the title of the song

Paul McCartney recounted trading lyric ideas with Lennon in an interview, saying, "We never noticed the LSD initial until it was pointed out later, by which point people didn't believe us."^[6] This is confirmed by a 1971 interview of Lennon, where he admitted to curiously going so far as to search for acronyms in his other work, only to find "they didn't spell out anything." George Martin also denied the song was about LSD in the book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn. However, Lewisohn goes on to say "there can be little doubt that this was the very substance that provoked such colourful word imagery to flow out of Lennon's head and onto paper." ^[7] McCartney agrees in a 2004 interview, where he noted that Julian's painting had inspired the song, but that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was also inspired by LSD.^[8] For his part, Lennon attributed the colourful prose not to the drug, but to the writings of Lewis Carroll.

Another Real Estate Agent Assaulted

2008-07-01T19:49:59Z

Another Real Estate Agent Assaulted

In what is now becoming an unfortunate, all too common occurrence, another real estate agent has been assaulted. This trend is scary; women are especially vulnerable, and in the off-season, Ocean City could be particularly dangerous.

In Lake Whitney, Texas a local real estate agent went on an appointment to list a home. She was meeting a man who identified himself as the person responsible for disposing of his late parents’ home. The agent, upon meeting the man at the home, was kidnapped, tied up, blindfolded and taken to the man’s home where he sexually assaulted her and called her relatives to demand a ransom for her safe return.

The Bosque County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, with the assistance of a helicopter from another nearby county spotted the agent’s car parked in the driveway of the home she where she had the listing appointment, but could not find any trace of the woman at that residence.

Responding to a call to the McLennan County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, deputies found the woman at a residence three blocks from where she was abducted. She was taken to a Waco, Texas hospital and was treated and released.

The suspect reportedly had stolen his roommate’s pickup truck and was spotted a short time later and was arrested and taken into custody.

Forty-four-year-old Timothy Maurice Smith of Morgan, Texas is charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and is being held in lieu of $120,000 bond.

Real estate agents need to be very careful in hosting open houses, visiting vacant properties and meeting men without an associate present.

Ocean City Police Department - summary of weekly activity

2008-07-01T20:02:00Z

In the recent past, getting information out of the Ocean City Police Department was difficult, to say the least. The Old Guard kept valuable info close to the vest; it was tough to get a hold of an officer and find out what was happening.
When Chief Chad Callahan was appointed Police Chief a few months ago, he reorganized the department and I'm really liking these changes. He put Lt. Steve Ang in charge of special projects, including this weekly summary. Every day I get an interesting release from Steve about what's happening. It's great to know that we need to be vigilant; crime does not take a vacation! Kudos to the OCPD for keeping us in the loop!!

OCEAN CITY POLICE SUMMARIZED WEEK’S ACTIVITIES

June 22, 2008 – June 28, 2008 Calls for Service: 1671 Daily Average: 239

June 22, 2008: Sunday

Calls for service: 255

Motor Vehicle Stops: 55 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 4 Property Checks: 21

§ The Police department handled 19 parking complaints

§ The Police Department assisted with 19 Fire/Rescue calls

§ The Boardwalk Officers handled 42 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk

§ Warrant service, 700 block 8^th St., one arrested, at 12:02am

§ CDS investigation, 1300 block Ocean Ave., one arrested, at 12:23am

§ City ordinance noise violation, 1100 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 1:04am

§ City ordinance alcohol violation, 1100 block West Ave., one arrested, at 1:23am

§ Commercial burglar alarm activation, 3100 block Asbury Ave., accidental, at 9:02am

§ Theft investigation, 1100 block Boardwalk, surrey cart taken and recovered, at 9:11am

§ Theft investigation, 1000 block Central Ave., bicycle taken, at 10:10am

§ Residential burglar alarm activation, 5500 block Central Ave., accidental, at 12:40pm

§ Simple Assault investigation, 100 block 55^th St., report filed, at 12:50pm

§ Theft investigation, 700 block Asbury Ave., bicycle taken, at 2:20pm

§ Harassment investigation, 1400 block Haven Ave., ongoing investigation, at 3:15pm

§ Theft investigation, 1400 block Asbury Ave., bicycle taken, at 3:24pm

§ Residential burglar alarm activation, 100 block W. Atlantic Blvd., accidental, at 3:44pm

§ Theft investigation, 1400 block Beach, items taken from beach, at 3:51pm

§ Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 900 block Central Ave., ongoing investigation, at 4:42pm

§ Residential burglar alarm activation, 1100 block Simpson Ave., accidental, at 4:59pm

§ Theft investigation, 300 block Bay Ave., Power Wheels car taken, at 5:13pm

§ Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 3500 block Wesley Ave., ongoing investigation, at 5:13pm

§ Lewdness investigation, 1400 block Central Ave., one arrested, at 6:18pm

§ Commercial burglar alarm activation, 500 block Atlantic Ave., building secure, at 6:26pm

§ Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, Route 52, at 7:48pm

§ Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, Bayou Terrace, ongoing investigation, at 8:20pm

§ City ordinance noise violation, 2100 block Wesley Ave., multiple summonses issued, at 9:52pm

§ CDS investigation, 1200 block Boardwalk, juvenile in custody, at 10:20pm

§ Commercial burglar alarm activation, 600 block Boardwalk, accidental, at 11:45pm

June 23, 2008: Monday

Calls for service: 221

Motor Vehicle Stops: 55 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 5 Property Checks: 28

The Police Department handled 17 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 6 Fire/Rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officer handled 23 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
Commercial burglar alarm activation, 1300 block Boardwalk, owner responded, at 12:57am
Insecure property investigation, 1900 block Wesley Ave., owner notified, at 1:08am
City ordinance violation dressing in vehicle, 200 block E. Atlantic Blvd., summons issued, at 7:00am
Harassment investigation, 500 block 12^th St., ongoing investigation, at 7:15am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 3800 block Asbury Ave., ongoing investigation, at 7:53am
Theft investigation, 200 block Wesley Ave., copper pipes taken, at 9:07am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 3800 block Central Ave., ongoing investigation, at 9:59am
Theft investigation, 700 block 9^th St., bicycle taken, at 10:13am
Theft investigation, 2600 block Asbury Ave., bicycle taken, at 10:15am
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 1300 block Wesley Ave., ongoing investigation, at 11:07am
Commercial burglar alarm activation, 500 block West Ave., building secure, at 3:21pm
Motor vehicle accident, injuries reported, 1100 block Asbury Ave., at 3:54pm
City ordinance alcohol violation, 300 block West Ave., summons issued, at 5:20pm
Residential burglar alarm activation, 1000 block Wesley Rd., property secure, at 6:00pm
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 2500 block Central Ave., ongoing investigation, at 6:58pm
Commercial burglar alarm activation, 1000 block Asbury Ave., building secure, at 8:02pm
Simple Assault investigation, 1200 block Ocean Ave., report filed, at 8:20pm
Insecure property investigation, 800 block Asbury Ave., building secure by police, at 10:23pm
Theft investigation, 700 block Plymouth Pl., bicycle taken, at 10:42pm
Simple Assault investigation, 900 block Boardwalk, ongoing investigation, at 11:26pm
Disorderly conduct investigation, Walton Pl., one arrested, at 11:26pm

June 24, 2008: Tuesday

Calls for service: 218

Motor Vehicle Stops: 47 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 2 Property Checks: 41

The Police Department handled 19 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 12 fire/rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officers handled 27 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
Insecure property investigation, 900 block Boardwalk, owner notified, at 12:14am
Residential burglar alarm activation, 300 block Wesley Rd., accidental, at 8:56am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 23^rd St. & Bay Ave., at 10:40am
Theft investigation, 2500 block Asbury Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 12:31pm
Theft investigation, 4000 block Central Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 1:54pm
Theft investigation, 1200 block Asbury Ave., bicycle taken, at 2:15pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 800 block 8^th St., at 3:15pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 900 block Boardwalk, at 3:26pm
Theft investigation, Unit block Simpson Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 4:28pm
Warrant service, 800 block Central Ave., one arrested, at 4:52pm
Theft investigation, 800 block West Ave., bicycle taken, at 6:23pm
Shoplifting investigation, 1100 block Boardwalk, one juvenile in custody, at 9:28pm
Theft investigation, 600 block Boardwalk, items taken from stroller, at 9:28pm
Domestic Violence investigation, 3200 block Bay Ave., complaint signed, at 9:56pm
Insecure property investigation, 600 block Asbury Ave., police secured building, at 10:22pm
Insecure property investigation, 600 block Asbury Ave., owner notified, at 10:29pm
Recovered runaway juvenile investigation, 1100 block Central Ave., juvenile from Holland, Pa., returned to parents, at 11:38pm

June 25, 2008: Wednesday

Calls for service: 225

Motor Vehicle Stops: 30 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 5 Property Checks: 34

The Police Department handled 35 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 14 fire/rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officers handled 21 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
Insecure property investigation, 900 block Boardwalk, owner responded, at 12:00am
Insecure property investigation, Unit block Central Ave., owner notified, at 12:27am
Theft investigation, 700 block 9^th St., ladder taken, at 7:09am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 800 block Moorlyn Terr., ongoing investigation, at 8:45am
Theft investigation, 1100 block Ocean Ave., bicycles taken, at 9:38am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 3200 block Asbury Ave., at 10:04am
Warrant service, 1000 block Ocean Ave., one arrested, at 10:31am
City ordinance alcohol violation, 400 block Asbury Ave., multiple issues, at 11:31am
Insecure property investigation, 200 block Wesley Ave., police secured, at 11:36am
Forgery investigation, 1000 block Asbury Ave., ongoing investigation, at 11:50am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 3100 block Central Ave., ongoing investigation, at 1:11pm
Burglary/Theft investigation, 900 block ocean Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 1:39pm
Motor vehicle accident, injuries reported, 9^th St., & Asbury Ave., at 1:42pm
Disorderly conduct investigation, 1100 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 2:01pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 34^th St. & Asbury Ave., at 4:34pm
Theft investigation, 800 block 4^th St., bicycle taken, at 5:44pm
Motor vehicle accident, injuries reported, 14^th St. & Asbury Ave., at 6:04pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 800 block 8^th St., at 6:18pm
Prescription Fraud investigation, 3400 block Simpson Ave., one in custody, at 7:07pm
Warrant service, 1300 block Central Ave., one arrested, at 8:25pm
Theft investigation, Waterway Rd., bicycle taken, at 8:52pm
Theft investigations, 700 and 1000 block Boardwalk, two juveniles in custody, at 11:04pm
Residential burglar alarm activation, 300 block Seaspray Rd., accidental, at 11:43pm

June 26, 2008: Thursday

Calls for service: 202

Motor Vehicle Stops: 38 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 6 Property Checks: 18

The Police Department handled 13 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 9 fire/rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officers handled 22 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
Insecure property investigation, 800 block Bay Ave., police secured, at 1:22am
City ordinance alcohol violation, 400 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 2:09am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 1000 block Ocean Ave., items removed from vehicle, at 8:38am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 400 block Central Ave., items removed from vehicle, at 8:48am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 1000 block Ocean Ave., items removed from vehicle, at 9:08am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 1000 block Ocean Ave., items removed from garage, at 9:08am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 400 block Central Ave., items removed from vehicle, at 9:20am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 700 block Boardwalk, graffiti, at 9:39am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 1100 block Asbury Ave., items removed from vehicle, at 9:46am
Attempted Shoplifting investigation, 800 block Asbury Ave., suspect fled area, at 11:32am
Warrant service, 800 block Central Ave., one arrested, at 11:50am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 800 block Atlantic Ave., at 12:48pm
Theft investigation, 900 block Boardwalk, ongoing investigation, at 1:09pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, at 14^th St. & Ocean Ave., at 2:46pm
Burglary/Theft investigation, 500 19^th St., bicycles taken, at 3:45pm
Theft investigation, 700 block Asbury Ave., bicycles taken, at 5:20pm
Domestic Violence investigation, 1200 block West Ave., report filed, at 7:35pm
Theft investigation, 2200 block Central Ave., bicycles taken, at 7:52pm
CDS investigation, 34^th St., one arrested, at 10:26pm
Criminal Mischief investigation, 1400 block Ocean Ave., one arrested, at 11:31pm
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 1500 block Central Ave., at 11:46pm

June 27, 2008: Friday

Calls for service: 251

Motor Vehicle Stops: 87 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 6 Property Checks: 20

The Police Department handled 12 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 29 fire/rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officers handled 23 City Ordinance violations involving bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
City ordinance alcohol violation, 1500 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 12:42am
Insecure property investigation, 600 block Boardwalk, police secured, at 12:45am
City ordinance disorderly conduct, 300 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 1:38am
City ordinance noise and alcohol violations, 800 block 3^rd St., summonses issued, at 1:53am
City ordinance noise violation, 300 block Asbury Ave., summons issued, at 2:10am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 1200 block Boardwalk, report filed, at 2:48am
City ordinance alcohol violation, 300 block West Ave. summons issued, at 5:25am
Harassment investigation, 2500 block Haven Ave., report filed, at 8:22am
Commercial burglar alarm activation, 900 block Pleasure Ave., accidental, at 8:25am
Harassment investigation, Walton Pl., one arrested, at 8:32am
Theft investigation, 2000 block Wesley Ave., bicycle taken, at 9:56am
Residential burglar alarm investigation, Waterview Blvd., accidental, at 10:05am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 1200 block West Ave., at 10:31am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 1100 block Wesley Ave., at 10:39am
Theft investigation, 400 block West Ave., bicycle taken, at 10:42am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 1300 block West Ave., at 10:52am
Theft investigation, 1400 block Ocean Ave., bicycle taken, at 11:35am
Theft investigation, 5000 block Asbury Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 1:51pm
Theft investigation, 2300 block Asbury Ave., copper pipes taken, at 2:03pm
Theft investigation, 1200 block Beach, one arrested, at 3:56pm
Theft investigation, 1000 block Central Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 3:58pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 900 block West Ave., at 4:12pm
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 900 block Atlantic Ave., at 9:10pm
Shoplifting investigation, 800 block Boardwalk, report filed, at 10:02pm
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 100 block 34^th St., at 10:42pm

June 28, 2008: Saturday

Calls for service: 299

Motor Vehicle Stops: 101 Motor Vehicle Accidents: 4 Property Checks: 28

The Police Department handled 32 parking complaints
The Police Department assisted with 19 fire/rescue calls
The Boardwalk Officers handled 27 City Ordinance violations involving; bicycles, smoking and dogs on the boardwalk
Insecure property investigation, 700 block Asbury Ave., police secured, at 12:00am
City ordinance noise violation, 2100 block Wesley Ave., summons issued, at 12:01am
Harassment investigation, 800 block Central Ave., report filed, at 12:51am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 800 block Coolidge Rd., report filed, at 7:36am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 800 block 2^nd St., ongoing investigation, at 7:57am
Criminal Mischief investigation, 300 block Atlantic Ave., report filed, at 8:41am
Motor vehicle accident, injuries reported, 3300 block West Ave., at 9:04am
Burglary/Theft investigation, 2400 block Simpson Ave., bicycle taken, at 10:52am
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 55^th St. & Haven Ave., at 11:50am
Verbal dispute, 3400 block Central Ave., report filed, at 12:13pm
Criminal Mischief investigation, 700 block Asbury Ave., report filed, at 12:13pm
Burglary/Theft investigation, 2100 block Wesley Ave., items taken from vehicle, at 12:23pm
Harassment investigation, 700 block 8^th St., report filed, at 1:51pm
Warrant service, 600 block Central Ave., one arrested, at 2:13pm
Burglary/Theft investigation, 1800 block Asbury Ave., bicycle taken, at 4:20pm
Verbal dispute, 500 block Beach, report filed, at 4:40pm
Motor vehicle accident, hit & run, 3500 block Simpson Ave., at 6:49pm
Warrant service, Route 52, one arrested, at 9:22pm
Motor vehicle accident, no injuries reported, 900 block Asbury Ave., at 9:40pm
CDS investigation, Route 52, 2 suspects arrested, at 11:51pm

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCMENTS:

The Ocean City Police Department Traffic Safety Unit is now actively running Aggressive Driving Patrols daily. This information is being broadcast on local radio stations about areas in the city that are targeted for enforcement. Please be advised that this is a zero tolerance program. Areas of concern include; pedestrian safety and crosswalks, cell phones, seat belts, speeding and road rage incidents
The Ocean City Police Department would like to remind all residents and visitors that Fireworks are illegal to possess in the State of New Jersey. The Police Department will have a zero tolerance policy when dealing with subjects in possession of illegal fireworks. We want everyone to have a safe and healthy July 4^th Holiday.
The Ocean City Police Dept. attended the Playground Dedication Ceremony at 8^th St. & Haven Ave., in honor of Dan Henry
The Police Department attended the dedication and naming of the new sculpture at Tennessee Ave.
The Boardwalk Officers for the week of June 22 – 28, 2008 have compiled the below statistics.

SHOPLIFTER JUVENILE - 5

CITY ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS - 0

CRIMINAL ARREST ADULT - 1

CRIMINAL ARREST JUVENILE - 0

MOTOR VEHICLE MOVING VIOLATION - 0

LOST CHILDREN - 23

CITY ORDINANCE BIKE WARNING - 128

CITY ORDINANCE SMOKING WARNING - 38

CITY ORDINANCE DUNES WARNING - 4

CITY ORDINANCE DOGS ON THE BOARDWALK - 11

The Noise/Alcohol Unit has been very proactive in their approach to the quality of life issues that laceType w:st="on">OceanlaceType> laceType w:st="on">CitylaceType> residents must deal with during our summer season. Below is a list of the statistics for the week of June 22 thru June 28, 2008:

CITY ORDINANCE ALCOHOL - 47 summonses

CITY ORDINANACE NOISE - 14 summonses

CITY ORDINANACE OTHER - 1 summonses

ADULT CRIMINAL ARRESTS - 14

JUVENILES DIVERTED - 34

TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS 24

Why a "Drill here, drill now" approach will help America pay less at the pump

2008-07-01T19:30:20Z

Why a "Drill Here, Drill Now" Approach Will Help America Pay Less at the Pump

Is more drilling for American oil an essential part of lowering energy costs and freeing us from dependence on foreign sources of energy? The typical response of critics is a resounding “NO!” and includes several common arguments, which are not supported by the facts.

MYTH: Oil companies currently have 68 million acres of leased public lands that contain large amounts of economically recoverable oil available. Drilling in these areas could generate 4.8 million barrels a day so opening up more land is not necessary.

FACT: The estimates on the amount of oil available in those 68 million acres have been derived by assuming that the unused acres can produce the same amount as those acres being used. However, much of the land leased to oil companies has already been explored and determined not to carry enough recoverable oil to justify drilling. This is in stark contrast to the other 97% of currently banned offshore resources and areas with shale oil, where enormous quantities are known to exist.

That opponents to greater U.S. exploration believe they understand better than petroleum engineers how we obtain oil from drilling is absolutely ridiculous.

MYTH: Drilling will not provide any short-term relief in the price of oil because it will take many years before new drilling will lead to new supplies.

FACT: This same argument has been used for the past several decades to prevent us from using more of our American oil, leading to our current dependence on foreign oil and the supply crunch we are currently experiencing. Does this mean critics of greater American energy exploration were wrong 10 years ago, 20 years ago, and 30 years ago but are suddenly right today now?

Drilling more now will increase supplies in the future. And higher supplies lead to lower prices. Currently, the world is operating at or near full capacity, so there is very little slack in the system, and any disruption causes spike in price. This is partly why commodities and other investors have invested so heavily in oil, driving up prices. They recognize demand will continue to increase and that current supply has artificial limits, especially in the United States.

Opening up new oil fields in the U.S., even if new supplies won’t actually reach our gas tank for several years, would immediately impact the amount of upward speculation on long-term commodity investment in oil. Oil speculators will see a greater supply ahead and will see that the future of oil is less constrained on the supply side. Moreover, fears of Middle Eastern turmoil or South American unrest that could disrupt supply shipments will be much less of a reason to drive up the price of crude if a stable U.S. can supply millions of barrels of additional oil. Which represents a more stable source of oil, Colorado or Caracas?

Finally, nobody is suggesting that our nation’s energy strategy should be solely dependent on domestic production of oil. We all recognize that alternative energy sources – such as wind and solar - need to be developed. But more American oil must be a part of an American energy solution.

MYTH: The U.S. only has a small percentage (from 2-6%) of the world’s oil supplies, and since oil is a global commodity, our increased production won’t affect prices much if at all.

FACT: This estimate of 2-6% of the world’s oil supplies does not hold up to scrutiny.

In oil shale alone, found in the Green River Formation in parts of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, the U.S. has approximately 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or over three times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. This comes from a midpoint estimate in a 2005 RAND study done at the request of the Department of Energy, and a higher end estimate puts the number at over one trillion barrels.

Furthermore, there are vast areas of the United States and its outer continental shelf where it is illegal to even look for oil. Exploration routinely yields additional resources far larger than initial estimates.

Resources from oil shale and additional oil resources that are likely to be discovered are not included in the estimates of American oil supplies.

MYTH: Drilling offshore will lead to ocean spillage, damaging wildlife and beaches.

FACT: In fact, virtually all of the pollution and “spillage” comes from large tankers transporting oil from other countries and natural seepages. Thus, drilling for our American oil would actually reduce the risk of oil pollution by reducing the number of international oil tankers entering our ports.

Offshore spills have occurred, but offshore drilling companies have an exceptional record of preventing spills and minimizing environmental damage, due primarily to technological innovation. Norway, which is a major exporter of oil and acquires all of it from offshore, also has an outstanding record of drilling in the sea, and there’s no reason why we would take fewer precautions than the Norwegians. Everyone promoting offshore drilling wants to do it in compliance with environmental safeguards, which in the United States are some of the most stringent in the world.

This is unlike other nations, such as China, which announced a partnership with Cuba in 2006 to start drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. That nation’s dismal environmental record should force Congress to make a decision: Do we let another nation drill for oil near us and risk major environmental catastrophe, or do we do it ourselves with better environmental protection?

MYTH: The price of oil has increased due to “over-speculation” by energy commodities traders and outlawing or heavily regulating energy trading is the best way to dramatically reduce the price of oil.

FACT: When analyzing the effect of speculators on the price of oil it is important to distinguish between the activity of a healthy commodity futures market and “over-speculation.”

A healthy commodities futures market responds to the supply and demand realities of actual commodity suppliers and consumers. As Robert Murphy from the Institute for Energy Research explains, a healthy futures market can be a stabilizing influence on oil. By buying when prices are low and selling when prices are high, speculators actually push up the low prices and push down the high prices. America wants a healthy futures market on the price of oil.

So oil speculation does play a role in the price of oil. Single-day price spikes from supply disruption fears, for example, are often the work of speculation, but the price typically readjusts. The key question, then, is if “over-speculation” is occurring. “Over-speculation” in a futures market is when activity in the speculative markets themselves cause an artificial, higher demand for a commodity that does not reflect the demand of actual consumers. This causes an artificial, real-world price increase.

So have oil speculators distorted the global demand for oil, leading to the sharp price rise?

The data suggest not. If the price of oil truly was above the natural level dictated by supply and demand, we would see an increase in global inventory of oil. This is because when prices rise, production increases and consumer demand falls. If the speculative markets were adding extra demand to the market, all that oil purchased would have to be stockpiled somewhere. However, there is no evidence of any such hoarding, meaning that commercial consumers are purchasing every barrel produced. By definition, that means that the price is in line with real-world supply and demand. Despite the rise in prices, consumers continue to buy, meaning supply and demand fundamentals are in line. This means the speculative markets are functioning as they should and are not having a distorting effect on the price of oil.

Furthermore, long-term bets that the price of oil will rise rather than fall on the New York Mercantile Exchange have dropped over four fold since the price of a barrel went above $100. Traders are now shorting oil almost as much as they are betting on its price increase in the long term. Again, this data suggests that the speculative markets are functioning as they should.

So if the energy futures markets are operating as they should, passing new laws outlawing or more heavily regulating these markets will do nothing to lower the price of oil in the intermediate or long term. In fact, it would likely have two effects that could actually drive up the price of oil.

First, new regulations would reduce the stabilizing impact futures markets play on the price of oil described above. Second, they would likely drive energy futures markets outside of the United States, where they would be even less regulated than before. The loss of this financial activity would hurt America’s already sluggish economy, weakening the dollar even more. Considering that the decline of the value of the dollar has been estimated to account for as much as 30% of the recent surge in oil prices, the long run effect of would be to raise the price of oil even more.

So if you want the price of oil to be more volatile and ensure that Dubai and Singapore become the future centers of commodities trading, passing new laws heavily regulating the energy futures trading is a great idea. However, it will not lower gas prices.

MYTH: Drilling for unconventional sources, such as tar sands or shale oil, is too costly and creates a large carbon footprint, among other environmental problems.

FACT: The aforementioned RAND study demonstrated that if the price of a barrel of oil was as “high” as $90, current technology would make oil shale competitive in the market. With a barrel of oil approaching $140, the notion that extracting oil from shale is too expensive is simply untrue.

The environmental footprint argument would make more sense were it not for recent innovations by companies like Shell Oil, which has developed an in-situ method for extracting shale oil that would use relatively little water and does not involve making creators on wide portions of land. Instead, heating rods are stuck into the earth that heat the shale and then oil falls into a pool below to be collected. It should also be noted that early research suggests this method could be competitive even if oil was as cheap as $25 per barrel.

However, opponents of oil drilling are blocking further attempts to innovate through an amendment to an omnibus spending bill from December that prevents any further leasing on public lands with oil shale.

It is telling that opponents to greater U.S. exploration would choose to block shale oil development through a rider to a several hundred page spending bill instead of through separate legislation that could be debated purely on the merits of the specific proposal.

In Ocean City, they've moved the fireworks and we thought that was bad; it could be worse - this community canceled them!

2008-07-01T20:09:03Z

City officials moved the fireworks in Ocean City from 5th Street to 10th Street, and then out to sea on a barge, and we thought that was bad. Get a load of this:

Sparks Fly Over Canceled Fireworks

GUALALA, Calif. (July 1) - This tourist village perched on a rugged stretch of California coast is known for its mellow attitude and abundant wildlife. But a decision to ban the town's July 4 fireworks sent sparks flying long before Independence Day.

The California Coastal Commission issued the ban because of concerns that noise from the fireworks could scare seabirds off their nests, causing them to abandon their young.

Is Fireworks Ban for the Birds?

Ocean City's Joan Farrell - strong rental season, but property owners beware!

2008-07-01T19:25:07Z

Joan Farrell says we're having a very strong rental season ...

If you haven't rented by now for the end of July and the beginning of August, it may be too late!
"There are very few properties left for the peak of the market," she said. "Again, like the economy, however, what kind of summer we're having depends on how your particular unit is renting. In a way, it's kind of potluck who shows up and what they are looking for. In the northend, we were hurt a little bit by the condition of the beaches earlier this year. With the dredging and the nice big beaches, it's made a big difference. They're coming back again."
Property owners who want to rent their properties need to do a little research, Farrell said.
"We'll have people come in, complaining about the company that they are listed with, they have open weeks, can you help us," she said. "The first thing we do is sit down with them and take a look at the rental site. This just happened, and it turns out the pictures online were 15 years old, the unit looked old and dated. No wonder it wasn't renting.
"You have to be able to compete. Attracting tenants is a business; if you're standing still you're going backwards. You have to make sure that your unit is fresh and clean, up to date. Every year you have to invest in something, paint, carpet, updating the trim. Maybe you get new furniture or add wireless. You have to stay ahead of the competition. This is no time to cut corners if you want to get rented. Even a vintage property will rent if its clean and comfortable.
"If people don't like what they see, they won't rent, it's that simple," she said.