A brother and sister died Wednesday in what investigators are calling a murder-suicide at a Pennsauken home, according to the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.
Janet Camacho, 59, was found on the front steps of the home at 4400 Bethel Avenue with a gunshot wound around 9 a.m., after police responded to reports of a shooting. Police were also told, investigators said, that a male suspect armed with a handgun was at the residence.
Camacho was taken to Cooper University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
About 10:37 a.m., police found Camacho’s brother, Daniel Lopez, 60, dead inside the house with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Both siblings were Pennsauken residents, but investigators did not say whether either lived at the home where the shooting occurred.
Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield shut its doors after two years in business, and the property is now on the market.
And South Jersey Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew accused state Democrats of a “cover-up” over New Jersey’s noncitizen voter registrations during a Tuesday congressional hearing.
Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield has a “closed” sign on the front door, and the property on South Haddon Avenue is up for sale.
The original location in South Philly is a family-owned operation that is more than 70 years old. It’s known for its square pizzas and rolls with thick crusts.
The name has since expanded across the bridge with locations in Williamstown, Cherry Hill, and Hammonton.
South Jersey Republican Jeff Van Drew re-upped New Jersey’s noncitizen voting issue during a Congressional hearing Tuesday without anyone directly involved in the matter to testify.
The hearing comes a day after the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions, which means states can continue their standard procedures related to how they send ballots.
Meanwhile, there’s still an ongoing investigation. Gov. Mikie Sherrill hired an independent firm to conduct it and said she will release the findings publicly.
On the local level, Burlington County has confirmed there were ineligible voters who were removed from rolls and Gloucester County has not been notified of any questionable voters.
The Camden Planning Board approved 44 market-rate townhouses to be built on the waterfront as well as a related development of 16 more townhouses on Penn Street, according to TAPinto Camden.
Empire Buffet will soon take over the former Tang Asian Cuisine restaurant on Black Horse Pike in Audubon, 42 Freeway reports.
Former WMMR music director Erin Riley wrote a newly published book that shares the history of the Philadelphia rock station, which includes anecdotes about Bruce Springsteen.
🎉 Congratulating: Tom Pelphrey from Howell Township, who won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his role as Robbie Prendergrast in Task.
🎧 Listening to: The latest episode of unCovering the Birds, in which Jeff McLane and David Murphy discuss Jalen Hurts’ performance.
🥣 Perusing: The ceramic dinnerware seen on The Bear made by designer Jono Pandolfi, whose studio is based in New Jersey.
The standouts of this three-story, five-bedroom home with five bathrooms are a kitchen with a breakfast nook and quartz countertops, a family room with a gas fireplace, a finished basement, and a fenced backyard.
The new construction also includes a primary suite with two walk-in closets and its own bathroom complete with a double vanity and a soaking tub.
No injuries were reported after a fire broke out at an elementary school Tuesday night in Camden County, officials said.
Lindenwold School 4, which is located at 900 E. Gibbsboro Rd., will be closed Wednesday after a fire damaged the school, officials said.
“At the time of the incident, members of our evening facilities crew and a construction crew were on site. We are very grateful that everyone is safe,” the Lindenwold School District said in a statement.
The district said it is “is currently still completing summer construction work at School 4, and we are currently assessing the situation and any impact to the building.”
Firefighters and investigators were on site to determine the cause of the fire, the district said.
South Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew tried to ramp up pressure on Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill over the state’s noncitizen voter registrations at a Tuesday hearing in Washington, which did not feature testimony from anyone in Sherrill’s administration.
“Whose side is New Jersey government on?” Van Drew said early in the congressional hearing as he airedgrievances about Sherrill and the state’s immigration policies. “That’s the question hanging over this entire hearing.”
None of the witnesses at the hearing were employees of New Jersey or IDEMIA, the software vendor which Sherrill has blamed for the issue, a point disputed by the company. Van Drew defended IDEMIA at the hearing and said the company is cooperating with his probe.
As he chaired the hearing, Van Drew repeatedly accused the state of New Jersey of knowing about the noncitizen registration issue since 2024.
“In political terms, that’s called a cover-up,” he said.
Van Drew, the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, has been a thorn in Sherrill’s side since she announced in July that about 6,600 noncitizens had been registered to vote due to an issue with the software used for the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission’s (MVC) voter registration program under former Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy.
Tuesday’s hearing came the day after the Supreme Court rejected President DonaldTrump’s mail ballot restrictions, allowing states to continue sending ballots under the same processes they have been using for years. Van Drew has been a vocal supporter of Trump’s efforts to overhaul national elections, including passing legislation to require proof of citizenship, like a birth certificate or passport, to register to vote.
Three witnesses, including the former chief counsel of the Republican National Committee, advocated for stricter rules around voting. A fourth witness,a former election official fromArizona, said the issue of noncitizen voter registration is incredibly rare.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew and President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, shortly after Van Drew switched parties.Heather Khalifa / MCT
Van Drew claims state knew of problem sooner
IDEMIA confirmed after the hearing that the company had met with staff from Van Drew’s office and “will continue to cooperate with congressional and state investigations to help ensure a complete and accurate understanding of the facts.”
Van Drew contended that internal documents show the state government had “tested and approved” the software that led to the improperregistrations.
“We also know that in 2024, IDEMIA received a request from New Jersey after the state finally realized that noncitizens were being registered to vote,” the Cape May County lawmaker said.
Van Drew spokesperson Paxton Antonucci told The Inquirer on Tuesday evening that the documents showed that New Jersey reached out to IDEMIA in June 2024 after noticing individuals who were registered to vote had missing information on their age and party affiliation. She said that information was missing because the software failed to flag thatthe group of individuals had selected they were not citizens, but were still allowed to registered to vote.
“The committee is working with IDEMIA to obtain additional information on how this was allowed to happen, and we are seeking documents from New Jersey as to why this error was never disclosed to the public prior to 2026,” she said.
Sherrill spokesperson Darwin Pham said the governor’s office “can’t speak” for the prior administration. Mahen Gunaratna, Murphy’s spokesperson, pointed to a previous statement on Tuesday that said Murphy “had no knowledge” of the issue and applauded Sherrill for investigating it.
Pham said in a statement Tuesday that congressionalRepublicans are weaponizing the issue “to advance Trump’s voter suppression agenda” while the governor “is focused on continuing to solve the problem she inherited from the previous administration.” He called the hearing “political theater.” Sherrill hired an independent firm to conduct an investigation that is ongoing. She said she will present the findings to the public.
Sherrill’s administration said earlier this summer that the state had removed roughly 4,000 voters from the rolls and left the rest to county election officials to verify whether they were citizens or not. Locally, Burlington and Camden Counties confirmed removing noncitizens from the rolls but did not specify a number.
Sherrill’s administration said fewer than400 of the noncitizens voted but did not affect the results of an election. Van Drew pushed back against this assertion on Tuesday, saying he still does not know the details of which elections these noncitizens voted in.
“Anybody knows if you follow local elections, they can be a handful of votes very often. It can even happen in Congress,” said Van Drew, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018 before declaring his loyalty to President Donald Trump and switching parties a year later. This November, he will face Democrat Zack Mullock, the Cape May mayor, at the ballot box.
Van Drew said that Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, the secretary of state, has been “somewhat cooperative” but that the state has broadly “done everything it can to not cooperate and stonewall the investigation.”
A Sherrill official said Tuesday her administration had provided the committee with public documents.Thegovernor haspledged to protect New Jerseyans’ data, and her administration has been in a legal battle with the Trump administration over providing the personal information of noncitizens.
At the hearing,Van Drew referred to Caldwell being under investigation without going into details.Sherrill has touted her transparency in disclosing the noncitizen voter registrations, but she has been criticized by some in her party for staying tight-lipped about a reported investigation into Caldwell and his alleged behavior with women.
Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell (left) follows Gov. Mikie Sherrill off the stage following the celebration of their victory at an election night party in East Brunswick Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Noncitizens removed from voter rolls in Burlington and Camden Counties
David Levinsky, a spokesperson for Burlington County, confirmed some ineligible voters were removed from the rolls in the South Jersey county but deferred to the state on specific numbers.
“The [Burlington County] Superintendent of Elections Office continues to follow all relevant state laws and guidance to ensure that all residents who register to vote are eligible,” he said.
Camden County spokesperson Dan Keashen also confirmed that the county received a list of voters to investigate. The rolls are up to date after noncitizens were removed, he said.
Stephanie Salvatore, the Gloucester County superintendent of elections, said Tuesday that the county had not been notified of any questionable voters due to the MVC issues from the state.
Salvatore, who has been in the election office for more thanthree decades, said the issue had come up “a handful of times” before.
“I have police powers over elections, and an investigator assigned full-time. We work closely with many agencies, including the FBI, the state police, the county prosecutor, among other agencies,” she said. “If I cannot verify the voter eligibility in question within my office, I send it to the professionals and/or the courts to decide.”
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, speaks during a hearing on New Jersey noncitizen voter registrations. House Judiciary Subcommittee video
‘Worst-case scenario’
Stephen Richer, a legal fellow withthe libertarian Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies,was the one witness who strayed from Van Drew’s position on noncitizen voting. Richer, who previously served as a Republican responsible for voter registration in Maricopa County, Ariz., cited as an example an audit in Utah, which found that 0.001% of voters were noncitizens. He said New Jersey’s case is the worst he has seen.
“Even in this scenario, this worst-case scenario, noncitizens made up a fraction of a percent of voters,” he said.
Josh Findlay, a senior fellow for election integrity policy at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, argued that every noncitizen vote cancels out a citizen’s vote.
“The default should be that voters must verify their eligibility before being added to lists, not that people are added to lists and then we hope that the state catches them,” he said. “Even small numbers matter.”
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Texas Democrat and ranking member of the subcommittee, called Trump “the biggest threat to democracy,” pushing back on the GOP messaging.
Van Drew contended that pressure from the federal government led to the noncitizen voterrevelation, but U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, emphasized that the error was discovered and disclosed by New Jersey itself.
“No matter how much our colleagues seek to inflate it, a clerical error is not structural corruption, much less is it a criminal conspiracy,” said Raskin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. “It does not rise to the level of, say, a violent insurrection deliberately incited and organized to overthrow a completed presidential election.”
Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield appears to have closed its doors without any fanfare after two years in business.
A “closed” sign has been posted on the front door of the Italian bakery at 26 S. Haddon Ave., and the store was dark during a visit last week. Another sign advertises the 1,100-square-foot building and the equipment inside for sale.
Cacia’s Bakery in Haddonfield has not made any public announcement about the closure, nor has the business responded to calls or emails requesting comment.
Leonard Guerriero, who owns the Haddonfield Cacia’s, according to deed records, also did not return requests for comment on why the bakery closed.
But the Cacia’s name has expanded across South Jersey over the years, with current spots in Williamstown, Cherry Hill, and Hammonton that sell Italian bread, strombolis, hoagies, cannoli, and more.
Sam Cacia, a third-generation owner of the South Philly location, said his family taught Guerriero how to bake before he became the private owner of the Cherry Hill and Haddonfield locations.
Cacia said the closure in Haddonfield was due in part to the tough parking situation and competition with sit-down restaurants downtown.
“When you ride around the block looking for a spot, it becomes a bit of a challenge. It just came to, like, there wasn’t enough demand,” Cacia said. “It’s a shame. [He] tried to bring the product to a different set of people and it didn’t work that way.”
Guerriero and co-owner Steven Santore opened the downtown Haddonfield bakery in the summer of 2024, NJ Pen reported, after their Audubon location was demolished by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection due to groundwater contamination. The bakery was across the street from the Haddonfield post office.
The pair purchased the Haddonfield property for $375,000 in 2023, according to deed records, from the owners of Spice C, a noodle joint in Chinatown.
The storefront previously occuped by Cacia’s in Haddonfield is now on the market.Sarah Nicell
MSC, a Philly-based real estate brokerage firm, is managing the property sale. Danny Wolf, senior vice president at MSC, said the property hit the market in August and is listed for $495,000. The price includes the equipment inside the bakery, including a double Blodgett pizza oven.
Wolf said the property already has potential buyers, though he declined to provide further details.
Despite still reeling from decimated apple crops due to a surprise spring freeze, South Jersey farmers are fighting to find a way to ring in fall with festivals, cider, and more.
South Jersey farmers have an uphill battle if they want to fulfill customers’ typical fall desires, from warm ciders to bushels of fresh-picked apples.
They’re trying their best to fill gaps after a late April freeze left farms across the state with massive crop damages.
With fewer apples, some have outright canceled their apple-picking offerings this year.
It’s caused farmers to get more creative to retain customers who still want to have a festive season. Strategies include:
🍏 Importing apples from other states
🌻 Planting sunflower fields and popcorn plants for picking
Starting Sept. 21, Burlington County residents will able to ride on a free blue bus.
The 11-stop route begins at the Pennsauken Transit Center and concludes at Twosome Drive and Church Street in Moorestown after looping south.
The new public transit offering is called the Burlington County Shuttle, and it’s the last of the six lines that make up SJ Connects, a no-cost bus service run by the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
Voters in Cinnaminson and Clementon will head to the polls today to decide on multimillion bond referendums that would raise local property taxes for school updates.
During a legislative hearing in Trenton on Monday, parents from Camden and Burlington Counties pleaded for New Jersey lawmakers to mandate the installation of cameras in group homes serving people with disabilities, The Inquirer’s Susan K. Livio reports.
New Jersey and 24 other state leaders reached a settlement that limits the Trump administration’s ability to make significant changes to AmeriCorps without at least 30 days notice.
Burlington County began repaving a 1.9-mile stretch of New Lisbon Road in Pemberton Township Monday. It’s expected to take two weeks, and those traveling eastbound will be detoured. Expect delays.
The Burlington County Clerk’s office is mailing out 52,000 vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the general election for registered voters who requested them. Residents should expect them to arrive in mailboxes soon.
🗣️ Quote of the week
Romagnoli, a player at Kingsway Regional High School in Woolwich Township, grew up playing coed flag football. Now that the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association has sanctioned girls’ flag as a high school varsity sport, the first season can begin in the spring of 2027.
🧠Trivia time
Laura Quinn’s debut historical romance novel, Thicker Than Water, was set in Cape May, Wildwood, and Philadelphia. But where does the author live?
Some Burlington County residents might see an unfamiliar blue shuttle bus on the roads next week as the region welcomes its first new public transit option in more than two decades.
The new route will officially start service on Sept. 21, the last of six new shuttle lines that form SJ Connects, a free bus service run by the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA). The first five lines were launched on June 1 while the transportation authority worked to get formal authorization to operate in the county.
Together, the shuttles can take riders from Cape May Court House to as far north as Palmyra with connections to other shuttles, SJTA routes, NJ Transit lines, and more sprinkled throughout.
Though the newest route is called the Burlington County Shuttle, it technically begins over the Camden County line at the Pennsauken Transit Center before concluding 10 stops later at Twosome Drive and Church Street in Moorestown.
Along the new route, up to 20 riders per bus can hop on or off at various locations including the Cinnaminson ShopRite, Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade, or at Cooper University Healthcare’s Moorestown Mall location.
Stretching from early morning to late evening, the shuttles will make a total of five visits to each of the stops along the route throughout the day.
The first shuttle leaves from the Pennsauken Transit Center at 7 a.m. with the final drop-off scheduled for 8:11 p.m., according to the SJTA schedule. A full schedule for the Burlington County shuttle is available online.
SJ Connects received $5 million in state funding from former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration for an 18- to 24-month trial run to boost transit services in the region.
Map of planned SJ Connects route in Burlington County.John Duchneskie
The investment was secured in part thanks to the efforts of state Sen. Troy Singleton, a longtime Burlington County resident who called the county “the crown jewel of South Jersey.”
“Burlington County is the largest county by land mass here in New Jersey and being able to connect what was a lot of former farmland to economic and educational opportunities is critically important,” Singleton said during a ride-along of the new route Monday.
“We know that there’s enormous economic opportunity here in South Jersey as it connects to Philadelphia and connects to other parts of New Jersey so continuing that investment is one of my responsibilities that I take really personal,” he said.
Many of the stops along the SJ Connects routes were chosen to help South Jersey residents travel between medical centers, educational institutions, and other areas of interest, said Stephen Dougherty, SJTA’s executive director.
The Burlington County Shuttle will begin service on Sept. 21, 2026.Lacey Latch
The half-dozen routes include stops at multiple Cooper and Inspira locations in addition to the region’s various community colleges and universities. The routes also have stops located at or near large employers, Dougherty said, including Logan Township’s Pureland Industrial Complex, the second largest industrial park east of the Mississippi River.
“We know that these routes are crucial — based on the nature of what these stops are — to people’s everyday lives,” Dougherty said.
Now that all six of the SJ Connects shuttles are ready for riders, local leaders are simply asking South Jersey residents to hop on for a ride.
The more demand there is for this service in Burlington County, the more likely it will be for legislators to get state funding to keep the rides free and create more routes in the future, Singleton said.
“My hope and my ask of the public is to utilize this free resource — their tax dollars coming to their benefit — in order for us to try and expand it even more,” Singleton said.
For many, a quintessential South Jersey fall includes apple picking, a warm cider, and sugared doughnuts.
But fall in the Garden State might look a little different this year after a spring freeze left farms across the region with damaged apple varieties and huge crop losses — at least $300 million worth, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in May.
At Russo’s Fruit & Vegetable Farm in Tabernacle, which typically attracts visitors for six weeks of picking, the apple cropwas decimated by the freeze. The farm had to purchase apples from a farm in New York to sell this year, the most local they could get.
Third-generation owner Joann Gsell, 59, said she won’t know the extent of their lost profit until fall is over, but the farmers are doing their best to fill in the gaps.
Russo’s staff planted sunflower fields and popcorn plants for picking instead, both new experiments, along with their usual pumpkins. Gsell planned new events, too, spread across the picking season to draw in more customers.
“Even if we get the same amount of customers coming out, the per-dollar sale won’t be what it was when apples were available,” Gsell said. “But we really don’t know until we’re past it.”
Jersey’s apple harvest season typically begins in mid-July and wraps up by the end of October, according to a report by the state Department of Agriculture, but local farmers, who are still recovering from a tough summer of sparse berries and higher prices, say the season will likely be much shorter and will rely on success in their pumpkin fields.
Still, fall must go on, farm owners say, starting with their apple festivals.
17-month-old Rome Imbesi bites into a big apple next to his mother Kristen Imbesi, 34, of Haddonfield, after picking apples at Duffield’s Farm.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer17-month-old Rome Imbesi bites into his apple.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
‘Figure things out’
Tracy Duffield, who has worked at Duffield’s Farm Market in Sewell for four decades, said the Gloucester County farm had to push back the start of apple picking by a month.
The freeze killed Duffield’s early apple cropplanted in January, and with half its crop remaining, it’s uncertain how long picking will last this fall.
But that didn’t stop Duffield’s from hosting its annual Apple & Food Truck Festival on Saturday, featuring apple picking, pony and hayrides, and face painting. It’s the official launch of the farm’s apple season this year.
“I compare it to COVID. You have to get creative and figure things out,” Duffield said. “It is what it is. You just make the best of it.”
Calah Donato, 26, of Port Elizabeth, N.J., holds her son Neo, 1, while he picks an apple off an apple tree at Duffield’s Farm.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Duffield’s will still carry its beloved apple cider doughnuts this year, along with new apple-cider-doughnut-scented candles. But they did have to switch cider providers this year, buying from a Central Jersey-based farm instead of Mood’s Farm, 20 minutes away in Mullica Hill.
Mood’s is not making fresh cider this year, said co-owner Patti Mood, but they’ll have frozen cider from past apple seasons to get them through.
“We’ll just see how long it lasts,” Mood said. “We’re not sure what next year will look like.”
Kristine Duffield (center), the daughter-in-law of farm owner Tracy Duffield, hosts an apple-themed story time at Duffield’s Farm in Sewell on Friday, Sept. 11.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
This fall, Mood’s doesn’t have enough quality apples to run its pick-your-own operation. At the farm’s own Apple Festival on Saturday, visitors gathered apples sourced from nearby states placed in bins in the orchard during discounted hayrides, instead of picking them off the trees.
Other farms have canceled their apple-picking operations this year. Neither Strawberry Hill Farm in Chesterfield nor Johnson’s Corner Farm in Medford have apples to pick.
Julian, who is two-and-a-half years old, makes a craft next to his grandmother Deb Carter, 69, of Washington Township, at Duffield’s Farm Market on Friday, Sept. 11.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Off the farm
Despite the shortage, apples are still being celebrated this year, on and off the farm. First Methodist Church of Moorestown is hosting its third apple festival on Sept. 18.
And Medford Historical Society will host its 47th annual Apple Festival on Oct. 10, their biggest fundraiser of the year.
Danny, 2, attempts to poke his sister Sosie, 4, with a piece of hay while being held by his great-grandmother Joan Ballah, 80, at Duffield’s Farm in Sewell on Friday, Sept. 11. The family is local to Sewell and comes to the farm often to participate in the farm’s activities and shop the farmer’s market.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Thomas Gerber, copresident of the historical society, said their usual supplier in Pennsylvania lost all their apples and couldn’t provide the 320 pounds needed for the festival, so they found a different farm in New Jersey.
Families wait to enter the hayride to pick apples out in the orchard at Duffield’s Farm in Sewell on Friday, Sept. 11.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Amy Zorn, an eighth-generation owner of Hunter’s Farm in Cinnaminson, said their farm market has been able to buy Jersey apples from other farms, but they’ve had to pay higher rates for smaller apples compared to previous years. She hopes customers continue to support their local farms through this year’s challenges.
“There are still Jersey fresh items out there,” she said. “You might not see as many apples, but there are fall squashes, sweet potatoes, and other things coming to Jersey. I encourage people to go out to their farmers markets.”
Families exit Duffield’s Farm after the apple-themed activities concluded on Sept. 11.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
‘For the long run’
Mario Caltabiano, 31, has been farming since he was 6 years old. As the owner of MC Farms in Pilesgrove in Salem County, Caltabiano grows 14 varieties of apples, Asian pears, and several types of vegetables.
He said he’s used to freezes that take out large sums of fruit, but apples, “the hardiest things,” usually power through.
Caltabiano said one of his farms saw a total apple loss, and the other lost 90% of its crop. With about 20 apples clustered on each tree, and thousands of trees, Caltabiano said he’s not sure how long it’ll take the public to pick them all. Either way, Caltabiano has to continue to tend to the orchards to make sure the trees stay strong enough to produce fruit next season.
“This year, when fruit is 90% of your business, you have the same amount of bills. You have to take care of the trees to the very end,” Caltabiano said. “How do you make up for that?”
In recent years, MC Farms has ventured into the agritourism world, offering hayrides, barrel train rides for kids, cut-your-own flowers, and a wine garden settled in the orchards. Rising prices for fuel and fertilizer are still making work difficult, along with the destruction of most of his crops.
But Caltabiano said he plans to make it to next fall, and the one after that.
“I’m in it for the long run,” Caltabiano said. “I’m in it till I croak.”
Cinnaminson School District Superintendent Stephen Cappello has big plans for his South Jersey school system — if voters approve a $76 million bond referendum, the largest in the district’s history.
It would allow the district to make desperately needed changes and improvements in all five of its schools. Voters head to the polls Tuesday to consider the proposal that would raise local property taxes.
“This is a big one,” Cappello said in an interview. “This will be an important part of where we are moving forward.”
Cinnaminson voters will decide on two school bond referendums totaling $76 million during a special election on Sept. 15.Melanie Burney
If approved, it would help ease overcrowding at two elementary schools where some students attend classes in trailers, upgrade security systems, improve HVAC systems, and add new gyms and a high school stadium complex.
Cinnaminson in Burlington County and Clementon School District in Camden County are the only districts in the tri-county region with bond referendums in Tuesday’s special election.
Cappello acknowledged that referendum questions can be a tough sell especially amid tight economic conditions because they typically seek a property tax increase. Cinnaminson residents are still paying down a $40 million bond referendum in 2014 that added $238 annually to the average tax bill.
“No one takes those numbers lightly,” Cappello said. “We’re all sensitive about that.”
Cappello said the Burlington County district has been struggling with crowding in light of a growth explosion in the township. The district has about 600 more students than it had a decade ago, he said.
The district has spent millions to relocate students to six trailers the district calls “learning cottages.” It also leases space in a strip mall for administrative offices.
“There’s instruction happening in hallways, which is not our favorite,” Cappello said.
The Eleanor Rush School would get eight new classrooms and other improvements if Cinnaminson voters approve a $76 million bond referendum on Tuesday.Melanie Burney
The need is especially felt at Eleanor Rush Elementary where the all-purpose room is always bustling with activity. Because it is used for lunch, special classes including gym, music, STEM, and art cannot be held during the two-hour lunch period, presenting a scheduling challenge, Cappello said.
Tom Angelone, a STEM teacher at Eleanor Rush and a father of three in the district, said the district desperately needs more space. His classroom is located in one of several trailers on the complex.
Tom Angelone, a STEM teacher at Eleanor Rush Elementary.Melanie Burney
“I think we need to support the future generation,” Angelone said. “I will be voting yes on both questions. It’s a cup of coffee a day.”
Cinnaminson split its list of improvements into two bond questions. The first question includes a repaved parking lot at Memorial School, new fountains and renovated bathrooms at Eleanor Rush, six pre-K classrooms at New Albany School, a new esports arena and robotics classroom at the middle School, and a new roof and STEM lab at the high school.
Voters must approve question 1 in order to adopt the second question. It would fund a new one-story pre-K addition with six classrooms and bathroom additions at Memorial, a new gym addition at Rush, and a new turf field and track and field replacements at Cinnaminson High.
In Clementon, voters are deciding on a $13.5 million bond referendum to build a new early childhood center on a vacant lot. If approved, it would add about $243 annually to the tax bill for a home assessed at the borough average of $115,178.
The new center would include eight classrooms, a multipurpose room, and a playground area, according to the district’s website. Pre-K enrollment is expected to nearly triple to about 135 students for the 2027-28 school year, the district said.
An artist rendering of an Early Childhood Center proposed for the Clementon school district if voters approve a $13.5 million bond referendum in Tuesday’s special election.Clementon school disyrict
By shifting its youngest learners, the district said it would use the vacated space for other grade levels and electives, and add a dedicated sensory room for special needs students. The pre-K classes were temporarily moved this year to a site in Lindenwold, the district said. Clementon enrolls 621 students in kindergarten through eighth grades.
Statewide, voters in at least four other districts are considering 12 bond questions, according to the New Jersey School Boards Association. They allow districts to pay for projects that cannot readily be funded through their annual general operating budgets.
Tuesday is one of five times during the year that school boards may ask voters to approve a bond issue or special question.
The questions total more than $308 million with the state contributing about 40%, or roughly $122 million, if approved by local voters.
Automated license plate readers have become nearly unavoidable in New Jersey.
Major retailers cite loss prevention and employee safety for their use, while the vast majority of the state’s law enforcement agencies have used them since at least 2023.
The Cherry Hill Police Department is one of the agencies using the tech:
Last year, the majority of its system’s 2.2 million alerts were for expired registration and suspended plates.
The alerts connected to criminal activity during the same year were for 800 stolen plates, 212 stolen vehicles, and 15 missing persons.
Organizations like DeFlock South Jersey are aiming for more regulation, due to their concerns about privacy. They are part of the growing pushback against the technology among both conservatives and progressives.
According to the Cherry Hill Special Education PTA, the group has tabled back-to-school nights at district schools to educate parents about their rights for 12 years.
But this year, the request was denied.
The organization has since filed a grievance with the school board, alleging discrimination for denying an independent group.
The district is saying that organizations like the special education PTA will have to coordinate with Zone PTA, the umbrella group of the district’s various parent-teacher associations.
The Medford mother who spent more than $27,000 on her daughter’s prom two years ago was sentenced to about a year in federal prison for a pandemic-relief fraud scheme worth over half a million dollars.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew will debate his Democratic challenger, Zack Mullock, in the 2nd Congressional District race at Stockton University next month.
A quiet Sunday afternoon in downtown Haddonfield.Taylor Allen
I spent my sunny Sunday afternoon walking down Kings Highway in downtown Haddonfield after the morning rain cleared up.
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