Philanthropist and Philadelphia attorney James Binns has overseen the funding and dedication of hundreds memorial plaques for police officers who died in the line of duty (including eight in Atlantic City and two in Margate), and created a similar program that commemorates the lives of Philadelphia firefighters who lost their lives while serving the public.

He’s established a fundraising effort called Cop Wheels that has provided dozens of patrol motorcycles to various police departments, and he single-handedly revived a popular Philadelphia spectacle (scheduled for Sept. 18 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly) called the Hero Thrill Show that has raised well over $1 million in five years to pay for the college tuitions of children of police officers/firefighters who died in the line of duty.

This Saturday, Aug. 28, as a sort of prelude to that Philadelphia show, the City of Margate will host its own Hero Thrill Show. It will take place at Ventura’s Greenhouse at Benson Street and Atlantic Avenue (by Lucy the Elephant) from 11am-3pm, and will include daring stunts by the Philadelphia Police Department Motorcycle Drill Team, a K-9 unit demonstration, stunts by the Philadelphia Police Narcotics Strike Force Bicycle Team, and a demonstration by the Atlantic City Bomb Squad. The event is free to the public, and there will be food and entertainment provided.

For more on this event, go here.

The Atlantic City Free Public Library’s International Night performance scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 18, featuring Island Jam (pictured left) has been canceled due to inclement weather.
This performance will not be rescheduled as part of the International Night series, however Island Jam is tentatively scheduled to perform at the library’s Family Fun Festival on Saturday, Sept. 25 (on Tennessee Avenue next to the library, 11am-4pm).
The International Night Series finale (at Kennedy Plaza on the Boardwalk) is slated for 7pm Wednesday, Aug. 25, and will feature Bollywood Axion (pictured right).
For more information, call 345-2269, ext. 3112 or go here.

Results from student surveys help place Richard Stockton College among the top 25 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges in the Northeast by the Princeton Review

According to a media release, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has been named a “Best in the Northeast” college by the Princeton Review, a nationally recognized education services company. Stockton is one of 218 Northeast institutions profiled on the Princeton Review’s Web site and in its 2011 college guidebook.

(more…)

The Brigantine Beach Volleyball Association (BBVA)’s fifth annual Steve Hopp Memorial Volleyball Tournament is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 8.
For the second straight year, the BBVA is awarding two deserving Atlantic County senior high school volleyball players with $500 cash scholarships in Hopp’s memory. Additionally, volleyball camp sponsorships will be awarded to non-senior athletes to better their volleyball skills. (more…)

Seaview Resort in Galloway Township

According to a media release from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, the college has signed a purchase-and-sale agreement for the acquisition of the historic Seaview Resort in Galloway Township. Since negotiations are still in the works, the purchase price of the property will not be disclosed by either party at this time.

For more on this story, go here.

Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone will be performing at the Somers Point Beach Concert series on July 9.

However, he will be appearing after the July 2 beach concert too — at Sandi Pointe as part of the Tony Mart’s beach concert after party and fundraiser for the victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf region.

See full story here.

A Grumman F-14 Tomcat is one of 26 aircraft on display at the NAS Wildwood Museum. According to the NAS Wildwood Web site, the F-14 was the REAL star of the movie Top Gun.

The Naval Air Station Wildwood (NASW) Aviation Museum will begin a series of four lectures (two in June and two in July) that will chronicle key elements of U.S. aviation as applied to military warfare.
World War II and Naval aviation historian Jim Krombach will begin the lecture series on Wednesday June 16, at the NASW Museum, 500 Forrestal Rd., Cape May Airport in Rio Grande. The lecture starts 7pm. Call (609) 886-8787 or go here for more.

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 955 will hold a dedication and unveiling ceremony for the new Wildwoods Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Wall at noon Saturday, May 29, at Columbus Park in the Wildwoods. Columbus Park is located directly across the street from the Wildwoods Convention Center at Burk and Ocean Avenue. For more on this story, go here.

After hearing about a traveling fashion museum currently at Boscov’s at the Shore Mall — about 15 minutes outside of Atlantic City — we went over to check it out.

Apparently, since late April and through this weekend, various vintage clothing items — some with Hollywood connections — have been on display in the upper level community area at Boscov’s. There have also been a few fashion shows, featuring the TV legend London, his fascinating collection of clothing and models wearing some of those precious items.

This Saturday, May 15, three fashion shows (all for free) will take place upstairs at Boscov’s at 11am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm. London will talk about his expereinces collecting the items in his famous collection and models will wear dresses once worn by the likes of the late Lena Horne, Vivian Lee, Grace Kelly and Marylin Monroe.

London lives in Pennsylvania and along with being a fashion collector is also a fashion designer.  Here is a photo gallery of some of the collection currently on display at Boscov’s. And here is what you’ll see at the Boscov’s entrance at the Shore Mall:

Lifelong Margate resident Steven P. Winkle will be signing his second children’s book  The Diving Horse and the Magic Whistle — an enchanting tale of Atlantic City’s past — at the Tropicana Casino & Resort on Friday, May 28, from 5:30-7pm. The book signing will be part of the “Trop Loves Local” program where special offers, events and discounts will be available for Atlantic and Cape May county residents.
According to a press release, Winkle is the owner and publisher of Mystic Waters Publishing.  His first book — Elephant, Elephant Come Alive! — received the USA Book News award for the Children’s Gift and Novelty category in 2009, and his short story “The Squall” was published in the Black Sails anthology by 1018 Press, an independent, semi-pro publisher of genre-based fiction.
Winkle’s book signing will be hosted in Central Plaza in The Quarter at Tropicana. For more information please go here.  —  Kelley Anne Essinger