Jersey Shore

For some, a boardwalk conjures up memories of summer afternoons running from beach to arcade and back again; for others, it brings to mind the chaotic nightlife chronicled in the reality show Jersey Shore . But for the summer towns that dot New Jersey's coast, boardwalks are an economic lifeline that they are rushing to rebuild before the summer season starts in just under six months. "The boardwalk will be back," vowed Seaside Heights Councilman Tony Vaz. "It has to be. We have to survive.

BELMAR, N.J. - In his first town-hall meeting since Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore, Gov. Christie called on Congress on Thursday to stop "bickering" and approve $60.4 billion in recovery aid for storm victims in New Jersey and elsewhere by the end of the year. "Don't forget, people are suffering, people want to rebuild their homes," he said. Congress "can return to bickering as soon as they're done with the business that is the first priority to its citizens, protecting their lives and property.

Conan (11 p.m., TBS) - Chris Pratt; Anna Torv; Jose James. Late Show With David Letterman (11:35 p.m., CBS3) - Actor Paul Rudd; Alicia Keys performs. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (11:35 p.m., NBC10) - Director Quentin Tarantino; singer LeAnn Rimes. Jimmy Kimmel Live (Midnight, 6ABC) - Actor Samuel L. Jackson; Jersey Shore ; Ed Sheeran performs. The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (12:35 a.m., CBS3) - Actor Don Johnson; reality-TV personality Brad Goreski.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester) and State Sen. Michael Doherty (R., Somerset) are right. Shore towns should stop charging fees for access to beaches that they're getting help from the state and federal governments to rebuild. But the senators don't go far enough. New Jersey's beaches should be folded into the state park system, so the state, instead of the towns, can be fully responsible for overseeing beach cleaning, maintenance, and even providing life guards.

NEW YORK - Music and comedy royalty, from Bruce Springsteen and Kanye West to Jon Stewart, struck a defiant tone in a benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy victims Wednesday, asking for help to rebuild an area most of them know well. The sold-out Madison Square Garden show was televised, streamed online, and aired on radio all over the world. Producers said up to two billion people could experience the concert live. "When are you going to learn," New Jersey native Stewart said.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. - They're the places where generations of families savored fast-melting ice cream cones and chowed down on garlicky slices of pizza, where teens scoped out potential dates, where a tipsy Snooki tottered unsteadily, and under which the Drifters sang about falling in love. For all their nostalgia, boardwalks are still a major economic engine for Shore communities. Tourists and residents alike spend their money on food and drinks there, or on games of skee ball or balloon darts to win a stuffed animal.

CAPE MAY - Walking around this Victorian resort, decorated gaily for the holidays, Mark Twain might have found a kindred spirit. In these parts, at least, reports of the Jersey Shore's death after Sandy have been greatly exaggerated. No, the precipitously placed Cove Restaurant didn't wash away during the Oct. 29 hurricane, the iconic lighthouse isn't gone, and the ornate wood moldings known as gingerbread that grace many of the 1800's buildings remain mostly intact. In fact, they're now covered in Christmas lights.

THE IDEA was hardly out of the mouth of state Sen. Michael L. Doherty before Jersey Shore officials jumped all over him. Within a day, Doherty's proposal was called "clownish" and "moronic" and the Republican legislator from North Jersey was labeled a "total idiot. " What brought on these heaps of scorn? Doherty said he planned to introduce a bill to require Shore communities that accept public money to repair damage done by Hurricane Sandy to stop selling tags and allow free access to their beaches.

JERSEY SHORE, Pa. - If you travel to this small riverfront town with the odd name, don't expect to find TV's Snooki and The Situation or see wide sandy beaches with a boardwalk and a big blue ocean. They're in another state, 250 miles to the east. But if you want to drive along the western branch of the Susquehanna River, view the changing fall foliage in the surrounding mountains, hike or bike a 65-mile trail along scenic Pine Creek, or fish and hunt in nearby state parks and forests, then this north-central Pennsylvania town of 4,000 would be worth the four-hour drive from Philadelphia.

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. - Vice President Biden spent part of Sunday visiting storm-wrecked parts of New Jersey and telling residents the federal government won't abandon them. Biden, a Scranton, Pa., native who grew up in Delaware and spent summers at the Jersey Shore as a boy, stopped on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights to say he's "a homeboy" who understands the need to rebuild the shore. Later, at the Hoboken Terminal, he said Sandy brought with the devastation an opportunity to rebuild public transit infrastructure that's strong enough to withstand the challenges of the next century.