Delaware River

The body of a Trenton man who vanished over the weekend while swimming with his granddaughter in the Delaware River has been recovered, ending a search that lasted more than two days, authorities said yesterday. Late Monday, members of the Penn Warner outdoor recreation club found the body of Frank Polom Sr. in the river near Pennsbury Manor State Park in Falls Township, Bucks County, said Sgt. Carlos Ortiz of the New Jersey State Police Marine Bureau, Burlington station. Family members identified the body yesterday.

A body of a 16-year-old who went missing yesterday while tubing on the Delaware River was found this afternoon near the place where he had disappeared, authorities said. The South Jersey teen was part of a group of six from Willingboro who rented tubes early Wednesday from Delaware River Tubing near the Kingwood boat launch not far from Frenchtown. About a half-mile downstream, the teen became separated from his tube near Treasure Island and tried to swim upstream to retrieve it, said Anthony P. Kearns, the Hunterdon County prosecutor.

It's official. President Obama's proposed $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal 2013 includes $31 million for the Delaware River main channel deepening from 40 feet to 45 feet. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday posted details on its website of the Corps' $4.73 billion civil works spending plan for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. "This project has been a true regional and bipartisan effort," said Dennis Rochford, president of the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay. The announcement followed last Tuesday's news that $16.9 million was in the Army Corps 2012 work plan, and would be used to deepen the shipping channel five more feet between Penn's Landing and Essington, starting in early August.

Think of it as the peace corps for the experienced and community-development-minded. The International Countryside Stewardship Exchange has brought three British, one Canadian and three American experts on the environment, economic development, housing, and tourism to 23 communities along the Bucks County and New Jersey sides of the Delaware River for a brainstorming session. Their mission, in a sentence, is to gather information from officials, residents, business leaders and environmentalists about the lower Delaware River area and map out methods of improving the area.

Anglers will be casting their lines in the Delaware River on Saturday hoping to land the biggest catfish - and cash. Cabela's King Kat Tournament Trail is based starting today at the PPL Park and Boat Ramp in Chester. Registration is at Harrah's Casino. Organizers are expecting more than 50 boats to compete. About $5,000 in cash prizes will be distributed to the top 15 percent of the field. Product prizes will also be awarded and there will be giveaways to the crowd. The event is open to the public.

DESPITE A chronically painful left knee, psychic Valerie Morrison inched her way down a steep 10-foot embankment to the slippery, algae-covered rocks and broken chunks of concrete that emerge at low tide along the Bridesburg shore of the Delaware River, near the Betsy Ross Bridge. The longtime psychic, who used to advise Frank Sinatra, braved the treacherous footing using only a wooden broom handle for support, determined to visit the 19th century tombstones dumped along the shore during the '50s.

"This welcome milestone is just another step, and we still have a long road to travel until the economy is fully recovered. " - Christina Romer, President Obama's chief economist, on a positive gross domestic product "For every person out of work, every family facing foreclosure, for every small business facing a credit crunch, the recession remains alive and acute. " - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, also on the positive GDP "We have fallen and we really want to get back up. We really want to get back on our tippy toes.

For many teen-agers, the first day of summer marks the beginning of fun- filled, carefree days. But for Mark Cruz, 17, it marked the end of his life. Cruz's body was pulled from the Delaware River yesterday near Penn Treaty Park at Columbia Avenue and Beach Street. He drowned shortly after 1 p.m. while swimming with friends. "He was just floating on the water," said Renee Jones, of North Philadelphia, who wasn't at the park with Cruz but saw him pulled from the river.

When Mark Lorenzini told his ex-brother-in-law he was going fishing below the Burlington Bristol Bridge, the response was: "What are you going to catch, a body?" In fact, 40-inch striped bass can be caught in the much-improved waters of the Delaware River. And misguided stories like this frustrate Patrick Starr, who sees the river as an overlooked gem - cultural, historical, and recreational - that is badly in need of a sponsor. His vision: a Tidal Delaware River National Recreation Area, 72 river miles from Trenton to Delaware City, managed by the National Park Service.

Earlier this year, digital equipment at the Black Rock dam in Phoenixville recorded a momentous occurrence: three American shad adults swimming by, presumably headed up the Schuylkill to spawn. They had made it past five dams - one that had been breached and four with fish ladders installed in recent years. "It's been almost 200 years since an adult American shad has been that far up," said Philadelphia Water Department biologist Joe Perillo. The find was a bright spot in what has turned out to be a stubbornly elusive goal in the Delaware River basin - the restoration of American shad.