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  • Atlantic City officials, community leaders condemn ‘aggressive’ and ‘appalling’ ICE activity in the area

    Atlantic City officials, community leaders condemn ‘aggressive’ and ‘appalling’ ICE activity in the area

    ATLANTIC CITY — Elected officials, religious leaders, and community activists gathered Tuesday in City Hall to condemn recent “aggressive” and “appalling” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the resort town.

    “The reason I’m here is because just last week, our community was attacked,” said Alexander Mendoza, a community organizer with advocacy group El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City. “Fathers, friends, family members, hardworking people were taken away from us by an inhumane system called ICE.”

    El Pueblo has been highlighting recent ICE activity in Atlantic City on its social media, including a car stop on Dec. 12 that led to the detainment of two men, one of whom subsequently missed the birth of his daughter earlier this week after being taken to Delaney Hall. The group called the car stop illegal and said the Mexican Consulate is working to provide the man with legal help.

    “He and his partner had just moved into a new apartment and were ready to begin a new chapter in their lives,” Mendoza said. “That morning changed everything. He was taken by ICE and is now being held at Delaney Hall.”

    Death of Delaney Hall detainee spurs calls for closure

    Mendoza said this and other recent activity, including ICE agents establishing a base of operations at the city’s Bader Field, the former municipal airport, have left community members fearful and officials alarmed and outraged.

    “There’s a lot of hysteria, a lot of fear in our community, rightly so,” said Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, executive director of El Pueblo. There were rumors this week that businesses, particularly laundromats, would be targeted this week in Atlantic City and Pleasantville, he said.

    “We strategically placed ourselves throughout different traffic hubs where our community is, our immigrant working-class community,” he said.

    Moreno-Rodriguez said his organization has tracked some of the same ICE vehicles conducting activity in Bridgeton, Cumberland County.

    ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding activity in the area.

    El Pueblo has been educating community members of their rights and training volunteers to document and respond to reported ICE activity. He said the response time in Pleasantville is about two minutes; in Atlantic City, it’s 4 to 5 minutes.

    Atlantic County is home to about 12,000 undocumented immigrants. Moreno-Rodriguez said the volunteers include non-Hispanic allies and young Latinos, “children who are standing up for their parents and neighbors.”

    City Council Vice President Kaleem Shabazz said the council adopted a resolution last week condemning the ICE activity, which he said had made his constituents wary of leaving their homes without carrying documentation of their citizenship. He said police had not been informed about the raids or the use of Bader Field.

    Moreno-Rodriguez said the city is about 33% Latino or Hispanic, and about 29% immigrant, with most Spanish-speaking immigrants coming from Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and smaller numbers from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Nearby Pleasantville is about 50% Hispanic and has a sizable Haitian population, he said.

    Both Moreno-Rodriguez and Shabazz called on businesses, which employ many immigrants, to support their workers. Moreno-Rodriguez said one man who self-deported after being picked up by ICE had worked for one of Atlantic City’s iconic bread bakeries.

    “If you go into any of the small businesses of Atlantic City, they are powered by immigrant labor,” Moreno-Rodriguez said. “And we want to put out a call to action to all the business owners of Atlantic City that if you employ immigrants, please be there for them when they are detained. Please be there for them after they’ve given you hours of labor, years of blood, sweat, and tears to your business.”

    From left, advocacy group El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City rapid responders Karen Pelaez-Moreno and Christopher Arellano, executive director Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, Atlantic City Councilman Kaleem Shabazz, and El Pueblo board president Irvin Moreno-Rodriguez, who was recently appointed a Pleasantville School Board member. The group and elected officials held a press conference Dec. 23, 2025 to condemn recent ICE activity.

    Also attending the news conference were the Rev. Collins Days, an Atlantic County commissioner, and religious leaders Imam Amin Muhammad of Atlantic City’s Masjid Muhammad mosque, Cantor Jackie Menaker of Ventnor’s Shirat Hayam synagogue, and the synagogue’s president, Joe Rodgers, a criminal defense attorney.

    “I am appalled at what’s been happening in our community by ICE,” Days said. “We stand together because an attack on one group is an attack on all groups.”

    “When we see the harms of our government, we are obligated to speak out,” Muhammad said. “We need engagement in the political process to make a change.”

    Mendoza said activists believed the targeted raids of last week were “the beginning of a large raid on our community … a major escalation.”

    “When we drove down Iowa Avenue, we saw an ICE agent and a Border Patrol agent questioning a woman, attempting to extract information in order to detain her,” he said. “When the agents noticed us, they allowed the woman to walk away.”

    One of the agents claimed to be looking for a fugitive, he said.

    Activists followed the man to Bader Field, where they saw a transport van and eight other vehicles. “That’s when we knew this wasn’t a small operation,” he said. “As soon as the agents realized they were being watched, they left quickly and quietly. It just took two Latino organizers standing by, holding cameras, for ICE to retreat from Atlantic City. ICE operates in the shadows. When people know their rights and when there is accountability, they scatter.”

  • Amtrak can’t fully run its new fleet of next-gen trains in 2026 due to facility upgrade delays

    Amtrak can’t fully run its new fleet of next-gen trains in 2026 due to facility upgrade delays

    Some of Amtrak’s fleet of next-generation Acela and Airo trains will likely sit idle in 2026 as the national railroad company faces delays in upgrading maintenance facilities.

    Amtrak is behind schedule on completing the necessary facilities upgrades to maintain its newest fleet of trains, inspectors told Amtrak in a new report. Delays in next-gen fleet rollouts, of which there have been several, cost the company millions in lost revenue.

    Early missteps in planning, like starting its fleet upgrade efforts in 2010 but its facilities upgrades in 2016, led to a “schedule misalignment,” inspectors said in the report.

    Amtrak is in the process of acquiring three fleets of trains from manufacturers — NextGen Acela, Airo, and Long Distance — to the tune of $8 billion. The national railroad corporation rolled out a handful of NextGen Acela trains in August. Airo trains are scheduled to roll out in 2026 and Long Distance trains in the early 2030s, according to Amtrak.

    In a recent review of the NextGen Acela trains, The Inquirer lauded the train for its smoother, faster ride, comfortable seats, and above all, its cleanliness, but lamented its infrequency and cost as the older Acela trains on Keystone and Northeast Regional services still carry the bulk of trips for a cheaper ticket.

    NextGen Acela and Airo trains offer faster travel with speeds of up to 160 mph and 125 mph, respectively, and modernized cabins featuring upgraded seats, improved Wi-Fi, and expanded dining options.

    A business-class car in the NextGen Acela in Washington on Aug. 27.

    The latest report from the Amtrak Office of Inspector General details that under its current facility construction schedule, Amtrak will only be able to operate the first 24 out of 28 NextGen Acela trains and the first 12 out of the planned 83 Airo trains hitting the tracks in 2026.

    Facilities in Philadelphia; Seattle; Boston; New York; Washington, D.C.; and Rensselaer, N.Y., are being upgraded to maintain this new fleet, which is the most substantial upgrade since Amtrak introduced the Acela in 2000. Amtrak broke ground on Philadelphia’s new $462 million facility in October 2024.

    Amtrak Acela trains sit in the Amtrak yard adjacent to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia in August 2023.

    While the company began considering plans to replace its aging trains 15 years ago, Amtrak didn’t start addressing facility upgrades until 2016 for NextGen Acela and 2021 for Airo. Additionally, Amtrak took a targeted individual site approach to facility planning instead of an “overarching” one, according to inspectors.

    Amtrak approved a new strategic fleet and facilities plan to align both efforts last month. However, inspectors found the company failed to appropriately define the scope of the six years of work that remains.

    In the report, a senior Amtrak official described the current system as “building a house without ensuring the garage fits the vehicles.”

    Amtrak officials agreed to implement a new management framework to streamline facility upgrade efforts by the end of March 2026.

  • Jason Kelce invests in Sea Isle City’s Hank Sauce

    Jason Kelce invests in Sea Isle City’s Hank Sauce

    Jason Kelce, a man of voracious appetite and enthusiasm, is putting his money behind a local Jersey Shore brand, Hank Sauce.

    The hot sauce company, based in Kelce’s beloved Sea Isle City and sold everywhere from surf shops to the Acme, produces a variety of hot and not-so-hot sauces that have become ubiquitous at the Jersey Shore and Philadelphia area.

    The deal with Kelce’s Winnie Capital was announced in two ways: a sedate corporate press statement, and a not-at-all sedate Instagram post featuring a full-throated Kelce throwing jabs and juggling bottles of Hank Sauce, growling and snarling about the wonders of the flavorful sauce. As only the pitchman and iconic Eagles great can do.

    The hot sauce sold out of surf shops

    “BAM! POW! POW FLAVOR! YEEEEOWWWWWW,” Kelce spitballs for the camera from inside the Hank Sauce restaurant in Sea Isle, an array of sauce laid before him, before he and others off-camera dissolve in laughter. “You got some eggs that don’t have any [beeped expletive] flavor? Well we got you covered baby.

    “Any notes?”

    Someone throws him a bottle from stage right; he makes the catch. “I’m glad I looked,” he said.

    In the comments, and in the press statement, Kelce calls Sea Isle “right in my backyard in South Jersey,” and says he and the three founders plan to “take this thing to the next level.”

    The Kelce family owns a $2.2 million vacation home in Sea Isle, hosts his annual celebrity bartending Eagles fundraiser at the Ocean Drive, and support local causes like Mike’s Seafood walk for autism.

    “This one was a no-brainer,” Kelce said in the Instagram post. “I’ve been a consumer of this product and a fan of this brand for a long time.”

    Former Eagles player Jason Kelce rips off his pants during the fifth annual Team 62 at the Ocean Drive celebrity bartending event on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Sea Isle City, NJ. The event raises funds for the Eagles Autism Foundation.

    A regular in Sea Isle City with his family, Kelce said he walked into Hank Sauce in 2015 and met Brian “Hank” Ruxton himself, who took the Eagles star into the back where they shared a beer.

    “I like these guys,” Kelce said.

    The statement described the arrangement as “a strategic equity investment from former NFL player, podcaster, and investor Jason Kelce.”

    “The new investment and partnership with Kelce’s Winnie Capital will accelerate national expansion and increase Hank Sauce’s visibility and reach in new markets across the country,” the statement said.

    Founded in 2011 by three college roommates — Ruxton, Matt Pittaluga, and Josh Jaspan — as “a hot sauce for people who don’t like hot sauce,” Hank Sauce was first made in a garage, and hand-bottled for six years. The company eventually expanded into a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Millville, and is now sold in more than 5,000 stores nationwide, according to the press statement.

    Matt Pittaluga (from left), Kaitlin Ruxton and Brian Ruxton are the dream team behind the Hank Sauce phenomenon. (DAVE GRIFFIN / For The Inquirer)

    Hank Sauce comes in multiple variations, including the original Herb Infused, plus Cilanktro, Camouflage, and Hank Heat.

    As part of the deal, Kelce will “collaborate with Hank Sauce on original content and ongoing brand strategy,” the statement says.

    “We’ve poured our lives into building this brand, and we couldn’t be more excited to have Jason on board — not just as a partner and ambassador, but as a genuine fan long before this partnership,” Pittaluga said in the statement.

    Winnie Capital is described as “a private family office supporting the business and philanthropic activities of Jason and Kylie Kelce. The Winnie portfolio includes diverse investments and partnerships across media, athletics, consumer packaged goods, apparel, real estate, agriculture, and technology.”

  • Arrival of baby penguins Duffy and Oscar announced by Adventure Aquarium in Camden

    Arrival of baby penguins Duffy and Oscar announced by Adventure Aquarium in Camden

    Say hello to Duffy and Oscar, two new baby African penguins at Adventure Aquarium in Camden.

    The pair made their social media debut Saturday on Instagram.

    Duffy hatched on Nov. 2 and Oscar followed five days later, the aquarium’s staff announced.

    Duffy was named after Jennifer Duffy, senior biologist of birds and mammals, who is celebrating her 20th year at the aquarium. Oscar was fostered by adult penguins Myer and Cornelia, and Cornelia is nicknamed Corn Dog, so the staff thought of Oscar Mayer hot dogs when naming the second chick.

    The announcement was made now because the biologists wait a few weeks to make sure the chicks are healthy, said aquarium spokesperson Madison Mento.

    African penguins, which originate from the waters around southern Africa, are classified critically endangered, so the hatches are important to the survival of the species, the aquarium staff said.

    It will be a while before Duffy and Oscar join the penguin colony exhibit, said Amanda Egen, assistant curator of birds and mammals.

    “The biggest milestone is losing their down feathers and developing their waterproof feathers. Weather also plays a role, as even if they’re physically ready, it may still be too cold for them to be outside. At this point, we are estimating they will join the colony in late winter to early spring,” Egen said.

  • Seeing four SEPTA drivers in one trolley

    Seeing four SEPTA drivers in one trolley

    Can you see all four? There is one “real” image of SEPTA trolley operator Victoria Daniels and three different reflections.

    I only saw two reflections as I was trying to focus and compose while bracing my camera on the back of a seat to stabilize myself on the moving trolley. I wanted to photograph the light at the end of the tunnel (the metaphor was apt, as tens of thousands of riders are hoping for some relief as service in the Center City Tunnel has been shut down for weeks.)

    Sound like I was having fun? (I was.)

    SEPTA held a press conference to update commuters on repairs after glitches stranded passengers in the tunnel and the Federal Transit Administration ordered the agency to inspect the catenary system (the connection between the overhead wires and the pole that conducts electricity to the vehicle) along all its trolley routes.

    Trolley slider parts are on display as Jason Tarlecki, acting SEPTA chief engineer of power, talks with the news media at the 40th Street trolley portal.

    More than just a “talker” the SEPTA folks first showed lots of equipment parts and then we got to take a field trip, riding a trolley into the closed tunnel to see where they were repairing the overhead wire.

    While, for most of the media, the ride was just a way to get to the closed station for the show-and-tell, for me it was an opportunity to take pictures out the windows — something I like to do anytime I am on public transit. And play around with exposures …

    …which sometimes just doesn’t work out.

    Two things that did work out photographically this week; the first snowfall of the season:

    And, on the same day, a firefighter Santa riding through the neighborhood.

    Santa brings cheer

    Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:

    December 15, 2025: A historical interpreter waits at the parking garage elevators headed not to a December crossing of the Delaware River, but an event at the National Constitution Center. General George Washington was on his way to an unveiling of the U.S. Mint’s new 2026 coins for the Semiquincentennial,
    December 8, 2025: The Benjamin Franklin Bridge and pedestrians on the Delaware River Trail are reflected in mirrored spheres of the “Weaver’s Knot: Sheet Bend” public artwork on Columbus Boulevard. The site-specific stainless steel piece located between the Cherry Street and Race Street Piers was commissioned by the City’s Public Art Office and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and created and installed in 2022 by the design and fabrication group Ball-Nogues Studio. The name recalls a history that dominated the region for hundreds of years. “Weaver’s knot” derives from use in textile mills and the “Sheet bend” or “sheet knot” was used on sailing vessels for bending ropes to sails.
    November 29, 2025: t’s ginkgo time in our region again when the distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn yellow and then, on one day, lose all their leaves at the same time laying a carpet on city streets and sidewalks. A squirrel leaps over leaves in the 18th Century Garden in Independence National Historical Park Nov. 25, 2025. The ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is considered a living fossil as it’s the only surviving species of a group of trees that existed before dinosaurs. Genetically, it has remained unchanged over the past 200 million years. William Hamilton, owner the Woodlands in SW Phila (no relation to Alexander Hamilton) brought the first ginkgo trees to North America in 1785.
    November 24, 2025: The old waiting room at 30th Street Station that most people only pass through on their way to the restrooms has been spiffed up with benches – and a Christmas tree. It was placed there this year in front of the 30-foot frieze, “The Spirit of Transportation” while the lobby of Amtrak’s $550 million station restoration is underway. The 1895 relief sculpture by Karl Bitter was originally hung in the Broad Street Station by City Hall, but was moved in 1933. It depicts travel from ancient to modern and even futuristic times.
    November 17, 2025: Students on a field trip from the Christian Academy in Brookhaven, Delaware County, pose for a group photo in front of the Liberty Bell in Independence National Historical Park on Thursday. The trip was planned weeks earlier, before they knew it would be on the day park buildings were reopening after the government shutdown ended. “We got so lucky,” a teacher said. Then corrected herself. “It’s because we prayed for it.”
    November 8, 2025: Multitasking during the Festival de Día de Muertos – Day of the Dead – in South Philadelphia.
    November 1, 2025: Marcy Boroff is at City Hall dressed as a Coke can, along with preschoolers and their caregivers, in support of former Mayor Jim Kenney’s 2017 tax on sweetened beverages. City Council is considering repealing the tax, which funds the city’s pre-K programs.
    October 25, 2025: Austin Gabauer, paint and production assistant at the Johnson Atelier, in Hamilton Twp, N.J. as the finished “O” letter awaits the return to Philadelphia. The “Y” part of the OY/YO sculpture is inside the painting booth. The well-known sculpture outside the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History was removed in May while construction continues on Market Street and has been undergoing refurbishment at the Atelier at the Grounds for Sculpture outside of Trenton.
    October 20, 2025:The yellow shipping container next to City Hall attracted a line of over 300 people that stretched around a corner of Dilworth Park. Bystanders wondered as they watched devotees reaching the front take their selfies inside a retro Philly diner-esque booth tableau. Followers on social media had been invited to “Climb on to immerse yourself in the worlds of Pleasing Fragrance, Big Lip, and exclusive treasures,” including a spin of the “Freebie Wheel,” for products of the unisex lifestyle brand Pleasing, created by former One Direction singer Harry Styles.
    October 11, 2025: Can you find the Phillie Phanatic, as he leaves a “Rally for Red October Bus Tour” stop in downtown Westmont, N.J. just before the start of the NLDS? There’s always next year and he’ll be back. The 2026 Spring Training schedule has yet to be announced by Major League Baseball, but Phillies pitchers and catchers generally first report to Clearwater, Florida in mid-February.
    October 6. 2025: Fluorescent orange safety cone, 28 in, Poly Ethylene. Right: Paint Torch (detail) Claes Oldenburg, 2011, Steel, Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, Gelcoat and Polyurethane. (Gob of paint, 6 ft. Main sculpture, 51 ft.). Lenfest Plaza at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts on North Broad Street, across from the Convention Center.
    September 29, 2025: A concerned resident who follows Bucks County politics, Kevin Puls records the scene before a campaign rally for State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the GOP candidate for governor. His T-shirt is “personal clickbait” with a url to direct people to the website for The Travis Manion Foundation created to empower veterans and families of fallen heroes. The image on the shirts is of Greg Stocker, one of the hosts of Kayal and Company, “A fun and entertaining conservative spin on Politics, News, and Sports,” mornings on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT.
    September 22, 2025: A shadow is cast by “The Cock’s Comb,” created by Alexander “Sandy” Calder in 1960, is the first work seen by visitors arriving at Calder Gardens, the new sanctuary on the Ben Franklin Parkway. The indoor and outdoor spaces feature the mobiles, stabiles, and paintings of Calder, who was born in Philadelphia in 1898, the third generation of the family’s artistic legacy in the city.
    September 15, 2025: Department of Streets Director of Operations Thomas Buck leaves City Hall following a news conference marking the activation of Automated Speed Enforcement (ASE) cameras on the Broad Street corridor – one the city’s busiest and most dangerous roads. The speed limit on the street, also named PA Route 611, is 25 mph.

    » SEE MORE: Archived columns and Twenty years of a photo column.

  • Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. found not guilty on all counts of abusing his teenage daughter

    Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. found not guilty on all counts of abusing his teenage daughter

    Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. was acquitted of child endangerment and related crimes Thursday after being accused of repeatedly assaulting his teenage daughter.

    Small, 51, faced charges stemming from a handful of incidents in late 2023 and early 2024 in which prosecutors said he and his wife abused and assaulted the teen. The couple said the incidents stemmed from their disapproval of their daughter’s relationship with a young man, leading to escalating tension and arguments in the family home.

    The jury delivered its verdict at 12 p.m. after deliberating for two days. They found Small not guilty of endangering the welfare of a child, aggravated assault, making terroristic threats, and witness tampering.

    “Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, jury!” Small said as the verdict was announced and broke into tears.

    Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, Small said he and his family were prepared to “put this chapter behind us, in peace.”

    “It’s a lot of political forces out here that are against the leadership of my wife and I,” Small said. “But guess what? The people of Atlantic City want us, the people of Atlantic City need us, and the people of Atlantic City deserve us.”

    Had Small been convicted of any of the crimes, he would have been required by state law to cede his office.

    Those stakes were evident as the mayor’s friends and supporters packed into the courtroom for nearly two weeks of the trial. Supporters surrounded Small and broke into cheers outside the courthouse, celebrating a political career whose future had depended on the opinion of jurors.

    Small said he had been heavily scrutinized for more than a year after news of the allegations broke in spring 2024. He said he and his wife had since been “drug through the mud” and cast as child abusers by the media.

    Small’s defense attorney, Louis Barbone, said the verdict was “absolute proof that our justice system works” and that “honest men like Marty Small are vindicated.”

    Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds said he and his office “respectfully disagree with the verdict.”

    “We acted based upon the complaints of the victim,” Reynolds told reporters. “The trial in this case was truly to give the victim a voice — the jury chose not to believe that voice.“

    Prosecutors said Small, a Democrat who was reelected this year amid his legal struggles, punched his daughter and beat her with a belt. In an incident central to their case against the mayor, prosecutors said, Small struck her in the head with a broom multiple times, knocking her unconscious.

    Jurors heard a conversation the teen recorded on her phone, in which Small told the girl he would “earth slam” her down the staircase. And prosecutors said that after the girl reported the abuse and investigators stepped in, Small encouraged his daughter to “twist up” her account of the events to minimize his involvement.

    Over the course of the trial, Small and his wife, La’Quetta — who also faces charges of abusing the teen — looked on as prosecutors described the mayor’s actions as criminal. Prosecutors presented photos of the teen’s bruises and listened to testimony from a pediatrician who said the injuries did not appear accidental.

    Small’s defense team, by contrast, told jurors that the teen had lied to investigators and exaggerated the extent of her injuries, and that she and her boyfriend had conspired against her father.

    Barbone had called the trial “extortion by child.” He said the mayor was a caring father who was only attempting to discipline an out-of-control child, and presented jurors with more than 40 character witnesses on his behalf.

    Small also testified and said he loved his daughter. He denied abusing her in the manner she described, telling jurors: “I did not hit my daughter with a broom.”

    The girl, now 17, took the stand last week and described being punched in the legs by her father in his “man cave” after her parents found out she had sneaked her boyfriend into the family home to have sex.

    “He said some words and put his hands on me,” the teen testified. Her father, she said, “was punching me in my legs and he hit me with a belt.”

    Prosecutors said the girl’s decision to testify was one of the most challenging things a teenager could do, and they rebuffed Barbone’s suggestion that the girl was a liar who sought retribution against her politically powerful father.

    As for the broom incident, Barbone said, the mayor had not hit the girl but was wrestling the broom out of her hands when she fell and hit her head.

    Prosecutors showed jurors photos of marks on the girl’s face. But a nurse who treated the teen at a hospital several days after the girl complained of headaches said she had not been able to find signs of injury.

    Jurors asked to review multiple pieces of evidence during their deliberation, including video of Small’s testimony about the broom incident.

    Again they watched the mayor recall the morning he urged his daughter to get ready to attend a peace walk in January 2024 following a spate of killings in Atlantic City.

    The teen refused, cursing at Small before ripping his shirt and throwing laundry detergent on him, the mayor testified. A scuffle broke out when she picked up a butter knife and the broom, he said.

    Mentioning the hospital examination, the mayor asked: “Where is the bruise, where is the bump, where is the bleeding?”

    In less than half an hour, jurors returned their verdict.

    Small, in his post-verdict remarks, described his daughter as “lost” and vowed to right the course of his family life.

    “I’m gonna get my daughter back,” Small said. “In the Bible, it says, ‘Father, forgive her, for she know not what she do.’ And that’s what we’re gonna do.”

    Prosecutors declined to comment on what would happen to the girl, who is still a minor and does not currently live with her family.

    Small’s wife, La’Quetta, is scheduled to stand trial in January on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault. La’Quetta Small, the superintendent of Atlantic City public schools, is accused of repeatedly beating her daughter.

    Also facing a forthcoming trial is Constance Days-Chapman, the principal of the Smalls’ daughter’s high school. Prosecutors say when the teen reported her parents’ abuse, Days-Chapman failed to notify child welfare authorities and instead told the couple of the report.

    Days-Chapman, who is Marty Small’s former campaign manager, was later charged with official misconduct and related crimes.

    Reynolds, the county prosecutor, said his office would hold an internal meeting to discuss the charges against La’Quetta Small and Days-Chapman. They will also meet with the Smalls’ daughter, he said.

    “We need to get the victim in here and have a discussion with her before any decisions are made — and that’s out of respect for her,” Reynolds said.

  • Trump signed an order to reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous drug. It’s not full legalization.

    Trump signed an order to reclassify marijuana as a less-dangerous drug. It’s not full legalization.

    President Donald Trump announced he would advise federal agencies to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule III, easing federal restrictions on the plant.

    Trump announced the executive order Thursday in the Oval Office, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a line of medical workers in white coats and scrubs. The president does not have the direct authority to reschedule marijuana but can request his federal agencies to do so.

    Jeff Hodgson smokes a pre-roll at his home in Cape May, NJ on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Hodgson mostly uses medical marijuana to help him sleep.

    Marijuana has been a Schedule I controlled substance since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, meaning the federal government considers marijuana to have no accepted medical use, with a high risk of abuse. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are illegal and strictly regulated, making medical research on these drugs, including cannabis, nearly impossible.

    A reclassification would be the most significant reform on marijuana in more than half a century, opening the doors for medical research. But it would not be full legalization, said Adam Smith, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. It could also pave the way to federal intervention in the state-run medical and recreational marijuana industries, something stakeholders fear.

    “There is a possibility that in moving cannabis to Schedule III, instead of opening up access, what it will do is incentivize federal agencies to clamp down control on the availability of cannabis,” Smith said. “Treating it as other Schedule III substances, which virtually all require prescriptions, is not how this works in medical cannabis and could really create chaos and a lot of economic pain in the industry.”

    Frank Burkhauser of Woodbury displays the legal marijuana purchase that he just made at Cannabist in Deptford, N.J. on April 21, 2022. Burkhauser said he has been working for the legalization of marijuana since the early 90’s.

    Smith said stakeholders are unsure what this might mean for the wider industry but remain optimistic, as rescheduling of marijuana has been a priority for decades.

    Former President Joe Biden’s administration had moved to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule III drug; however, those plans stalled in bureaucratic limbo.

    This executive order has plenty of positives, said Joshua Horn, a Philadelphia cannabis lawyer at Fox Rothschild. Loosening restrictions could clear the way for the IRS to allow cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses (which they currently cannot do). Additionally, more traditional banking options might become available to entrepreneurs.

    “It could also rectify the criminal injustice that has been ongoing since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, where people of color have been disproportionately impacted by the ‘war on drugs,’” Horn said. “In the end, rescheduling should reinvigorate these businesses out of their current tax and financial struggles.”

    This federal rescheduling of marijuana would come on the heels of Congress’ banning all intoxicating hemp products, which are derived from cannabis plants. While this may seem like a policy flip-flop, Smith said, these are two different issues at hand.

    Hemp products photographed at the Philadelphia Inquirer, November 21, 2025.

    “The hemp ban is the result of the fact that the market was chaotic and, in many cases, unsafe. Without regulation, that market was rife with pesticides, heavy metals, and products that should not be on shelves,” Smith said.

    But he contends there is a movement to push back against wider marijuana legalization. “There’s always pushback when there’s big change,” Smith said. “But also because of the instability created when we have state-regulated markets operating in a federally illegal area.”

    Industry folks are hoping this move better aligns the federal government and state markets, opens the doors to research, and provides better clarity to states that are hesitant to legalize marijuana, Smith said.

    In this July 19, 2019, file photo, Pierce Prozy examines a Yolo! brand vape oil cartridge marketed as a CBD product at Flora Research Laboratories in Grants Pass, Ore.

    Reducing restrictions on commercially available cannabis is “a key missing ingredient toward making clinical breakthroughs,” said Stephen Lankenau, director of Drexel University’s Medical Cannabis Research Center.

    “A key issue is that any reclassification efforts need to reduce restrictions for university-based researchers to have access to cannabis-derived THC — commercially available products in particular — for clinical studies, whether laboratory or human subjects,” Lankenau said.

    Researchers now are only able to examine hemp-derived nonpsychoactive cannabinoids like CBD or CBC. However, Lankenau said, it is unclear whether Trump’s proposal would give them the green light.

  • 🥶 Winter solstice report card from the Shore | Down the Shore

    🥶 Winter solstice report card from the Shore | Down the Shore

    Hello from the Shore, currently the land of icy sidewalks, snow-dipped dunes, and pink sunsets. The December snow brought a couple of beautiful inches to most beach towns, where out-of-town homeowners rarely, if ever, think to get someone to shovel their sidewalks. Ah well. As a griper on Facebook noted, Ventnor doesn’t hesitate to cite you if your grass needs mowing (or, I might add, if you run with your dog on the boardwalk), but everyone’s looking the other way for the shoveling. It adds to the atmospheric beauty, maybe, and the roughing-it feel, but those sidewalks can be treacherous, especially for the mail carriers and dog walkers.

    Down the Shore is back for its solstice edition, in which we check in with your favorite beach towns and score how they’re doing.

    Atlantic City is top of mind, with its lovely holiday traditions like the elaborately decorated and festive iconic spots, from the Irish Pub to the Knife & Fork Inn, its new skate park and casino giveaways. But behind the salt air tinsel, A.C. is juggling some drama: Its mayor is on trial for alleged child abuse that could cause him to forfeit his office, three New York City casinos have been green lit, the state is moving to increase its authority over the city. A recent casino revenue report had good news for only three of the city’s nine casinos. A+ for its holiday sparkle and sunsets, C+ for the drama.

    In Ocean City, meanwhile, the identity crisis continues. The town did a complete turnaround earlier this month with respect to the former Wonderland Pier site, voting to ask the planning board whether the site is in need of rehabilitation as requested by developer Eustace Mita, who wants to build a luxury hotel. Meanwhile, its mayor declared bankruptcy and got sued by his stepmother. The iconic McDonald’s in town abruptly closed. Still, Playland’s Castaway Cove is offering its half-price ticket sale through New Year’s Day. B-

    Ventnor and Longport have both begun rebuilding work on their iconic spots, with a big chunk of Ventnor’s boardwalk, and Longport’s beautiful Point, a place of magical sunsets and long winter shadows, closed for construction. I knocked those places down to a B and let’s hope work is done by spring.

    Avalon, which came in for some summer criticism for its off-the-charts exclusivity, gets an A+ from me for its sensible and family-friendly 5:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve fireworks plan.

    My full Jersey Shore offseason report card, including Stone Harbor, Brigantine, LBI and Cape May, is here.

    📮 Should second-home owners be responsible for shoveling their sidewalks down the Shore? Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

    🤔 Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here.

    ☀️ Look for a warming trend which I hope lasts until New Year’s Day’s polar bear plunges. But then more snow please.

    — Amy S. Rosenberg (Find me at @amysrosenberg. 📷 Follow me on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. 📧 Email me here.)

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Shore talk

    🚨 El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City reported the presence of federal immigration agents in both Atlantic City and Ventnor. The group was also collecting donations for an expectant mother whose husband was detained.

    🏠 Selling the family Shore house can be traumatic.

    🍔 The McDonald’s in Ocean City is closing, stunning its customers and employees alike. Here’s how you can help.

    🌬️ The land-based wind turbines in Atlantic City, which once vexed a casino owner who went on to become president, turned 20.

    ⚖️ The jury in the Mayor Marty Small trial was deliberating.

    🚭 Atlantic City casino workers asked a judge to ban smoking in casinos.

    🎡 Diplo mused about filming the massive “Heartless” video with Morgan Wallen in Atlantic City for $10,000.

    🏖️ Shore erosion funding was left out of the federal budget, then put back in. But is it enough? Here’s Frank Kummer’s analysis.

    🚨 Congressman Jeff Van Drew, meanwhile, called on Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency for the state’s eroding beaches, which Murphy has declined to do. Brigantine, on its own, declared its own state of eroding emergency.

    What to eat/What to do

    💸 Buy a luxury condo in the heart of Atlantic City.

    🐻‍❄️ Polar bear plunge on New Year’s Day at an ocean near you! Or, watch from this beach cam.

    🐟 Order your seven fishes from Atlantic City’s Barbera Fish Market.

    🕯️ Take a candlelight house tour in Cape May.

    🎰 Win a million dollars at the slots, like this guy.

    🎰 New Year’s Eve is a great time to hit up Atlantic City.

    🎣 Wildwood’s Fishing and Boating Expo beings Jan. 9.

    Shore snapshot

    The beach in Ventnor, N.J., after the snowfall on Dec. 14.

    🧠 Trivia time

    Its announced closing shook employees and customers alike. Just how long has the landmark McDonald’s in Ocean City been at 900 West Ave.?

    A. 47 years.

    B. 60 years.

    C. 25 years

    D. Since the town’s founding

    If you think you know the answer, click on this story to find out.

    Ask Down the Shore

    If we come visit in the winter, does this count against our time in the summer?

    Visitors in the offseason are most-welcome! It gets lonely down here. We get to show off how actually great it is to live here year-round, and sometimes how amazing the beach looks with snow on it. And listen, after entertaining guests in the winter, pulling out the board games, stoking the fire, hoping the heat actually works, a summer visit where everyone just goes to the beach all day is a snap. Come on down.

    Have a Shore etiquette question or sticky situation? Email us here.

    📖 Shore slam book: PJ Hondros

    PJ Hondros 23, lives in North Wildwood, and runs the North Wildwood Coastal Processes Facebook page that documents the erosion and sea level rise along the shore town’s fragile coast. Hondros is in grad school studying coastal zone management, and works part-time in the coastal sedimentology field. He says his research includes, “sea level rise/ coastal flooding risk, sediment (sand) fluxes along our coastline, and mapping suitable habitat along our back bays.” PJ answered our rapid-fire questions.

    Favorite beach/beach town: North Wildwood.

    Favorite Shore breakfast: Aloha bacon egg and cheese sandwich — nothing even comes close.

    Perfect beach day: A searing 90 degrees with minimal wind.

    Perfect night at the Shore: Hit the bars!

    Best season to be down the Shore? Late summer to early fall.

    Surfing or fishing or … Bodyboarding and swimming.

    Sunrise or sunset? Sunset.

    What’s the best Wildwood? All offer something unique.

    What’s one thing you wish people knew about the Shore? There’s more than the beach (e.g. zoos, campgrounds, state parks).

    What is the most critical issue facing Shore towns? Short-term: the lack of beach replenishment funds allocated for FY25 and 26. Long-term: accelerating coastal flooding.

    Your Shore memory

    Tom McCourt gave up the Shore for sunny Florida and Las Vegas. But the memories linger.

    Despite currently living in the desert, I am a Philly native. I grew up going to the shore. As a small child I went with family, then Senior Week, and later fishing as often as I possibly could. As a young adult, that morphed into an annual week in the Wildwoods, fishing nearly every day, spending some time on the beach, and enjoying life at the shore.

    Then the greed happened.

    Mom-and-Pop houses, apartments, and motels were bulldozed in favor of massive cookie-cutter condos, all of which have the character and personality of a trash bag. The owners now had large mortgages and construction bills to pay, and greed. They all had greed.

    As a solo fisherman, the Jersey Shore, as much as I loved it, priced itself out of my range. It was less expensive to fly to Fort Lauderdale, rent a convertible for the week (just because), stay along A1A, and enjoy the week than it was to drive to Wildwood for a week.

    Send us your Shore memory! In 200 words, tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Here is our Jersey Shore off-season report card, town by town

    Here is our Jersey Shore off-season report card, town by town

    The Shore this time of year is truly a lovely, if sometimes desolate, place. But the desolation is the point: Emptied of its chaotic summer bustle, the simple natural beauties take center stage.

    But yet. There are still plenty of humans here, and they are doing things, some good, some dubious, and so we will take note. Here is our first-ever winter solstice Shore Town Report Card.

    As to the grading system, let’s just say, it was tough to give any town less than a B- when that winter light turns the sunset sky over the ocean a thousand shades of pink, and snow turns a magical place even more magical. Even Atlantic City, in spite of its burgeoning mayoral and other problems, is worth an off-season visit.

    Atlantic City

    The paradoxical Shore town has had a doozy of a year, with its newly reelected Mayor Marty Small Sr. on trial for allegedly physically abusing his daughter, charges he denied during the trial, and for which a jury on Thursday acquitted him. Meanwhile, three casinos were green-lit in New York City, New Jersey is contemplating how to tighten its control over Atlantic City, Peanut World caught fire, and ICE was making car stops in city neighborhoods.

    The city’s holiday parade featured the red-clad Mayor Marty Small on a special Mayor’s Office float, with his wife, schools Superintendent La’Quetta Small, festively clad in a fluffy red coat, beside him. She is also charged with child abuse.

    When will Atlantic City, arguably the last affordable Shore destination along the entire Northeast coast, finally break out of its slump? I explain in this story. A+ for holiday traditions like the elaborately decorated and festive iconic spots, from the Irish Pub to the Knife & Fork Inn; for its new skate and dog parks; and its casino giveaways. But, behind the salt air tinsel, A.C. is juggling some C+ drama.

    Ventnor

    You’re never more aware that your town tilts toward summer than when it rebuilds its boardwalk during the winter. A big chunk of the boardwalk (from Surrey to Cambridge) has been closed since November for a complete reconstruction and will remain closed until at least May. A similar chunk up to the A.C. border will be rebuilt after next summer. Hence the odd sight of lots of people on Atlantic Avenue detoured from the beloved wooden pathway. In better news, some of Ventnor’s favorite places have stayed open into the dead of winter. On a recent weekend, I trudged in the snow over to my friends at Remedee Coffee for a specialty hot cocoa (delish) and was surprised to find the place … full of people. Everyone in town had had the same idea, apparently, and with no boardwalk, it’s not even out of the way. B

    Brigantine

    The city declared a state of emergency for its badly eroded beaches. B+

    Margate

    Margate’s business administrator launched a personal investigation of the city’s CFO and was making public accusations against one of its commissioners. A former mayor wants him fired. What even is going on over there? C+

    Ocean City

    The identity crisis continues. The town did a complete turnaround earlier this month with respect to the former Wonderland Pier site, voting to ask the planning board whether the site is in need of rehabilitation as requested by developer Eustace Mita, who wants to build a luxury hotel. Meanwhile, its mayor declared bankruptcy and got sued by his stepmother. The iconic McDonald’s in town abruptly closed. Still, Playland’s Castaway Cove is offering its half-price ticket sale now through New Year’s Day. B-

    Sea Isle City

    The city canceled its holiday parade, which made people a wee bit annoyed. But dollars are being spent, most recently on a new community center and with the adoption of a five-year, $50-million capital budget targeting flood control, road work, beach projects, emergency vehicles, and sewer upgrades. . B+

    A winter Sea Isle City with just a dusting of snow. Dec. 16, 2025.

    Avalon

    The sleepy offseason town, which came in for some summer criticism for its off-the-charts exclusivity, gets an A+ from me for its sensible and family-friendly 5:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve fireworks plan.

    Stone Harbor

    The city adopted a 3% occupancy tax on hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. Mayor Tim Carney said in an e-mailed statement: “This local tourism tax will generate revenue for the Borough while helping us avoid any increase to homeowner property taxes in 2026.”

    However, on behalf of short-term visitors from Philly, though, and amid criticism over the quality of the Garden Club’s urn-based Christmas decorations, I’ll have to score the town a B-.

    The Wildwoods

    Wildwood and Wildwood Crest cut loose North Wildwood on their beach replenishment sharing agreement. Meanwhile, North Wildwood signed a 10-year agreement to police West Wildwood. Wildwood proper recently approved 24 new homes for its gateway area.

    It’s one island divided into the have-sands and the have-not sands. This winter could exacerbate both ends of the spectrum. B-

    Long Beach Island

    The city was battling mail delivery issues, but otherwise, the peace and quiet and lack of crowds seemed to be settling well over locals, who boasted of martini towers at the Hotel LBI and $10 lunch specials at Joy & Salt Cafe (also available, $45 short ribs). Whoever it is that lives there this time of year must know something. A-

    Cape May

    The city is lovely this time of year. Victorian homes! Christmas decorations! There’s a winter wonderland at Congress Hall, candlelight house tours, and oh those sunsets at Cape May Point. A

  • Juveniles rescued after falling through ice at South Jersey lake

    Juveniles rescued after falling through ice at South Jersey lake

    Three juveniles fell through ice at a Burlington County lake and two were rescued by responding officers Wednesday afternoon, police said.

    The incident occurred at Woolman Lake and involved juvenile students, said Mount Holly Township Police Chief Clifford Spencer in a post on Facebook.

    A male student was able to get himself out of the water and reach land before the police arrived, Spencer said.

    “Two female students were partially submerged in chest-deep, icy water when first responders arrived on scene. Officers quickly established a rescue plan, guiding the students closer to the shoreline where a rope was deployed and both were safely pulled from the water,” Spencer said.

    All three juveniles were transported to a hospital as a precaution due to their exposure to cold water, Spencer said.

    The Westampton Fire Department also responded and retrieved the juveniles’ personal belongings, Spencer said.

    “This incident serves as an important reminder to our community: no ice in our area should ever be considered safe, regardless of recent cold temperatures or appearances. Ice thickness can vary significantly and unpredictably, even within the same body of water,” Spencer said.

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