ANE Adds Two New Hires in 2020 with Sights on New York Expansion

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, N.J. (January 14, 2020)

– ANE, Agency Network Exchange LLC, announced the addition of Kevin Grove (right) as Regional Director and Frank Vetrano (left) as Director of Membership.

“The quality of ANE is reflective of the caliber of talent we attract,” added Elizabeth Schenk, ANE’s Chief Executive Officer. “Both Kevin and Frank bring a wealth of knowledge and a stellar reputation to our growing staff. They will be instrumental in achieving our aggressive growth plans with our member agencies and carriers as well as expanding our footprint.”

Frank Vetrano brings 43 years of industry experience, previously with the Hanover Group as Regional Vice President for New Jersey and downstate New York. His career path also included Fireman’s Fund, USF&G, and St Paul. Vetrano has a keen understanding of the New York insurance environment and is well known and respected by agencies and carriers. He will lead ANE’s expansion into New York.

Kevin Grove graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BS in business management and a minor in economics. He spent the last 16 years with Travelers as an account executive and most recently, regional director in Pennsylvania. Kevin will manage the relationships with our current members in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in addition to expanding the company’s footprint in eastern and central Pennsylvania.

About ANE

Established in 2009, Agency Network Exchange LLC (ANE) is a network of independent insurance agencies. It provides its member agencies increased opportunities to grow their revenues and profits. Currently, ANE has over 70 individually owned member agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that place more than $750 million in written premium. Visit

www.ane-agents.com

for more information.

How to Make Your New Jersey Home Sell Faster

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(January 14, 2020)–If you are thinking of selling your home in New Jersey, there are a number of steps that you can take to ensure that your home appeals to the typical New Jersey buyer, regardless of the estate agent that you choose or the time that you choose to sell your home. By following these interior design tips, you will soon be able to ensure that your home only stays on the market for as little time as possible.

Paint Your Walls

Due to the fact that

more people are looking at leaving New Jersey

than staying within the state, it is important that your home is able to stand out from the crowd of houses on the market and ensure that it grabs the attention of potential home buyers. To allow your home to do this, you need to make sure that you are able to present your house to its maximum potential, and you can do this by sprucing up your home’s walls. Although you might not want to completely revitalize your home before moving out, painting your walls can help to cover any chips, cracks, or stains which can mar the modernity and attractiveness of your home. Then, to prevent your home from looking dated, you should invest in the right

painting tools

to enable you to perfect your home’s new finish yourself without having to call in professional help.

Declutter and Depersonalize

Even if your house has the best of décor and interior design, if your home is cluttered or unclean, this can decrease the viewer’s likelihood to buy your home. Instead, your home should be both clean and tidy so that viewers can see all of the features which your home provides, as well as the potential space offered by your home. Not only this, but there is evidence to suggest that depersonalizing your home is the perfect option to get your home in New Jersey sold quickly, as this will enable viewers to envision their own possessions within your home, helping them to imagine what it would be like for them to live within the property.

Make a Great First Impression

However, the interior of your home is not what makes the first impression on guests to your property. Instead, the front garden will be the first view that potential buyers have of your home, and so it is important to maximize the impact of this first impression. You can do this by creating a lavish and decorative outdoor space, ensuring that weeds are eradicated and that your garden is filled with bright and budding flowers and plants. You can also add to this sight by ensuring that your fences are strong and painted well. You can also have benches and other forms of outdoor equipment in your garden to transform it into a relaxing and peaceful space that can instantly appeal to potential buyers.

Conduct Repairs

With

house prices in New Jersey

reaching over a high $360,000 on average, potential buyers in Jersey City and beyond want to know that they are getting a good property for their money and that they will not have to spend extortionate amounts on repairs within the first six months of their tenure. You should make sure that any issues with your home are fixed efficiently before you have any viewings, and these include issues such as blocked drains, which can lead to nasty smells, leaks in the roof, and poor electrics, for instance.

Add Finishing Touches

With there being a lot of competition in

the best locations to buy houses in NJ

, it is important that you are able to add finishing touches that can wow your viewers and make them want to immediately buy your property. Your finishing touches can be added on the day of the viewing to ensure that everything goes smoothly, and these can include adding simple items such as plants and increasing natural lighting to allow your home to appeal to viewers. You may also consider adding incense burners or candles around your home to give off great smells that can influence the ambiance of the interior of your property and stun viewers into instantly loving your home.

Modernize Your Home

New Jersey is infamous for its

inspired home design trends

, and keeping up with the latest fashions is important if you want to appeal to homeowners in the state. In order to modernize your home, you should consider applying rules and trends such as neutral or feature walls, as well as minimalism to help your home look like an up-to-date and fashionable space that will appeal to all ages.

Summary

There are many reasons why you might need to sell your home fast, such as if you are part of a chain or if you need to take on a job in a new area. Although the New Jersey housing market can be competitive, with a few home improvements, as well as a good estate agent and selling platform, it is easy to sell your home fast and move as soon as possible.

image courtesy of unsplash.com

Nanning Food & Dining Guide: 10 Must-Try Top Restaurants & Cafes in Nanning

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Jan. 13, 2020)–Nanning in China welcomes several tourists from across the globe annually! While the region has stunning tourist sites and attractions, the food options are attractive as well. If food is an essential part of your Nanning tour, you need to visit the following ten eateries.

Happy Link

It is the perfect place to taste Asian, Indian, and Pakistani cuisines. You will love the unique sweets and sauces. Make sure to try out the Peri-Peri and the tangy tamarind sauce. Their apricot dessert with walnuts and cheese pastry is also famous.

GanJia JiePai NingMengYa Dian

It is a Chinese restaurant that is clean and looks decent. The price of the platters is reasonable as well. The food quality is excellent. You can try out baby bok choy, pork, and lemon duck platters.

Babel

If you want to taste Western platter in Nanning, this is the place to be! The price is pocket-friendly, and the restaurant ambiance is good. Western food is not available in huge quantities in Nanning. This place offers the best platter, which tastes good and costs reasonable. To know more about such places, you can check out

Nanning Food & Dinning Guide: Top Restaurants, Street Food, Night Market Local Cuisine

The Queen’s Head English Style Pub

This pub is in business since April 2013. If you want a drink and grab finger food after a day\’s sightseeing, visit this pub. Here you get to choose from over 100 spirits and 30 global beer brands. There are also shooters, cocktails, and wines to select from. There\’s a big TV screen, live sports events and free pool table that adds to the ambiance.

Sihai Yijia

If you are visiting the Mixc Shopping Mall, walk into this restaurant. The ambiance is excellent, and the platters are South-east Asian. The food quality is good, and you can walk around the mall after your dinner or lunch.

KFC

It’s not hard to find a KFC wherever you go! And so, you have one at Nanning as well. The menu is the same as all KFC outlets.

Fuji Laoyoufen

When you think of rice noodles, this is the best place you can choose! The rice noodles here have pepper, garlic, and black beans and sour bamboo shoots as well. The place is known for its high-quality food and reasonable price as well.

Ban XianJu

If you love brunches, this is the ideal place to be! It would be best if you tried out the dim sums, which are a popular delicacy here. The ordering is easy, and food gets delivered fast. You can choose from multiple dim sum varieties. The BBQ pork puffs are also famous.

ZhongShan Road XiaoChiJie

It is a pedestrian street that provides you several snack stalls

. The best platters to taste here are the seafood platters, which are both tasty and reasonably priced. You can also try out other local food as well.

Ban Yi Sushi

If you love to taste Japanese and Sushi platters, this is the place to count on! You can select from the best dishes of the day. Both the restaurant ambiance and the cost are decent.

These are the best ten restaurants that you can opt-in to add to your Nanning food experience. Each place has something different to offer you.

STUDY: New Jersey One of the States Hit the Hardest by Robo Calls

It’s not just in your head: the number of robocalls has increased sharply over the last couple of years. Robocall blocking company YouMail estimates that between 60 and 75 billion robocalls will have been placed in 2019, up from 47

billion last year and 30 billion the year before. What’s more, scams increasingly account for the majority of robocalls—45% of them in 2019, compared to just 17.6% in 2016.

To investigate this issue further,

Let’s Talk

culled robocall complaint and call frequency data from Federal Trade Commission and YouMail, and assigned each state in the U.S. a score. Based on this methodology, Maryland, Nevada, Colorado, Delaware and New Jersey have been hit the hardest by robocalls in 2019. The average Maryland resident receives a whopping

18 robocalls a month

Alaskans have suffered the least from robocalls this year—residents receive an average of 3.3 of them a month—followed by North Dakota, Indiana, Hawaii, Mississippi. Here’s a full list of the state robocall rankings.

As mentioned, scams account for the largest percentage of robocalls (45.7%), followed by alerts and reminders (22.7%), payment reminders (20.3%), and perpetually annoying telemarketing calls (11.3%). The percentage of telemarketing robocalls has hovered around 11-13% over the past three years.

Fortunately, there’s help on the way. A new federal law raises the penalty for a single robocall to a whopping $10,000—which should make spammers think twice. The major carriers have already rolled out a new robocall fighting measure called STIR/SHAKEN, which promises to help to ameliorate the problem as well.

METHODOLOGY

To come up with our state robocall rankings, we calculated each state’s ranking by giving them a weighted score based on two data points: the monthly number of robocalls per person in each state (weighted at 40%) according to YouMail, and the number of monthly robocall complaints per person made to the Federal Trade Commission in each state (weighted at 60%). The states were then ordered and ranked according to this score.

SOURCE: LET\’S TALK

GUEST OPINION: NJBIA Backs Fiscal Reform Bills, Urges Action on Path to Progress

The New Jersey Business & Industry Association today testified in favor of four fiscal reform bills designed to lower the cost of local governments as part of a wide-ranging plan to fix New Jersey\’s government finances.

Between them, the Senate and Assembly appropriations committees will consider legislation involving curriculum at K-8 school districts, sharing services between local governments, and examining state and local taxes and economic development policies. Individually, the bills are narrow in scope, but they are part of a broad, impactful plan to revamp New Jersey\’s finances called The Path to Progress, which NJBIA supports.

NJBIA Vice President for Government Affairs Chris Emigholz made that point while testifying in favor of these bills earlier today.

\”It is urgent for our state and for our taxpayers that the Legislature act on all five parts of the Path to Progress report: Pension and Benefit Reform; Leveraging Assets to Stabilize the Pension System; Education Reform at the Administrative Level; County and Municipal Government Reform and Shared Services; and State and Local Government Tax Structure,\” Emigholz said. \”Reforms in all five of these areas are needed to improve the fiscal health of our State, and our taxpayers deserve no less.

\”What makes the Path to Progress legislation so important is it recognizes a fundamental truth: New Jersey\’s finances will always be in disarray until we change how we raise and especially how we spend money,\” Emigholz said. \”It\’s not just a matter of fiscal discipline; New Jersey\’s financial problems are deeply systemic.\”

Two measures are scheduled for separate votes in both the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Assembly Appropriations Committee. They are:

· S-3756 (Ruiz, D-29; Sarlo, D-36)/A-6115 (Jasey, D-27), which would require K-8 school districts to coordinate their school calendars and curriculum with the high schools they send their graduates to. Emigholz called it \”a long overdue, commonsense measure\” that could save money by eliminating duplication.

· S-3770 (Sarlo, D-36; Oroho, R-24)/A-6118 (Greenwald, D-6), which would establish the \”New Jersey Economic and Fiscal Policy Review Commission\” to provide ongoing review of state and local tax structure and economic conditions.

The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee also is scheduled a vote on legislation to require counties to appoint a shared-services coordinator. That bill is S-3764 (Andrzejczak, D-1; Bucco, R-25).

\”New Jersey has been quietly encouraging them for decades, but this bill puts staff and money behind that encouragement to make them actually happen,\” Emigholz said.

Meanwhile, the Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider A-6116/S-3763 (DeAngelo, D-14); Addiego, D-8; Bateman, D-16; Sarlo, D-36), \”a simple but clever bill to change the name of \’joint meetings\’ to \’regional service agencies\’\” under the Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act, Emigholz said. \”It would better capture their real meaning and hopefully encourage their use.\”

\”We are excited to hopefully see these Path to Progress bills pass this committee today, and NJBIA and our taxpayers urgently need more Path to Progress legislation to become law as soon as possible to make New Jersey more affordable for our residents and businesses,\” Emigholz said.

NJ American Water to Spend $300,000 in Audubon to Improve Town\’s Infrastructure

CAMDEN CITY, N.J. – JAN. 10, 2020 –

New Jersey American Water

will replace approximately 1,300 feet of aging 4-inch water main in Audubon beginning next week. The company will upgrade the aging water lines, installed in the 1900s, with new, 8-inch ductile iron main along

Cedarcroft Avenue

from Mansion Avenue to Walnut Street. The project also includes replacing two fire hydrants and 40 utility-owned service lines along the pipeline route.

This $300,000 investment will continue to advance water service reliability and increase water flows for household consumption and fire protection in this community. This improvement is part of New Jersey American Water’s multimillion-dollar initiative to accelerate the

renewal of water infrastructure

that has reached the end of its useful life in more than 100 communities across the state.

New Jersey American Water’s local, qualified contractor, Pioneer Pipe Contractors, Inc., will begin work on or about January 16 and expects to finish by the end of March 2020, weather permitting. Work hours will be from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Work outside of these hours is not anticipated unless required to maintain project schedule. Final street restorations will be completed by Audubon Borough.

For the public’s and workers’ safety, traffic restrictions and/or alternating traffic patterns are likely to occur during work hours. All emergency vehicles and local traffic will be allowed access during construction. New Jersey American Water values the safety of its workers and advises drivers and pedestrians to take caution in the vicinity of work sites.

About New Jersey American Water

New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.7 million people. For more information, visit

www.newjerseyamwater.com

and follow New Jersey American Water on

Twitter

and

Facebook

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 7,100 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to more than 14 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit

amwater.com

and follow American Water on

Twitter

Facebook

and

ETC Northeast Pipeline has been Issued a $30.6 Million Fine

By Dave Fidlin |

The Center Square

Jan, 2020

ETC Northeast Pipeline has been issued a $30.6 million fine for an explosion and fire that occurred nearly 16 months ago and resulted in widespread damage and contamination in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced that it was issuing the civic penalty as part of an agreement with ETC that will give the operator the ability to resume work and correct unlawful conduct.

The fine, described by state DEP officials as “historic” because of its sizable monetary amount, is linked to an incident that occurred Sept. 10, 2018, in Center Township in Beaver County. A landslide along ETC’s Revolution Pipeline resulted in portions of the pipeline separating, which caused gas to escape the infrastructure.

On the day of the incident, the gas ultimately ignited, which resulted in a fire that burned multiple acres of forested areas.

A single-family home, a barn and numerous vehicles within the impacted area were destroyed. Six high-voltage electric transmission towers also collapsed. There were no injuries or deaths reported from the incident.

In a statement, Patrick McDonnell, secretary of the state DEP, said the amount of the fine was reflective of ETC’s failure to comply with the agency’s regulations and lack of adequately monitoring the Revolution Pipeline while it was under construction.

“DEP is committed to holding permittees accountable for permit compliance and will continue to provide active and stringent oversight over the construction of their projects,” McDonnell said in the statement. “Permittees are obligated to ensure that their projects are constructed without incident and in full compliance with permits. If a permittee fails to do so, they will be held accountable.”

The state agency’s recent news release also revealed a subsequent investigation conducted after the pipeline fire and explosion revealed ETC had not stabilized the Revolution Pipeline in multiple areas during construction and “illegally impacted” streams and wetlands in its vicinity because of inadequate stormwater runoff.

ETC, an affiliate of Energy Transfer Partners, has agreed to a number of conditions moving forward, according to state environment officials, including a provision $28.6 million of the fine go toward funds devoted to clean water and a designated oil and gas program.

The earmarked funds, according to the DEP, will help fortify some of the state’s natural areas.

Officials with ETC have not issued a formal statement on the DEP’s ruling, and an attempt to reach Energy Transfer Partners for comment this week was unsuccessful.

Moving forward, DEP officials said they will be stringently monitoring ETC’s pipeline work to ensure terms and conditions in the agreement are satisfied.

“The conditions imposed by this agreement seek to ensure that ETC will get this right,” McDonell said in the statement. “Anything less is unacceptable.”

At least one organization, the Better Path Coalition, has gone on record in opposition to the DEP’s decision. The environmental advocacy group took aim at the ETC’s track record of monitoring compliance across the state.

“Pennsylvanians jaded by the Department of Environmental Protection’s poor track record for holding polluters to account will be unmoved by the agency’s historic fine on ETC,” according to the statement from Better Path Coalition. “Instead, they will shudder at the thought that the company will be able once again to get permits for its projects.”

published here with permission of The Center Squarei

Happenings and Events in Gloucester City and Surrounding Communities

The Neighbors United Designer Bag Bingo & Basket Auction

will be Saturday, February 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. Doors will open at 5 p.m. at the Pine Grove Civic Association hall on Jersey Avenue, Gloucester City.

Bring family and friends for a great night out. Grab snacks and beverages. Complimentary desserts and coffee. Ice will be provided.

Tickets are $30 but are on sale for $25 through January 15. All bingo games will be regular bingo or four corners except for the two special games, which will be a pattern.

For information go to the Neighbors United Facebook page.

*****

The Borough of Westville would like to wish

residents a “Happy January,” and reminds everyone to register their pets.

Dog and cat registrations can be done at Borough Hall during working hours-Monday thru Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

******

The Gateway Regional High School Community

will sponsor an American Red Cross Blood Drive Friday, January 10, from 3 to 8 p.m., at the Health Rooms, 775 Tanyard Road, Woodbury Heights.

To schedule an appointment call 800-733-2767.

*****

Gloucester City and St. Mary’s Parish have announced

that the fifth annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be Sunday afternoon, March 1.

*****

The Borough of Bellmawr has announced

has announced that the new Florence Korostynski Memorial Dog Park is now open.

The park is located at Bergen Avenue and Market Street and has plenty of open space and exercise structures for dogs to run and play.

The park is named for the late Mrs. Florence Korostynski, who served the residents of Bellmawr in the tax office and volunteered her time in many capacities on several committees. The annual 4th of July Baby Parade was created by Florence and was her most adoring commitment.

*****

The Gloucester City Mayor’s Community Prayer Breakfast

will be Saturday, January 18, at 9 a.m. in Elizabeth’s Ballroom.

There will be a full, hot buffet breakfast, an ecumenical Prayer Service and Mayor Dan Spencer’s “State of the City” address.

Tickets are $12 and may be purchased at any church in town or by calling the mayor’s office at 856-456-0079. All are welcome to attend.

*****

Gloucester Catholic High School

is gearing up for its 16th annual Maroon & Golds Basket Auction, which is slated for April 30. The fundraiser solely benefits GCHS students.

The auction success depends on the support of the school community and no gift or contribution is too small. All donations are asked to be made by the end of January.

Donations can be mailed to Gloucester Catholic Junior Senior High School, ℅ Heather Mondel, 33 Ridgeway Street, Gloucester City, NJ 08030. Donations can be made through Sign Up Genius at www.signupgenius.com/go/4090C48AAA828A4F58-gloucester1.

To make a donation or for more information, reach out to Heather Mondel at

heathermondel@yahoo.com

*****

Mt. Ephraim Borough has a contingent of dedicated volunteers

working to trap, neuter/spay and return feral cats. They can always use more help. For animal lovers who would like to get involved – call the borough at 856-931-1546 and ask for Terry or email

boroclerk@mountephraim-nj.com

The TNR program is also in need of food and monetary donations, which can be dropped off at Borough Hall, 121 S. Black Horse Pike.

*****

Sanctuary choirs “makes” exciting sound

at the Gloucester City First Baptist Church, Sussex and Monmouth streets, Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

Come and hear this beautiful music. Always welcoming new choir members. For information call 456-8526.

*****

The Gloucester City High School Class of 1965

will hold its 55th year reunion at The Kove in Audubon on Saturday, April 25. The cost will be $50 per person, including a buffet dinner and entertainment, and a cash bar will be available. A meet and greet will be held at The Tap Room in Haddon Township on Friday, April 24. Discounted rooms have been made available for Friday and/or Saturday night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill. For details please contact Frank Carrick at

fcarrick@comcast.net

or 856-241-9483,

*****

The VFW Post 9563 Hall

at 52 Essex Ave., Bellmawr, offers rentals for up to 120 people. It is ideal for weddings, birthday parties, showers, etc.

Call Jeff at 609-313-3135 or the post at 856-931-9724.

*****

The American Legion Post 72 Hall,

9 Railroad Avenue, Brooklawn, is available to rent for weddings, showers, birthday parties, etc. Call the post at 856-456-9847.

*****

The VFW Post 8714 Hall,

70 11th Street Avenue, Glendora is available to rent for weddings, birthday parties, etc. Call Bob Barker at 856-534-9381.

NOTE: If you have an event you would like listed send it to CNBNews1@gmail.com

EPA at 50: Progress for a Stronger Future

WASHINGTON

(January 06, 2020) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its 50

anniversary theme, “EPA at 50: Progress for a Stronger Future.”

“For fifty years, EPA employees and our many partners have worked together to fulfill the agency’s mission to protect human health and the environment. Today, Americans enjoy cleaner land, air and water than ever before,”

said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

“I look forward to celebrating the agency’s accomplishments throughout the year, and I hope that we can inspire the next generation of environmental leaders to continue building on our progress for the next 50 years.”

Throughout 2020, EPA will commemorate the agency’s many achievements and continued progress, culminating in a 50th Anniversary celebration on Dec. 2, 2020. During the month of January, EPA will be highlighting the agency’s efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment for all Americans. Since 1970, EPA has made significant progress in protecting the nation’s water, cleaning up our air and land, and safeguarding human health. Historic milestones include setting the nation’s air quality standards to protect human health, regulating the quality of public drinking water, creating the Superfund program to clean up hazardous waste sites, and protecting children from exposure to lead-based paint, to name a few.

EPA was established on Dec. 2, 1970, to consolidate into one agency a variety of federal environmental responsibilities including research, monitoring, standard setting, and enforcement activities to ensure environmental protection while simultaneously safeguarding human health. The agency’s first administrator, the late William Ruckelshaus, took the oath of office on Dec. 4, 1970.

For more on EPA’s 50

anniversary, visit:

www.epa.gov/50

Follow EPA’s 50th Anniversary celebration on social media using

#EPAat50

Randolph Inspection Station Temporarily Closed January 13

(

TRENTON) – The Randolph Inspection Station will be temporarily closed on Monday, January 13, 2020, due to construction work being performed at the site. The station is expected to reopen the following day on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, but please check the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) website,

njmvc.gov

, before heading to the Randolph station on Tuesday.

Alternative inspection stations that will be operational on Monday, January 13, 2020, include:

Washington

114 Route 31 North

(Enter on Pershing Avenue)

Washington, NJ 07882

Newton

90 Moran St.

Newton, NJ 07860

Wayne

481 Route 46 West

Wayne, New Jersey 07470

The MVC reminds customers to always check our website before visiting a local office and to take advantage of driver license renewal and other online services, such as vehicle registration renewals, driver abstract requests, and surcharge and restoration payments.

For more about the ongoing positive changes at the MVC, visit

njmvc.gov

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Visit us at

.njmvc.gov

New Jersey is an Equal Opportunity Employer