When officials at Oceanside Charter School in Atlantic City were notified in February that their charter would not be renewed after 14 years of operation, school founder and administrator Jeanine Middleton knew trying to fight the state Department of Education would be useless.

Prosecutors in Ocean and Cape May counties are preparing to unveil education programs for the upcoming school year in the battle against what authorities said is a heroin epidemic in the southern part of the state.

ATLANTIC CITY — Somewhere over the eastern Atlantic Ocean it was 5 o’clock when Jo Christenson and Bob Barone were turned away from the LandShark Bar & Grill on Friday.

Weather conditions may not have cooperated for beachgoers Friday, but the rain held off at night for Revel’s season-opening fireworks display.

EGG HARBOR CITY - City Council has voted to change the terms of a land sale to a developer who plans to build 100 units of affordable senior housing at the site of the demolished Fanny D. Rittenberg Middle School.

MILLVILLE - Officials at Lakeside Middle School wanted students to know there is more to Memorial Day weekend than barbecues and holiday sales.

Memorial Day was founded as a day to honor Americans who died fighting for their country. But somewhere along its nearly 150 years of history, the holiday got a second meaning. It became a long weekend to celebrate America's unofficial start of summer, a meaning that's especially popular in our South Jersey shore towns, among other summer resorts.

ESTELL MANOR - For the first time since the cemetery opened in 1985, rain fell on the Veterans Memorial service at the Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery.

Four Little Egg Harbor Township residents were arrested Thursday on drug charges following a motor vehicle stop.

A Vineland man’s plea to reduce his bail on murder charges was denied Friday by a judge in Gloucester County.

An Atlantic County grand jury has indicted three fishermen from Maine who allegedly trapped thousands of undersized eels in Absecon.

Hamilton Township police arrested a man accused of sexually assaulting three females, including two who were juveniles at the time of the alleged attacks.

A head-on crash on the Longport Causeway in Egg Harbor Township temporarily blocked traffic between Longport and Somers Point, police said.

An Atlantic County sheriff's officer was sentenced to two years' probation today after pleading guilty to official misconduct for voiding a friend's ticket.

BRIDGETON — A former Vineland patrol officer was sentenced in Superior Court on Friday to two year’s probation for stealing $40,000 in union funds belonging to members of a pair of police departments.

State Sen. Jim Whelan announced today that he has had a pacemaker installed to address an irregular heart beat.

Millville police are investigating a pair of shootings on Thursday that left one man injured and a car riddled with bullets.

Michael Vick is big on second chances: He served a prison sentence for participating in a dog-fighting ring and then returning to the NFL as the Eagles quarterback.

A former Atlantic City prostitute said she always knew when undercover investigations were going on at the Trump Taj Mahal — because a security manager told her.

New Jersey residents whose homes suffered damage during Hurricane Sandy can now apply for their piece of $1.8 billion in federal grant dollars.

Resort towns across the Jersey Shore cut mile-long ribbons this morning as part of the state's $25 million Stronger than the Storm initiative.

A Mays Landing man injured himself Thursday falling through the attic of a Hoover Drive residence while attempting to resist arrest, police said.

Power has been restored in Pleasantville this morning following an outage that left nearly 600 without power and doused several traffic lights.

A big, new tropical-themed sign on the Boardwalk facade of Resorts Casino Hotel makes it clear what has just arrived.

YEADON, Pa. — Police have reopened the investigation into the 1993 death of Joseph Doyle as his widow stands charged with the murder of her third husband in New Jersey.

VINELAND — Drew Bencie, Lauren Cavallo and Morgan Smith have all gone to Catholic school together since kindergarten.

Cologne Avenue, Galloway Township: Beginning Tuesday, a road project will cause a detour on the avenue between Route 30 and Almond Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through the month of June.

CAPE MAY — The city has a new tourism website and a 50-page information guide just in time for the summer tourism season that kicks off this weekend.

OCEAN CITY — City Council is considering an ordinance requiring musicians to get permits before soliciting money on the Boardwalk, a measure police said is necessary but others think will hurt the community’s character.

Democratic candidates for the June 4 primary for mayor and council are pitting the current administration against the two slates of challengers who say a change is needed for the city's future.

Construction has started on the first of four contracts that are part of the $350 million Route 72 Manahawkin Bay Bridges Project.

An unusually active hurricane season may be on the horizon according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's first forecast released Thursday.

President Barack Obama will visit New Jersey with Gov. Chris Christie next week, a White House official has confirmed to The Press of Atlantic City.

A German shepherd chased an attempted robber out of a Mays Landing store Thursday afternoon.

When Indira Pearce, of Somers Point, was laid off from her job in 2008, she was too worried about paying bills to think about going back to college.

Thirteen Months Ago: A.C. Housing Authority plans security cameras

Galloway and Egg Harbor City police are warning residents about a man impersonating an Atlantic City Electric employee.

Minor injuries were reported in an accident in Brigantine at 1 p.m. today.

The Brigantine Chamber of Commerce is organizing a city-wide yard sale this weekend to draw visitors to the beach community.

Parrotheads, rejoice.

Beach access has been restored at Brigantine’s Seawall in time for Memorial Day weekend.

A Pennsylvania man was arrested Wednesday night after leading Atlantic City police on a chase onto the Boardwalk and then into the newly opened Margaritaville.

Seizures of liquor bottles at 29 bars and restaurants in New Jersey on Wednesday were intended to protect customers from a dishonest way to increase profits, state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said Thursday.

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI

In case anybody was wondering, the ocean is now officially open after this morning’s “Unlocking of the Ocean” ceremony in Atlantic City.

Crews began tearing down the former Atlantic City Jitney Association headquarters Thursday morning as part of an $11.6 million plan to create a greenway linking Altman Park to the Historic Absecon Lighthouse.

A Hamilton Township man was arrested on heroin charges Thursday, police said.

Two drivers were hospitalized following a motor vehicle accident in Estell Manor on Thursday morning.

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) — Authorities have accused a New Jersey man of swindling more than $12,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Sandy.

Atlantic City’s dozen casinos saw gross operating profits fall by 64 percent in the first quarter, regulators said Wednesday.

A former gambling regulator from Malta regarded as an expert in online gambling development has been selected to help New Jersey implement Internet wagering by the end of the year.

Visitors to Boardwalk Hall this summer in Atlantic City will go on a time warp of different musical eras - every half hour.

State, Cumberland County and local enforcement agencies will use houses of worship in Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland next month to help get "deadly firearms out of circulation" in the county.

The start of summer in some shore towns may feel more like a construction zone as they gird for beach replenishment projects aimed at repairing erosion caused by Hurricane Sandy.

A year after plans emerged to commit millions of dollars to art installations in Atlantic City, two legislators are questioning why so much is being spent while more pressing needs in the Tourism District haven’t been addressed.

For the past several months, there has been talk about Richard Stockton College working with Cornell University's Culinary Institute of America, which is regarded as one of the best culinary schools in the nation, to build a facility in the Southeast Inlet of Atlantic City.

New population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that growth in South Jersey has generally come to a halt since 2010, with most towns in Cape May County seeing a drop.

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — An early morning raid at a township apartment on Radio Road resulted in the arrest of two Atlantic County men who were in possession of 50 bags of heroin, authorities said.

Organizers of the Atlantic City Airshow released a lineup of the show's acts - the first to not include military performances in the show's modern history.

A six-month investigation into crack cocaine dealing led to three arrest Wednesday morning.

A 22 percent drop in Cumberland County's child poverty rate helped it move from last in the state for child well-being to 20th in the New Jersey Kids Count 2013 rankings.

Home-sales figures released Wednesday provided a fresh indication that the nationwide improvement in the housing market is not yet evident in southern New Jersey.

Several local resort towns, including Brigantine and Sea Isle City, will participate in the Friday launch of New Jersey's Stronger than the Storm initiative.

BRIGANTINE - Police searched the Brigantine middle and elementary schools for a potential gun for about three hours Wednesday but nothing was located.

Nearly 30 bars and restaurants in New Jersey are being investigated for allegedly charging patrons for top-shelf liquor but pouring them cheaper varieties, the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said Wednesday.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP -- A driver and passenger were taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City after the green Toyota Camry they were traveling on the Garden State Parkway crashed into the trees on the side of the road, police said.

Nearly 30 bars and restaurants in New Jersey are being investigated for allegedly charging patrons for top-shelf liquor but pouring them cheaper varieties, the state Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control said Wednesday.

Mario Galea, president of Random Consulting in Malta, has been selected as a consultant to help New Jersey implement internet gambling by the end of the year, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Director David Rebuck announced at the East Coast Gaming Congress on Wednesday.

A Vineland man was arrested at Philadelphia International Airport on Monday, for allegedly having a gun in his carry-on bag.

BRIDGETON – State, Cumberland County and local law enforcement will hold a gun buyback program in the county next month.

Cape May County’s Department of Mosquito Control has been tracking the growth of mosquito larvae since April and killing them where they find them, using a bacteria not harmful to humans.

A television personality familiar with hosting competitions among beautiful women will team up with a “Good Morning America” co-anchor to host the

A top Atlantic City gambling executive lashed out Tuesday at casino competitors in surrounding states, ridiculing them as little more than “Walmarts with slot machines.”

VINELAND - New Jersey's loyalties are split between a number of sports teams, but local and state officials are continuing to rally residents to support the colors of red, green, yellow and blue.

Revel emerged from bankruptcy protection Tuesday, culminating a dramatic financial overhaul that frees Atlantic City’s newest casino of much of its suffocating debt and places it under new ownership.

WILDWOOD — India McClendon won the girls marbles tournament in the Wildwood School District Tuesday, meaning the fifth-grader will represent the city at this year’s National Marbles Tournament.

Rental housing stock depleted by Hurricane Sandy damage is making it difficult for South Inlet residents facing eviction to find acceptable replacement housing, community members told the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority on Tuesday.

A new charter school in Atlantic City - approved by the state Department of Education in 2011 but never opened - is now poised to take over the site of the Oceanside Charter School, which will close in June.

As a little girl, Shannon Hartey, of Mays Landing, lived for three years at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, fighting acute myeloblastic leukemia. The lost years were from ages 5 to 8, she said.

NORTH WILDWOOD - The city wants to buy the popular Eighth Street field for $3 million to preserve the land, surrounded by homes, as open space.

Four men wanted as part of an alleged Atlantic City drug-trafficking ring have been arrested a week after a raid by the Atlantic City Task Force ended with 14 arrests and a total of 28 charged.

A vigil will take place Thursday night for a 21-year-old Vineland man who was killed in a motor vehicle crash early Sunday morning in Burlington County.

VINELAND — A local man missing since he supposedly left for a fishing trip on May 9 is dead, city police said.

A Pleasantville man who allegedly fled the scene of a fatal accident will face up to 10 years in prison after being charged today, Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain announced today,

Revel emerged from bankruptcy protection Tuesday, culminating a dramatic financial overhaul that frees Atlantic City’s newest casino of much of its suffocating debt and places it under new ownership.

A top Atlantic City gambling executive came out swinging Tuesday at casino competitors in surrounding states, ridiculing them as little more than “Walmarts with slot machines.”

The Steel Pier's owners have plans to construct a 200-foot-tall observation wheel, building the new ride on on a newly constructed deck to be added onto the beach south of the existing pier.

Police responded to a call of a hidden semi-automatic weapon in the Back Maryland section of Atlantic City.

OCEAN CITY - There is no shortage of gorgeous homes here, but the property with gray siding and blue shutters on Route 52 may be one of the most beautiful - both inside and out.

ATLANTIC CITY -- Horses and a stagecoach paraded under a light fog before reaching Boardwalk Hall on Monday morning to promote the return of the Boardwalk Rodeo in October.

MILLVILLE — Just when seniors at Millville High School had a long year of reading William Shakespeare, they got something of a break Monday.

WILDWOOD — Eleven-year-old William Portalatin has already earned a place in the history books, or at the very least a well-deserved pat on the back.

A local legislator is changing his approach to ensuring that owners of alternative-fuel vehicles fairly contribute to maintaining state bridges and roads.

Atlantic City police are looking for a man who allegedly kidnapped a tourist and forced her to take money out of her bank account in March.

The Chelsea Neighborhood Association will have a Meet the Candidates night for at-large City Council and mayoral candidates Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The event will be held at cafeteria of the Our Lady Star of the Sea School on North California Avenue.

Atlantic City police were able to get a woman off the ledge of a casino after she threatened to jump tonight.

SOMERS POINT — A candidate for City Council was arrested last week on an obstruction of justice charge after a car crash, city police said.

A New York man was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for leading police on a chase down the Atlantic City Boardwalk last year.