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Asbury Park Press :: Monmouth Edition APP.COM $2.00

07.20.14

VOLUME135

NUMBER172

SINCE 1879

ADVICE E11

BUSINESS AA6

CLASSIFIED D1

LOCAL A3

LOTTERIES A2

OBITUARIES A18

OPINION AA4

PUZZLES E9

SPORTS C1

TV C10

PRESS ON YOUR SIDE

CHRYSLER FIXES RUST PROBLEM

An Ocean Township couple was told the engine

mounts were rusting away on their Chrysler

Pacifica and the warranty wouldnt cover repairs.

So they turned to us.YOUR MONEY, AA6

USA TODAY CHRISTIE SAYS HED CONSIDER HOUSING IMMIGRANT CHILDREN IN N.J. PAGE 1B

With Atlantic Citys gambling monop-oly in tatters and the city making a slowtransition to build a more family-friend-ly resort, Shore-area officials are brac-ing for a dry spell.

They have seen the good times: em-ployees with middle-class wages whocan buy homes, visitors who spend mon-ey on the drive down and precious taxrevenue.

And the bad times? When Atlantic

City suffers, the entire area suffers,said David Breeden, administrator ofBarnegat in southern Ocean County.The most important thing that peopleneed to realize is, as Atlantic City goes,so goes the region.

More than 1,000 casino workers live inOcean County, the second highest con-centration of gaming workers outside ofAtlantic County. And that doesnt include

employees who work for companies thatsupport the casinos, such as food andequipment suppliers. About 100,000 jobs,or 2 percent of the states workforce,were tied to the gaming industry in someway, according to a 2008 Rutgers Univer-sity study.

Atlantic Citys $2.9 billion casino in-dustry is retrenching, and few areas inthe state will escape the pain that comeswith it. The biggest concerns: a flood ofunemployed workers and falling in-comes and property values that will cutinto tax revenue. Less taxes for state cof-

fers usually means higher taxes for ev-eryone else or cuts to services.

The casino industry and its workerspaid nearly $1 billion in state and localtaxes in 2008, Rutgers said. Thatsenough money to run both Atlantic andOcean counties governments for morethan a year.

OCEAN COUNTY RELIES ON ATLANTIC CITY JOBS

A couple walks on the Atlantic City Boardwalk past the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino, which is scheduled to close inSeptember unless a buyer is found. MIKE DESOCIO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

It breaksmy heart to

see this

happening

to our

people.ARTHUR MIDGLEY,Little Egg Harbor mayor

Transition that de-emphasizes gaming willtake years to equal lost gambling revenue

By Jean Mikle @jeanmikleandMichael L. Diamond @mdiamondapp

AtlanticCity casinostotal grossrevenue

$1.4

B

$1.3

B

$3B

$2.9

B

1

2013

Jan.-

June

2013

Jan.-

June

2014

SeeCASINOS, Page A4

SHORE TO BEHIT BY CASINO

CLOSINGS

Last of a two-part series on the Asbury Park school

system

Asbury Parks school system is broken.But it can be fixed.Success stories from across the state and the nation

abound.Board of Education member Corey Lowell said it

might be time to start looking at leadership tactics inschool districts that are succeeding.

One example that has received national accolades isthe Union City district.

That school system has spent the past 20 years re-pairing itself after it neared a state takeover in the late1980s because of a plummeting graduation rate and lowtest scores, retired Superintendent Stanley M. Sangersaid.

Today, the district graduates 79 percent of its sen-iors, and students have achieved among the highest

The Barack Obama Elementary School on Bangs Avenueclosed July 1. Its students will move to other schools inAsbury Park. TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

How to save

Asbury Parks

schoolchildrenSuccess stories elsewhere offer

clues, such as a united board

By Nicquel Terry @NTerryAPP

See ASBURY,Page A15

TRENTONGov. Chris Christies administration hasmailed $185 million in Senior Freeze property tax re-imbursements and is reminding senior and disabledhomeowners they have two more months to apply forthe program.

While more than 152,000 homeowners are receivingchecks that average $1,213, some applicants will wind

up disappointed. The state budget has frozen the eligi-bility threshold at $70,000 for the last few years, eventhough the Senior Freeze law would have boosted it to$84,289 for this year.

This years state budget sets aside $203 million forSenior Freeze checks, so it still has $18 million budgetedto pay additional benefits.

Residents who dont qualify because of the reduced

Senior Freeze checksincome cap still frozenBy Michael Symons @MichaelSymons_

See FREEZE,PageA17