An Oregon man on Thursday was ordered to spend 30 years in prison for fatally stabbing a beloved South Jersey veterinarian at the vet’s Cherry Hill home.
During Custodio-Aquino’s sentencing before Camden County Superior Court Judge Judith Charny, Anthony’s family members spoke tearfully of late veterinarian, who they described as kind, wickedly funny, and a devoted father to his sons.
Above all, they grappled for answers as to why Custodio-Aquino murdered Anthony that morning on his front lawn.
“You took all of the future moments that should have belong to him,” said Patricia Anthony Gershefski, one of Anthony’s sisters.
Anthony Gershefski said her brother was warm and sensitive, even moving his veterinarian practice just to be closer to his children.
The brutal nature of the crime confounds the family to this day.
In her career as a professional psychologist, Anthony Gershefski said, she has found “no diagnostic category for the deliberate destruction of another person’s life in this savage and grotesque manner.”
Kyle Bartsch, Anthony’s partner, said in a statement read by prosecutors that Anthony had filled their home on Sharrowvale Road with love and laughter.
His death, Bartsch said, leaves “a permanent void in the lives of those who knew him.”
While Custodio-Aquino’s attorneys had previously suggested that prosecutors did not have enough evidence to convict their client of murder, they were mum throughout the proceeding.
In addition to the eyeglasses investigators linked to the Peru native, license plate readers captured Custodio-Aquino’s car entering and exiting Anthony’s neighborhood that morning, and forensic experts later recovered a sample of the veterinarian’s blood from the vehicle.
Prosecutors believe Custodio-Aquino traversed the country in a fit of jealousy that fall before killing Anthony.
He had previously dated Anthony’s partner, Bartsch, and once lived with the man in Haddon Township before the couple separated in 2021 after a domestic dispute, according to prosecutors.
Custodio-Aquino, given the opportunity to address the court, spoke so softly that Charny asked that he repeat himself.
Raising his voice, he said: “I do agree that the world is less than without Michael Anthony.”
He was sentenced to 30 years in a state correctional facility without parole. Charny offered few words on the ruling beyond wishing Custodio-Aquino good luck.
It was Henry Anthony, Anthony’s teenage son, who saved some of the most biting remarks for his father’s killer.
“Your life is officially over,” Anthony said, turning to look at Custodio-Aquino. “I honestly wonder what your reason for living will be for the next 30 years.”
Mount Laurel public schools will start the next academic year with a new leader at the helm.
Neil Burti will take over as superintendent of schools starting Aug. 1, succeeding George Rafferty, who is retiring after leading the district for a decade.
After an extensive search, “Dr. Burti distinguished himself as the candidate whose experience, leadership style, and vision best aligned with the needs of the Mount Laurel School District,” Danielle Stuffo, president of the Mount Laurel Board of Education, said in an email.
Burti has more than 25 years of experience as an educator and administrator and is a longtime employee of the Cherry Hill Public Schools. While there, he served at all levels of leadership and was most recently the director of secondary education for the district.
Earlier this year, Burti also stepped in to handle the principal responsibilities during the second half of the school year at Cherry Hill High School East following a period of administrative upheaval in the school district.
The shake-up came after a lawsuit filed last September alleged that East’s former principal, alongside the Cherry Hill Board of Education and two other top administrators, subjected a former assistant principal to discrimination and retaliation.
“We are confident [Burti] will build upon the district’s many strengths, work collaboratively with our staff and community, and continue our focus on providing an exceptional educational experience for every student,” Stuffo said.
Stuffo said the district’s goals will largely remain the same under new leadership.
Like other districts, Stuffo said, Mount Laurel will work to continuously improve student experience and outcomes while adapting to evolving educational needs — and doing so within an increasingly limited budget.
“Fortunately, Mount Laurel is well positioned, with excellent staff and strong systems already in place. As Dr. Burti becomes familiar with the district, he will have the opportunity to evaluate our organizational structure and administrative leadership and, if appropriate, make recommendations to the Board for consideration,” she said in the email.
Burti was named the 2024 New Jersey Secondary School Principal of the Year during his time leading Cherry Hill’s John A. Carusi Middle School.
Burti holds a bachelor’s degree in movement studies and exercise science from East Stroudsburg University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Temple University, and a doctorate in innovation and leadership from Wilmington University.
A handful of new stores are expected to open in the Cherry Hill Mall in the coming months.
The Cherry Hill Mall’s slate of stores continues to evolve, with new retailers planning to set up shop in the coming months.
Popular footwear brand Crocs opened a 2,000-square-foot space last month, DoneRight Doner Kebab is expected to open in the food court later this summer, and a massive Dick’s House of Sport is on track to debut this year.
They’ll be joined by several other concepts, including viral women’s clothing brand Aritzia.
The storms that started rolling in late Sunday resulted in widespread floodingon Monday throughout Camden County, where several inches of rain fell. Cherry Hill saw 3.44 inches, which resulted in flash flooding. (NJ.com)
Cherry Hill alum and three-time Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award-winning film and TV critic Bill Wine died last month at the age of 81 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Raised in Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, where he graduated from the old Cherry Hill High School, Wine was a longtime film critic at WTXF-TV, Channel 29, and KYW radio and known for his pithy, witty, and acerbic reviews.
Heads up for drivers: Work continues on Kresson Road this week, which will have altered traffic patterns between Springdale Road and Ravenswoods Way from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. through tomorrow; a detour between Harrowgate Drive and Cropwell Road from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday; and altered traffic patterns between Marlkress Road and Browning Lane from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday. Ongoing work will result in a road closure on Kenilworth Avenue between Route 38 and Helena Avenue from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Friday.
Cherry Hill resident and youth soccer coach Brian Epstein, 43, has been charged with lewdness and sexual contact after an April incident during which he allegedly exposed his genitals to two girls while scouting players at Brian Bende Park in Medford. (Courier Post)
Friends of Cherry Hill Public Library’s book sale continues today, when it’s open to all Friends members. The sale opens to the public tomorrow and continues through Saturday.
🍽️ On our Plate
Three former Cherry Hill staples are among the most iconic New Jersey restaurants to close too soon, according to a list from NJ.com. The outlet lamented the closing of beloved mall eatery The Bistro at Cherry Hill, which shuttered abruptly about a year ago amid bankruptcy proceedings. Other restaurants the outlet says are gone too soon? The Cherry Hill Diner, which has been demolished to make way for a car wash, and Latin Casino, which was torn down in 1982.
🎳 Things to Do
🎶 Twilight Music Series: Oklahoma R&B outfit Color Me Badd headlines this week’s event. ⏰ Thursday, July 9, 8-11 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Cooper River Park Jack Curtis Stadium
🃏 Cherry Hill Card Expo: Browse over 300 vendor tables featuring trading cards, memorabilia, art, and more. ⏰ Saturday, July 11, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, July 12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 💵 $10-$25 📍 DoubleTree by Hilton
🕹️ Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Tournament: Test your skills head-to-head. Advanced registration is required. ⏰ Saturday, July 11, 1-3 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Cherry Hill Public Library
💫 Music Under the Stars: Taylor Swift cover band Fearless will perform. There will also be food trucks and a beer garden. ⏰ Tuesday, July 14, 7 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Barclay Farmstead
The home combines brick and glass and has a number of patios.
Located in the Voken Tract in Springdale, this five-bedroom contemporary is striking inside and out. It features a distinct architectural design that blends brick and glass. The home has a two-story living room, complete with numerous windows and a wood-burning fireplace, that opens onto a contemporary kitchen. Other features include a dining room, an office, and a family room. There are several patios outside, including one with a built-in kitchen, all overlooking a wooded lot with a private walking loop. There’s an open house Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.
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But the pharmacy chain’s distinct facade still dots the landscape — in suburban shopping centers, on the corners of congested intersections, sometimes even smack dab in the middle of city blocks.
Some of these buildings are still vacant, surrounded by overgrown grass and empty parking lots. Others are getting new life as dollar stores, medical clinics, daycares, Spirit Halloweens, and a Rally House sports retailer.
A former Rite Aid (left, rear) and former Wawa (right) sat empty in Collingswood in June.
The 8,000- to 16,000-square-foot shells are ideal for only so many tenants, real estate experts have said, and it is not unusual for these kinds of properties to take several months or more to lease.
Here is a look at what’s happening at a few local zombie Rite Aids:
South Jersey Rite Aids are becoming fitness centers
A former Rite Aid in Blackwood, Camden County, has been a gym for more than a year, and its owners soon plan to open a second location at another old Rite Aid in Cherry Hill.
Nick Bennett, CEO of the Bunker Fitness Center, said the owner of the Blackwood Rite Aid building approached him after seeing the gym’s content on TikTok. At the time, Bennett said, the gym was outgrowing its 3,000-square-foot space in Franklinville, Gloucester County.
When he went to see the 13,000-square-foot former Rite Aid in Blackwood, he said, it had already been demolished inside.
“It was just wide open,” Bennett said. “That floor plan works for our business model because gyms are open. You don’t really need to put up walls.”
Steve Cristelli works out at the Bunker Fitness Center in Blackwood.
Another plus, he said: Pharmacies have rows of refrigerators, which require electrical outlets, and the Bunker crew could use those outlets to plug in workout equipment.
The old Rite Aid on Black Horse Pike needed “very little” work, just paint and rubber floors, Bennett said, and was easily transformed into the exercise and recovery space he had envisioned. The gym opened in 2025.
“We’re smashing it,” Bennett said, with thousands of members who pay between $49 and $59 a month for the 24/7 gym, which has cardio and strength machines, weights, a sauna, and a cold plunge. He declined to provide specific sales or membership figures for competitive reasons.
The Bunker Fitness Center operates inside a former Rite Aid in Blackwood.
But Bennett said the business is doing so well that it is expanding into another former Rite Aid, 12 miles away in Cherry Hill with franchisee Jack Prendergast.
That 10,000-square-foot pharmacy shell at Brace and Kresson Roads closed more recently and needs a bit more work inside, Bennett said. When they signed the lease, he said, it “looked like a Rite Aid.”
Bennett said he and Prendergast are demolishing the interior, aiming for a September opening.
In Delco, a Rite Aid could become a township’s first car wash
The former Rite Aid in Newtown Square may get new life as a car wash.
The store at West Chester Pike and St. Alban’s Circle closed last year. In February El Car Wash, a Florida-based chain looking to expand into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, applied to open there, said Newtown Township Solicitor Rich Sokorai.
On its website, El Car Wash lists several other Philly-area locations as “coming soon,” including Cherry Hill, Drexel Hill, Feasterville, and Maple Shade.
The Newtown Square Rite Aid operated a drive-through, Sokorai said, and drive-throughs are permitted in that commercial zone. After a June meeting, the township zoning hearing board is considering whether to permit the car wash, with a decision expected in the coming weeks.
A Rite Aid with a “store closing” sign last summer.
If approved, it would be the only car wash in Newtown Township, the solicitor said.
Residents of the neighborhood behind the old Rite Aid have expressed concerns to local officials, Sokorai said, “because they fear traffic.”
Others have said they are looking forward to a new business moving into the vacant space on a prime corner, Sokorai said. Even before the Rite Aid closed last summer, its shelves were often empty, the solicitor said, and “it was dying a slow death.”
Temple University buys another old Rite Aid
Temple “T” flags fly on North Broad Street.
Temple University recently bought a second former Rite Aid on North Broad Street.
The school recently closed on the old Rite Aid building on the 2100 block of North Broad for $9.25 million, according to spokesperson Stephen Orbanek. He said ArchWell Health, which operates a primary-care clinic for seniors there, will remain the tenant.
“This property’s location, directly across the street from James S. White Residence Hall, supports the priorities of our campus safety and physical environment plan,” Orbanek said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to indicate that Temple Health plans to open neurology offices at the previously acquired Rite Aid building.
The Cherry Hill Mall is soon set to welcome five new stores that have committed to more than 25,000 square feet of retail space at the South Jersey mall.
The additions include Aritzia, the viral women’s clothing brand, which is set to open a store at the 1.3 million-square-foot Camden County mall by spring 2027. The complex is also adding legacy brands such as Timberland and True Religion, according to executives with PREIT, which owns the mall.
“Retailers at this level are choosing their next locations very carefully right now, and the fact that six of them chose Cherry Hill Mall in the same leasing period speaks volumes,” Paula Charles, PREIT’s senior vice president of leasing, said in a statement.
“For shoppers, it means more of the brands they want in one place and an experience that keeps getting better every time they visit,” Charles added.
One of dozens of Dick’s House of Sport outposts, it will be represent “the largest single-tenant addition to Cherry Hill Mall in more than a decade,” PREIT executives said.
The new retailers will also join Crocs, which last month opened a 2,000-square-foot store near the future Dick’s House of Sport, and DoneRight Doner Kebab, a fast-casual Mediterranean food spot that mall executives said will open later this summerin the food court.
People walk by a new store, Pop Mart, at Cherry Hill Mall on Black Friday 2025.
But higher-end complexes like Cherry Hill and King of Prussia seem to be thriving. King of Prussia Mall, in Montgomery County, also just announced a slate of new openings.
Here’s what to know about the new shops coming soon to the Cherry Hill Mall:
Timberland: The boots and outdoor-wear company is set to open an 1,800-square-foot store later this summer. It will be near Dick’s House of Sport.
Indochino: The custom-suit-maker is set to open a 1,200-square-foot store before the 2026 holiday season. It will be off the Grand Court, near American Eagle and Pop Mart.
Aritzia: Set to occupy more than 20,000 square feet in the central Grand Court, its space will include not only a clothing store but also an A-OK Cafe, the brand’s in-house coffee shop. It is on track to open in spring 2027.
True Religion: The denim company is set to open a 2,230-square-foot store sometime early next year near Dick’s House of Sport.
Also at the mall, Pandora and Spencer’s recently moved into larger storefronts, and Lululemon is set to relocate into an expanded space in the Grand Court before the 2026 holiday season.
Mini golf is an underrated nostalgic summer staple. The rainbow array of golf balls, the sun-bleached artificial turf, the tilting windmills, and fiberglass volcanoes will transport you right back to childhood, melting ice cream cones and all.
It’s easy to find putt-putt courses dotted up and down the boardwalks of the Jersey Shore, but South Jersey has its fair share of miniature fareways, too. Many offer more than just mini golf, with homemade ice cream, arcade games, amusement park rides, and driving ranges for adults. Two courses are indoors, for big fun even when the sun isn’t shining.
Big Swing boasts not one but two mini golf courses. (For the second, “Go left at the volcano,” the attendant tells me.) Both are light on props and heavy on banks, curves, hills, elevation gains, and drops, making for some genuinely tricky shots.
Best hole: Number eight on the waterfall course starts at the top of a hill, with three options to get to the bottom, including two mystery chutes — one that could land a hole in one, and another that spits out on a separate landing.
Other amenities: Golf simulator, golf lessons, driving range
Price: $7 per adult for both courses, $6 for children 12 and under
Don’t let a rainy day (or a brutally hot one) stop you from hitting the links. Monster Mini Golf offers 18 holes of spooky-themed, indoor, glow-in-the-dark golf, with locations in Cherry Hill and Turnersville. Black light illuminates the dark interior, which is decked out with weird Jersey scenes rendered in glowing paint, and monstrous animatronics that come to life as you move around the course.
Best hole: Tie between hole number eight, which is presided over by an enormous, glowing, talking skull and number nine, where players can spin a wheel to add an random, extra challenge to their turn, like playing with one arm behind their back or with their eyes closed.
Other amenities: Arcade, mini-bowling alley, laser maze, laser tag (at Turnersville location only)
Players play rounds at Pleasant Valley Miniature Golf on Route 73 in Voorhees, N.J. on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
April 1 to Halloween
Opened in 1972 and now run by the son of the original owner, Pleasant Valley is a throwback mini golf course with all the whacky obstacles you could dream of. The fiberglass Liberty Bell and giant sombrero, built by the owner, have been there since the 1970s. Guest-favorite hole number 12 features three gophers driving classic cars in circles. Conveniently located on the way to Atlantic City, it’s got a classic charm you won’t find at every course.
Best hole: “The sombrero,” owner Brian Whelan says. “It’s very difficult, very easy to have the ball fly out of the sombrero. Big risk, big reward there.”
Other amenities: Ice cream and water ice
Price: Before 6 p.m., $10 for adults, $9 for kids 10 and under and seniors; after 6 p.m., $12.50 for adults, $10 for kids and seniors
Previously known as The Golf Farm, Voorhees Golf Land reopened last year under new ownership after a year-long closure. In addition to 18 holes of mini golf, Golf Land sports the region’s only pitch-and-putt course. That’s 18 holes of golf that are just 20 to 50 yards long, “not quite the size of a par three,” owner Diana Hennefer says, so it’s a great option for people who don’t have the time or mobility to play a full round of golf, or who just want to practice their short game.
Best hole: Number 18 has a wishing well in the middle. “It’s probably the trickiest one,” Hennefer says. “It’s also the prettiest, most picturesque one.”
Other amenities: Pitch-and-putt course
Price: Mini golf: $8 for adults, $6 for kids; pitch and putt: $15 for adults, $10 for kids
A water feature at Serene Custard and Miniature Golf in Vineland, N.J.
Come for the challenging, hilly course, and stay for the vintage custard stand serving homemade ice cream. Built in 1959, Serene Custard still boasts its original mid-century signage and is celebrating its 67th season this year. The 18-hole mini golf course is a newer addition, featuring tough terrains and lush landscaping. “You sort of don’t even feel like you’re in South Jersey when you’re on the course,” owner Ari Dendrinos says.
Best hole: Number nine takes place entirely within a huge man-made cave.
Other amenities: Custard stand serving ice cream, water ice, and some savory snacks
The Funplex at Mt. Laurel has way more than just mini golf. There’s a waterpark, indoor and outdoor rides, a bowling alley, and more. But don’t sleep on the two mini golf courses, Adventure Cave and Lost Lagoon, both of which offer 18 holes of obstacles, including a few multi-level designs.
Best hole: At number 19, if you get a hole-in-one, your next game is free.
Other amenities: Waterpark, indoor and outdoor rides, bowling, arcade games
Price: $42 on weekdays and $49 on weekends for access to all attractions; $46 and $54 when purchasing at the gate
The Jersey Devil wants to ensure you never have to miss a mini golf fix. Despite their posted hours, this course operates on the honor system, making their putters and golf balls available every day, all year round, so you can play even when no one is working. Just drop $5 in the box at the first hole to enjoy putting on these long greens, which provide a challenge to kids and adults alike.
Best hole: Hole number 12 features a sharp bend and splits in two before converging.
Other amenities: Driving range, picnic area with cornhole, and fire pits
Price: $8 for adults, $7 for 6 to 16-year-olds, free for 5 and under
Bill Wine, 81, of Philadelphia, three-time Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award-winning film and TV critic, retired tenured associate professor of TV and film at La Salle University, onetime freelance TV critic for the Daily News, freelance writer, playwright, and popular lecturer, died Sunday, June 14, of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Chestnut Hill.
The son of two part-time amateur actors and a lifelong devotee of theater, film, TV, writing, and teaching, Mr. Wine was a film critic for WTXF-TV, Channel 29, for 12 years and KYW radio for 17 years. Known for his pithy, witty, and often acerbic reviews, and a breezy conversational style of writing, he worked at Channel 29 from 1990 to 2002 and KYW from 2001 to 2018.
“Bill Wine was a character out of a Neil Simon comedy, more Oscar than Felix,” said Carrie Rickey, former Inquirer movie critic. “You didn’t have to wait long for the punchline.”
Mr. Wine’s film reviews on Channel 29 were often funny and entertaining.
At Channel 29, Mr. Wine was nominated for eight regional Emmy Awards for commentary and writing, and won three. He appeared regularly on the station’s Ten O’Clock News, in primetime movie preview and review programs, and later on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on Good Day Philadelphia.
By 1990, he had already written hundreds of freelance film reviews for the Daily News and Courier-Post, done radio reviews for WPEN, and taught a variety of classes about film and writing for a decade at La Salle. So, despite no previous TV experience, he was hired at Channel 29 over 60 other film critic applicants.
“I had never been on TV, but I wasn’t nervous,” he told the Daily News in 2001, “because I had been standing in front of 100 students for 10 years.”
Mr. Wine worked at at WTXF-TV, Channel 29, for 12 years.
He started at KYW radio in 2001 and usually aired reviews and reports on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Sometimes, he watched three movies in one day. He left Channel 29 in 2002 and KYW in 2018 only after both companies eliminated their local film critic position.
“When I started [writing film reviews], it was before the internet,” he told The Inquirer in 2018. “A lot of people [now] feel like, ‘Who the heck is a movie critic to come on in a minute and to dismiss something that took hundreds of people and millions of dollars to create?’”
In the 1970s and ‘80s, he wrote articles and reviewed films, TV shows, books, and plays for WPEN, The Inquirer, Courier-Post, Philadelphia Magazine, and other outlets. In 1975, he wrote dozens of freelance TV columns called “On the Air” for the Daily News.
Mr. Wine wrote dozens of columns as a freelance TV critic for the Daily News in 1975.
He spent three years in California in the 1970s working on plays and film and TV scripts. He hobnobbed with famous writers, producers, and actors in Los Angeles, staged one of his own plays, and was a winning contestant on a new TV game show.
He wrote 11 plays over the years, and several made it to the stage. “Now the people who disagree with my reviews can come and find out if I’m as dumb as they think I am,” he told The Inquirer in 2002.
He aired reviews on WIP radio and lectured often at libraries, schools, community centers, theaters, and other venues about his favorite films, adapting books to film, and other topics.“He could be wickedly funny, especially when delivering a pan of a movie,” his family said in a tribute. “One of his favorite quotes was: ‘I had a bad seat. It was facing the screen.’”
Mr. Wine was a prolific playwright who enjoyed table readings with family and friends.
Mr. Wine earned a bachelor’s degree in math at Drexel University and a master’s degree in communications at Temple University. He helped design La Salle’s nascent Communication Department in the 1980s, and school officials called him one of their “Founding Fathers.” He also taught briefly at Drexel, and came close to earning a doctorate at Temple.
In 2001, he was featured in a Daily News story about “celebrity professors” and said: “You have to remind yourself that this is television, not the classroom. You mention, say, ‘film noir’ on TV, and you get a memo.”
William David Wine was born June 21, 1944, in Germantown. He grew up in West Oak Lane and Cherry Hill, attended Central High School, and graduated from the old Cherry Hill High School.
A story and this photo of Mr. Wine about his time as a professor at La Salle appeared in the Daily News in 2001.
As a boy, he devoured newspaper movie reviews and fell in love with film after seeing Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller Rear Window. He got positive reviews of his own freelance movie review when he was at Temple, and he knew then, he said later, that writing about movies was his creative niche.
He married Dina Lichtman, and they divorced later. He married Suzanne Monsalud in 1981, and they had daughters Simone and Paulina, and lived in Germantown, Wyncote, and Chestnut Hill.
Mr. Wine and his wife, Suzanne, married in 1981.
Together, Mr. Wine and his family traveled to Paris and London, and he and his wife honeymooned in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He doted on his daughters and sometimes took them to his La Salle classroom, the Channel 29 TV set, and movie screenings.
Friends, former colleagues, and former students called him “a force of nature,” “smart and gifted,” and “a rare combination of kindness, professionalism, and humor.” His daughter Simone said: “His humor, warmth, and presence made life brighter.”
Mr. Wine played tennis, third base on adult softball teams, and pickup basketball into his 70s. He followed the Phillies, 76ers, and Eagles closely, and hit tennis balls with Hall of Famer Rod Laver at a publicity event in Los Angeles.
Mr. Wine and his family made memorable trips to Paris, London, and elsewhere.
“He was a wonderful father and a dedicated teacher,” his wife said. “He was a real Philadelphian, and we complemented each other.”
His daughter Paulina said: “Dad, I think you cracked the code. We’ll see you at the movies.”
Nine Fourth of July events to check out in Camden County
Here’s where to catch fireworks displays and other festivities for the Fourth of July.
Celebrate the nation’s Semiquincentennial at one of these festive events, which are replete with fireworks, parades, and musical performances.
Barrington: There will be a parade at 6 p.m. followed by fireworks around dusk. ⏰ Thursday, July 2, 6 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Behind Woodland School
Gloucester City: Celebrate in advance of the holiday with food trucks and fireworks. ⏰ Thursday, July 2, starts at 6 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Proprietor’s Park
Cherry Hill: The township will mark the nation’s 250th anniversary with a fireworks display around 9 p.m. There will also be a DJ, marching bands, and food trucks. ⏰ Thursday, July 2, starts at 7 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Cherry Hill High School West
Haddonfield: This celebration includes a festive parade followed by a block party, complete with live music, food trucks, and games. The night will be capped with a drone show around 9 p.m. ⏰ Friday, July 3, starts at 10 a.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Downtown Haddonfield
Audubon: The borough’s two-day event kicks off Friday with food trucks, live music, and a fireworks display at Audubon High School. On Independence Day, there will be a parade, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, family-friendly activities, and an open house of the Audubon Historical Society Museum at the Senior Center. ⏰ Friday, July 3, starts at 6 p.m. and Saturday, July 4, 8:15 a.m.-4 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Audubon
Haddon Township: On the eve of the nation’s 250th birthday, catch a fireworks show at Haddon Township High School, complete with live music and food trucks. The following day, the township will host its annual parade, which ends at Crystal Lake Pool. ⏰ Friday, July 3, 7 p.m. and Saturday, July 4, 11:30 a.m. 💵 Free 📍 Haddon Township
Collingswood: Decorate your bike starting at 9 a.m. and then join the parade at 10 a.m. Later, there will be games and races at Roberts Pool. Cap the day with a performance from To the Max at 7:45 p.m. and fireworks at the high school field at dusk. ⏰ Saturday, July 4, starts at 9 a.m. 💵 Free 📍 Collingswood
Camden: This year’s Freedom Festival features aptly named funk, soul, and R&B outfit The Commodores at 8 p.m., followed by the Wawa Welcome America fireworks display over the Delaware River. ⏰ Saturday, July 4, 6-11 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Wiggins Park
Camden: Hop aboard the historic Battleship New Jersey, where there will be live music, food, and a full-service bar, all with a view of the fireworks display over the Delaware River. ⏰ Friday, July 4, 7:30 p.m. 💵 $15 general admission 📍 Battleship New Jersey
Hindu temple BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is one step closer to moving ahead with its planned 18,330-square-foot expansion and renovation after getting zoning board approval last week, though it will still require additional approvals before construction can begin. Located at1 Carnegie Plaza, the temple’s plans call for transforming its exterior to give it a more decorative look, in addition to adding a gym and prayer hall.
South Jersey hospitals, including in Cherry Hill, could be forced to cut some community programs as they face an estimated $3.6 billion loss from Medicaid changes in the coming years. The Inquirer’s Harold Brubaker has the details.
Heads up for drivers: Roadwork continues throughout the township, including on Kenilworth Avenue, which will be closed between Route 38 and Longwood Avenue and between Helena and Edwards Avenues from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. through Thursday. Work continues on Kresson Road through Thursday, which will have a partial westbound closure between Springdale Road and Ravenswood Way from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closures at its intersection with Springdale Road and between Browning Lane from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Registration is open for the township’s upcoming wiffleball tournament, which will take place July 22 and has four age divisions.
Friends of Cherry Hill Public is hosting a book sale next week. On Tuesday, Friends members who are township residents get first access, followed by all Friends members next Wednesday. The sale then opens to the public next Thursday and continues through Saturday.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Registration for the district’s 2026-27 School-Age Child Care program opens today at 4 p.m. The program is available to those in kindergarten through fifth grade. Learn more here.
Graduation may be behind us, but the district recently shared its annual clap-out video for members of the class of 2026. See it here.
Speaking of graduation, South Jersey Media shared photos from West’s commencement, where 333 students earned diplomas.
🍽️ On our Plate
Four Cherry Hill restaurants earned honors in the latest Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards, released last week. The magazine recognizes establishments with wine lists offering what it deems interesting selections that are “appropriate to their cuisine” and “appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.” Caffe Aldo Lamberti was recognized for its selection of wines from California; Tuscany and Piedmont, Italy; and Bordeaux, France. Also making the list are chains Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, which each have a local outpost.
Belgian waffle eatery La Liégeoise closed its brick-and-mortar storefront at 1871 E. Marlton Pike last week, citing low visibility and customer traffic at the location. The waffle shop plans to continue its operations as a fully mobile concept.
Philly Pretzel Factory will be moving one block from its current home at 910 Route 70 to 800 Route 70 this month. The shop will close Sunday, with a planned opening at its new space on July 15.
🎳 Things to Do
🚬 Cigar Sunday: Sample premium cigars, listen to music, and sips drinks on an outdoor deck. ⏰ Sunday, July 5, 2-5 p.m. 💵 $19.03 📍Vera
🦖 Paw Patrol Dino Skate: Hit the rink for dino-themed skating complete with a dinosaur egg scavenger hunt. ⏰ Wednesday, July 8, 1-4 p.m. and 5:30-8:30 p.m. 💵 $6 from 1-4 p.m., $5 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. 📍 Hot Wheelz
The home has a striking design out front and a pool out back.
Located in the Wilderness Run neighborhood, this four-bedroom, five-bathroom home features a floating curved staircase in the foyer and a two-story family room with a spiral staircase leading to a library. The dining room has Italian mirrored panels that open to reveal a bar with wine storage. Out back, there’s a spa and gunite pool, complete with a diving board.
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BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple on the eastern border of Cherry Hill, is preparing for a major facelift.
The Cherry Hill Township Zoning Board approved site plans last week during a 4½-hour meeting for an 18,330-square-foot expansion that would transform BAPS Cherry Hill’s exterior and add a gym, lobby, prayer hall, improved Sunday school rooms, new parking spaces, and more.
More steps will have to be made before construction can begin, but this approval is a majormove forward after what zoning officials say took more than a year of planning.
BAPS Inc., an international religious nonprofit, has more than 100 temples across the U.S., including eight in New Jersey. Cherry Hill Township approved a zoning variance back in 2002 to allow a former vacant warehouse building on an 11-acre property at 1 Carnegie Plaza, acquired by a real estate company for $1.9 million and conveyed to BAPS, to become a Hindu temple despite the lot being zoned Industrial Restricted. The temple is run by BAPS Cherry Hill, a limited liability company.
Decades have passed since BAPS Cherry Hill opened, and the mandir, a Hindu place of worship that neighbors King’s Christian School and Remington & Vernick Engineers, still looks like a warehouse.
But the new plans propose a more decorative exterior, including the addition of three shikharas, tall spires on the roof that would reach 58 feet at their highest. Aavart Patel, the project’s architect, said the change matches more traditional styles of Hindu architecture.
The current zoning rules put the building’s maximum height at 35 feet, but BAPS Cherry Hill’s lawyer, Damien Del Duca, sought a variance allowing for the boost.
“Metaphysically, the shikhara represents the spiritual connection between the earthly realm and the divine,” Del Duca wrote in a March letter. “It guides the eyes to move from the earth upwards toward the sky — representing heaven.”
Del Duca and BAPS did not return requests for comment about the projected cost of the expansion, but Del Duca said during the zoning board meeting that the temple had raised the necessary funds for the project.
Riya Patel, a BAPS Cherry Hill volunteer and youth coordinator, testified during the zoning meeting that the temple’s current structure poses a problem for its youth classes and group activities.
“It still serves as this warehouse layout,” Patel said. “So talking about some of our weekly activities, a lot of the space that we have doesn’t have much utility.”
Neel Patel, a lead volunteer and national coordinator for BAPS, has attended BAPS Cherry Hill for the last 22 years. He said the temple has 400 to 500worshipers on an average Sunday and offers scriptural studies, language learning, music, and sports programming for attendees from kindergarten age to adults.
The new additions would mean educational and sports programs could take place in designated classrooms and a gymnasium rather than in the current dining hall, makeshift spaces, or outside on the warehouse loading dock, which the temple converted into a basketball court. The addition of about two dozen parking spaces will accommodate extra visitors during the high holidays.
Under the current site plans, the building’s footprint would only expand about 3,000 square feet, and the remaining 15,000 square feet of additions come in the form of a second story to accommodate classrooms, offices, and the new gym.
Anand Bhatt with Arna Engineering, the project’s civil engineer, said the project will be completed in one phase, and the mandir will remain open throughout the process since construction will be limited to weekdays. The temple has little foot traffic except on Sunday.
‘A space where I can express my religious freedoms’
The BAPS location in Cherry Hill came to be in 2002 when Rishi Realty acquired the vacant warehouse space from Graphic Controls Corp. for $1.9 million and quickly conveyed ownership to BAPS.
Although the property is zoned industrial and accompanied by surrounding commercial businesses, the temple faces a residential neighborhood, Point of Woods, in Cherry Hill.
Three neighbors attended the zoning board meeting via Zoom last week to voice their concerns, mostly regarding the desire to protect the property’s wetlands and limit lighting at night.
Jody and Jenn DeMarco, who live across from the BAPS parking lot and its wooded area, asked the zoning board to deny the application unless the front facade of the new temple is reoriented to face away from their neighborhood.
“It’s a matter of preference, not a matter of necessity, that they are putting this giant variance that impacts our neighborhood negatively facing our property,” Jenn DeMarco said.
In 2012, BAPS Cherry Hill received violations from the township and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for illegally removing trees in a wetland without proper permits, but BAPS Cherry Hill said in its zoning application that the organization remediated the issue by planting more trees.
BAPS representatives said at the zoning board meeting that they would follow N.J. DEP’s rules and make sure any lighting above the height maximum of 35 feet turns off by 10 p.m. Plus, BAPS Cherry Hill doesn’t anticipate increased visitor volume after the renovations, and they don’t plan to add any additional seating for its Sunday services.
Another Cherry Hill resident, Deepak Chhatwal, said he was excited about the upcoming changes.
“I’m very happy that there’ll be an organization and a space where I can express my religious freedoms, and there will be a better space for myself and my family and other neighbors who are practicing the Hindu faith.”
The six zoning board members who attended the meeting approved the site plans unanimously.
Brian Bauerle, the township’s chief of staff, said Cherry Hill still has to adopt a resolution confirming the decision and its conditions of approval at a future meeting on an undecided date.
As for BAPS Cherry Hill, the nonprofit will have to update its site plans based on the new approvals and satisfy remaining compliance items, which Bauerle said can take weeks to months. Then, the Department of Community Development can issue a zoning permit allowing BAPS to apply for construction permits.
New Jersey hospitals could lose an estimated $3.6 billion from Medicaid changes through 2032, forcing them to bring their expenses in line, Inspira Health Network CEO Amy Mansue said Friday during a panel discussion in Cherry Hill.
“That will only happen with dramatic changes in how we look at our business,” she said during the Southern New Jersey Development Council’s Annual Health Care Leadership Forum at the Legacy Club of Woodcrest.
Mansue predicted that health systems will close little-used programs. “There is no way to cut that much money out of the hospitals without doing some of that,” she said.
The $3.6 billion estimate from the New Jersey Hospital Association does not include hospitals’ losses from the growing population of uninsured people who show up at emergency departments because they can’t afford to pay cash for a doctor visit.
The hospital executives pleaded for state officials to reduce the red tape that makes it hard to implement programs needed to meet community needs.
“We need to be more nimble, we need to be more adaptable, we need to be more flexible,” said Aaron Chang, president of Jefferson Health NJ, which includes hospitals in Cherry Hill, Stratford, and Washington Township.
Jennifer Khelil (left), Virtua Health’s chief clinical Officer; Aaron Chang (center), president of Jefferson Health New Jersey; and Amy Mansue, CEO of Inspira Health spoke Friday at the Southern New Jersey Development Council’s Health Care Leadership Forum.
Inspira is adding a $220 million patient tower at Inspira Mullica Hill in Harrison Township, near the intersection of Routes 55 and 322. Construction is expected to be completed Oct. 1, Mansue said. “The reality is we’re not going to open until March” because it will take that long to get all the regulatory approvals, she said.
Inspira operates three other hospitals in Cumberland and Salem Counties.
Raynard E. Washington, who heads the N.J. Department of Health, spoke after the panel and said Gov. Mikie Sherrill is serious about making it easier to do business in the state. She told state agencies “to limit additional regulations and to look for opportunities to streamline,” he said.
Workforce development is a top priority
Six years ago, Virtua and Rowan University started working together to create the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences out of Rowan’s School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan’s School of Nursing & Health Professions, and Virtua’s Our Lady of Lourdes Nursing School, plus a new school of translational biomedical engineering and sciences.
The institution officially launched in 2022 with $85 million in support from Virtua and $125 million from Rowan and has seen its class sizes grow steadily.
“We are now training about 360 nurse graduates every year, 300 medical students,” said Jennifer Khelil, Virtua’s chief clinical officer. Virtua operates five hospitals in South Jersey.
Workforce efforts also reach into high schools, Chang said. Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital has a relationship with Cherry Hill West High School that brings 12 to 15 interns to the hospital.
“Because of the internship, their exposure to the hospital environment, whether it’s the ancillary departments and or the clinical areas, over 95% of those individuals get a healthcare job as a first foray into the workforce,” Chang said.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the time period for the Medicaid cuts.
