Morning Headlines: Atlantic City Scores PR Win With Miss America

Last night, the Jersey shore got a much needed reprieve from bad news: The Miss America pageant (say what you will about its retrograde values) returned to Atlantic City for the first time in a decade, and on TV and social media, it came across pretty darn well.

Contestants were grouped in different spots along the boardwalk, in shops, in front of local restaurants. There were interstitial transitions between show and commercial that showed the “girls” delighting in ice cream and jitney rides. The aerial views showed the city as a mini-Vegas, the signs as glowing red embers.

The national coverage insistently paid tribute to Atlantic City history, and the fact that the pageant was back where it belonged, as they kept saying. It was one big AC lovefest, and it felt pretty good to see. Put it this way: If Chris Christie was watching, he didn’t feel like he was going to throw up. And if there’s any way that some of that AC luster can shine on Seaside Park and Seaside Heights, all the better.

Of course, the news this week isn’t all about giving prizes for Bollywood dance and using butt glue to keep a swimsuit on (this is an actual thing, it seems). Other news stories…

• University City: Crimes against property see rise in August 2013, says the Daily Pennsylvanian, but crimes against people are still low.
• Also in University City: The DP reports that April 2014 is now the target for 40 Street retail’s completion. Builders would like to be done by Spring Fling, but it may not happen.
• CBS Philly reports that the housing market is bouncing back in the Philadelphia area — so much so that brokers are courting sellers via classified ads.
• State Sen. Larry Farnese is proposing a bill that would reduce frivolous and punitive lawsuits called SLAPP suits, which deter neighborhood groups from launching opposition to a project. Remember Old City Civic Association? Well, so does Farnese. Real more at PASenate.com.