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Tag: Camden County

  • Betty J. Wilson, celebrated South Jersey teacher, singer, and poet, has died at 92

    Betty J. Wilson, celebrated South Jersey teacher, singer, and poet, has died at 92

    Betty J. Wilson, 92, of Cherry Hill, celebrated longtime South Jersey teacher, singer, poet, mentor, community advocate, volunteer, and two-time chapter president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., died Thursday, July 16, of cancer at her home.

    Mrs. Wilson taught elementary school students in Bordentown, Bridgeton, and Mount Laurel from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and served as two-time president of the Mount Laurel Teachers Association. She was named one of the country’s top teachers in 1972 by the old Outstanding Teachers of America Association and told the Courier-Post: “Children are our most valuable asset. If we don’t give them the proper training early, there’s not much chance for the future.”

    Her family called her “dynamic and outgoing” in a tribute, and her daughter, Saundra Umstead-Capers, said: “She was a born leader and had a commanding presence.”

    Mrs. Wilson championed discipline and parental participation in school and at home, and told the Courier-Post: “Most of our children are allowed to talk first and ask too many questions before complete directions are given. … If the child is used to directives, he won’t resent authority. And in life, we all have to take directions from someone else no matter who we are.”

    She represented Mount Laurel teachers during sometimes contentious contract negotiations with Board of Education officials and helped improve teacher benefits and job protection through the New Jersey Education Association.

    She joined Alpha Kappa Alpha in 1953 at what is now Virginia State University. Later, she cofounded local AKA chapters in Cherry Hill and Voorhees, served as two-time president of the Theta Pi Omega chapter in Cherry Hill, and was recognized by national AKA officials for her contributions.

    Friends called Mrs. Wilson “a phenomenal woman” and “a beautiful, smart, professional woman” in online tributes.Courtesy of the family

    The theme of her sorority presidency was service, scholarship, and Black American heritage, and she helped establish social service, public speaking, and scholarship programs. “Her presence,” sorority colleagues said in an online tribute, “will be profoundly missed.”

    As a singer, Mrs. Wilson had a soaring soprano voice, and she took lessons in high school and college. She performed on a local TV station in Western Pennsylvania when she was young and sang with a traveling choir in college and for the school president.

    She also wrote poetry for years and acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the 1999 death of her husband, Wilbur Wilson, by writing in 2000: “Your legacy stays with us and shall always light the way/We thank God for your presence and your sharing every day.”

    She lobbied locally for the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act in the 1960s, and volunteered with the Rancocas Valley chapter of the Links and the South Jersey chapter of the Continental Societies. She served on the education committee at Evergreen Baptist Church in Palmyra and tutored the children of many church members.

    Why did best-selling author Carol Saline email The Inquirer’s obit writer?

    In online tributes, friends called her “a phenomenal woman” and “a beautiful, smart, professional woman.” One friend said: “She impacted so many lives, especially the students she taught.”

    Betty Jane Atkins was born April 6, 1934, in Library, Pa., about 12 miles south of Pittsburgh. The oldest of nine children, she was an honor student and the lead singer in every musical during her years at the old Snowden Township High School.

    She attended Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Library, earned scholarships to attend college, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education at Virginia State.

    Stylish and sophisticated, Mrs. Wilson was a popular figure on the college campus. She was selected by the football team to represent it on their homecoming float in 1953, and she served as the school’s Miss Valentine in February, Miss Apple Blossom in the spring, and Miss ROTC.

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    She was also assistant class president and selected to accompany the daughter of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall during a visit to the campus.

    She met Chester Whittaker in college, and they married, and had a daughter, Saundra. They divorced later, and he died in 1998.

    She married Wilbur Wilson, and they lived in Cherry Hill for decades. She played piano and was an avid reader and an expert seamstress.

    When parents die, even the mundane memories comfort their children. Here are their tales, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer.

    She was an engaging storyteller and, her daughter said, “a lot of fun.”

    “Sister Wilson embodied the ideals of an Alpha Kappa Alpha woman,” sorority colleagues said, “elegant, poised, and gracious.”

    In addition to her daughter, Mrs. Wilson is survived by a granddaughter, three sisters, a brother, and other relatives. Two sisters and two brothers died earlier.

    Visitation with the family is to be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, at Boyd Funeral Home, 1458 Mt. Ephraim Ave., Camden, N.J. 08104. Services are to be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Evergreen Baptist Church, 602 W. 3rd St., Palmyra, N.J. 08065.

    Donations in her name may be made to Evergreen Baptist Church, 602 W. 3rd St., Palmyra, N.J. 08065.

  • A lawyer and a teacher are sprucing up Camden, one free lawn cut at a time

    A lawyer and a teacher are sprucing up Camden, one free lawn cut at a time

    With the afternoon sun beating down, Keith Benson and his childhood friend Brian Turner meticulously tended to a lawn in Camden’s Parkside neighborhood on a recent Friday.

    They took turns pushing a red lawn mower that left neat lines in the lush grass. They edged up the perimeter and pulled weeds from the sidewalk in front of the property on Bradley Street.

    A short time later, the pair completed the job, packed up their equipment and sped off to their next assignment in Benson’s burgundy Ford-150 pickup.

    They didn’t get paid and they didn’t want any payment, except possibly a cold bottle of water.

    Keith Benson and his childhood friend Brian Turner help residents and the community by providing free lawn care, in Camden, N.J., July 31, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Benson, a Camden High history teacher, and Turner, a litigator and personal injury lawyer at a Cherry Hill law firm, are spending the summer working for free. They want to give back to the city where they have lived and worked.

    “I’m grateful to be able to do it,” said Benson, 46. “We have to pass that on.”

    Benson was looking for something to do when the school year ended in June. He came up with the idea and enlisted Turner to help.

    They shared their plans mainly through word of mouth, friends, and social media posts. The response has been overwhelming and the two have been fielding text messages and calls to schedule appointments.

    Since June, they have cut nearly 100 lawns, including 14 repeat cuts, Benson said. They hope to get back to every lawn once a week, he said. The free service is limited to Camden, and they use their personal equipment.

    “When they text us, we go,” said Turner, 47, of Cinnaminson. “We always show up when we say we will.”

    Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen launched a “Camden Strong” campaign several years ago and has encouraged residents to help spruce up the community. That initiative is cleaning up neighborhoods, removing bulk trash, and restoring public spaces.

    This summer, too, residents such as Elton Custis have been cleaning up their blocks on Saturday mornings for a half hour to support Camden Strong. Custis compiled a list of more than a dozen mostly elderly neighbors for Benson and Turner for the free lawn cutting. They completed them all, he said.

    “I just love the fact that they started this,” Custis said. “They didn’t wait for anybody’s approval. They just got it done. They have been a godsend, that’s for sure.”

    As the temperature approached 90 degrees, Benson and Turner made their fourth stop of the day on Bradley Street. They have worked on the hottest days of the summer, stopping only for inclement weather.

    They cut a vacant lot adjacent to a home where Ted Davis Jr., the son of the city’s first Black judge, now resides. They also mowed his backyard.

    “They’re true to their word, when they say it’s free,“ said Davis, a retired personal trainer and high school coach. ”I offered to pay but they declined.”

    Davis said he was not surprised by the undertaking. He met both as teenagers when the signed up to train with him at his Smart Jox business.

    “I respect them very much,” Davis said. “It’s not a lot of people who are doing what they are doing.”

    Keith Benson and his childhood friend Brian Turner help residents and the community by providing free lawn care, in Camden, N.J., July 31, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Earlier that day, Turner, a former assistant Camden city attorney, had stopped in his office at Malamut Law firm and worked for several hours. The firm has supported his community service, he said.

    Benson and Turner met in 1996 their sophomore year at Moorestown Friends School. Benson transferred from Cherry Hill schools.

    “We didn’t like each other at first,” Benson recalled.

    “He hated me,” Turner said.

    They became friends that summer when Benson’s father, also named Keith, forced them to sign up for a basketball camp. The elder Benson was unaware of the tension, but believed the young Black men in a predominantly white school should be friends.

    Both men graduated from Rutgers-Camden where both played basketball and Turner was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year in 2002.

    Left to right: Rutgers-Camden basketball teammates Keith Benson, Robert Scott, and Brian Turner circa 2002.Courtesy of Keith Benson

    Both also earned doctorate degrees — Benson in education and Turner in law. Benson lives in Camden and the two conducted basketball clinics at Camden High this summer.

    “Now, they are ridiculously fast friends,” the elder Benson said. “Their friendship is beautiful and I love it.”

    Whistling and humming as they worked, Benson and Turner quickly finished up the lawn on Bradley Street. There was some friendly bantering about whether the lines in the grass were perfectly straight.

    “We do argue all the time,” Benson said.

    “Sometimes, he doesn’t listen,” Turner quipped.

    Next, the pair moved to South Eighth Street to cut the lawn in front of a rowhouse. They also cut the adjacent properties, including in front of a boarded up property on the corner.

    Keith Benson and his childhood friend Brian Turner help residents and the community by providing free lawn care, in Camden, N.J., July 31, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    They mowed eight lawns for the day. Both said they hope to inspire others to find ways to help their neighbors and the city.

    “We’ll do as many lawns as we can,” Benson said.

    Added Turner: “When you can help out, help.”

  • More flooding downpours are possible in the Philly region. A heat advisory is in effect through Saturday.

    More flooding downpours are possible in the Philly region. A heat advisory is in effect through Saturday.

    Skin-clinging humidity, random downpours, heat indexes in triple figures, steamy nights. Welcome to Miami North.

    The heat advisory for the entire region has been extended to 8 p.m. Saturday, with more random showers likely. As to when something resembling comfort returns to Philly? “That’s the million-dollar question,” said Matt Benz, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

    Similar conditions could persist into late next week, he added.

    Highs might not get much past 90, but with the atmosphere this steamy, the heat index in Philly had reached 102 at 2 p.m. (In Miami, it was down to 82, thanks to a cooling thunderstorm.)

    Both Camden and Delaware Counties have posted “code red” heat advisories, even though conditions are not expected to approach the official criteria of two consecutive days of highs of at least 95 degrees.

    Waves of air from the Gulf Stream and the gulf itself continue to wash over the Mid-Atlantic region, said Brian Hurley, senior branch forecaster at the federal Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., adding that the situation is going to persist.

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    On the plus side, drought conditions continue to ease, and officially in Philadelphia, rainfall since Jan. 1 is now about normal, recent rains having wiped out a significant deficit.

    Officially, both the entire state of New Jersey and Chester County are under state-imposed “drought warnings,” but changes may be in the wind and the clouds.

    Three months ago, all of New Jersey was in at least “moderate drought,” according to the interagency U.S. Drought Monitor, but with Thursday’s update, less than half the state was so designated. As for Chester County, the percentage of the county in “severe drought” has dropped from 90% to 37% in the same period.

    However, the recent rains have come in fits and starts and have been less generous in some areas and overly generous elsewhere, and have had a knack for outwitting science.

    Those random downpours are going to continue

    “Multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms each afternoon and evening may become strong to severe,” the National Weather Service in Mount Holly warned Thursday.

    Don’t expect much notice.

    Case in point: Around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, the weather service posted a missive: “The threat for flooding has diminished tonight.”

    Shortly thereafter, flood warnings went up for portions of all four of Philly’s neighboring Pennsylvania counties.

    That followed afternoon downpours that caused extensive road flooding in Philly and neighboring areas as a corridor of heavy rain cut through the city.

    Michael Silva, a meteorologist in the Mount Holly office, was among those who had not seen it coming.

    “Before work, I was about to go out twice for walks,” Silva said. “Then I looked at the radar.”

    Despite all the rain, and probably as result of the antecedent dryness — heading into July, Philadelphia had experienced 16 consecutive months of below-normal rainfall — stream and river levels remain well below the danger zones.

    And so far, the trees appear to be holding their ground, said Shane Farrell, arborist with the Davey Tree Expert Co., and to date he has not seen the type of “mud slurry” that might coax them out of their roots, barring severe-storm gusts.

    Showers are likely to be numerous and widespread on Friday, said AccuWeather’s Benz.

    The outlook for the weekend for Philly and the Shore

    Saturday is expected to be a clone of Thursday, as a so-called Bermuda high-pressure system over the North Atlantic continues to lure steamy air northward. Winds circulate clockwise around centers of high pressure; thus, areas to the west of the center, where Philly happens to be, experience winds from the south and southwest.

    Benz sees an outside chance that an approaching front will provide a very temporary and modest measure of relief on Sunday. Don’t bet on it, however. He said it is going to encounter a whole lot of resistance along the way.

    The outlooks are similar for the Jersey Shore, which is likely to be quite a popular destination this weekend.

  • Months-long Camden County bridge closure postponed until further notice

    Right as work was set to begin on the Collings Avenue Bridge, Camden County announced Wednesday that the $2.5 million repair project is postponed until further notice.

    The steel bridge over Newton Creek at the border of Gloucester and Camden cities will remain fully operational until a new project start date is determined, the county announced Wednesday.

    The county is still waiting on some New Jersey Department of Transportation permits that have yet to be issued, a county spokesperson said.

    A new start date for the project will be announced at a later time.

    The bridge was previously scheduled to close for about three months starting on Tuesday for the repair project. Traffic headed towards the bridge was to be diverted to I-676 via Broadway and Morgan Boulevard.

    The project includes replacing the concrete deck, sidewalks, and parapet, as well as refurbishing support beams and bearings.

    “These improvements to the Collings Avenue Bridge are essential to keeping our infrastructure safe and reliable,” Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer, liaison to the Department of Public Works, previously said in a statement. “We want to thank our residents for their patience during the next few months and recommend that they give themselves extra time in their commute while detours are in place.”

  • A judge has tossed Cherry Hill schools’ lawsuit against a journalist for filing too many public records requests

    A judge has tossed Cherry Hill schools’ lawsuit against a journalist for filing too many public records requests

    Freelance journalist Benjamin Shore will not have to stop filing public records requests in South Jersey after a judge dismissed Cherry Hill schools’ lawsuit alleging that his requests amounted to harassment.

    The Cherry Hill Board of Education filed a 128-page lawsuit in Superior Court in February claiming that the “numerous, repeated and vexatious” requests that Shore filed under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act qualified as harassment and “substantially interrupted” school operations.

    Shore operates the online outlet Shore Investigates, a news site focused on Cherry Hill. His brother Daniel was also named in the lawsuit.

    The suit sought to bar Shore and his outlet from submitting requests for public documents for one year. It also sought to shut down an online portal that Shore created where the public can file requests instead of using the district’s website.

    Journalist Ben Shore in front of the Cherry Hill Public Schools Board of Education headquarters in the Arthur Lewis Administration Building in Cherry Hill on Thursday April 2, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    “The Board tried to stop us from requesting records,” Benjamin Shore said in an email following the dismissal. “Instead, the case ended with its complaint dismissed with prejudice and its unsupported allegations rejected. Shore Investigates will continue following the records, asking difficult questions, and keeping the public informed.”

    Cherry Hill Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The school board’s lawsuit specifically referenced 18 OPRA requests that Shore had filed over the course of a year and a half, averaging out to roughly one request per month.

    The board claimed that as a result, district personnel, including the custodian of records, spent more than 100 hours reviewing and redacting documents and responding to Shore’s requests.

    Shore argued that the amount and frequency of his requests is in line with standard journalistic practice.

    Superior Court Judge Michael Mikulski agreed, dismissing the suit on July 31 and stating that the district had failed to provide evidence of Shore’s ill intent.

    Instead, the judge found that Shore actually displayed a “willingness to cooperate with the Board in making the requests less intrusive,” he wrote in the seven-page ruling.

    “The Court finds the Board has failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that Defendants filed their requests with the intent to disrupt agency operations,” the ruling concluded.

    Journalist Ben Shore in front of the Cherry Hill Public Schools Board of Education headquarters in the Arthur Lewis Administration Building in Cherry Hill on Thursday April 2, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

    Mikulski determined that the suit met the requirements to be dismissed under New Jersey’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, which is meant to shield people from baseless lawsuits meant to silence political speech or engagement.

    The law allows defendants to request an early, expedited dismissal of a lawsuit and to recover legal fees if the suit is ultimately tossed.

    While Shore succeeded in getting the case thrown out, he said it still had its intended effect.

    “The lawsuit nevertheless accomplished something before it was dismissed: it chilled our reporting. We paused records requests and held back stories because every new inquiry appeared to carry the threat of further litigation,” Shore said. “That is what it means to report with a target on your back.”

    New Jersey’s new open records laws

    The district’s lawsuit was possible thanks to a controversial June 2024 bill signed by then-Gov. Phil Murphy that overhauled the state’s existing public records laws.

    The new law enables governmental entities like the Cherry Hill Board of Education to sue someone seeking public information if they can prove the request amounts to harassment or substantially prevents them from doing their jobs.

    The new law also no longer guarantees that people who successfully overturn record request denials in court can recoup their legal fees.

    “We knew when they amended OPRA in 2024 to include this provision that it would sadly be weaponized to retaliate against people who seek public records,” Shore’s attorney, CJ Griffin, said in a statement. “But thankfully the trial court agreed this suit had no merit and that my clients were nothing but polite and had no intention of disrupting agency operations — they simply wanted government records to report on matters of public concern.”

    “No one should be hauled into court for filing public records requests, especially not reporters who keep us informed about the public business,” Griffin said.

  • Kepple’s Carpet Inc., a family-owned company in Camden County, has filed for bankruptcy

    Kepple’s Carpet Inc., a family-owned company in Camden County, has filed for bankruptcy

    Family-owned Kepple’s Carpet Inc., which has served the South Jersey region for more than 30 years, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

    The West Berlin-based company reported less than $50,000 in assets in its bankruptcy petition filed on July 22. The company could owe up to $500,000 in unsecured creditor claims, the filing shows.

    Some of Kepple’s largest outstanding debts include $138,000 across three financing firms, more than $60,000 in state taxes, and over $50,000 owed to Comcast Business, the filing shows.

    The company also owes its landlord $29,000 for their sprawling Cushman Avenue showroom featuring floor-to-ceiling carpet and flooring samples.

    Chapter 11 allows the company to continue operating under court supervision while it restructures its finances and develops a plan to repay the debt over time.

    Neither Kepple’s Carpet nor the company’s bankruptcy attorney returned multiple requests for comment. The large showroom was open for browsing Tuesday morning as signs indicated staff were away on a consultation.

    Kepple’s filing comes as the American flooring industry grapples with inflation and tariffs.

    About 70 independent flooring retailers closed their doors in 2025, industry publication Floor Focus reports.

    After tariffs were put in place early last year, prices of imported goods rose by about 6.2% relative to the levels predicted by pre-tariff trends, and domestic goods increased by 3.6% between March and October, according to research from the Harvard Business School Pricing Lab.

    The price of carpets and other floor coverings increased the most of any industry, data showed, with prices surging by as much as 54.6% for imports.

  • Five South Jersey municipalities agree to settlement in class-action lawsuit over vacant property fees

    Five South Jersey municipalities agree to settlement in class-action lawsuit over vacant property fees

    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.

  • 18 new restaurants that opened in the Philly suburbs this summer

    18 new restaurants that opened in the Philly suburbs this summer

    An eclectic crop of new restaurants has opened over the last several months across the Philadelphia suburbs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Some — like the three sports bars in Camden County alone — are breathing new life into familiar addresses. Others mark ambitious first ventures.

    Here are 18 of them, from Phoenixville to Gloucester Township to Wilmington.

    Pennsylvania

    Academy Grill (424 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington): Michael Sloane and Jay Rosenthal’s group, Fine Line Dining, has transformed the former Cantina Feliz into a polished white-tablecloth destination. Jeffrey Power, longtime chef at the erstwhile Dettera in Ambler, oversees a menu of house-made pasta, seafood, and steaks.

    Bluebird Distilling has reopened with a new neo-Neapolitan pizzeria and restaurant.Photos courtesy of Ed Newton

    Bluebird Distilling & Dough House (100 Bridge St., Phoenixville): Bluebird Distilling has expanded its flagship into a full restaurant built around cocktails and neo-Neapolitan pizza. Chef Devon Migeot, formerly of Zahav and Laser Wolf, makes dough with Italian stone-ground flour and bakes bread in-house. The $2.2 million renovation also added an expanded bar and dining room.

    Noah Clifford (left) and Sofia Siano working the pastry case at the Buttery in Bryn Mawr.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

    The Buttery Bryn Mawr (836 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr): The Malvern bakery-cafe opened its Main Line expansion with 82 indoor seats and daily service from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The menu includes sourdough breads, pastries, Turkish eggs (poached eggs cooked in garlicky yogurt with a drizzle of spicy butter), sandwiches, and seasonal lunch dishes, plus grab-and-go foods after the kitchen closes at 3 p.m.

    Cleavers (103 Squire Dr., Newtown Square): The Center City cheesesteak shop grand-opened its second location last month at Ellis Preserve, offering cheesesteaks, chicken cheesesteaks, burgers, sandwiches, fries, and milkshakes.

    The Coffee Station (1117 Smithbridge Rd., Glen Mills): The Delaware County breakfast-and-lunch operator took over the former Meghan’s Restaurant, which had occupied the building for 27 years. The menu includes omelets, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, burgers, hoagies, wraps, soups, and salads. Other locations are in Morton and Garnet Valley.

    Tabletop and tableside cooking are offered at Ogyu Japanese BBQ.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    Ogyu Japanese BBQ & Bar (60 Greenfield Ave., Ardmore): Restaurateur Sam Li’s upscale yakiniku restaurant occupies the former Iron Hill Brewery. Customers grill premium Wagyu and other meats on tabletop burners, choosing from fixed-price packages or à la carte selections. The dramatically remodeled space includes black-and-gold finishes, marble-paneled walls, a large bar, and private dining rooms.

    Upper Darby’s Tina Fey offers Jimmy Fallon a slice of Pica’s pizza on the “Tonight” show in 2014.Lloyd Bishop / NBC

    Pica’s Italian Market (1101 Sussex Blvd., Broomall): After closing its landmark Upper Darby dining room earlier this year, the Pica family soft-opened this mostly takeout shop in a Delco light-industrial park, carrying the restaurant’s signature square pizzas, sandwiches, prepared foods, and other Italian specialties. Pica’s, which hit the national radar in 2014 when locally raised Tina Fey sampled its pizza on the Tonight show, traces its roots to Frank Pica Sr.’s West Philadelphia pizzeria. There’s a West Chester location, too.

    P.J. Whelihan’s (2920 S. Eagle Rd., Newtown): The regional sports-bar chain took over the former Iron Hill Brewery at the Village at Newtown with its signature wings, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and American entrees, backed by numerous televisions and a broad draft-beer selection. Most of Iron Hill’s existing layout was retained.

    Pomelo Rooftop Terrace at the Brandywine, 165 King of Prussia Rd., King of Prussia.The Brandywine

    Pomelo Rooftop Terrace (165 King of Prussia Rd., Radnor): This expansive rooftop bar and lounge atop The Brandywine hotel in Radnor (with 136 seats, inside and out) will grand-open Aug. 8 with chef Michael Davies’ menu of shareable plates (e.g. oysters, scallop crudo, a smash burger, grilled branzino, lion’s mane mushroom cake), raw bar, botanical-focused cocktails, wine, and beer. Weekend brunch begins Aug. 22.

    Porter (34 E. Butler Ave., Ambler): This newcomer is in the former Gypsy Blu space on the first floor of Ambler’s historic former Wyndham Hotel, offering contemporary American cooking in a candlelit, vintage-inspired dining room. Menu includes oysters, pasta, risotto, seafood, and meat dishes. Gaslight, a separate craft-cocktail bar with small plates, is upstairs.

    Rick’s Tavern (201 W. Seventh Ave., Conshohocken): Chef Derek Davis runs the show at Rick and Gale Mahoney’s modern tavern on the rebuilt site of Pizza Time Saloon and Old Time Saloon. The two-story restaurant honors those neighborhood institutions with wood-fired pizza while adding house-made pasta, cocktails, private-event space, and live music upstairs on Friday and Saturday nights.

    The bar at the Scratch Kitchen by Gallo’s, 575 Horsham Rd, Horsham.Michael Klein / Staff

    The Scratch Kitchen at Gallo’s (575 Horsham Rd., Horsham): The Harvey family, owners of Gallo’s Seafood in Northeast Philadelphia, is behind this casual, roomy neighborhood restaurant in the former Farm & Fisherman Tavern. Chef Bob DeLange, the owners’ son-in-law, combines seafood dishes from Gallo’s with burgers and bar food inspired by Harv’s Burger Bar, Gallo’s adjoining Northeast Philadelphia tavern.

    The exterior of 333 Belrose in Radnor’s St. Davids’ area.Allie Ippolito / For The Inquirer

    333 Belrose (333 Belrose Lane, Radnor): The longstanding contemporary American restaurant has reopened under chef Ross Essner after an extensive renovation that flipped the positions of the bar and main dining room.

    Yume Sushi in the Shoppes at English Village, 1460 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales.Michael Klein / Staff

    Yume Sushi (1460 Bethlehem Pike, North Wales): This Japanese restaurant has opened in the Shoppes at English Village, down the row from Trader Joe’s. Co-owner and head chef Kevin Wan brings about a decade of sushi experience to the venture. The menu centers on sushi, sashimi, rolls, and Japanese-Asian fusion dishes.

    New Jersey

    Flying Pig Tavern & Tap (1300 Blackwood-Clementon Rd., Gloucester Township): The sprawling former Favorites off-track-betting building has come up as the fifth unit in a growing group. Menu of pizzas, burgers, wings, tacos, and entrees shares billing with live bands, darts, shuffleboard, and a covered tiki bar. A sixth location is planned for the former Andalusia Bar & Grill space in Bensalem.

    Home Team Tavern (267 S. Black Horse Pike, Mount Ephraim): Greg D’Alesio has turned the former Mount Ephraim Bar & Grill into a compact, sports-themed neighborhood tavern. Its scratch kitchen serves pizzas, burgers, wings, sandwiches, and elevated bar food, alongside draft cocktails and beer.

    Thirsty Turtle Tavern (270 White Horse Pike, Barrington): This new concept from SAS Restaurant Group in the former Chuck Lager space features an open kitchen, burgers, pizza, sushi, cocktails, draft beer, and an outdoor patio behind garage doors. It operates daily; weekday happy hour and weekend brunch are expected to begin in the fall.

    Delaware

    Ezme (625 N. Market St., Wilmington): Chef Antimo DiMeo and the Bardea Restaurant Group opened this coastal Mediterranean restaurant across from Bardea Food & Drink. Inspired by cuisine from Turkey, Greece, and the Aegean coast, the menu encompasses mezze, raw-bar dishes, handmade breads, grilled seafood, and fire-driven preparations accented with herbs, citrus, and spices. Both à la carte and tasting-menu formats are available.

  • Akira Suwa, award-winning photojournalist at The Inquirer, has died at 84

    Akira Suwa, award-winning photojournalist at The Inquirer, has died at 84

    Akira Suwa, 84, of Laurel Springs, Camden County, award-winning longtime photojournalist at The Inquirer, mentor, and lifelong green-thumb gardener, died Tuesday, July 14, of complications from dementia at his home.

    Born in what is now South Korea and reared in Japan, Mr. Suwa came to the United States for good in 1967 as a landscape designer and amateur photographer. When a landscaping job at a Florida garden center dried up, he polished his photography skills and, from 1969 to his retirement in 2014, worked as an award-winning staff photographer at the Tampa Tribune, the St. Petersburg Times, the Palm Beach Post, and The Inquirer.

    He joined The Inquirer in 1977 and, for 37 years, provided readers with thousands of illustrative, dramatic, stylish, and emotion-evoking photos from assignments around Philadelphia, South Jersey, and the world. He took poignant photos after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany, and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and during Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia and the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan.

    He sent back tragic and heroic images of conflict and despair from Libya and Brazil. He photographed drug traffickers in Colombia and was detained by authorities in China.

    Before the Inquirer, Mr. Suwa took photographs for the Palm Beach Post, the St. Petersburg Times, and the Tampa Tribune.Courtesy of the family

    Locally, he photographed athletes celebrating and commiserating, politicians and celebrities walking and waving, fashion models on runways, and restaurant specialties on tables. Former Inquirer colleagues called him a “brilliant photojournalist” and a “funny, engaging and terrific colleague” on Facebook.

    One former colleague said: “Akira told thousands of great stories with his camera.” His family said in a tribute: “Akira believed every story was worth telling.”

    Why did best-selling author Carol Saline email The Inquirer’s obit writer?

    Before the Inquirer, Mr. Suwa took photographs on all kinds of assignments for the Palm Beach Post, the St. Petersburg Times, and the Tampa Tribune. His father was an avid amateur photographer back in Japan, and Mr. Suwa honed his own emerging photo skills at nights and on weekends in Florida before joining the Tribune in 1969.

    He won several awards from the National Press Photographers Association and was named the 1973 Florida Newspaper Photographer of the Year by the University of Florida. He mentored young photographers and students, and one former student said: “He taught me so much about making the best photos possible.”

    Mr. Suwa photographed his wife, Deborah, often.Courtesy of the family

    Away from the lens, Mr. Suwa enjoyed tending his backyard garden in South Jersey, watching the birds flit about the feeders, and chasing the squirrels away. His mother was a serious gardener in Japan, and he studied agriculture in California as an exchange student while earning a degree at Tokyo Agricultural University in 1966.

    In 1964, he took a year off from college to work as a busser in the Japan pavilion at the World’s Fair in New York. “I fell in love with America, especially New York City,” Mr. Suwa wrote in an autobiography he shared with his family. “I was young and motivated to do something different from my peers back in Japan.”

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    Akira Suwa was born Dec. 22, 1941, in what was then Taegu, Korea. He and his family fled Korea for Japan as refugees after World War II, and he grew up mainly in Osaka.

    He never formally studied photography, but his innate camera skills got him a job with a photo studio in Florida in the late 1960s.

    Mr. Suwa photographed these Mummers in 1978. Akira Suwa / Staff Photographer

    He met Deborah Carter through a mutual friend at the studio, and he took her to see the musical Hello, Dolly! on their first date. She was smitten, she said, and they married in 1969, and had daughters Jasmine and Keiko.

    They settled in Laurel Springs when he joined The Inquirer and traveled to Japan several times to visit family and friends. “We enjoyed the best of both cultures,” his wife said.

    When parents die, even the mundane memories comfort their children. Here are their tales, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer.

    Mr. Suwa listened to jazz and built his own home computers. He liked to play pranks on the girls, his daughter Keiko said, but was simultaneously warm, serious, and practical. “If there was a job to do,” she said, “he would get it done.”

    His daughter Jasmine said: “He was forthright, sincere, and full of integrity.”

    Mr. Suwa and his family traveled to visit family in Florida and Japan. Courtesy of the family

    He doted on his wife and their grandchildren, and his family praised “his sharp eye, his mischievous sense of humor, and his devotion to his family.” His wife said: “He had my back and was as honest as the day is long.”

    Surviving spouses always remember how they met their mate. Here are the meet-cute stories told to The Inquirer’s obit writer.

    Friends called him “the kindest person,” “wonderful and enormously talented,” and “a caring person to everyone.” He was interviewed by Photo Lounge in 2022 and said: “I just take pictures, and I like people.”

    His wife said: “He was my human, my person, my guy.”

    In addition to his wife and daughters, Mr. Suwa is survived by two grandchildren and other relatives. A brother died earlier.

    Visitation with the family is to be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, at Gardner Funeral Home, 126 S. Black Horse Pike, Runnemede, N.J. 08078.

    Donations in his name may be made to the Committee to Protect Journalists, Box 2675, New York, N.Y. 10108; and the Animal Welfare Association, 509 Centennial Blvd., Voorhees, N.J. 08043.

  • Cherry Hill joins a growing list of South Jersey municipalities to formally ban large-scale data centers

    Cherry Hill joins a growing list of South Jersey municipalities to formally ban large-scale data centers

    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.

    Meanwhile, a massive data center in Vineland is set for completion by the end of the year.

    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.”