Coasting: WMGM Set to Rock Fifth Annual ‘Operation Help’

NEWS & VIEWS > COASTING

Plus, the Trail of Two Cities, Diva Bingo and the Album of the Week

By AC Weekly Staff

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Nov. 14, 2012

Avalon Lions Club makes the first contribution to 103.7 WMGM Rocks Operation Help (benefiting the Food Bank) in the amount of $2,000. (Clockwise from left) Margie Barham of The Community FoodBank; JoJo Borsello; Mike Matt and Milt Kuhn of the Avalon Lions Club; Scotty Reilly.

Photo by Longport Media

WMGM Set to Rock Fifth Annual ‘Operation Help’ 

 South Jersey’s premier rock station 103.7 WMGM Rocks will be kicking off the fifth annual Operation Help campaign — hosted by Morning Edge show personalities JoJo Borsello and Scotty Reilly — Saturday through Wednesday, Nov. 17-21, from Chickie’s & Pete’s in EHT. This year’s event will span roughly 120 hours of live broadcasts and is set to be the most critical and significant Operation Help to date, benefiting the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and its 260 partner agencies that have been working diligently to assist victims of Superstorm Sandy right here in southern New Jersey. As in years past, JoJo and Scotty will “camp out for a cause” in an RV motor home outside Chickie’s & Pete’s, urging listeners, local business owners and community members to stop by their makeshift home with food and monetary donations, which will be accepted 24 hours a day. Last year’s donation-drives raised over $8,000 in cash donations, as well as 2,654 pounds of food benefiting the FoodBank. Due to the devastation of Sandy, there are now more people in need of donations and support than ever before. “This is the most crucial Operation Help event we’ve hosted to-date, because for many New Jerseyans everyday life has changed dramatically in the wake of Sandy,” says WMGM vice president of broadcast operations Paul Kelly. “Now more than ever, south Jersey residents are in need of basics like food and water, as well as financial assistance to get back on their feet. With the holiday season right around the corner, we could not be more proud to serve our community in partnership with our friends at the FoodBank to offer help and support to those in need and help make their holidays a little brighter.” — Christina Migioia 

Trail of Two Cities to Run (and Walk) 

 The 17th annual Trail of Two Cities Run & Walk between Ocean City and Somers Point has been pushed ahead two weeks to Saturday, Nov. 17, due to Hurricane Sandy. Beginning at the Ocean City Transportation Center at 9th Street and Haven Avenue, participants will run or walk the course that now follows the recently completed $400 million causeway connecting the two cities, ending at John F. Kennedy Park in Somers Point. The competition consists of residents from both neighboring cities, and the race’s goal is and has always been to bring the two towns together — a feat made easier with the new bridge. With its 11-foot-wide shoulders, 10-foot-wide walkway, a fishing dock, and an information center, the new structure allows pedestrians and cyclists to safely commute between Ocean City and Somers Point. Proceeds from the event will raise funds for the Somers Point Foundation for Education and Ocean City Children’s Programs. Registration is still open. It is $30 per person and participants can register online at lmsports.com, or at 7am on the day of the race at the Ocean City Transportation Center. The race run from roughly 8-9:30am, during which the causeway will be closed to vehicles. Following the race, an awards ceremony will be held at John F. Kennedy Park announcing the top three competitors in each age group from nine to 70 years and older, with special medals awarded to the fastest overall male and female. Busses will be available for participants from the park to Ocean City Transportation Center before the race and after the awards ceremony. For more information, contact Somers Point Community Education and Recreation director Sydney Perkins at 927-2053 x3101 or e-mail sperkins@somersptschools.org  — Casey Harper  

‘Diva Bingo’ to Bolster Support of RNS Mobile Mammography Fund 

 The Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament (LIBT) committee will present “Diva Bingo” on Friday, Nov. 16, in support of the organization’s mission to fight breast cancer and raise money for the AtlantiCare RNS Mobile Mammography Assistance Fund. The Mobile Mammography Assistance Fund helps provide mammograms and potentially life-saving screenings to uninsured women at no charge. Hosted by the cast of Divas Do AC in Resorts Superstar Theater, the event encourages guests to dress in their best Pretty In Pink outfits. The most outrageous outfits will win prizes. Registration is from 7-8pm and the event starts 8pm in the Superstar Theater. A $10 donation benefits the RNS Mobile Mammography Assistance Fund, and bingo prizes will be awarded in slot cash, so be sure to sign up for a Resorts players card at the promotions booth if you don’t already have one. “The Divas are absolutely hilarious, and we hope to fill the showroom for a great cause,” says Barbara Gates, LIBT committee member. “Their version of Bingo is like no other.” The 29th annual LIBT is scheduled for Saturday, June 8, 2013. A non-profit organization, the LIBT has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for RNS since its foundation in 1984.  — Ray Schweibert

Joe Strummer &  The Mescaleros  

Re-Issues (HellCat/Epitaph) 

Late Clash leader Joe Strummer would have turned 60 this past summer and the HellCat label has remastered and re-issued the three stellar albums he made between 1999 and his 2002 death with the Mescaleros: Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, Global A Go-Go and Streetcore (one of the best albums ever!). The new versions come with rare b-sides, bonus tracks, including previously unreleased live versions of songs such as “The Harder They Come” and “Pressure Drop,” as well as new liner notes penned by Jim Jarmusch and Bill Flanagan specifically for the re-issues. Joe Strummer died too soon, but his final three albums sound even better now and have aged with grace. — Jeff Schwachter

VIDEO: Watch this amazing clip of the late Joe Strummer on the Atlantic City Boardwalk trying to people to come to his Trump Marina show. (Read all about it here.)