Public health officials are advising South Jersey residents to be alert and avoid wild animals after a report of a rabid raccoon that bit a man in Gloucester County last weekend.
The Glassboro resident told 6abc Wednesday that the wild animal charged him outside of his home and bit the front of his leg before being captured and testing positive for rabies.
Gloucester County posted an alert on social media Wednesday reminding residents to make sure their pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations and to avoid contact with wildlife. County officials did not respond to questions about the alleged attack Thursday.
“Rabies is a serious disease, but it is preventable,” the county wrote. “If you see a wild animal acting unusual; such as appearing aggressive, unafraid of people, drooling, or unsteady; keep your distance and report it to your local health department or animal control.”
Anyone bitten or scratched by a wild animal should wash the area with soap and water, seek medical attention, and contact local animal control or health officials, the county advised.
6abc reported that authorities said the infected animal involved in the attack was seen fighting with another raccoon before it was captured, and that the county is now working to locate the potentially rabid animal.
Five Camden County towns could owe some current and former property owners more than half a million dollars collectively as part of a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit involving vacant and abandoned properties.
The case alleges that the vacant and abandoned property registration programs previously operated in Barrington, Bellmawr, Runnemede, Voorhees, and Gloucester Township violated New Jersey law. These programs were in place largely to prevent blight by funding the town’s upkeep of vacant properties, but the suit alleges that for a time, the towns were collecting fees unlawfully.
Many of the property owners who were forced to pay fees to these programs had never actually abandoned or vacated their homes, the suit alleges, and the towns unlawfully earned a revenue from these fees as a result.
The settlement proposes a fund of about $545,600. The amount contributed by each town varies based on the total amount collected through program fees, said Stephen DeNittis, an attorney representing plaintiffs in the case.
Here is how much each town will have to pay if the settlement is approved:
Gloucester Township: $280,000
Runnemede Borough: $111,300
Voorhees Township: $94,120.43
Bellmawr Borough: $33,932.50
Barrington Borough: $26,271.57
Because it is a class-action lawsuit, the proposed settlement still needs to be approved by a court, DeNittis said.
A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14, and if preliminary approval is granted, notices will be sent out within 30 days informing other potential claimants of the case and providing instructions on how to file a claim if they paid into their town’s vacant property program between 2018 and 2022.
Claimants can file for a simple refund of $200, or they could receive 60% of the total amount they paid into the program if they can provide sufficient documentation and proof of payment, DeNittis said.
As part of the settlement, the towns do not admit any liability or wrongdoing.
Officials with both Voorhees Township and Runnemede Borough independently declined to comment on the case, saying they do not publicly discuss litigation. The other municipalities named in the lawsuit did not respond to a request for comment.
Assuming the court grants preliminary approval of the settlement in August, DeNittis said, a final approval hearing will likely be held later this fall.
The signage is down and the furniture and appliances were on their way out of Cherry Hill’s Brio Italian Grille on Tuesday after the restaurant permanently shut its doors.
“We have made the difficult decision to permanently close our Brio location in Cherry Hill,” a sign posted to the restaurant’s entrance reads. “We are grateful for the opportunity to have served this community and are committed to supporting our team members during this transition.”
A sign posted to the entrance of Brio Italian Grille in Cherry Hill announces the permanent closure of the restaurant on July 28, 2026.Lacey Latch
Calls to the restaurant went unanswered Tuesday and the location had been removed from the Brio Italian Grille website.
The other Brio Italian Grille location in Marlton closed in May, less than a year after the chain’s parent company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years.
South Jersey residents interested in a visit to the Italian restaurant will now have to travel more than 200 miles to the nearest location, in Connecticut.
The patio at Brio Italian Grille in Cherry Hill was cleared of all furniture save for some stacks of chairs on July 28, 2026 after the restaurant’s sudden closure.Lacey Latch
Is Fogo de Chão moving in?
As rumors of closure swirled last month, so, too, did rumors that Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse would move into the space.
42 Freeway, a publication covering development in South Jersey, first reported the news in May, followed by NJ.com, which cited project plans filed by Fogo de Chão and the owners of the Towne Place shopping center to the Cherry Hill Township Zoning Board of Adjustment in April.
Those plans propose a remodeled restaurant with 296 seats, and the required zoning permits for the conversion to the steakhouse have already been issued, Cherry Hill Township attorney Cosmas Diamantis previously told The Inquirer.
Staff were at Cherry Hill’s Brio Italian Grille on July 28, 2026 clearing out the restaurant following the sudden closure.Lacey Latch
Now, with Brio closed, it is still unclear if the steakhouse plans to lease the property.
A spokesperson for Fogo de Chão declined to comment on the matter last month and again on Tuesday.
Joe Morris, an executive for M&M Realty Partners, which owns the landlord entity that manages Towne Place tenants, previously said that the chain has inquired about joining the Cherry Hill retail center for more than a decade. Morris did not respond to requests for comment this week.
“I can absolutely tell you, if Brio gives their space back, Fogo is 100% a tenant we would be interested in speaking with,” Morris said last month amid the first round of closure rumors.
Cherry Hill just became the latest municipality in New Jersey to formally ban the development of large-scale data centers.
The township council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday night that lists data centers as a non-permitted land use within the township’s borders.
“We don’t think that Cherry Hill should be a guinea pig,” Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher said after the council meeting. “So while the technology is evolving, we wanted to be proactive and make sure that we eliminated a problem before it became one.”
The ordinance also clarifies the difference between the now-forbidden data centers used for artificial intelligence or cloud storage and the small server rooms used by standalone businesses for file storage, which will still be permitted.
Certified planner Christopher Dochney presents information about an ordinance banning data centers to the Cherry Hill Township Council on July 27, 2026.Lacey Latch
The move is consistent with the goals outlined in Cherry Hill’s master plan, said Christopher Dochney, a certified city planner who worked with the township on the ordinance.
This includes “maintaining Cherry Hill as a garden suburb, maintaining a desirable visual environment and attractive community, and wanting to preserve natural resources,” he said.
It also aligns with the economic development portion of the plan, he said, which prioritizes job creation, job retention, and “providing an economic boon to the residents of Cherry Hill.”
“[Data centers] consume a lot of land, they use a lot of water, they take up a lot of energy, and they also tend to be very big, ugly buildings,” Dochney said. “Things that are all directly inconsistent and contradictory to the stated goals of your master plan.”
For a data center to be built in the future, a developer would need a land-use variance from the township’s zoning board — generally the most difficult land-use approval to obtain, he said.
Up to this point, no data center developers have approached the township, “and we wanted to keep it that way,” Fleisher said.
“As you see in some other towns, by the time an application is submitted, legally it might be too late,” he said. “And we didn’t want to find ourselves in that position.”
Data center pushback in South Jersey
Cherry Hill, the most populous municipality in Camden County, is the latest of a growing number of South Jersey towns to pass similar bans as debate around data centers continues across the country.
This month, Burlington County’s Mansfield and Chesterfield Townships also approved bans after Medford Township did the same a month prior. Millville in Cumberland County banned large-scale data centers in May after promotions for a new 66-acre “Millville Energy & Data Center Campus” circulated online.
In Gloucester County, a real estate developer is suing Monroe Township for $300 million after the municipality issued a ban on data centers and subsequently denied its plans to build a 1 million-square-foot data center and a warehouse.
With the restrictions on data centers now in place in Cherry Hill, Fleisher said he is not worried about potential legal action against the township.
“We were very cautious to be very thoughtful and methodical about how we were going to address this,” he said. “We made sure we had the appropriate professionals go through the right process and have all the accurate information on the record before we took formal action.”
While Philadelphia’s Fourth of July visitors might be long gone, hundreds of people were at Congregation Mikveh Israel in Center City on Sunday afternoon celebrating the Semiquincentennial while looking back at more than 250 years of Jewish contributions to the United States.
At Jewish America 250, visitors of all ages were met by more than 60 vendors, food trucks, and live music at the historic synagogue — the oldest in Philadelphia — for an interfaith celebration highlighting the nation’s history and founding principles, Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian said.
Rabbi Yosef Zarnighian speaks about Jonas Phillips during Jewish America 250 at Congregation Mikveh Israel on Sunday in Philadelphia.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We thought that it would be quite appropriate to honor the 250th celebration of the United States by having the entire community, doesn’t matter your religion, your race — totally irrelevant. If you are part of the Philadelphia community, we want you to come showcase your business, your institution, your restaurant here,” Zarnighian said.
“From 1788 to now, we’ve been about interfaith dialogue and sharing that common American heritage that doesn’t recognize religion or race or anything like that — it’s about being American,” he said.
Congregation Mikveh Israel has a rich history in Philadelphia tracing back to before the nation’s founding.
Visitors viewed historic artifacts in Congregation Mikveh Israel’s museum during Jewish America 250 Sunday. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The synagogue’s artifacts and displays highlight the impact Philadelphia’s Jewish community has had throughout history: from protesting the inclusion of a religion oath in the Constitution to founding the Association of Jewish Immigrants in 1884.
The synagogue’s Spruce Street Cemetery recognizes some of this history, with part of the burial ground dedicated specifically to Jewish Revolutionary War soldiers, Zarnighian said.
In the synagogue at 44 N. Fourth St., the centerpiece of the synagogue’s connection to its past — a prayer table that has been used for centuries of services — sits atop a marble Civil War-era platform.
“It’s the symbol of uninterrupted Jewish prayer in Philadelphia since 1782,” Zarnighian said.
Historic pieces, including the table from 1782, the marble platform from 1859 and the wooden chair from 1816, were available for public viewing during the event at Congregation Mikveh Israel on Sunday.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Siblings Sheryl Kline and Mark Fried, longtime members of the congregation, had a special connection to the history on display at Sunday’s event and were excited to share it.
The pair looked down at the rare travel Torah, kept safe behind protective glass, that had belonged to their grandfather, Gustav Cohn.
At roughly one-third the size of a regular Torah, the scroll was easy for Cohn to bring along as he made his way across the country as a traveling salesman.
Sheryl Kline, left, of Chester County, and Mark Fried, of Bucks County, look at their great grandfather’s Torah Sunday at Congregation Mikveh Israel.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
He eventually settled in Philadelphia and, in his later years, moved in with his daughter’s family, who were longtime members of Mikveh Israel.
“We’re very proud,” Kline said. “We’re very proud to be part of the celebration of the country and the synagogue.”
Now living in the suburbs, the siblings do not travel into the city for services every week, but there is one special service that cannot be missed.
Per Cohn’s instructions when he lent the Torah, it must be read at least once a year, Kline said, “usually on my grandmother’s birthday.”
Collingswood is reviewing the borough’s public pool policies after “recent incidents” at Roberts Pool gained traction on social media, officials said Thursday.
“The safety and well-being of our residents and Borough employees is our highest priority, and we take these matters seriously,” the borough wrote on Facebook. “Harassment of any resident will not be tolerated. We are currently reviewing our pool policies to determine where updates or clarifications may be needed. Additional information will be shared as appropriate.”
The statement was posted after Libs of TikTok, an anti-LGBTQ social media account that often gets the attention of conservative media organizations, posted a screenshot from a private local borough Facebook group from someone seeking advice after being harassed for their attire during a visit to Roberts Pool.
The post from the conservative account also posted photos of the person and described them using transphobic language before pointing to what they called the pool’s “inclusivity policy” that allows people to use the locker rooms based on their gender identity.
Collingswood Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward declined to provide any details about theincidents that prompted the policy review, but said, “we’ve had multiple complaints over the past two weeks.”
“We are working to address them all in an appropriate and timely manner,” she said.
“We are taking this opportunity to review our entire rules and regs sheet that is distributed to both staff and patrons,” Solano-Ward said in an email.
An update on the policy review will be shared “after all relevant borough personnel have reviewed it,” she said.
The resident who was the target of the viral post declined to speak to The Inquirer citing fear of more backlash from the far-right.
Collingswood is hoping to get more pets on the books as a way to help fund the borough’s animal control services.
Per New Jersey law, all cats and dogs 5 months of age and older are required to be licensed with their local municipality, but borough officials say registration is lagging.
Without the fees collected through licensing, Collingswood has to find the funding for animal control services from elsewhere in the budget, Deputy Mayor Amy Henderson Riley said.
In 2025, the borough spent $33,305 on an animal control officer and other services, she said. But as of the June 17 commissioners meeting, Collingswood had collected only $5,740 this year through residential pet licenses, which cost between $5 and $20 each annually.
Assuming animal control services will cost the same for 2026, that leaves a more than $27,000 gap to fill.
“This isn’t meant to be, you know, a ‘nanny state,’” Henderson Riley said of pet licensing. “This is meant to help have a balanced budget in town. We can find the money elsewhere, but I’d much rather have that $27,000 for all the rest of the required and amazing things that we do in town.”
The cost for a license in Collingswood varies by type of animal and whether it is spayed or neutered:
Spayed/neutered dog: $17.
Non-spayed/neutered dog: $20.
Spayed/neutered cat: $5.
Non-spayed/neutered cat: $8.
Since 2020, Collingswood has struggled to collect even close to half the amount needed to pay for annual animal control services, averaging around $7,680 in fees paid each year, according to borough records.
As of July 21, registrations were further behind than they were at this time last year, when the borough had already collected around 20% more in fees, totaling over $7,000.
In response to the drop, the borough is planning a small informational campaign on social media and in town bulletins to spread the word and get licensing rates up, Henderson Riley said.
She said she wants to better inform the public on how this money is used, including for euthanasia of critically injured animals and reunification services for lost pets.
If the funding gap continues, she said, the borough will consider conducting a pet census, hiring staff members to go door-to-door counting the animals in town.
And while Henderson Riley said she understands that many household budgets are already tight, she argues that a relatively small fee can go a long way in helping animals across the borough.
“Affordability is the word of the year,” she said. “People are paying a ton in taxes, and I think sometimes they think, ‘Why should I be paying for a pet license for my 14-year-old dog?’”
The money residents spend on licensing may not go directly to their pet, she said, “but it might help care for an animal who’s hurt or injured or who got loose from their house.”
From this past December to April, Julie Hause took only three days off. The rest of her time was spent on Maple Shade’s Main Street, transforming the longstanding chocolate shop she purchased in 2023.
Hause spent months personally ripping up the worn green carpet by hand, installing laminate flooring, repainting, and more, breathing new life into the aging downtown staple.
Now, her L&S Chocolates is closed with extensive smoke, water, and roof damage from a fire Tuesday night that is suspected to have been caused by lightning.
“It was a group effort. My husband, my kids, my friends — everybody came in and we did it all ourselves. And that’s why I’m so devastated,” Hause said. “I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this. And now, I feel like it literally went up in smoke or washed away in a flood because that’s what I’m dealing with.”
Hause was in her shop — which had been open for less than four months — when powerful storms rolled through South Jersey Tuesday evening and she heard a “very loud crack” that came from the back of the neighboring bakery, she said.
The lights flickered in an unusual way, “a really quick stutter of flashing,” she said, before she smelled something burning. Hause quickly searched in her back workroom for the source of the fire before exiting the building and calling the fire department, she said.
The official investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, Maple Shade Fire Marshal Matthew Orsini said.
Firefighters responded to the scene at 5:53 p.m. Tuesday when they located the fire in “a small area involving the rear exterior wall and roof” of the bakery, Orsini said. The bulk of the fire was extinguished within 10 minutes, he said.
“Damage was limited primarily to the vinyl siding on the rear exterior wall and an approximately 5-by-5-foot section of the roof,” Orsini said, noting that the concrete construction beneath the siding helped prevent the fire from extending into the interior of the building or the adjoining property.
The National Weather Service confirmed there were lightning strikes in the area around the time of the fire but the agency does not collect the location-specific data needed to determine whether a particular building was struck or not, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Mount Holly said Thursday.
Tis So Sweet, the adjoining bakery, posted on social media shortly after Tuesday’s storm announcing that it will be closed until further notice.
“Unfortunately our Maple Shade store was struck by lightning during this evening’s storm and will be closed until we can clean up and repair damage,” the bakery wrote.
By Thursday morning, cakes and cupcakes were still sitting in the display cases inside the shuttered bakery on the corner of Maple Avenue, and an “unsatisfactory” designation from the health department was taped to the front door. The bakery’s owners could not be reached for comment.
L&S Chocolates is closed until further notice due to smoke and water damage from a suspected lightning-caused fire in Maple Shade on Tuesday.Lacey Latch
Since the fire, Hause has spent nearly every waking moment trying to determine her next steps. Fielding visits and phone calls from the health department, multiple insurance adjusters, her landlord, and more, she said it will likely be at least four to six months before she can reopen the store.
“It’s hard. I put so much work and effort into this. I cried most of last night, I’ve cried most of today,” Hause said Wednesday afternoon. “Maybe a couple days off of just breathing and relaxing, and then I’ll figure out my next steps.”
Before the fire, Hause had begun developing ideas for classes and community events that she could host at the store, like cake decorating classes or a “Chocolate & Sip” wine night. Now, she’s just taking things “hour by hour” as she starts to rebuild.
“I’m scared. I’m absolutely scared for my future now,” she said. “After putting everything into this and, overnight, it’s gone.”
Two kittens with seemingly endless energy jump around the room in downtown Collingswood chasing their toys, their own tails, and their newest friend, 19-month-old Charlotte Kohlhas-DeMarsh. The toddler babbles excitedly as the kittens, Chicken Nugget and Onion Ring, leap at the feather attached to the wand she’s swinging around.
The kittens are just two of the adoptable cats at Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge, a new cat cafe that opened at 557 Haddon Ave. on July 10.
In partnership with Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center in Blackwood, Catmosphere provides a temporary home for adoptable cats where they can comfortably sleep, play, and potentially meet their forever families.
Owners Sophia Coello and Marcus Tirado at their Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Within the first week, the business has already facilitated three adoptions.
“Every cat has gone to a perfect family,” said Sophia Coello, cofounder of Catmosphere. “It has really been a perfect match with every single cat.”
The new cat lounge fosters around six to eight cats and kittens at a time, helping to free up space for more intakes at Homeward Bound.
Equipped with food, water, toys and countless beds, the lounge provides the cats with a less stressful environment than a traditional animal rescue. This gives them a chance to acclimate and eventually feel comfortable showing their real personalities, Coello said, which only increases their chance of being adopted.
All proceeds collected from adoption fees — $150 for a kitten and $75 for an adult cat — go back to Homeward Bound.
The idea for Catmosphere was originally inspired by a goat yoga session in December 2024, Coello said. As she was surrounded by the farm animals, Coello, who identifies as a lifelong cat person, couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to be in a similarly relaxing environment — but accompanied by cats instead.
“This is my calling,” she said. “I just love watching and understanding cats’ behavior because if you understand a cat’s behavior, you understand how to create a bond with them. I feel like anyone can create a bond with a cat.”
“And once you form that bond and that trust, it’s actually the most beautiful connection that you could grow with an animal,” she said.
Cats climb on the wall at the Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge on Thursday, July 16, 2026. Collingswood’s first cat cafe recently opened downtown.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Alongside her partner, Marcus Tirado, the pair of Rowan University graduates soon began looking for the perfect location to set up their new business — somewhere in an animal-loving community with lots of foot traffic. They eventually settled on Collingswood’s bustling Haddon Avenue, breathing new life into what was once a thrift store.
“This is a cat community,” Coello said of the borough, where neighborhood cats are common and well taken care of, and residents are quick to come together when locating a lost pet.
As head of construction, Tirado did the majority of the renovation work himself, leaning on friends and family to help transform the cluttered space into a bright cafe with sleeping kittens dreaming in the front window. The soft-pink walls are adorned with a hand-painted logo as Lego figurines in the likeness of the couple’s two rescue cats overlook the cafe, a reminder of their mission to connect as many cats as possible with loving homes.
Charlotte Kohlhas-DeMarsh, 19 months, plays with cats at the Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge Thursday, July 16, 2026. She was visiting with her grandmother, Jenifer Kohlhas, at Collingswood’s first cat cafe recently opened downtown.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Catmosphere accepts both appointments and walk-ins for the cat lounge which currently costs $20 per hour. During some of the early bookings, Coello said they’ve helped kids remain calm and be gentle during their first interaction with a cat.
As they get more established, they’re looking forward to expanding their business by hosting workshops, working with local schools, and more, they said.
And if you’re allergic to cats, don’t worry. Catmosphere still has something for you.
Entirely separate from the cat lounge, the cafe itself is hypo-allergenic, Coello said.
Cat toys at the Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge Thursday, July 16, 2026. Collingswood’s first cat cafe recently opened downtown.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Large windows along the walkway from the front door create a “kitty drive-thru,” she said, where you can get a glimpse inside the cat lounge while remaining protected from any allergens.
Located on the more residential end of Haddon Avenue, the pair also hope that Catmosphere, alongside neighboring businesses like the barber and ice cream shops across the street, can help strike up more activity in this part of downtown.
“We would love to bring more events to this side of the community,” Coello said.
They also hope the lounge can serve as an educational resource for the cat-loving community, helping to answer questions about adoption, common cat behaviors, and best practices.
Charlotte Kohlhas-DeMarsh, 19 months, says goodbye to cats inside the front window as she leaves outside the Catmosphere Cafe & Lounge Thursday, July 16, 2026, She was visiting with her grandmother, Jenifer Kohlhas. Collingswood’s first cat cafe recently opened downtown.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
As Kohlhas-DeMarsh happily followed her furry friends around the room Thursday morning, her grandmother Jenifer Kohlhas looked on, enjoying a drink from the cafe.
They’ve been looking forward to Catmosphere’s opening and finally stopped in for the first time, in part to avoid last week’s dangerous air quality but also to give Charlotte a chance to interact with friendly cats, Kohlhas said.
Their family has a formerly feral cat at home who isn’t particularly fond of the toddler, she said.
“I thought this would be a great opportunity for her to just be with a kitten that actually lets her play with it,” she said, as Charlotte cheerfully waddled around the room. “And she’s having a blast.”
Shoppers have been advised to avoid the Walmart on Route 38 in Lumberton as police investigate an incident involving a person barricaded inside a motorhome parked in the store’s parking lot.
Lumberton Township Police were on scene Tuesday morning in response to the barricaded individual in the RV.
“Officers are on scene, and precautionary measures have been implemented to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone in the area. We are working in coordination with the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office and the New Jersey State Police,” the department said in a press release posted to social media Tuesday morning.
“At this time, the incident is isolated to the Walmart parking lot, and there is no known danger to the general public,” the department said.
The barricade began around 11 p.m. Monday, 6abc reported, but it is unclear how the police became aware of the incident.
The department declined to provide any further details or answer any questions about the ongoing situation.
