At war with sea gulls

Good morning!

My Monday morning obsession is this story from Outside by Andrew Zaleski about Ocean City using two owls, three hawks, and 10 falcons to attack the sea gull population terrorizing the coastal city.

I don’t venture much farther south than upper Ocean County when I go to the beach, so I’m not personally familiar with the Ocean City sea gull menace. But for years I’ve read how they’ll snatch a French fry right out of your hands and I’ve thought, “I’ll stay up here, thanks.”

Zaleski spent time with Angelina Caselli, a trained falconer who helps protect Ocean City’s boardwalk and its tourists from divebombing sea gulls.

“This is the original bow and arrow, the original gun to go hunt with,” Caselli told him.

Incredible stuff.

9/11: We’re approaching the 25th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and advocates for 9/11 victims say the state has spent decades dithering while its official 9/11 memorial in Jersey City goes unfinished and its conditions worsen. “The current condition is a disgrace,” said Michael Danatos, who lost his brother-in-law on 9/11. “Every day is discouraging. Every day is a heartache. Every day, I wish I could just forget. But I can’t, and I won’t.”

Commentary: Brad Van Arnum, who has been following the redistricting wars, has an idea he thinks could end problematic gerrymandering: make congressional districts hew closer to county lines. “Because counties are fixed geographical units that almost never change boundaries … both parties would find drawing maps to their political advantage much more difficult,” he writes.

Schools: Via Rob Jennings at NJ Advance Media, the first day of school is approaching, and in Howell, school officials are telling parents their children are no longer allowed to bring meatal or glass water containers to school because it sounds like kids are hurling them at one another. “Metal and glass bottles, tumblers, and cups are rigid, heavy objects that can cause significant injury if thrown, swung, or used during a student altercation,” school officials told parents, some of whom are displeased.

Technology: Bad news for data centers: They’re not even welcome in Bayonne.