Washington Lake Park sees more than 100,000 visitors every year. Now there’s a new way to keep them safe — and it honors the lives of two South Jersey hockey players.
The Aliver Foundation, a nonprofit that works to promote cardiac arrest prevention, donated outdoor automated external defibrillator equipment to the Gloucester County park in the spring. AEDs analyze the heart’s rhythm and deliver an electric shock to help recalibrate the heart if necessary, according to the American Red Cross.
The bright yellow enclosure, which keeps the AED in a climate-controlled environment, features a small plaque memorializing Johnny and Matty Gaudreau, Salem County natives and brothers who used to skate at a rink not far from the park.
Johnny, an NHL player, and Matty, an American Hockey League alumnus, died in 2024 when they were struck and killed while riding their bikes in Salem County. Johnny was 31, and Matty was 29.
Jane Gaudreau, Johnny and Matty’s mother, said she’s glad that something used to save lives is honoring her sons.
“My sons were always there for everybody else. They always wanted to help other people,” Jane said. “They would take their shirts off their backs for someone.”
Although the equipment has been up and running for months, the AED will be officially dedicated to the Gaudreaus at a community celebration at Washington Lake Park on Hurffville-Cross Keys Road on Sunday, from 10 to 11 a.m. There will also be AED and CPR demonstrations, children’s activities, and the chance to engage with first responders.
Placed on the brick wall of Washington Lake Park’s ranger station, the AED equipment is in the same park where the Gaudreau family hosts an annual memorial 5K run, and less than two miles from Hollydell Ice Rink in Sewell, a place the brothers used to skate and where their father, Guy Gaudreau, teaches skating lessons for kids.
To access the kit, visitors in need must call 911 to get a code to open the AED enclosure.
Barbara Moore, Washington Lake Park’s events coordinator, said the park already has an AED, but the equipment isn’t outdoors and public-facing.
“With the amount of youth sports, daily visitors and community events taking place at the park, having readily accessible outdoor AED equipment is an important additional safety measure that can be accessed while emergency responders are en route,” Moore wrote in an email.
Five years ago, Jill Pall, Aliver’s founder, experienced cardiac arrest at a park in North Jersey. Her friend did CPR for nearly 15 minutes, and because there was no AED on site to use, Pall had to wait for first responders to arrive with the equipment.
Since then, Pall’s organization has helped place more than 185 outdoor AEDs in 12 states, with the majority located in New Jersey.
The Gaudreau family once needed the emergency equipment, too.
In 2018, Guy collapsed while running up a hill during Philly’s annual Love Run, Jane said. Luckily, there was an AED on a nearby golf cart, and after a few days in an induced coma, he recovered.
Jane said her husband still runs the Love Run, but he doesn’t push himself so hard on the hills. And now, runners who pass through Washington Lake Park for the Gaudreau 5K every spring will have life-saving equipment close by, too.
“Anything we can do to keep John and Matty’s legacy alive, we’re for it,” Jane said.
One person and a dog were exposed to rabies in Glassboro after coming into contact with an infected bat on Tuesday — one of three animals in Gloucester County to test positive for the disease this week, according to public health officials.
The Gloucester County Health Department announced that in addition to the bat near Joseph L. Bowe Boulevard, raccoons found near Florence Avenue in Pitman and Quest Court in Mantua both tested positive for rabies on Thursday.
The agency is advising residents to make sure their pets are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations and to avoid contact with wildlife and stray animals.
Anyone bitten or scratched by a wild animal should wash the area with soap and water, seek medical attention, and contact local animal control or health officials.
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission is collecting granular information about daily travel: Where did people go? Why? Did they drive, take transit, walk, bike, or use an electric mobility device?
Planners working on the project aren’t nosy or trying to surveil anybody.
They need real-time data to update DVRPC’s travel demand model for the nine-county Philadelphia area that will guide funding decisions about infrastructure projects and transportation plans for the next decade.
“Compared to any other 10-year period that I can recall, there has just been so much transformation in how people travel,” said Mike Boyer, the agency’s director of regional planning.
Information from a new household travel survey will show a clear picture of exactly how it changed and provide clues about where regional transportation might be headed. The last household survey was conducted in 2012 and 2013 and a final version was published in 2015.
Typically, DVRPC conducts a travel survey every decade, but officials waited 13 years this time to allow transportation patterns to settle into a “new normal” after the massive disruptions of the pandemic.
How do they find households to take the travel survey?
Beginning in January, DVRPC has been recruiting participants by mailing postcard invitations to randomly selected households in South Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania. It has also used some social media posts.
People cannot reach out to nominate themselves.
Random invitations help ensure that respondents reflect the population of the region. Participants need to represent each of DVRPC’s nine counties, as well as a mix of households by income, size, number of workers, and other demographics.
It is expected to take the rest of the year to get the 9,000 to 10,000 completed household surveys required for a good picture of the region’s habits, said Matt Gates, associate director of travel trends and forecasts for DVRPC.
Based on typical response rates, it may take as many as 300,000 postcards to recruit enough participants, he said.
Recruitment paused for the summer and started up again after Labor Day.
DVRPC serves Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer Counties in New Jersey as well as Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.
Survey data will be held confidential and anonymized, used in the research but not attached to any specific household or phone number, Boyer said.
“Data won’t be sold or used by any third party,” he said. “We want to be forthright about that.”
What do participants do?
Most will report household trips for one 24-hour period, starting around 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., using a smartphone app that runs in the background, tracking each trip via GPS.
When it detects what might be a trip, it prompts the participant to confirm it and provide details such as the trip’s purpose and what type of transportation is used.
“If you leave your house in the morning and go to work, and then you leave work and go somewhere for lunch, and then you go back to the office, and then, on the way home, you stop at the dry cleaner — all of those pieces of your daily travel are joined together,” said Gates, the chief travel modeler.
That would be counted as a “tour,” broken into separate trips, each attached to a specific activity.
The survey also asks for basic household information — size, ages, jobs, school attendance, income, and vehicles. E-bikes, e-scooters, personal mobility devices for people with disabilities, traditional pedal-powered bicycles, and walking will be counted as separate modes of travel.
In the 2012-13 survey, walking and biking were separate options, but the travel model combined them in one category called “nonmotorized.” A catchall “other” category covered everything else.
Participants who do not want to use the app can keep a paper travel diary and then either enter their trip information on a website or reach a call center, where a person will walk them through the questions and record the data.
How will the information be used?
After it is fed into the travel model, DVRPC will use it to help draft a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). That is the federally mandated priority list for allocating federal and state funding of transportation, transit, and highway projects across the region.
But that’s not all.
Planners use it to decide on traffic safety projects, to chart where new recreational trails should go, and to test scenarios in response to events.
Combining the data with information about the transportation network can provide insight into how people make decisions about, say, using a SEPTA train vs. driving between two points, Gates said. “Is it time? Is it cost? The number of vehicles available in a household?”
A good travel demand model with those insights can help answer “what if” questions such as what effect a new train line or highway would have, or rising gas prices, transit fare increases, and service cuts, Gates said.
It can help planners think about how the transportation network could accommodate a spurt of growth in Quakertown, Bucks County, for example, or Woolwich Township, Gloucester County.
Last year DVRPC used existing data to project added motor vehicle traffic amid SEPTA service cuts, which began but were quickly rolled back.
The extent to which hybrid work and e-commerce may be reducing trips per person or household. For example: How many shopping trips have been replaced by deliveries?
Transit changes: They want to understand SEPTA’s ridership recovery from COVID-19 and how often people are using transit for a mix of nonwork trips at different times, rather than just traditional commutes.
How are people using ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft, which have mushroomedover the last decade?
The weekend is so close. If you need help settling on plans, check out this list of our favorite things to do in South Jersey this weekend.
Come back every week, and you’ll always have something fun on your radar.
Boos & Brews Witches’ Market
Check out this witch-themed market full of themed vendors and activities. Stick around for food trucks, a costume contest, performances, and a beer garden.
⌚️ Friday, Oct. 2, 5-9 p.m. 📍 Rancocas Woods Events and Shops, 118 Creek Rd., Mount Laurel 🌐 facebook.com 💵 Pay as you go
Make & Take: Flower Power Pumpkins
Listen to a lecture about growing your own pumpkins and drying and pressing flowers as you decorate a gourd.
The 24th annual festival is back spanning six blocks of Haddon Avenue. Come to meet booksellers and stay for author and poetry readings, performances, and workshops.
Bordentown’s 36th annual cranberry fest returns with live music, a food court, a beer garden, and more than 100 artisans.
⌚️ Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4, 11 a.m- 5 p.m. 📍 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown 🌐 btownfest.com 💵 Pay as you go
Clayton Fall Festival
Celebrate the cooler season with crafts, a trunk-or-treat, and music.
⌚️ Saturday, Oct. 3, noon-4 p.m. (rain date: Sunday, Oct. 4) 📍 Autumn Pasquale Memorial Park, 29 East Ave., Clayton 🌐 facebook.com 💵 Free
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Step into spooky season with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This event will feature original member Barry Bostwick, who played Brad Majors in the film. The audience will have opportunities to meet him, compete in a costume contest, and interact with a live performance by the local Spooktacular Shadow Cast performing scenes as the film plays.
Brand new this year for Halloween, the Great Pumpkin Glow will feature thousands of glowing jack-o’-lanterns. Walk through the pathway, take festive pictures, and indulge in some treats.
⌚️ Friday, Sept. 25-Saturday, Oct. 31, various evening times 📍 Dalton Farms, 666 Oak Grove Rd., Swedesboro 🌐 greatpumpkinglownj.com 💵 $22.95-$27.95
Live Jazz at blueplate
The restaurant blueplate offers live jazz during the summer on some Friday evenings and Sunday mornings.
⌚️ Fridays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. through the end of September; Sundays, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. through the first weekend in October 📍 47 S. Main St., Mullica Hill 🌐 blueplatenj.com 💵 Pay as you go
Yoga at Cooper River Park
Take a free yoga class. All ages are welcome, but bring your own yoga mat.
⌚️ Mondays, 6-7 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9-10 a.m.; and Thursdays, 6-7 p.m. through Oct. 1 📍 Cooper River Park, 5300 North Park Dr., Pennsauken 🌐 camdencounty.com 💵 Free, but registration is required
Burlington County Farmers Market
Come by one of the most popular farmers marketsin the region, offering local fruits, vegetables, honey, cheese, baked goods, and more.
⌚️ Every Saturday through Nov. 14, 8:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.📍 Burlington County Agricultural Center, 500 Centerton Rd., Moorestown, 🌐 www.burlcoagcenter.com 💵 Pay as you go
Collingswood Farmers Market
The Saturday market brings fresh produce, meat, coffee, flowers, and live music to Collingswood and supports the region’s farmers every week.
⌚️ Every Saturday through Nov. 21, 8 a.m.-noon 📍 Atlantic Avenue between Collings and Irvin Avenues (along PATCO), Collingswood 🌐 collingswoodmarket.com 💵 Pay as you go
Haddon Heights Farmers Market
This Sunday farmers market offers multiple vendors selling fresh produce, crafts, and other entertainment from local businesses.
⌚️ Sundays through Nov. 22, 9:30 a.m.–1p.m. 📍 The intersection of Station and Atlantic Avenues, Haddon Heights 🌐 haddonheightsfarmersmarket.com 💵 Pay as you go
Health insurance premiums will cost 34.4% more for 300,000 public school and county college employees and their familiesacross New Jerseynext year as medical costs continue to escalate and the popularity of costly prescription drugs soars.
The change will affect teachers and other school staff in Camden, Pemberton, Evesham, and nine other South Jersey districts, as well as six unions at four local colleges.
What is to come for students, employees, and taxpayers may be just as dire. Cutting jobs, reducing transportation and student extracurricular activities, and raising property taxes are the most likely options school districts and collegeswill consider, said Jonathan Pushman, advocacy director for the New Jersey School Boards Association.
“The dilemma is there are limited options we can turn to,” Pushman said. “A lot of difficult decisions are ahead.”
On Friday, the New Jersey School Employees Health Benefits Commission voted 4-2 to accept the premium increases forecast by the state’s actuary. Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration had warned that if the commission did not act, it would have closed down the insolvent program at the start of the new year.
Instead, the rate hikes will take effect in January.
The School Employees’ Health Benefits Program serves 212 school districts and county colleges, representing 300,000 employees, retirees, and their dependents.
The local districts covered by the plan are Camden, Brooklawn, Beverly, Delanco, Evesham, New Hanover, Pemberton, Willingboro, Elk, Newfield, Camden County Technical Schools, and the Burlington County Board of Special Services, which serves special-needs students.
It also provides coverage for employees of Camden County College, Rowan College at Burlington County, Rowan College at Gloucester County, and Rowan College of South Jersey, according to the New Jersey Treasury Department.
There are a total of 590 school districts in New Jersey, with the majority of them, including Cherry Hill, obtaining health coverage outside the state plan. In recent years, steeper costs have compelled many districts to leave in search of a more affordable option. Those who stay tend to serve an older and sicker — and therefore a more expensive — population and cannot afford a better deal on the open market.
These conditions have created a “death spiral” for the plan, actuarial and state officials say. The State Health Benefits Plan for state and local workers faces a similar crisis.
The union-affiliated members on the commission voted against the premium hikes, insisting there had to be a way to cut costs.
After the vote, New Jersey Education Association president Steve Beatty and other top officials said in a statement that their members on the commission “requested information, proposed specific steps to reduce the rates and sought greater transparency about the factors driving these increases. Unfortunately, the division has refused to meaningfully engage in that effort.”
The rate hikes “threaten the resources available for students,” the union officials’ statement said. “They should not lose out because health care costs are out of control. When districts are forced to spend significantly more on health care, that leaves less money for the programs, staff and services our students rely on every day.”
School officials huddled this week to consider the array of unpalatable options. Few were ready to say what comes next.
Rowan College of South Jersey “will continue to evaluate the situation and make adjustments as necessary while keeping student success our priority,” said Susan Nardelli, vice president of communications, marketing, and enrollment management. “Every industry is facing the same healthcare struggle.”
Union leaders said they are counting on state lawmakers to find a solution. They said they seek action on a proposed bill that would create a new health benefits trust, composed of union and management leaders, and establish a three-doctor medical advisory panel. Districts that join would not be permitted to leave, according to the bill.
The new insurance trust would “provide greater transparency and accountability and is focused on controlling costs,” the union’s statement said.
School boards agree that dramatic changes are necessary, Pushman said. This must include “honest conversations with unions,” he said.
Schools — which are funded by taxpayers — bear 98% of the cost of health insurance compared with the 2% covered by employees, Pushman said. In the private sector, employers pay about 90% of the cost.
A law enacted during the pandemic set specific limits on what school employees must pay for healthcare, based on their income level. That law, which expires at the end of next year, has limited the options for savings, Pushman said.
“As much as we want to provide quality healthcare coverage, bearing the costs of these incredibly rich plans is getting to the point of unsustainability,” he said.
State Sen. Troy Singleton (D., Burlington) agreed.
“We have to be honest with … what the state can afford to provide sufficient coverage for employees. It’s not a bottomless pit for taxpayers,” Singleton said. “It’s become a frustrating point for all parties.”
Students at Aura Elementary School in Elk Township are learning remotely until further notice as the district responds to a flea infestation in the building.
Aura, which teaches kindergarten through sixth grade, closedthe school for two days starting Sept. 17 to treat the infestation, first through an organic treatment and then with a chemical treatment, said Fran Ciociola, superintendent of Delsea Regional School District in Gloucester County. Staff first noticed the fleas in the library.
Students then learned off-site temporarily at Hardingville Bible Church and Total Turf in Pitman, Ciociola said, but then the county required Aura to move to remote learning instead.
There is no timeline yet for when students will return to in-person class, and it is unclear whether the fleas have spread.
“The treatment has been ongoing and we hope to be back in the building soon,” Ciociola said in an email.
James Rambo, Elk Township’s mayor, posted Monday on Facebook offering “any township support that could help get our students back in the classroom sooner.”
“Our shared priority is getting our children back into a safe learning environment as quickly as possible,” Rambo wrote.
“I had a tape recorder I would sing into,” said the South Jersey jazz vocalist.
“I was one of those kids holding a brush in the mirror, singing Billy Joel songs. I was that kid.”
But it was a roundabout route to the stage for Farnese, whose debut album, Oh No, I’m in Love Again, was just released on Philly jazz pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records.
First, he followed his father, Aldo Farnese — the star of Philadelphia children’s television shows Dickory Doc and Adam Android in the 1960s and 1970s — in pursuing an acting career. After a stint in Hollywood working in production and scoring some small movie and TV roles, he came home to Philly in the mid-1990s.
Since then, Farnese has had a day job — actually, usually a night job — as a TV camera operator for the Phillies, first at Veterans Stadium and, since 2004, at Citizens Bank Park. He operates a super slo-mo camera from the left field power alley in front of Ghost Energy Deck (formerly Harry the K’s).
By 2012, Farnese was long settled into that job, and also working Sixers and Flyers games for NBC Sports Philadelphia. In 2012, he won an Emmy for his work on the World Series.
But then he felt — as he puts it speaking via Zoom from his home in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County, while his golden retrievers Bailey and Oliver lounge on a sofa behind him — “a tap on the shoulder.”
The cover image to Greg Farnese’s album “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Courtesy of Imani Records
“When I was a kid, my father would sing throughout the house. We would say ‘Dad, you’ve got a great voice, you should be a singer,’” Farnese said. “And he would go, ‘Meh,’ and kind of blow us off.”
Then one day, he said, “I was singing while putting my son’s air hockey table together.” His wife, Laurie, said “Greg, you’ve got a beautiful voice. You should sing.”
“I started to go ‘Meh …’ — and then I stopped myself. Because I remembered that as a child, I thought my father was wasting his talent.
“So I said: ‘Get me a karaoke machine for Christmas, and I’ll start working on my voice.’ And that’s what I did.”
Farnese, who will perform at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club in Asbury Park on Oct. 4 and the Exit 0 Jazz Festival in Cape May on Oct. 23, is a poised vocalist and skilled song interpreter. Oh No! I’m in Love Again features two originals, including the title cut, both written with Alan Gardner, a former collaborator with Farnese’s father.
Greg Farnese, a television cameraman and musician, is photographed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2026, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where he works as a camera operator in left field. Farnese, a crooner, recently released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again,” on Grammy-nominated Philadelphia pianist Orrin Evans’ Imani Records. Farnese also works as a Phillies television cameraman for NBC Sports Philadelphia, stationed nightly in the left-field power alley.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
The album, whose polish belies that it was recorded in a single day at MorningStar Studios in Montgomery County, features Philly jazz players like drummer Leon Jordan Sr. and horn arrangements by trumpeter Elliot Bild.
Along with a delicate version of Johnny Mercer’s “Dream” accompanied by guitarist Paul Bollenbock, the album includes Green Day, Oasis, and Tears for Fears songs, all artfully rearranged to make familiar sound fresh.
It’s been a long road of confidence building for Farnese to work with a musician as accomplished as Evans, a three-time Grammy nominee who this spring was named artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. (He’ll split his time between Seattle and Philly.)
Speaking between innings during a recent Phillies-Astros game — an 11-7 win, thanks to a Kyle Schwarber grand slam — Farnese calls Evans “so smart and honest, and a great pianist. It’s like having Quincy Jones in my corner.”
Greg Farnese (center) performs at the World Stage in University City on Sept. 18, 2026. Farnese just released his debut album, “Oh No, I’m in Love Again.”Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
“I started out singing in pizza parlors,” said Farnese, 62. “My wife is a psychologist and she used to work at nursing facilities. She called me one day and said, ‘The magician canceled, can you come down and sing a song?’
“I told her no, I’m not ready yet. She said, ‘Get the hell down here, just do it!’ I was afraid, and I was so self-conscious about being good.”
But as Farnese sang the 1940s standard “Moonlight in Vermont” to an elderly audience in Egg Harbor Township, he had a revelation.
“The two ladies in the front started crying. I was bringing them back to when they were young. That moment I realized that it wasn’t really about me. It was about the effect the music had on the audience. I saw them crying and I thought: This is what I want to do.”
Since then, Farnese has surrounded himself with first-class musicians and sung in area jazz clubs and private events, while also traveling for gigs in New York and Chicago.
Working with the Phillies suits his ambitions. Knowing his schedule months in advance, he books shows when the team is on the road.
“We’ve brought him on a couple of times to sing ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’” said Phillies TV play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy. “I love his energy. He just brings so much professionalism and creativity and knows how to get the crowd involved. He’s an entertainer.”
Farnese put an exclamation point on one of the Phillies most memorable wins this year.
‘What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song?’
Evans wasn’t all that familiar with Farnese’s music before he decided to produce Oh No, I’m in Love Again and put it out on his label, home to artists like Philly keyboard player Luke Carlos O’Reilly and Los Angeles drummer Tina Raymond.
Choosing who to work with isn’t about “it has to be the best vocalist, or the best saxophonist. It’s if somebody asks me to help them, and I believe in them as a human being.”
Though he “wasn’t super-duper familiar with Greg’s singing,” Evans said, “I knew some of the people he was playing with. So I know this person doesn’t play with slouches, so he can’t be a slouch.”
The key to success in recording, Evans says, was trust.
“I just like working with people I like. And I know that if we can vibe off the bandstand, there’s no way we’re not going to vibe on the bandstand.
“One of the best things I can say about Greg is his desire and ability to learn. He has an inquisitive spirit. He’s not done evolving. I really love this record, and I’m excited for the next one because of him.”
“I love jazz and swing music,” Farnese said. “You know, Bennett, Bublé, Sinatra. That’s my wheelhouse. But growing up I was exposed to all these different styles. Everything from Simon and Garfunkel and the Beatles to Curtis Mayfield and Puccini.
“So I’m creating a vocal style that combines songs I really love in jazz arrangements. What would Ray Charles do with a Green Day song? What would Duke Ellington do with a Blood, Sweat & Tears song? I want to be my own artist that creates my own music in my own style.”
“I have a great job at NBC Sports Philadelphia. But when I got that tap on the shoulder, that was God saying. ‘This is not what you’re supposed to be doing.’ And being a middle-aged man, this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Now’s the time.”
Greg Farnese will perform Oct. 4 at Tim McCloone’s Supper Club, 1200 Ocean Ave N, Asbury Park, timmcloonessupperclub.com and Oct. 23 at the Exit 0 Jazz Festival, Cape May, exitzerojazzfestival.com.
A Washington Township coffee shop is seeing longer lines after YouTube star Ms. Rachel gave it a shout-out on social media.
Blended Joe Coffee Bar, a South Jersey coffee roaster, has had an influx of customers after Rachel Anne Accurso, the online educator and songwriter, chose the business to feature for National Black Business Month.
On Aug. 11, Ms. Rachel asked Black business owners to share the names of their businesses under her post on Threads.
Eric Powell took a chance.
A part-owner of Blended Joe, a 13-year Air Force veteran, and a father of four, Powell commented when he spotted the post a few weeks later. He promoted the coffee shop and an app he created, HEARTBEAT, which reminds users to reach out to the people they care about.
It only took two days for Ms. Rachel to shout out Powell and the coffee bar in a post that included its address at 421 Hurffville-Cross Keys Rd. and has been viewed over 81,000 times. Powell’s phone was dead when it happened, but his coworkers broke the news the next morning. He immediately called Joe Iaconelli, the founding owner of Blended Joe.
“I called Joe,” Powell said, remembering he told him: “‘I think we need to beef up [our staff] this weekend.’” The shop, which opened in 2018, has 15 employees.
Powell was one of only a few business owners to get a shout-out from Ms. Rachel.
She has since made a follow-up post telling people to follow the Camden native on Instagram, which has garnered 90,000 views. He gained 5,000 Instagram followers, including Ms. Rachel herself.
Powell’s sons, who range from 10 to 18, have been teasing him about his newfound fame, but Powell said he knows they think it’s cool.
“My oldest son is laughing at me the whole time,” Powell said, adding a joke by his son. “’Bro, you’re not gonna be single for long now.’”
The Gloucester County coffee shop has seen a boost in customers since the promotion. One couple drove all the way from Virginia, Iaconelli said, and others have come from at least an hour away.
Blended Joe, which sells coffee drinks made with flavored beans rather than pump syrups, moved to Washington Township from Mantua in March 2025. It’s one of several jobs for Powell, who also has a laser-engraving business and writes children’s books.
Powell said he hopes the posts by Ms. Rachel inspire other fathers and up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
“What are the chances of Ms. Rachel seeing a small coffee shop in South Jersey? It got her attention,” Powell said. “My message would be to keep trying.”
And it’s not the first celebrity encounter for Blended Joe, Iaconelli said.
Blended Joe ships coffee to Delatron Johnson, the mother of former Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, for her own coffee shop, Cafe Krewe Breakfast Bar, in Rockledge, Fla.
On Friday, Ralph DiSibio and his friends arrived early, as they usually do, at a cheesesteak joint in Marlton between an Advance Auto Parts and a dry cleaner.
The men wore matching T-shirts picturing a loaded cheesesteak set aflame, except for Gary Mazzucco, who hasn’t retired yet and doesn’t have the time, nor the medical clearance, to eat a pound of meat and cheese over and over again.
“Ralph, I gotta order a salad. I can’t eat a cheesesteak,” Mazzucco, 78, said.
“That’s why he doesn’t have a T-shirt,” one of his friends chimed in.
Mazzucco ordered a salad. Then, he changed his order after he spotted wings on the menu, which opened the conversation to teasing. What kind of salad was that?
“It’s got celery,” Mazzucco said.
When he offered to share, most of the group passed.
Johnny Longhots, a pizza and sandwich joint “where Philadelphia meets New York,” is the fourth stop on the retirees’ monthslong quest to find South Jersey’s best cheesesteak, preceded by trips to Donkey’s Place in Camden, Bricco Coal Fired Pizza, and Chick’s Deli in Cherry Hill.
Ralph DiSibio (far left), 85, of Moorestown, watches as friends Mike Mouber (left), 79; Paul Ferretti, 79; and John DeSilvio, 74, enter Johnny Longhots in Marlton on Sept. 18.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The crew refuses to cross the bridge for cheesesteaks. They want to avoid tolls, and with thousands of options in Philly, they’re not sure they’ll live long enough to eat them all. Sitting in a bright red booth, the seniors were close enough to the city, their backs to a wall of Philly motifs. A picture of the LOVE statue hung above Mike Mouber’s head.
DiSibio, 85, used to work in the nuclear waste industry, and Mazzucco is an accountant. Mouber, 79, was a lawyer; Paul Ferretti, 79, an investment banker, and John DeSilvio, 78, a contractor. Bob McDermott, 83, worked for the U.S. Postal Service. None of them have long careers as food critics or restaurateurs, but they’ve eaten many a sandwich.
The group hasn’t found its prized meal yet — Chick’s was the favorite so far — but they say they’re uniquely qualified to discover it.
“If you count Gary, there’s over 400 years of experience,” DiSibio said, settled at the head of the table.
Mike Mouber (center), 79, points to the Johnny Longhots menu as Bob McDermott, 83, enjoys his cheesesteak. Although the beloved sandwich was invented in Philadelphia, the group has no interest in trying out Philly cheesesteaks across the bridge.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The seniors met years ago at a 55+ community in Moorestown, the Mews at Laurel Creek, where most of them still live. They’ve kept their friendship going at the poker table, where they compete every Thursday.
To mix things up, the group recently visited Donkey’s Place to try what many South Jerseyans have called the best cheesesteak around. But the men weren’t fans, including those who have long frequented Camden’s food scene. They were put off by the kaiser roll.
“We weren’t thrilled one way or another,” said DiSibio, a Camden native.
So they decided to keep searching. They’re working on a spreadsheet, though there’s no formal rating system or numerical values attributed to each cheesesteak. They establish their thoughts on the firmness of the bread, the spice of the hot peppers, the meltability of the cheese, and how much meat they get for their money through overlapping conversations that usually drift into sports, politics, religion, and movie debates. Sandwiches are generally considered “good” or, well, not.
Paul Ferretti (right), 79, greets Ralph DiSibio, 85, alongside Mike Mouber (center), 79, inside Johnny Longhots on Sept. 18.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Their ultimate cheesesteak, at least according to a printed list in large text, must include: meat, onions, cheese, a roll, and seasoning. The “ambiance of the establishment” only matters if it’s particularly remarkable. They always get fried onions if they can, and hot peppers on the side.
Jimmy Lees, an employee at Johnny Longhots, made sure most of their cheesesteaks came out quickly, after a lengthy back-and-forth between the men on whether to get provolone or Cooper Sharp. (The majority went with Cooper Sharp.)
Lees, a Philly native, said it was a new thing to witness a group of seniors hunting for the region’s best cheesesteak, but it’s not so strange.
“It’s something to do,” Lees said.
The group of friends enjoyed their Johnny Longhots cheesesteaks. The group found the bread roll to not be as good as they hoped but appreciated the amount of steak that was provided.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
As they ate, there wasn’t much commentary about the cheesesteaks. They debated what year The Godfather novel came out, and DeSilvio’s forthcoming trip to Croatia. They compared their quest to Indiana Jones in 1981.
“This is like Harrison Ford in Raiders of the Lost Ark,” McDermott said. “We’re looking for the holy grail of cheesesteak.”
Mike Mouber points to Gary Mazzucco (not pictured) when asked who’s the best poker player in the group while the rest of the friends (from left to right) Bob McDermott, Ralph DiSibio, Paul Ferretti, and John DeSilvio enjoy their meals.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
It didn’t take long for the group to finish their sandwiches, about a half hour or so. DeSilvio wrapped up half of his sandwich for his wife. McDermott said he enjoyed his. Others said the sandwich was good, but maybe the bread could’ve been crustier. It was the smallest of the cheesesteaks they’d eaten so far. They debated their choices again, both praising and regretting the Cooper Sharp.
“I don’t have any of these opinions,” Mouber said.
They joked about their cholesterol meds, and that it’s a good thing cardiologists live in their Moorestown development. They said they won’t know the true rating of their cheesesteaks until later in the day, when their digestive systems get to work.
The group discusses what cheeses should be allowed in cheesesteaks. While DiSibio passionately believes only provolone cheese should be in the sandwich, Mouber (far left) doesn’t have a preference.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
The group plans to visit at least one cheesesteak joint a month for as long as they feel up to it. Their current list includes Irishtown Steaks, Pudge’s Pub, and Champs Cheesesteaks and Hoagies, among others. DiSibio said he hopes to get through at least 10 spots before they call it quits.
When asked for final thoughts on their sandwiches at Johnny Longhots, Mouber spoke for his friends.
Wonder, the food hall and meal delivery company with more than 150 locations across the Northeast, has plans to open a newproduction and distributionfacility in Gloucester County and lay off hundreds of workers in the process.
The company plans to lay off 533 New Jersey employees between Sept. 16 and Jan. 8, according to a WARN notice. Wonder’s facilities in Cranfield and Fairfield in North Jersey are closing, but not any other locations or offices in the state.
“Eligible employees” in Cranford and Fairfield will receive severance, “outplacement services,” and would have to reapplyto continue working at Wonder, including at the new facility in Logan Township, Gloucester County.
Wonder is leasing the new site, 160,000 square feet, at 1130 Commerce Blvd.The move is an effort to consolidate Wonder’s operations across the state as Wonder expands into “new regions,” according to Wonder spokespersonNajy Kamal.
“To set our supply chain up for long-term growth, Wonder made the strategic decision to transition away from our existing New Jersey facilities and move into a new, higher-capacity facility in Swedesboro, New Jersey,” Kamal said in an emailed statement.The new facility has a Swedesboro mailing address, but is located in Logan Township.
