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Category: New Jersey News

  • Philly and Camden may need federal aid, but the politics of FEMA are getting messy

    Philly and Camden may need federal aid, but the politics of FEMA are getting messy

    New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker are assessing whether they’ll need to ask the federal government for help following recent storms in Philadelphia and Camden as President Donald Trump rejects more disaster aid from blue areas.

    Camden residents said they witnessed the worst flooding in recent memory just two days after celebrating Independence Day.

    Less than a week later, in parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County, at least four storms called microbursts caused fallen trees, leading to electrical outages and road closures.

    Sherrill and Parker have both signaled they anticipate seeking federal emergency aid, but first they need to see if there’s enough damage to qualify. New Jersey is still trying to get aid for a snowstorm that took place just one month into Sherrill’s term — a request that Trump denied — and Pennsylvania has faced several Federal Emergency Management Agency request rejections in recent years.

    Sen. Andy Kim, a South Jersey Democrat who serves as the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees FEMA, recently led a group of senators accusing the Trump administration in a letter of a “significant partisan disparity” in federal disaster aid.

    “Right now, there’s no predictability with this administration, and that’s just scary when you’re dealing with disaster response,” Kim said in an interview Wednesday.

    Here is what to know about federal emergency aid at this moment.

    How does FEMA aid work?

    First, local officials work to assess the extent of the damage after a storm and report it to the county, which works with the state to assess the damage. If the disaster has caused more harm than the local and state government can address, the governor can request the president declare a major disaster. That’s required to unlock public FEMA aid.

    Individuals can only apply directly for FEMA aid if the president approves individual assistance as part of a disaster declaration.

    Residents should report damage to their insurance companies and begin the claims process as soon as possible and report damage to the Office of Emergency Management, said Joseph Walsh, a sergeant first class with New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management.

    “There are technical things we need to meet,” Sherrill said during her visit to Camden after the storm. “I think we probably will, but we’re collecting that now.”

    Sean Higgins, a Sherrill spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday that the governor’s team “has been working around the clock to ensure communities have the support they need and we will ensure that New Jersey applies for any and all help that we qualify for.”

    In Philadelphia, Dominick Mireles, the city’s director of emergency management, said earlier this week that the city is figuring out the “financial price tag” of the damage, a process that will continue in the coming weeks. Then the city will determine what may be needed — and what it’s eligible to receive — from state and federal resources.

    “This might be something above and beyond what we can navigate on our own,” Mireles said.

    Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen shows New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill visuals of the recent storm in Camden on a tablet on Tuesday.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer

    Has Trump denied FEMA aid to Pennsylvania and New Jersey?

    New Jersey is in the process of appealing a FEMA rejection for Winter Storm Hernando from February of this year, Walsh said.

    The rejection was part of a $227 million denial in disaster aid requests from four Democratic-led states, along with New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. Higgins said more than $84 million of that pool represented costs from New Jersey municipalities and counties.

    “Without that aid, our local governments will be stuck with the costs of an unprecedented snowstorm that didn’t care about political boundaries. … Sherrill will continue to fight for every dime that New Jerseyans are owed, regardless of political party,” Higgins said in a statement.

    FEMA data also show a 2018 rejection for a severe storm and flooding event in New Jersey during Trump’s first term. Walsh said the state requested aid for several counties even though the damage did not meet the threshold for federal assistance.

    The data show that Pennsylvania faced denials from the Trump administration during his first term for a winter storm in March 2017 and storms and landslides from February to April 2018, following a close 2016 win for Trump in Pennsylvania during Democrat Tom Wolf’s gubernatorial administration. After losing the 2020 election to former President Joe Biden, Trump on Nov. 18 rejected requests for aid in Philadelphia and surrounding counties for the August 2020 Tropical Storm Isaias.

    Pennsylvania’s appeal for the 2017 storm was rejected for not meeting the “severity and magnitude” for a disaster declaration, and an appeal for the 2018 incidents were rejected for being “separate and distinct” and not meeting the required threshold, according to documents from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

    The state did not appeal the rejection for damage from Isaias.

    The commonwealth also faced rejections during Biden’s administration following flooding in July and September 2023, and a snowstorm in November 2024 after Trump flipped back Pennsylvania.

    Sen. Andy Kim and other Democratic senators have asked for a meeting with FEMA to discuss disaster assistance.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

    What is Andy Kim accusing Trump of?

    Kim said Wednesday that Trump has been treating government money like “his own personal slush fund.”

    “These are about families that are struggling, and you can’t punish them because of political retribution,” the senator said.

    He was joined by 16 members of the Senate Democratic caucus in writing a letter last month to Russell Vought, the director of the federal Office of Management and Budget, citing a Politico report that said Trump’s second administration rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47 years that FEMA has existed.

    Trump has approved 23% of disaster declaration requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, compared with 89% of requests from states with a Republican governor and two Republican senators so far during his second term, and Democratic-led states also had longer wait times to find out the decision, the report said.

    “To be clear, this reporting suggests that in the wake of disasters, as President, President Trump, who has the sole authority to grant or deny this assistance, may be punishing Americans who live in states with Democratic Senators and Governors, by denying access to disaster relief funding,” the senators said in the letter.

    FEMA did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson has previously told news outlets that “there is no politicization” in Trump’s disaster relief decisions and that he “provides a more thorough review of disaster declaration requests than any Administration has before him.”

    The senators contended there are specific approval criteria and called for more transparency on the administration’s process.

    In response to their letter, the budget office told the senators to talk to FEMA, so they sent the letter to FEMA to ask for a meeting and are awaiting a response, Kim’s office said Wednesday.

    President Donald Trump has touted FEMA funding for states with candidates he supports.Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    What has Trump’s approach to FEMA been?

    The president previously called for the dismantling of FEMA, a stance his own advisers have rejected. But a council of Trump appointees more recently suggested big changes to the agency.

    In the meantime, the president has attempted to use the agency to advance his agenda.

    A report by House Democrats found the Trump administration improperly diverted resources from FEMA by sending staffers to help with immigration enforcement, Trump’s hallmark policy.

    His administration also recently threatened to withhold FEMA terrorism prevention money for states that don’t run their elections the way the president wants them to.

    During his first term, Trump opposed disaster funding for Puerto Rico and said he wanted more aid to go to Texas and Florida, according to news reports.

    Recently, Trump touted FEMA funding for states with candidates he supports.

    But the administration’s efforts haven’t always succeeded.

    Pennsylvania and New Jersey were part of a lawsuit against the Trump administration for cutting certain FEMA funding meant for preventing harm from natural hazards through infrastructure upgrades. That program, called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), has since been reinstated. As a result, Pennsylvania was awarded nearly $838,000 for recovery from the 2024 Tropical Storm Debby.

    Trump signed BRIC into law during his first term, but during his second term FEMA criticized it for being too “focused on ‘climate change’” under Biden.

    Kim said he has advocated for the program’s expansion to help prevent damage from major weather events before they happen.

    “This is not a shock that Camden had the flooding that it did,” he said. “We’ve known for a long time that their drainage and sewage and other types of efforts to mitigate flooding are just not to the level that is needed for the people there.”

  • Haddonfield high school junior wins prestigious, all-expenses-paid Coolidge Scholarship, only a few awarded in country

    Haddonfield high school junior wins prestigious, all-expenses-paid Coolidge Scholarship, only a few awarded in country

    As he prepares for his senior year at Haddonfield Memorial High School, Luke Patterson has a big decision to make: What college to attend? He has a blank check to go anywhere.

    Patterson, 17, was awarded an all-expenses-paid merit scholarship from the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. The four-year award will cover tuition, room and board, and related expenses for him to attend any college in the United States.

    He was among five students nationwide selected from among 4,200 applicants, said Matthew Denhart, the foundation’s president. He is the first recipient from South Jersey since the foundation began awarding the scholarships in 2016, he said.

    “It doesn’t matter to us where they go,” Denhart said in an interview. “The sky is the limit.”

    Haddonfield Memorial High School rising senior Luke Patterson poses at the school Tuesday, July 7, 2026. He has been awarded a Coolidge Scholarship, a prestigious, highly competitive full-ride merit award that pays for four years of tuition, room, board, and expenses at any accredited U.S. college or university.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Patterson learned about the scholarship last year when he noticed a track teammate reading Coolidge’s autobiography. The teammate was reading the book to apply for the scholarship.

    In order to apply, Patterson was also required to read Coolidge’s autobiography and study policies during his administration, write several essays and get recommendation letters. Applicants must demonstrate humility and a commitment to public service, qualities endeared by Coolidge.

    He then traveled to Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Coolidge’s birthplace and where the foundation is located, for a final interview. He fielded questions from a panel chaired by the state’s former governor, James H. Douglas.

    “I expected to be nervous, but I actually felt pretty comfortable,” he said. The foundation requests that recipients do not disclose details about the interview process.

    Said Denhart: “Luke was just a real star.”

    At Haddonfield High, which enrolls about 870 students in grades 9 through 12, Patterson is an honors student, participates on the track and cross country teams, and writes for the school newspaper, covering school board meetings.

    Patterson also is a member of the Anti-Bias Club and serves as historian of the Student Council, and has been tapped to help spearhead a project this school year to create a timeline for the school’s 100th anniversary, Principal Tammy McHale said.

    “Where good things are happening, Luke is around it,” McHale said.

    Haddonfield Superintendent of Schools Chuck Klaus (right) happens to pass by as Haddonfield Memorial High School rising senior Luke Patterson is at the school Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Patterson has been awarded a Coolidge Scholarship, a prestigious, highly competitive full-ride merit award that pays for four years of tuition, room, board, and expenses at any accredited U.S. college or university.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Patterson also is a cadet with the Civil Air Patrol, a youth auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, and an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Haddonfield.

    English teacher David Scorsolini noted in a recommendation letter that Luke had demonstrated humility in his world literature class, one of the scholarship’s requirements. Patterson showed respect for his classmates and their perspectives, he said.

    “It takes a great deal of humility to read, and more importantly, to listen. Luke listens,” Scorsolini wrote in an email.

    The Point’ was once Haddonfield’s vibrant Black community. Now residents’ stories will be preserved.

    Patterson credits his teachers for preparing him to apply for the scholarship. He was surprised when he got a call that he had been selected.

    “I was completely shocked,” he said. “Over the next days, I realized how many doors this opens.”

    It will ease the financial burden on his parents, who also have a younger daughter, Clara, he said.

    “I’m just really proud of all that he has done,” said his mother, Ellen Patterson. “Obviously, the scholarship is amazing.”

    The foundation launched the scholarship program to better educate young people about Coolidge, considered one of the least-known presidents, Denhart said.

    Calvin Coolidge’s seated portrait, June 6, 1924.Library of Congress

    The program seeks students who embody the principles and ideas that defined Coolidge’s term as the 30th U.S. President. Coolidge was known for his humility as well as his support for political bipartisanship, public education, and local self-government.

    This is the 11th class of scholars sponsored by the foundation, Denhart said, and since 2016, nearly 50 students have passed through the program. The foundation also awards smaller scholarships to its top 100 finalists.

    The scholars are not expected to follow the politics of Coolidge, a Republican who had a reputation as a small-government conservative, Denhart said. They study his history and public policies and debate at an annual seminar, he said.

    Patterson said he plans to spend the summer finalizing his college choices and writing essays. He is undecided about a possible major.

    “The really cool thing about the scholarship is that it opens up all kinds of possibilities,” Patterson said.

    He is considering joining an ROTC program and possibly becoming a U.S. Air Force pilot.

    Patterson wants to encourage underclassmen to consider applying for the scholarship. His advice:

    “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. You never know what might happen,” he said.

  • New Jersey and Pennsylvania move forward on chip cards for SNAP benefits to prevent theft

    New Jersey and Pennsylvania move forward on chip cards for SNAP benefits to prevent theft

    New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the latest states to tackle a growing and nationwide crisis: EBT skimming.

    New Jersey is rolling out a roughly four-week pilot to distribute Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through chip-enabled EBT cards this summer, the New Jersey Department of Human Services announced Monday.

    Cumberland, Essex, and Mercer Counties, as well as anyone in the state who has lost a card and is in need of a replacement, will be the first to get the new cards that do away with outdated magnetic stripe technology, which is vulnerable to scammers looking to steal people’s benefits.

    “The new chip cards provide enhanced security to help prevent that kind of loss in the first place, keeping benefits in the hands of the people who need them,” Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha said.

    Next door, Pennsylvania has also moved forward with a chip card transition, setting aside $7 million in the latest budget for the change, which is due no later than Jan. 1, 2028. The federal government would cover the other $7 million needed for the transition as part of the current breakdown of how administrative costs are to be split.

    The next steps are being worked out, and that will determine a distribution timeline, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Implementation of the chip cards is slated to take six to eight months.

    The switch to chip cards is seen as long overdue among government watchdogs and advocates of those whose benefits have been stolen. By sticking an inconspicuous contraption onto a point-of-sale terminal, scammers can copy magnetic strip card information and spend benefits in different states. The onus of protecting the benefits has largely fallen on recipients, who are required to download apps onto their phones that allow them to lock their cards until the moment they are ready to pay for their groceries.

    “This is a basic security measure that will prevent our clients from losing millions of SNAP dollars to international organized criminals, and we hope that Pennsylvania can implement this change quickly,” said Louise Hayes, a supervision attorney at Community Legal Services, which has advocated for Pennsylvania to adopt chip cards.

    Help for victims of this kind of fraud has also been limited, leaving churches and food pantries to step in. Stolen benefits were being reimbursed between October 2022 and December 2024, but that ended when Congress did not extend funding.

    “Having benefits stolen, with no means to replace them, only adds further strain to already stretched households,” said Natasha Johnson, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Division of Family Development.

    With the federal government no longer replacing stolen benefits, states believe EBT skimming has gone underreported in recent years.

    Exact numbers of thefts in New Jersey were not immediately available.

    In Pennsylvania, there were at least 5,100 skimming cases in the first five months of 2026, accounting for $2.5 million in stolen benefits, according to the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General, which investigates the reports and seizes the skimming devices.

    In February 2025, California became the first state to begin replacing the magnetic stripe cards. Oklahoma embarked on a chip card pilot this year and Massachusetts announced in April its own plans for a pilot. This week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new chip cards would be distributed in the state in early 2027.

    Like other states with plans to adopt EBT chip cards, New York hopes to see instances of skimming radically decline with the overhaul.

    Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.

  • Clean up underway after thousands of gallons of wastewater spilled at Burlington County landfill

    Clean up underway after thousands of gallons of wastewater spilled at Burlington County landfill

    Burlington County officials are working to clean up a major wastewater spill at a Florence Township landfill that could have entered a local waterway.

    Workers with a wastewater hauling company discovered a crack on the cap of a leachate cleanout pipe around 4 a.m. Tuesday, the county said. An investigation into the cause is ongoing.

    Officials estimate that as a result of the break, between 5,000 and 25,000 gallons of wastewater from the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex had spilled onto the ground and then spread into a detention basin with an outfall to the Assiscunk Creek.

    “It’s possible some wastewater may have entered the water before the spill was contained; however, there are not anticipated impacts,” David Levinsky, a public information officer with the county, said Wednesday.

    No nearby residences or businesses were impacted by the spill.

    The Burlington County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling is working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to clean up the spill and remediate the area.

    The immediate area where the spill occurred has been treated and the county anticipated completing all remaining remediation actions on Thursday, the county said.

    The Assiscunk Creek is a 17-mile tributary of the Delaware River that is a popular fishing, kayaking, and birdwatching spot for South Jersey locals. Assiscunk Creek Park is a series of three preserves along the creek that are connected by walking and bike trails with sports fields, playgrounds, gazebos, and benches overlooking the creek.

  • State investigation into K-9’s 2022 death has quietly closed in Gloucester County with no criminal charges and no public announcement

    State investigation into K-9’s 2022 death has quietly closed in Gloucester County with no criminal charges and no public announcement

    Ember, a red fox Labrador working for the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office, and another dog died four years ago when a local official allegedly left them in a hot vehicle in August.

    Now, days after a similar case in Salem County resulted in charges, a Gloucester County commissioner is using the case to renew calls for justice.

    Eric Campo, Gloucester County’s counsel, said the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office notified the county last week that its investigation into the 2022 incident was closed and returned to Campo’s office with no charges filed. He reported receiving an official letter from Andrew Wellbrock, assistant attorney general, on July 10. NJ.com first reported about the letter last week; Campo later shared it with The Inquirer.

    Campo said Gloucester County first received notice that the office had closed the investigation on July 8, one day after the Salem County Prosecutor’s Office charged Salem County Sgt. Cody Henderson with two third-degree counts of animal cruelty resulting in death and more crimes after Henderson allegedly left two K-9s, Boomer and Rip, in a work vehicle for seven hours in May.

    Boomer and Rip likely died of heat stroke, prosecutors said. Henderson has since been suspended, and his pay ceased as of Monday, NJ.com reported. A pre-indictment conference for the case is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Superior Court.

    The Ember investigation did not move as quickly.

    In fall of 2022, residents packed board of commissioners meetings to demand information on how Ember, who was donated to the county fire marshal’s office in 2020 by Joe Nick K-9 Training in Monroeville, had been allegedly left in Chief County Fire Marshal Shawn Layton’s vehicle to die on Aug. 12.

    Meeting minutes from the time describe residents reading statements about Ember and calling for memorials. Those records do not indicate that county officials revealed what happened.

    Ember, who died at 3 years old, worked under Layton’s care as a fire K-9 trained in ignitable liquid detection. Layton’s personal dog also allegedly died in the incident, according to 2022 reporting from 6abc.

    Layton, a former Mantua Township Committee member, still works for Gloucester County as chief county fire marshal, according to the county website. A Mantua Township Facebook post from December 2024 detailed that Layton chose not to run for reelection as a committee member to focus on his career.

    A representative with the Gloucester County Fire Marshal’s Office reached Wednesday declined to comment on the county’s current K-9 protocols but said that the office no longer has any K-9s.

    In 2023, Ember’s investigation was transferred from the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office following conflict-of-interest concerns. The investigation, at least publicly, has been largely silent since.

    Chris Konawel, a Republican Gloucester County commissioner, said he was one of the first county officials to find out about the incident back in 2022, when he said an anonymous phone call informed him Layton had buried the dogs in his backyard.

    Since then, Konawel said, he has sent about two dozen emails and letters to the attorney general’s office inquiring about the investigation. Some of those messages have received responses, he said, but none contained information about the status of the investigation.

    Resident inquiries about Ember have waned over the years, too. Two years ago, a petition among residents demanding accountability slowed at 371 signatures, though some Facebook users are sharing the link again.

    “But the incident in Salem County has shined a light back on this,” Konawel said.

    The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office did not publicly announce the closure of the investigation into Layton, and an official with the office declined to say whether the investigation is over.

    The official said the office is not required to provide notice to anyone, but may provide letters “to an entity that would be responsible for taking an administrative action.” It is unclear whether Gloucester County plans to take administrative action against Layton now that the state investigation has been passed back to the county, but the letter said the investigation’s end at the state does not mean Layton has immunity.

    The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment on the record, and several other Gloucester County officials did not respond to requests for comment.

  • Burlington County just got $500,000 to improve its trails. Here’s what the money is going toward.

    Burlington County just got $500,000 to improve its trails. Here’s what the money is going toward.

    Trail improvements are headed to Burlington County, though it will be years before they can be enjoyed by the public.

    The county will be using nearly $500,000 in grant funding for feasibility studies and engineering designs for multiple trail projects.

    Awarded at the end of June and funded by the nonprofit William Penn Foundation, the grants are just a fraction of the more than $4.5 million awarded for trail projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as part of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Trail Program.

    “Burlington County’s parks and outdoor spaces are among our most important assets, and we are excited by the opportunities to expand the County’s network of trails into additional areas,” Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said in a statement announcing the funding. “These new trails will enhance our parks and open spaces and improve mobility throughout our county.”

    What’s planned for Burlington County trails?

    The majority of the grant funding, about $400,000, will go toward the engineering design costs for a four-mile trail segment through Mount Laurel from the Rowan College at Burlington County campus across Route 38 to the Melvin and Florence Levin Nature Conservancy off Centerton Road.

    The grant covers about 40% of the total expected design costs for the project, the county said.

    Burlington County intends to cover the remaining design costs in its 2027 capital projects budget and will likely contract with a design consultant for the project in early 2027, according to county officials. During the 12 to 18 months in which permitting work is being done, the county will pursue additional grant funding to cover construction costs, with the goal of breaking ground in 2029.

    The remaining $85,000 in grant funding will pay for a feasibility study for an approximately nine-mile route on the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail from Rowan College at Burlington County in Mount Laurel to Historic Smithville Park in Eastampton. The county will also study a Mount Holly-to-Medford trail spur to connect both communities’ downtown business districts.

    The county expects to have a consultant team on board by the end of the year for both studies. The work is expected to take about six months to complete, the county said, with results likely to be published next spring or summer.

    Both trails are expected to become part of the Circuit Trails network — a vast regional network of hundreds of miles of multiuse trails planned throughout South Jersey and Pennsylvania.

    The county has other trail projects in the works, including a new four-mile trail linking Willingboro Lakes Park with Mill Creek Park, a 13-mile extension of the Delaware River Heritage Trail, and a connecting 3.25-mile extension of the Kinkora Trail.

    Earlier this year, the county also completed an initial study to potentially create an additional 50 miles of trails through Mount Laurel, Moorestown, Evesham, Maple Shade, Medford, Tabernacle, Southampton, and Shamong.

  • Campbell’s jumps on the protein-maxxing trend with 5 new soups

    Campbell’s jumps on the protein-maxxing trend with 5 new soups

    Campbell’s has hopped on the protein trend with a new soup lineup boasting 20 grams of protein per can.

    With enhanced macronutrient profiles on five soups, the Camden-based soup and snack brand has joined the ranks of food companies that recently launched protein-forward products. Chipotle debuted a high-protein menu in December, and Starbucks now offers protein coffee, matcha, and cold foam.

    “As consumers increasingly seek foods that offer both great taste and meaningful nutrition, this innovative product line will bring excitement and drive consumers to the soup category,” Benjamin Crook, senior vice president of soup and broth, said in a news release.

    In 2025, 70% of Americans reported trying to consume more protein, according to a survey by the nonprofit International Food Information Council.

    Campbell’s new soup line includes Italian-style wedding, homestyle chicken and rotini, lemon pepper chicken, Mediterranean lentil, and southwest black bean flavors.

    The updated soups contain more protein than the company’s original iterations. The existing homestyle Italian wedding soup has 7 grams of protein, and the basic chicken noodle has 3 grams.

    The protein soup line is Campbell’s second release of the summer designed to appeal to “better-for-you” consumer preferences. In June, Campbell’s partnered with Banza to introduce its first gluten-free chicken noodle soup. Banza makes chickpea pasta, which has 50% more protein and three times as much fiber as traditional pasta.

    In addition to soups, Campbell’s has a vast food and snack portfolio. Under its umbrella is Pepperidge Farm, the baking company that produces Goldfish and Milano cookies, and Snyder’s-Lance, which owns Cape Cod Potato Chips, Kettle Brand, and Late July. In 2024, Campbell’s acquired the parent company of sauce brand Rao’s.

    The company reported in June that net sales decreased 4% in the third quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. In the meals and beverages segment, sales decreased primarily due to declines in U.S. soup, Prego pasta sauces, and V-8 beverages, but those were partially offset by gains in Rao’s.

    Campbell’s had 13,700 employees in 2025, per the company’s annual report. In 2023, the company launched a $50 million upgrade of its Camden headquarters. The expansion was anticipated to be completed over three years, bringing 330 additional positions to Campbell’s Camden offices.

  • Data centers to add billions in power costs in 13 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey

    Data centers to add billions in power costs in 13 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey

    PJM, the nation’s largest electrical grid operator, on Tuesday released results of an electricity auction that would add $6.3 billion in costs to the bills of millions of households and businesses within the next three years, an increase driven by the power demands of data centers.

    During the annual auction, power companies supplied prices that they were willing to accept to supply electricity to PJM at times of peak demand. Those prices are then factored into the electricity rates that are eventually charged to the grid’s customers in 13 Eastern states and the District of Columbia.

    In a statement, PJM said data centers were increasing electricity demand throughout the region.

    “These auction results show that demand for electricity continues to grow faster than electricity supply,” David Mills, president and chief executive at PJM, said in an announcement of the auction results. “We are working with government and industry leaders on multiple fronts to restore that balance by bringing on new generation as fast as possible and managing the growth of new load on the grid.”

    Over the last few years, individuals and politicians have grown frustrated with PJM’s operations as electricity prices have steadily increased. At the same time, anger over data centers has spread nationwide. New York on Tuesday announced the nation’s first statewide moratorium on construction of the giant facilities, a one-year pause to assess their impact on the environment and energy use.

    The PJM grid supplies electricity to 67 million people from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Chicago. The network of power systems includes the world’s largest cluster of data centers, in northern Virginia.

    “Demand growth is not going away,” said Patrick Cicero, a former state-appointed consumer advocate for Pennsylvania who is now counsel for the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project, which assists low-income consumers. “The bottom line is high prices are going to remain in place.”

    In its role as a regional grid manager, PJM effectively sets a significant portion of retail electricity rates, but governors and their appointed regulators have little sway over it. PJM is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, not state lawmakers.

    PJM’s annual auctions help determine the electricity costs for the two years after the auction. Since 2024, the auctions have added in total about $29 billion in costs to all utility customers in the PJM region because of data centers, according to Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s independent market monitor. The market monitor also produced the estimate of $6.3 billion in additional costs from the latest auction, which was held on June 30.

    The high costs have so angered Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, that he sued PJM in December 2024. Shapiro and PJM reached a settlement that capped the price set by the auction, saving consumers billions of dollars.

    The PJM grid has often had only a thin buffer of excess power during extreme weather such as the recent heat dome that sent temperatures soaring across the East.

    Shapiro and other governors have complained that PJM has been too slow to connect more power plants, solar and wind farms, batteries and other resources that would have helped lower prices and eased strain on the grid.

    PJM’s grid serves all or part of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, as well as the District of Columbia.

    This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

  • Digging up history at Croft Farm | Inquirer South Jersey

    Digging up history at Croft Farm | Inquirer South Jersey

    Good morning, South Jersey.

    Archaeologists are nearly done digging at Croft Farm in Cherry Hill and have found an extensive catalog of items that have accumulated over thousands of years.

    And after a legislative journey, Burlington County is expected to get a new bus route in September.

    Plus, the U.S. Department of Education is investigating the Gloucester Township School District, and more news of the day.

    — Taylor Allen (southjersey@inquirer.com)

    P.S. Thank you for your continuing support. We want your thoughts! Tell us your opinion of the newsletter by taking our survey or replying to this email.

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    What archaeologists found at Croft Farm

    After extensive digging at Cherry Hill’s Croft Farm, once a stop along the Underground Railroad, archaeologists are nearly finished with their analysis.

    Their findings include hundreds of bones, thousands of ceramic fragments, and historic possessions of the Lenni-Lenape Indigenous people who once lived along the Cooper River.

    Most items come from the past three centuries, but some go back as far as 4,500 years.

    Eventually, the township could put some of items on display on the first floor of the property’s Kay-Evans House.

    The Inquirer’s Sarah Nicell has the story.

    Burlington County’s new bus route

    A new bus route is coming to Burlington County and is expected to start in September.

    Last month, South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) announced that South Jersey Connects, a free regional bus service, would launch routes in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem, and Burlington Counties. They all started on June 1 — except the Burlington route.

    That’s because SJTA didn’t have the authority to operate in the county. Legislation was needed to fix the issue. The bill that brings Burlington County into SJTA wasn’t signed into law until a month after the program was announced.

    Why wasn’t Burlington County part of the transportation agency before?

    Reporter Aliya Schneider has the answer.

    What to know today

    • The Gloucester Township School District is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education as federal officials focus on sexual misconduct by teachers.
    • Burlington County is working with the state Department of Environmental Protection to clean up a wastewater spill that was discovered early Tuesday morning at Florence’s Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex.
    • Camden County wants to spend $400 million to improve its various waterways. It hopes voters will approve a referendum to increase the county’s open space tax in November to help pay for the master plan over the next decade.
    • The genetic testing company 23andMe and more than 40 attorneys general reached a national $18 million settlement following a massive data breach. According to New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, 150,000 customers were impacted in the state.
    • A new nonprofit is looking to borrow $617 million in tax-free bonds to buy the Marlton-based behavioral health company Advantage Behavioral Health. But the current owner, Clearview Capital, a private equity firm, isn’t stepping away from the South Jersey organization.
    • Several Federal Donuts in the Philly region are closing following a slowdown in demand of fast-casual lunches, its owners say. The independently owned one in Marlton will remain open.

    🧠 Trivia time

    Which of the below is a former name of Rowan University?

    A) The College of Glassboro

    B) Voorhees State College

    C) Glassboro State College

    D) University of New Jersey at Glassboro

    Think you know? Check your answer.

    What we’re …

    🏎️ Missing: AAA Hobbies and Crafts in Magnolia. After more than 40 years, it closed last month.

    🍴 Mapping: Our way through Craig LaBan’s favorite 2026 Shore restaurants.

    ⚾ Reliving: How Jordan Walker became a villain to Phillies fans at the 2026 Home Run Derby.

    🧩 Unscramble the anagram

    Hint: A popular downtown street

    AVENA HOUNDED

    Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Brian Lowy, who solved last Wednesday’s anagram: Delaware River. The large body of water flows through four states: New York New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.

    🏡 On the market

    A restored Victorian in Medford Village has a wraparound front porch

    Built in 1871, the four-bedroom and three-bath Victorian has 10-foot ceilings, original hand-blown glass windows, and period millwork. On the outside in the front, there’s a wraparound porch. At the back of the house, the double lot allows for green space, a pool, and a new screened porch. There’s also a detached carriage house and workshop.

    See more photos of the property here.

    Price: $869,000 | Size: 3,213 | Acreage: 0.41

    That’s been your news of the day. I’ll have more in your inbox at the same time tomorrow. 📧

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Burlington County was left out of a new free shuttle bus launch in South Jersey. Here’s when and why that’ll change.

    Burlington County was left out of a new free shuttle bus launch in South Jersey. Here’s when and why that’ll change.

    Burlington County was left behind when a new free shuttle bus for South Jersey launched in June. That is going to change in September.

    The South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) announced June 1 that a free shuttle bus program called South Jersey Connects was launching that day with routes in all seven southern counties: Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem — and Burlington.

    But as the other routes launched, the promised Burlington County route never began. On the authority’s website, it is still marked as “coming soon.”

    That is because until recently, the transportation authority was not actually authorized to operate in Burlington County. The county considered operating its own route for the program but ultimately agreed to have the authority run it instead.

    But that required legislation.

    South Jersey lawmakers had proposed bringing Burlington County into the authority back in the 2022-23 legislative session, but it was not until the South Jersey Connects program was about to launch this year that legislators had the wherewithal to actually hit the gas pedal in Trenton.

    “We worked in partnership with our county commissioner, then the administration of Burlington County, and just realized we just couldn’t pull that off,” Sen. Troy Singleton, a Burlington County Democrat, said in an interview. “And speaking with the administration, they were like, look, we feel more comfortable running this through the SJTA, and we already had this legislative vehicle, so that’s when it took on a greater sense of urgency.”

    The bill to bring Burlington County into the SJTA passed the Assembly in mid-May and was approved by the Senate just a few days before the June 1 announcement. But Gov. Mikie Sherrill did not sign it into law until the night of the budget deadline — a month after the program had been announced.

    “The timing just didn’t work out,” Singleton said.

    The Burlington route is expected to start in September, said Dominic D’Amico, director of transportation services at the SJTA, but a start date has not been announced.

    The new shuttle’s path has been finalized but has not been shared publicly. D’Amico said in an interview that, like the other routes that launched June 1, it will connect with NJ Transit’s existing infrastructure and the region’s “eds and meds.”

    Burlington County Commissioner Felicia Hopson said the new shuttle will enhance the NJ Transit River Line and help residents access jobs, appointments, stores, and schools.

    “Stretching 820 square-miles, Burlington County is New Jersey’s largest county, making transportation essential but also challenging for residents without motor-vehicles,” she said in a statement.

    The idea of South Jersey Connects emerged from the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey’s advocacy after former Gov. Phil Murphy implemented the 2.5% Corporate Transit Fee on businesses to fund NJ Transit in 2024.

    The project was granted $5 million for an 18-24 month pilot, and the future beyond that is uncertain. The South Jersey chamber unsuccessfully requested more money for the effort in this year’s budget, and proponents of the project are hoping to show that it is worth the investment during next year’s budget negotiations.

    The summer launch so far has been a little slow, which is to be expected, according to D’Amico.

    The authority has seen about 600 one-way trips in the first month of the program, he said, a number he expects to go up as people learn about the routes and as school starts in the fall. He wants to see the service hit at least 5,000 one-way trips each month.

    “It takes some time to spread the word, for the marketing campaign to reach the social media platforms, getting brochures delivered to each facility — all those types of things factor into what is a normal slow start,” he said.

    “It could be worse, it could be better,” he said.

    Why wasn’t Burlington County part of the SJTA before?

    Sherrill said in a statement that Burlington County deserves to be part of the authority as “a vital part of the region.”

    The reason Burlington County has not been included in SJTA is not because anyone was denying the county is part of South Jersey. Rather, the agency was set up to replace an entity that oversaw the Atlantic City Expressway, which does not go into Burlington, said David Zappariello, the authority’s director of communications.

    Along with adding Burlington County to the authority’s coverage zone, the new law allows Sherrill to appoint another member to its board. Members of the board represent the region as a whole, not their home county, Zappariello said, and there is already a Burlington County resident sitting on the board.

    Assembly member Alex Sauickie, an Ocean County Republican who also represents part of Burlington County, voted against the bipartisan legislation because it did not also add Ocean County to the authority.

    “I just don’t like it when you’re picking winners and losers for political reasons,” he said.

    Assembly member Andrea Katz, a Burlington County Democrat, said none of the South Jersey Connects routes will touch her district, where she has concerns about transit deserts. But she is hopeful about public transit expanding in the region and the county getting a seat at the transit table.

    “Burlington County now being included means that we’re going to get to have that voice,” she said. “We’re going to get to not be the one stuck in the middle there. We’re going to start to get our own access to public transportation.”