There's something about our seagulls at the Jersey Shore that seems more aggressive and obnoxious than most. They steal the food right out of your hand on the boardwalk, so much so that Ocean City hired a trained falconer to keep the sky rats at bey.

I've seen them work and it's a thing of beauty. It attracts a lot of attention from boardwalk crowds who routinely applaud the falcons for their work. They terrorize people on the beach who are trying to enjoy a peaceful lunch and anyone who feeds them deliberately should be banned from the beach for life.

No, scratch that. They should be banned from public for at least five years.

They seem especially aggressive in towns like Wildwood that have a long and active boardwalk with plenty of people and food choices.

So here we have a teenage girl and her friend brave enough to try and enjoy the scary-enough Slingshot Ride on one of the great amusement piers. About two seconds into the ride she is smacked in the neck by one of the ever-circling yet unsuspecting seashore seagulls.

This girl deserves free rides on the pier for the summer for the way she handled it. Most people, even adults would have frozen in panic over the collision, but she quickly and adeptly grabbed the sky rat and sent it on its way.

Good on you "Screaming Seagull Slinging Slingshot Ride Girl." We salute you!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.

NJ arrests 31 accused child predators in "Operation 24/7"

A roundup of 31 men have been accused of sexually exploiting children online, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced on July 14 while detailing "Operation 24/7."

The suspects “possessed and or distributed videos and images of child sexual abuse, including in many cases videos of young children being raped by adults,” Grewal said.

Chat apps and gaming platforms remain favorite hunting grounds for child predators and even as the pandemic winds down, many children have continued to spend more time online.

State Police received 39% more tips in just the first 6 months of 2021 than they received in the entire year in 2019. The following are suspects charged in "Operation 24/7."

 

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