Press of Atlantic City from Atlantic City, New Jersey • 18

PAGE C4 THE PRESS ATLANTIC CITY NJ REGION Atlantic County gets new judge 1 VA A1' bA'zP i Aft 3HS A 1 LJ Staff photo by Edward Lea Retired Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Gerald Weinstein swears in new Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson Wednesday at the Atlantic County Office Building in At lantic City With Johnson is his wife Johanna JUDGES salaries are set by statute Superior Court judges receive $145000 per year After the seventh year on the bench judges are either reconfirmed or not by the Senate If so they are tenured until the age of 70 The longest serving Sup erior Court judge in the AtlanticCape court dis tricts is Judge Michael Connor sitting since 1979 Judge Vincent Segal who recently retired had the second longest tenure on the bench since 1986 Source: Judiciary spokeswoman Winnie Comfort Jiaaife rom Press staff reports ATLANTIC CITY Nelson Johnson was sworn in as a new state Superior Court judge for Atlantic and Cape May counties during a ceremony Wednesday at the Atlantic County Office building in Atlantic City He joins Bernard DeLury formerly a corporate counsel for a casino as a new appointee to tire bench in the district DeLury went to the Criminal Division Johnson will likely serve in the Civil Division Johnson of the Johnson Bertman law office in Hammonton cleared the law books and furniture out of his office late last month in preparation for his new career In addition to his law prac tice Johnson authored the book Empire: The Birth High Times and Corruption of Adantic He is working on a history of the African American community in the resort He had also served as legal coun sel for The Press of Atlantic City since 198t and represented llovnanian Renault Winery Ole Hansen Sons and planning boards in I lamilton Township Atlantic City and Mullica Township He is married to Johanna Johnson They have three children At a hearing last month before the state Senate Judiciary Committee Johnson told the committee he understood the high standards set by New Jersey's court sys tem know what I have to do and I have the fire in my belly to do Johnson said anxious to get Margate holds hearing on Lamberti plans By MARTIN DeANGELIS Staff Writer (609) 272 7237 MARGATE The Zoning Board heard hours of argu ments Wednesday but had made no decision by press time on an Amherst Avenue restau request for several changes in its operations Restaurant which also runs the attached Sunset Marina was asking for approval on a few small physi cal items including a bigger trash storage area and several new signs on the property But the restaurant also applied for several new conditions in its operating license including the right to have live music or a disk jockey any night between 6 pm and midnight It is now allowed to have music only on weekends The almost three hour hear ing touched only briefly on the issue of the bayfront access that and its marina give members of die public A few residents spoke about the issue which a group called Public Access Rights for Everyone had publicized in a call for public objections to the zoning application but board officials had little to say on it and one boat owner in the marina com plained that some people abuse their access to boats like his must understand that this board will not be (ruling) on the issue of public board Chairman Steven Sinderbrand said The main focus of the hear ing was the waste handling operafion at whicn runs on a property it leases from the city Representatives of tlie restau rant said it was expanding its trash and grease storage capacity in response to requests by the city which could be subject to state fines because of tainted water run ning out of the trash area and into the bay But several people who live across from the restaurant complained that it regularly violates conditions of its busi ness license in several ways including tire way it stores and disposes of the trash and grease it generates Area of detail Atlantic City XX' Ventnor 'x a a Ar Margate A Longport A 'X A A iv MAftUATE A Press graphic Rejected gas station tip turns into Vineland fight By JAMES DEWEESE Staff Writer (856) 794 5114 VINELAND A gas station attendant said he punched a customer in self defense after three men in a sport utility vehicle surrounded him and took a swing early Wednesday morning James Hitchens 25 was working at the Wawa in tire 600 block of South Brewster Road shortly after midnight when he said the rowdy men pulled into the service sta tion and rudely demanded he fill their car Hitchens told police the driver shouted an expletive at him before asking for a fill up with premium gas When Hitchens finished pumping a little more than $15 in gas the driver gave him $25 and shouted for him to keep the change After hours purchases must be exact change or credit card purchases and Hitchens told tire man have to pay inside The driver became irate and took a swing at Hitchens while the two passen gers surrounded him according to the police report The punch connect but Hitchens said he did land his own defensive blow He sure whom he hit the police said The men believed to be in their 20s By JAMES DEWEESE Staff Writer (856) 794 5114 VINELAND A robber made off with $172 from the Starbucks coffee shop in Cumberland Mall on Tuesday night after handing over a note demanding money The robber described as a husky white man in his 40s ordered a tall hot chocolate and then passed the store manager a matchbook with a handwritten note claim ing that he had a gun at about 8:40 pm have a gun please stay calm give me all the note read according to the police report Store manager Beth Marquez 23 said threw $25 on tire ground and left Hitchens picked the money up paid for the gas and put the rest in the charity jar he said Police told Hitchens to notify authorities if he sees the car again she never saw a gun Marquez opened the cash register and emptied the contents into a brown pastiy bag The robber told Marquez he didn't want the coins The robber exited the store at a quick walk heading out into the mall parking lot where surveillance cameras saw him get into a blue car with tinted windows and a spoiler The car exited the parking lot heading north Witnesses said the robber had short blond reddish hair with a short beard mustache and goatee and a flowerlike tat too that might have been a blemish Robber takes $172 from Vineland Starbucks Death (Continued from Page Cl) The family said that it took months and letters from sister Vicki Lymon before they were told of findings this point it's been more than six weeks and our parents have not been contacted by anyone al Vicki wrote in her first letter sent Sept 8 to an investigator parents are both in their 70s and it hurts my soul and spirit every time they ask if been any word on Dean's death and 1 have to say "I don't agree that we keep the family appropriately Blitz said did Maybe just not as quickly as they The office even set up a meeting for the family with Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jill Ilorenberger Dr Park Sgt DeShields and a advo cate Blitz pointed out twin brother Duane went to the meeting but came back more angry He said he was shown gross pictures of his body both before and during the autopsy He described severe gashes and a knot above his right eyebrow "He had blood all over his Duane continued before stopping to compose himself "1 definitely know one thing he was hit 1 know it wasn't a fall" Blitz said the Prosecutor's Office is not saying there a fight only that findings show tire facial injuries were not the cause of death The injury was in the back of his head "and there was no blunt forcc trauma Blitz said But Lymon said she knew once drugs were found in her system the decision would be made Dean Leatherberry was a night person his sister acknowledged So were the two people that have said they wit nessed a fatal fight "They sleep during the day and hang out at night They go to the liquor store on a regular she said Leatherberry even served a few months in jail about 10 years ago His family deny any of that "Regardless of that side of him he was my Lymon said "If associated in that drug world of course looked at Rocky said Leatherberry's lifestyle had nothing to do with how the investigation was conducted Blitz said "We spent a good deal of time on the investigation of this matter" he said "The medical examiner ruled he died as the result of an aneurysm and not as a matter of That doesn't mean nothing will ever be done about a possi ble fight Blitz said but it still would not be ruled murder "If (he injuries were caused by a fight it would be an assault probably a simple Blitz said "But the evi dence indicates he died as a result of a brain So far there is not enough evidence to try anyone in the alleged assault anyway he said Witnesses have given conflict ing reports But family is not ready to give up "Our main objective is to have all of them subpoenaed to a grand jury the Office as well as the witnesses" Duane said live up to my obligations and what tliey need to do live up to (heir obligations "They just wanted to close this case that's what I believe they wanted to he continued "They want it to stop lut it Information still has not been released in the other two deaths: Howard Pennock Jr 15 died after wrestling with a friend July 6 and Samuel Burton 42 died at his mother's home July 19 To mail Lynda Cohen: LCohenpressofaccom THURSDAY JANUARY 1 2 2006 High cost of housing slows price increases i sales DIC says i Home appreciation in New Jersey is still high the 13th highest in the nation but it is lower than a year ago By MICHAEL BAKER Staff Writer (609) 272 7221 Vineland is one of the few affordable housing mar kets left in New Jersey according to the ederal Deposit Insurance winter state profile released this week Both the rapid growth in home prices and home sales across the state are slowing in part because of the increasing cost of housing in the state according to the DIC Vineland and Camden are the only two metropolitan housing markets in the state that are more affordable than the national average the report showed But New robust rise in housing costs began to slow at the end of last year as home sales also began to taper off according to the DIC Home appreciation in New Jersey was still high at 137 percent in the third quarter of 2005 the 13 th highest in the I nation according to the report 1 lowever that is lower than the 185 percent rate of a year earli 1 er and appreciation rates were I slowing all across the state At the same time the rate of home sales across the state i continued to drop In southern New Jersey the slowing rate of home sales has been going on since the middle of 2004 according to the DIC The same trend began in northern New Jersey in the third quarter of 2005 according to the report New job growth rate also slowed reflecting manufac turing job losses and less growth in the government and con stniction sectors the report indi cated Jobs in retail health ser vices and restaurants accounted for two thirds of the net new jobs added in New Jersey The unemployment rate for the quarter was 42 percent up slightly from 4 percent the 4 previous quarter It was the first quarter to quarter increase in the unemployment rate since it began declining from 6 percent two years ago To mail Michael Baker: MBakerpressofac com A 7 1 Av AA 1 i 'A 0 M' Staff photo by Dominick Rebeck Jr Mayor Charlotte Brago second from right sits with her friends at Deerfield senior center lunch three times a week Mayor (Continued from Page Cl) Once agreed last year to stick with the Township Committee she turn away from the mayoral role when it landed in her lap She took on the position earlier this month likely she is the old est mayor but nobody really keeps handy records on those kinds of things Locally no one had a clue The state Department of Community Affairs the usual repository of municipal infor mation has no idea The state League of Municipalities sure "It sounds like one of the said Bill Dressel the executive director certainly the oldest female mayor in the Dressel used to keep such data but with so many munic ipalities and levels of govern A 1 ISf Vineland Bridgeton M1vihe i Cumberland A Is County Press graphic ment in New Jersey the duty became tiresome and fell to the side lie was pretty positive on Wednesday that John Gregorio the mayor of Linden a north ern New Jersey city was tlie oldest But according to office he's just a spry 79 years of age Not even close "1 just told them when the time comes that I do it hang it Brago said Tn mail Daniel Walsh: DWalshpressofaccom EHC (Continued from Page Cl) complicated formulas used to equalize property values between revaluations often leave the owners of new homes paying a disproportionate share of taxes he said City officials say the biggest rise in property values has been in the past few years as long dormant Egg Harbor City caught its part of the housing boom and southern New Jerseys growth "Sooner or later it was com ing this way and it has started to affect houses in Egg Harbor Henshaw said been lf a sharp increase (in property values) these past three or four i He said heard stories about houses listed by the city at about $65000 selling for I closer to $200000 after a bidding war The new values are supposed to reflect what residents would get if they put their homes up for sale in 2005 based 1 on actual sales of comparable 6 homes and the cal dilations The revaluation cost about $300000 Henshaw said To mail Meggan Clark Meggan Clarkpressofac com Railroad (Continued from Page Cl) into a special car Collard explained Potentially damag ing materials would include metal dowels used to strength en concrete Then the materials would go out by rail 1 "We're not going to htuidle any municipal solid Collard said different from the plan in Mullica In Mullica we would be handling Mullica Township has been battling Southern Railroad on a proposed trash transfer site A judge halted construction Dec 26 while litigation is pending "In neither location would we be handling anything liquid or anything hazardous" Coll ard said But until Pleasantville offi cials have a plan in hand Tees said decide any thing" 7b mail Lymla Cohen: LCohenpressofaccom.