On Monday, June 26, it will be my honor to welcome Bill Elliott to City Hall. Mr. Elliott, who is the Chairman and CEO of the John R. Elliott HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers, is coming to Sea Isle to co-host a press conference in City Council Chambers with representatives from Uber Transportation at 12:30 p.m., at which time they will launch a new safe-driving initiative that includes discounts on Uber taxi service – all in an effort to stop people from driving under the influence. As you may be aware, Bill Elliott’s son, John, a Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, was killed by a drunk driver in 2000. The driver had been arrested on prior DUI charges and released – only to get back in the car drunk once more, killing himself and John. I applaud Mr. Elliott’s ongoing efforts to shine a much-needed light on this important topic – and I thank him for choosing Sea Isle City to launch this new initiative. For more info about the HERO Campaign or to learn how you can help prevent drunk driving, please visit www.herocampaign.org
June is flying by – and that means Independence Day will be here before we know it! As is the case each summer, Sea Isle City is the perfect place to celebrate our nation’s birthday. This year’s July Fourth festivities will begin at 9:30 a.m. with our annual Junior Olympics competition for kids (ages 3-13) at Dealy Field, where a large group of volunteers from the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City will lead youngsters through running, jumping and throwing contests. At 7:30 p.m. on July Fourth, you can enjoy a variety of patriotic and Americana music during this year’s Independence Day Concert at the Excursion Park Band Shell, featuring Ed Vezinho and the Jim Ward Big Band. Then, Sea Isle’s annual July Fourth Fireworks Show will begin at 9:00 p.m. with a huge pyrotechnic display being launched from an ocean barge near 50th Street – which means our Promenade and beaches will be ideal locations to view the “rocket’s red glare.” I hope you can join us as we honor our nation’s independence and celebrate another glorious summer in Sea Isle City.
For those of you who frequently drive along Landis Avenue in Sea Isle’s Townsends Inlet section, I have good news to report! Landis Avenue will be paved (from 72nd to 78th Street) by the County’s contractor on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27. The paving project will smooth-out the rough road surface that resulted after Landis Avenue was excavated during the recent installation of necessary underground water, sewer and gas improvements. All street paving in Sea Isle should be completed by June 27, with no more planned road construction until the fall. As always, I am very grateful for everyone’s patience and understanding while important infrastructure improvements are completed.
And speaking of good news, the Townsends Inlet Bridge is now scheduled to fully open to vehicle traffic by 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, Friday, June 23. I’m sure we can all agree that the bridge closure has been quite an inconvenience, but I am happy to report that as of tomorrow afternoon, it will be smooth sailing between Sea Isle City and Avalon all summer long! Thank you for your patience as bridge repairs were underway!
This week’s shout out goes to our friends in Avalon – now that the bridge between our two communities will be back in operation, we welcome all of the folks who want to come and visit us here in Sea Isle City – the “Capital of Cape May County.”
Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
