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Atlantic Cape Community College has developed two new online programs that can be completed in one semester. Upon completion, the student will be qualified for an entry-level position as an Administrative Assistant or Bookkeeper. To learn more about the Microsoft Office Credentials Professional Series click here. To learn more about the Bookkeeper Credentials Professional Series click here.

The findings, released Oct. 20, reflect feedback from 1,000 hiring managers and department heads, small business owners, recruitment and talent acquisition specialists, and compensation and business managers to determine how businesses are dealing with the consequences of the labor shortage. Read More

ATLANTIC CITY — The fast-growing esports industry has a future here that could bolster the city’s casinos, as well as create jobs and educational opportunities, a speaker said during a forum Tuesday.

Esports and its competitive videos games are a good fit here, keynote speaker Tim Sullivan, chief executive officer of the N.J. Economic Development Authority, told attendees.

The Casino Esport Conference kicked off at Stockton University’s Atlantic City Campus with breakout sessions on esports, as well as a ribbon cutting for an innovation lab focusing on the industry. Amid the activities was a lot of optimism about the impact of the video gaming market.

“This an opportunity to bring jobs, private investments and new activity to this great city,” Sullivan said. “It will hopefully show companies that we just don’t have casinos in Atlantic City. We have this center that is doing cutting-edge policy work, innovation work and is working with higher education institutions.”

Research shows e-games will generate nearly $1.4 billion in economic activity worldwide this year. Yet casinos acknowledge they have thus far not attracted video game players in meaningful numbers.

That presents an opportunity for the state and the region, speakers said.

Projects such as Stockton University’s Esports Innovation Lab help position the school and region to capitalize on that opportunity.

“We’ve made a lot of progress with the Esports Innovation Center in the short amount of time that we’ve been open and we can’t wait for everyone to see the vision that we have for the EIC,” said Andrew Weligus, the executive director of the EIC.

The state’s EDA recognized it needed to tap into the rapidly growing esports industry according to Weligus. After seeing the potential implications it could have on the gaming industry, the authority felt Stockton University was the perfect partner to build the innovation center because of where it is located.

“We are really poised to have a leadership position in this industry,” said Sullivan the CEO of the NJEDA. “This is the future of gaming and it’s a big opportunity to add another piston to the Atlantic City and Atlantic County industry.”

In May 2021, they announced the project and provided $200,000 in funding in hopes of promoting esports in Atlantic City and throughout South Jersey.

Once the partnership was formed, Weligus was hired as the executive director of the esports lab.

He brought to the table experience using esports as a marketing tool.

“I came to the job with more experience in the traditional sports sector,” Weligus said. “But in addition to owning a minor league soccer team, Atlantic City FC, we launched an esports team to market that brand.”

Renovations on the innovation center were completed in August of this year. The center will later be equipped with the latest esports.

“It will be a great place for the industry to learn what can work in a casino environment and what can work in a higher education environment,” Weligus said.

Scott Huston, a Stockton official, said a recent Rocket League tournament in which it participated showed the potential of esports. The teams played before an audience of 50,000 online spectators.

“That is more than any traditional athletic event Stockton has ever put on,” he said.

Newzoo, the research company that tracks esports, says the global audience for these games will increase by 8.7% this year to 532 million. The games themselves will generate $1.38 billion in economic activity worldwide, a third of it coming from China, according to the company.

Twitch, the online platform, has 3 million to 6 million people on it at any given time, said L. Anthony Gaud, an esports and media entrepreneur. That has vast potential to generate licensed gambling revenue as regulations evolve and expand.

“It’s similar to online (casino) wagering: Instead of playing blackjack or poker, you’re playing Angry Birds,” he said. “That environment is coming. There’s going to be a wagering angle, probably a large one. It’s going to be a really big thing.”

Working with the higher education system in the state is the esports lab’s primary focus, Weligus said. The belief is that the lab can educate students with a passion for esports to get training so they can land jobs in the industry.

The EIC is open to anybody who has an interest in gaming. The group has already partnered with several community organizations and will host programs at the center for them.

“We plan on doing community programming with the boys and girls club, the police athletic league, and Stockton University’s Esports team,” Weligus said. “We also plan to do business to business events, job training sessions, game training sessions, game development sessions, and even tournaments. You can think of this place as a one stop shop for esports.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the original article, and other stories, visit the Press of Atlantic City

BRIGANTINE — Having clean energy as a renewable resource may sound nice, but residents still have questions and concerns about the offshore wind projects planned just off the island’s coast, which is why the mayor held an informational meeting last weekend.

Nearly 100 residents, second homeowners and public officials attended the forum Saturday at the Brigantine Community School to discuss the projects and their potential impacts on the barrier island.

Ørsted’s offshore wind farms, which are expected to have 98 wind turbines roughly 15 miles off the coast, are scheduled to be completed by 2024. Meanwhile, 111 Atlantic Shores offshore wind turbines are expected to be operational 10 miles off Brigantine by 2027.

“There are good things that are going to come about this, as well as the negative impacts that we’re going to talk about today,” Mayor Vince Sera said at the meeting.

Aided by a slide presentation from Dr. Doug Zemeckis of Rutgers University, Sera described the windmill projects and how they could affect commercial fishing, boat traffic, navigation and the ecosystem.

Read More at the Press of Atlantic City.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board today approved a revision to the Main Street Micro Business Loan, removing the requirement for personal guarantees from owners of micro businesses.

The Main Street Micro Business Loan, which succeeds the Micro Business Loan Program established by the NJEDA in 2019, is offered as part of the Main Street Recovery Fund—a $150 million suite of products created or expanded under the Economic Recovery Act of 2020 (ERA), signed by Governor Phil Murphy in 2021. This pilot product will provide financing of up to $50,000 to eligible micro businesses in New Jersey whose annual gross revenues are $1,500,000 or less and have 10 or fewer full-time employees at the time of application and three months prior to the date of application.  The NJEDA will start accepting applications for the program on Thursday, October 6th, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

“The Main Street Micro Business Loan will be a tremendous asset for small businesses that are working hard to grow their footprint in the Garden State,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Removing the barriers to capital for our state’s smallest businesses is another step toward achieving Governor Murphy’s vision for a stronger, fairer economy, as more micro business owners will now have access to the financing they need to create more family-sustaining jobs and economic opportunities.”

Eligible for-profit and nonprofit businesses registered to do business in New Jersey, including home-based businesses, can apply for financing from the $20 million in funds allocated from the Main Street Recovery Fund to cover future operating expenses only such as inventory, rent, payroll, equipment (that does not require installation or construction work totaling more than $1,999.99), or any other working capital expense to fund business operating expenses. The loan will have a standard 10-year term and the interest rate will be 2 percent, with no interest and no payments due for the first year.

The Main Street Micro Business Loan has a substantial forgivable component as it helps reduce the burden on micro business owners who already have limited access to capital. Under program rules, the borrower is required to make payments from year two to the end of year five. To qualify for loan forgiveness, the applicant must have made their loan payments as identified in their loan agreement with no delinquency of more than 90 days, have no current default, be able to certify that they have used the loan for approved purposes only, and that they are still open and operating as detailed in the loan agreement.

To ensure equitable and inclusive access to the Main Street Micro Business Loan, of the $20 million in total funding available, $8 million will be set aside to support eligible entities located in New Jersey Opportunity Zone-eligible census tracts.

Eligibility requirements for micro businesses interested in applying for this program include:

• Must have less than $1.5 million in annual gross revenue for the most current fiscal year (to the extent the business has annual revenues)
• Must have no more than 10 full-time employees at the time of application and three months prior to application
• Must be legally registered to do business in New Jersey, with a business location (including a home office) in New Jersey
• Must have been formed at least six months prior to the date of application.
• Must be in good standing with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection at the time of application
• Must provide a current tax clearance certificate prior to approval to demonstrate the applicant is in good standing with the NJ Division of Taxation

The Main Street Micro Business Loan will not require collateral, as the underwriting criteria will be based solely on credit score. Only not-profit organizations will need to be fully underwritten and required to meet a 1.0 debt service coverage ratio. For all other for-profit entities, at least one owner must have a credit score of 600 or greater to be considered eligible. Personal guarantees from owners or principals are not required.

Applications for the Main Street Micro Business Loan will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the date/time at which the Authority receives the completed application. Past recipients of the Micro Business Loan Program are eligible to apply for the Main Street Micro Business Loan.  Due to the favorable terms of this product only one application per EIN is allowed.

The NJEDA will host an information session on the Main Street Micro Business Loan on Monday, September 26, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. EDT. To register for this online session, click here.

For more information on the Main Street Micro Business Loan and the application process, go to https://www.njeda.com/microbusinessloan/.

About the New Jersey Economic Development Authority

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) serves as the State’s principal agency for driving economic growth. The NJEDA is committed to making New Jersey a national model for inclusive and sustainable economic development by focusing on key strategies to help build strong and dynamic communities, create good jobs for New Jersey residents, and provide pathways to a stronger and fairer economy. Through partnerships with a diverse range of stakeholders, the NJEDA creates and implements initiatives to enhance the economic vitality and quality of life in the State and strengthen New Jersey’s long-term economic competitiveness.

To learn more about NJEDA resources for businesses call NJEDA Customer Care at 844-965-1125 or visit https://www.njeda.com and follow @NewJerseyEDA on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Mayor Vince Sera will host a community meeting 10 am Saturday, October 8th at the Brigantine Community School to discuss the various offshore wind projects off the Atlantic County coast.

The goal of this meeting is to have a community conversation about the developing ocean wind projects the State approved off the South Jersey coast.

The City will share the information we have gained so far on these projects.

We also want to hear the questions and concerns that our community members have.

It’s still very unclear what impacts these project will have on Brigantine and the surrounding communities.

There’s a lot of mixed opinions concerning this technology, and we want to do all we can to provide accurate information and to minimize the potential for any negative impacts.

We are currently working with Atlantic Shores to set up a community meeting in Brigantine on Saturday, November 12th to give the public an opportunity to ask questions directly to Atlantic Shores and to learn more about their project.

We will provide more information on the public meeting once all the details are finalized.

At the September 21st council meeting, city officials unanimously approved an agreement with the County to move forward with plans for improvements to the traffic patterns at the Lighthouse Circle.

According to the agreement, the City will pay 50% of the engineering/design cost and will pay 22% of the cost for construction.

The plan is to redesign the shape and traffic flow to make the Lighthouse Circle a true circle.  

There are no plans at this time to change the location of the lighthouse.

By law, the Lighthouse Circle is not a real circle.  It’s considered an obstructed roadway.  

One of the major issues with the Lighthouse Circle is that some drivers treat it like a circle and some treat it like an obstructed roadway which is causing a lot of confusion because a circle and an obstructed roadway have very different rules.

This project will also address some of the drainage issues at the circle.  

Some of the drain pipes that run under the circle have collapsed and no longer flow properly which is causing some flooding issues when we have heavy rains.

According to county officials, the engineering and design work will take about eight months to complete. 

We will share more information on this project as soon as it’s available.