Homemaking is surely the most important work in the world. It’s the art of making a house a home. The starting place of love, hope, and dreams. Where love resides, memories are created, friends always belong, and laughter never ends. To the world, Brenda A. Thomas (nee Hancock) was a wife, mother, and homemaker, all while working full-time for most of her life. But to her family, she was their world. She loved to cook, and meals were always ready for her family. Brenda was a doting wife, mother, and “Nanny” who enjoyed baseball… cheering on the “Phightin Phils”… especially JT, crocheting, casino trips, and summers in Stone Harbor.
As the days grow longer and the weather begins to warm, now is the perfect time to get outside and explore everything South Jersey has to offer. From scenic parks and waterfront trails to lively community events and local attractions, there are plenty of ways to make the most of your weekend without traveling far from home.
Celebrate America’s 250th across Camden County and the surrounding region, residents can enjoy seasonal fun like outdoor activities, cultural experiences, and family-friendly events and more! Whether you’re looking into the history, discovering something new, or simply enjoy time with family and friends, there are countless opportunities waiting right around the corner! To learn more, Click Here.
With the FIFA World Cup 26 coming in just a matter of months, businesses and organizations around the city are advised to adhere to the public viewing guidelines. This includes bars, restaurants, parks, community centers and any other ticketed screenings.
If the event is public, large, includes sponsors, or charges admission, it will need a license from FIFA and its broadcast partners. To apply for a license or verify if you need one, click here.
Approved public viewing events should follow the guidelines set by FIFA and Philadelphia’s Host City Committee. The regulations can be accessed here.
Danielsen, Speight legislation would ensure employers provide clear job vacancy details and timely updates to job seekers
(TRENTON) — For many job seekers, applying to a position only to never hear back, or learning the job was never truly open, has become an all-too-common experience in today’s competitive job market. Recognizing that frustration, the Assembly Labor Committee today advanced legislation to require employers or a third-party job posting company to clarify in job postings whether the posting is for existing position or for an anticipated vacancy. The bill would also require an employer or third-party job posting company to remove a job posting when a position has been filled within two weeks after the position being filled or within 30 days after the original posting, whichever is later.
The bill, A1161, sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Danielsen and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight, seeks to make sure that advertised positions reflect real opportunities for New Jersey workers.
Newswise — What:Johns Hopkins Children’s Center is like a dog with two tails! The children’s hospital now has its first full-time facility dogs. The two dogs, Rosalina and Yoda, are part of the Child Life Department’s Paws for Healing Facility Dog Program funded by a $150,000 grant from the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation. The pair are expertly trained canines who work directly with pediatric patients during their clinic or hospital care. The dogs were carefully matched by the professionals at Canine Companions, who have bred, raised and trained service and facility dogs since 1975.
Before arriving at the Children’s Center, Rosalina, now almost 2 years old, and Yoda, who recently turned 2, underwent almost two years of training to be able to interact with patients on specific, individualized goals. Their handlers, Carrie Potter, senior child life specialist, and Molly Trippe-Gallagher, child life specialist III, also received specialized training.
This March, during National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week with Preservation Action, Preservation New Jersey took our message to Washington, D.C., meeting with representatives from across the state to ensure New Jersey’s historic places are protected, celebrated, and supported as we approach America’s 250th anniversary.Historic preservation is more than safeguarding buildings, it is about protecting the stories, culture, and character that define our communities. It fuels local economies, revitalizes downtowns, strengthens civic pride, and connects residents and visitors to the rich heritage that surrounds them. During Advocacy Week, our team highlighted why preservation matters not only for the past but for the present and future of New Jersey communities. Read Full Story
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his supporters in the so-called Make America Healthy Again movement accomplished their long-sought goal of significantly revising the U.S. childhood immunization schedule.
The changed schedule no longer universally recommends that children be vaccinated against influenza, hepatitis A and B, RSV, rotavirus, and meningitis. Kennedy framed the changes as a way to restore choice and flexibility. But in reality, they remove a clear national standard and inject even more uncertainty into pediatric care at a critical moment.
It’s time for an honest assessment of how we arrived here — and what comes next for parents, children, and our entire public health system.
Consider the flu vaccine. This winter, influenza cases have surged nationwide. Yet HHS no longer recommends that all kids receive safe, generally effective flu shots.
The result has been predictable: lower vaccine uptake, more illness, and more avoidable suffering.
Or consider measles, one of the most contagious viruses in the world. In 2025, more than 2,000 confirmed measles cases were reported across over 40 states, the highest total in 33 years. Nearly all of these cases have been in unvaccinated individuals.
These outbreaks have forced quarantines, led to numerous missed school days, and disrupted families and workplaces alike. And they’ve led to major downstream costs: one review found a single measles case costs the healthcare system — and taxpayers — $43,000.
For decades, routine childhood immunizations have saved lives and billions of dollars in medical and societal costs. Weakening these programs does not enhance freedom. It redistributes risk, placing the greatest burden on children, the elderly, and the medically vulnerable.
Yet it would be incomplete, and dishonest, to tell this story without acknowledging how we got here. The erosion of trust in public health officials did not begin in 2025.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders too often communicated certainty when humility was needed, and urgency when explanation was required. Guidance changed, sometimes abruptly, without sufficient transparency. Parents who raised concerns about school closures, mandates, or rare vaccine injuries were frequently dismissed, rather than engaged.
That failure mattered. Trust, once lost, is difficult to regain. When institutions appear unwilling to listen, people seek answers elsewhere and look to those like Kennedy.
So, what comes next?
First, public health institutions must recommit to transparency and humility. That means acknowledging uncertainty, explaining risk honestly, and addressing vaccine safety concerns without defensiveness.
Then, we must empower parents, not shame them. Families should feel confident and comfortable asking questions and receiving answers they trust. That requires accessible, credible information about vaccine benefits, risks, and safety monitoring, delivered without jargon or judgment.
Finally, local healthcare providers must be supported. Physicians, nurses, and pharmacists are among the most trusted sources of health information, with surveys consistently showing that adults and parents place especially high trust in their personal clinicians for vaccine guidance. They need time, training, institutional backing, and public support to handle difficult, emotionally charged conversations about vaccines well.
As a former U.S. surgeon general, I have seen how quickly trust can erode, and how painstaking the work of rebuilding it can be. The difficult question America now faces is whether public health institutions can learn fast enough, adapt humbly enough, and speak clearly enough to win back the trust we’ve lost.
Dr. Jerome Adams served as the 20th U.S. Surgeon General during the first Trump administration (2017-21) and is a practicing anesthesiologist. This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star.
DNREC is set to begin the annual spring spraying of woodland pools to control aquatic immature (larval) mosquitoes as soon as Friday, March 20 – with the spring spray campaign carrying on as late as mid-April, weather permitting. Targeting larval mosquitoes limits the emergence of biting adult mosquitoes later in the spring coming from these habitats.
Today, I send my best wishes to Catholics and other Christians celebrating the Feast of Saint Joseph—the earthly father of Jesus Christ and one of the most revered figures in the Bible.
Saint Joseph was a model father, husband, and worker, as well as a living embodiment of Christian virtue. He spent his life working tirelessly, without accolades or recognition, to protect his family and raise the Son of God. Through every trial and tribulation, Saint Joseph led his family with dignity, strength, and moral courage. In the face of uncertainty and danger, time and again, he valiantly surrendered to God’s will with faith, fortitude, humility, and obedience—playing a central role in the life of Jesus Christ and the history of salvation.
Shirley U. Emehelu was sworn in on January 22 as New Jersey’s Acting State Comptroller by the Hon. Zahid N. Quraishi, U.S.D.J., with her family by her side.
Two months into her tenure, Acting Comptroller Emehelu is advancing new oversight initiatives and deepening OSC’s commitment to transparency and accountability across New Jersey.
Acting State Comptroller Emehelu brings extensive experience in financial oversight and public integrity. She previously served as New Jersey’s Executive Assistant Attorney General and spent nine years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted complex financial fraud cases. She is a graduate of Yale Law School.
