Public Access

Around the country, portable devices that can diagnose and treat life-threatening heart rhythms have been installed in shopping malls, arenas, offices, gyms, schools, and other public places. These automated external defibrillators (AEDs) have step-by-step audio instructions, so even an untrained bystander can become a lifesaver. Unless, of course, no one can find an AED when it's needed. Next month, University of Pennsylvania researchers will launch a project aimed at averting that horrifying situation.

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. - Bowing to an outcry from fishermen worried about getting kicked off the beach at night, New Jersey environmental officials are rewriting their proposed beach access-rules to protect anglers' right to fish during off-hours. The move by the state Department of Environmental Protection addresses a key complaint about the new rules that emerged at a series of contentious public hearings this spring. The DEP undertook a sweeping revision of beach-access rules, moving away from a one-size-fits-all rulemaking approach in favor of letting individual Shore towns write their own rules.

Robert Andrew Stuart, who helped win broader public access to Schuylkill River Park, fought against illegal guns, and led efforts to improve his Logan Square neighborhood and the city, died suddenly Wednesday of a heart attack. He was 49. Mr. Stuart, who from 2006 to 2009 was president of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, was a constant presence in City Hall as he lobbied for progressive causes, from opposing drilling in the Marcellus Shale to bringing bicycle cabs to Philadelphia.

It's been nearly 10 years since I marched with the Raleigh Avenue Rebels, but I remember the steamy hike as clearly as the sparkling water the day we tried, and failed, to reach Diamond Beach. Some feisty retirees had invited me to their summer paradise between the Wildwoods and Cape May to show how a developer had taken the beach hostage. For decades, folks walked onto the sand at the end of their block with impunity. In 2002, a corporation called the Atlantis Beach Club stationed a bouncer seeking $750 for admission to the sand for the season or $10,000 for a lifetime pass.

GALLOWAY, N.J. - The state's proposed new beach-access regulations took a beating Tuesday for the second week in a row, with residents speaking out at a hearing in Atlantic County against a plan that would give towns a much greater say in deciding how much access was appropriate for them. "This document says, 'Trust me: I know what's best for you,' " said Tom Siciliano, a fisherman from Little Egg Harbor Township. "I don't trust government. " "There used to be a governor that would say, 'Come to the Jersey Shore,' " added Paul Harris, an official with the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association.

Proposed changes to beach and waterway access in New Jersey threaten to wash away years of progress toward making the state's 127 miles of shores and riverfronts open to everyone. The state Department of Environmental Protection contends that the revisions to the Coastal Zone Management rules are in line with Gov. Christie's call for "common sense" regulations rather than one-size-fits-all mandates. That might be true, if beachfront landowners - and the elected officials eager to please them - could be depended upon to act with common sense, or common courtesy.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - New Jersey residents came out loud and clear Thursday against a plan to allow individual towns to decide how much beach or urban-waterway access is appropriate for their communities. The state Department of Environmental Protection is seeking public comment on the proposed rules, which rely more on cooperation from communities than threats from state regulators. The agency will decide whether to finalize the rules after the public-comment period ends next month.

So-called common-sense rules that would allow Jersey Shore towns to create their own plans for public beach access were formally proposed Monday by the state Department of Environmental Protection, to the delight of municipalities and the consternation of some environmental groups. The plan - which would do away with the requirement that municipalities provide 24/7 access to public areas to qualify for beach-replenishment funds - would take into account each town's unique circumstances, according to officials.

NEWARK, N.J. - Carol Johnston grew up in Newark, barely aware that it had a river. "It was locked away behind dirty, rusty fences," or other barriers, she said. Yet like the state's 127 miles of sandy ocean beaches, urban rivers and bays are supposed to be just as accessible to the public under the law. But proposed changes to New Jersey's coastal access rules could have a big impact in urban and industrialized parts of the state, according to a coalition of environment and beach access groups who want the proposed rules to be improved.

To the untrained eye, the rough-looking tract on the south side of the Statehouse in Trenton looks like an ordinary construction site. To archaeologists and historians, it's a rare treasure. Deep in the earth are the remains of what may be the only colonial-era steel mill excavated in North America. Two Philadelphians - Timothy Matlack and Owen Biddle - once made steel at the so-called Petty's Run site, demonstrating an independent streak that dismayed England. The British wanted raw materials from the colonies so they could turn out the finished product for sale in America.