Jersey Shore

TRENTON - When Hurricane Sandy smashed into the Jersey Shore in October, it not only destroyed the homes and livelihoods of thousands, it left a matrix of potential environmental hazards. Miles of shoreline had been denuded; business and homes were wrecked; debris needed to be safely removed. Yet the New Jersey government agency that seemed best positioned to oversee a safe recovery, the Department of Environmental Protection, is smaller today than at any point since the early 1990s.

When Beatrice Katz Zitomer moved to Margate in 1979 and became a real estate agent, she had visions of catching the big housing wave powered by casino gambling. Already in her mid-40s, the former Cherry Hill kindergarten teacher spent almost a decade learning the business. In 1988, she opened Beatrice Zitomer Real Estate Inc. - just in time for the housing market to hit the rocks in one of the worst crashes in recent history. When she lost her partners, she rode out the storm solo, and prospered.

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Hundreds of college students have descended upon the Jersey Shore during spring break this year to help with cleanup and rebuilding in the wake of superstorm Sandy. And the state's public architecture school is bringing its expertise to bear in offering to help local officials and groups with research and design as the area rebuilds. The project at the New Jersey Institute of Technology - dubbed Resilient Design - will look at lessons gleaned from other flooded areas, from Venice to New Orleans, and is setting up studios throughout the affected areas of the state, said Thomas Dallessio, the project manager.

  Yes, it's technically spring. Yes, famed groundhog Punxsutawney Phil indicated spring would arrive early. Yes, Jersey Shore entertainment venues spent the weekend cranking up for the beach season, and there was a regatta on the Schuylkill. But - and you knew this was coming – it appears Old Man Winter has decided to snow on this parade. Philadelphia is expected to get one to three inches of mostly slushy stuff Monday. North and west of the city there could be two to four inches, and the Shore could get three to six, by some estimates.

  ATLANTIC CITY - Jacob Zimlichman had heard the entire Jersey Shore was underwater, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He knew that wasn't true. That's why the New Yorker was on Atlantic City's Steel Pier on Sunday as part of the seaside entertainment park's summer-season debut. "I didn't have any second thoughts about coming here," Zimlichman said as he watched his child enjoy a ride on the Mighty Stampede. State tourism officials wish everyone were as confident of the many miles of New Jersey beaches in good condition.

TRENTON - It was a late-afternoon panel of disaster, insurance, and recovery experts speaking in a committee room far from the Shore, but the sobering message Tuesday was aimed squarely at the state's vulnerable edge: Your way of life may be as tenuous as your house was during Sandy. " Retreat is a bad word," said Judd Schechtman, a graduate fellow at the Rutgers University School of Planning and Public Policy. " Retreat has a very negative connotation, especially in New Jersey.

AVON, N.J. - This Jersey Shore town, facing the threat of a boycott over its plan to use rain forest wood to rebuild a boardwalk destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, isn't backing down. Avon, in Monmouth County, says it will stick with its plan to use ipe wood. At a meeting Monday night, several environmental groups asked the Borough Commission to reconsider but were rebuffed. "There is a consensus to move ahead," Commissioner Frank Gorman said after hearing nearly two hours of objections from residents and out-of-town environmentalists.

Hurricane Sandy may have torn away houses and boardwalks and dumped a roller coaster into the ocean, but most of the people who traditionally visit the Jersey Shore say they will be back this summer. "The summer tourist season seems surprisingly stable," said David Relawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, which released the finding Monday. Nearly two-thirds of those polled in late January and early February said they expected to spend as much time at the Shore as they always have, and 13 percent said they thought they would spend more.

Hurricane Sandy may have torn away houses and boardwalks and dumped a roller coaster into the ocean, but most of the people who traditionally visit the Jersey Shore say they will be back this summer. "The summer tourist season seems surprisingly stable," said David Relawsk, director of the Rutgers-Eagleton Poll, which released the finding Monday. Nearly two-thirds of those polled in late January and early February said they expected to spend as much time at the Shore as they always have, and 13 percent said they thought they would spend more.