PAYBACKS ARE A BEACH: How can I not take a moment to mention a potential irony of ironies? It has to do with the North Beach replenishment work, which recently ran into some highly media-savvy folks having a horrible time on LBI.

Jay and Karen Lippin of Westwood, N.J., had laid out over $10,000 for an upper-shelf, two-week beach rental unit … one of those closer-to-the-sun rentals common to LBI’s northern sector.