South Jersey Regional 2020 Scholastic Art Award Recipients

290 Young Artists from South Jersey Recognized by Appel Farm Arts & Music Campus for 588 Original Works.

Elmer, New Jersey – Appel Farm Arts & Music Campus has announced the regional award recipients of the 2020 Scholastic Art Awards. Presented by the nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the

97th Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country\’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7-12. More than 111,000 teens submitted their best art and writing in more than 100 regions across the country. Out of 612 creative teens from Middlesex, Monmouth, Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean, and Salem Counties in the South Jersey Region, 290 received regional honors, including Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions, or American Visions & Voices nominations:

In celebration of this year’s regional recipients, Appel Farm is hosting The 2020 South Jersey Scholastic Art Award Ceremony at Appel

Farm Arts & Music Campus in Elmer, NJ on on Friday, March 6, from 7:00-8:30 PM.

Since the program’s founding in 1923, the Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students and include a distinguished list of alumni including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol, all of whom received recognition in the Awards when they were teens.

For Gold Key works of art and writing in the Awards’ 29 categories, including architecture, painting, flash fiction, poetry, printmaking, video game design, and more, the opportunities for recognition will continue when the works are adjudicated again on a national level by a panel of leading creative professionals. National Gold Medalists will be announced in March 2020 and will be honored during a special awards ceremony at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 4, 2020. All National Medalists are eligible for a wealth of additional opportunities, such as inclusion in the Art.Write.Now.Tour traveling exhibition, and in the The Best Teen Art and The Best Teen Writing anthologies. National Medalist poets are considered for the National Student Poets Program, the nation’s highest honor for young poets presenting original work.

“Appel Farm is thrilled to partner with schools to shine a light on their creative teens, offering this unique opportunity to share their talent on a national level. We view the arts as basic to education and our Arts in Schools programs are making this vision a reality.” – Kristina Hill, Arts Integration and STEAM Education Director, Appel Farm Arts & Music Campus

National Sponsors: The Alliance is grateful for its generous sponsors, who provide funds to support and produce the Scholastic Awards at the national level: Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, New York Life Foundation, Command Companies, The New York Times, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, The Herb Block Foundation, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Poetry Foundation, and The Wunderkinder Foundation. The Alliance also expresses its gratitude to numerous other individuals, foundations, and corporations for their support. For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit the Scholastic News Room:

http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting

Appel Farm Arts & Music Campus: Since 1960, Appel Farm Arts and Music Campus has provided transformative arts and learning experiences, and has emerged as the arts education leader in South Jersey. Arts education programs on our campus at Appel Farm, in the schools, and in the community are raising the bar of arts education for children and families in our community. Appel Farm provides people of all ages, cultures and economic backgrounds with a supportive, cooperative environment in which to explore the fine and performing arts.

NJBIA 2020 Business Climate Analysis Shows NJ Remains Worst in Region

on Eve of FY2021 Budget Proposal

On the eve of Gov. Phil Murphy\’s budget address that is expected to call for more unnecessary tax increases, NJBIA released its updated 2020 Business Climate Analysis showing New Jersey has the least competitive business climate, with the highest

corporate tax, state sales tax, income tax and property taxes in the region.

NJBIA analyzed six individual business cost drivers in seven states and determined New Jersey ranks at the bottom overall behind Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

The graphic can be found

here

\”Once again, New Jersey is dead last on overall regional competitiveness and affordability,\” said NJBIA President & CEO Michele N. Siekerka, Esq. \”The only way for New Jersey to turn this situation around is with comprehensive reforms that are long-term and sustainable, not more tax increases and short-term fixes that only get the state through the next one-year budget cycle or two-year election cycle.

\”It\’s our hope that Tuesday\’s budget address starts addressing some of these issues.\”

NJBIA\’s annual Regional Business Climate Analysis, prepared by Director of Economic Policy Research Nicole Sandelier, observes six factors that affect business competitiveness — minimum wage, top income tax rate, top corporate tax rate, state sales tax rate, top unemployment tax rate and property taxes as a percentage of income — to see how New Jersey stacks up against six states in the region.

Each state\’s rates are compared and scored from 1 (least competitive) to 7 (most competitive).

New Jersey\’s overall business climate score (16) was the weakest for the third straight year. Once again, Delaware (31), Maryland (30), and Pennsylvania (28) were ranked first, second and third. New York\’s overall score (23) improved 1 point from 2019 to secure fourth place, while Connecticut (22) dropped 1 point this year to finish fifth behind New York. Massachusetts (20) ranked sixth both years.

Compared to the six other states, New Jersey had the highest top income tax rate (10.75%), top corporate tax (10.5%), state sales tax (6.625%) and property taxes paid as a percentage of income (5.05%). This is on top of New Jersey\’s onerous regulatory climate and challenges in supporting an innovation ecosystem seen in some other regional states.

Last week, Senate President Steve Sweeney announced a proposal to not sunset a corporate business tax hike that was to end in 2022. The current top corporate tax rate is the second highest in the nation.

\”Misguided proposals that expand New Jersey\’s income tax, raise the state sales tax, maintain our our corporate business tax as a national outlier, and ignore the issues that drive high property tax rates would only worsen our business climate,\” Siekerka said. \”New Jersey needs a more competitive economy, not just for the businesses operating here and their executives, but for the middle-income employees who depend on these businesses for their livelihood.\”

Siekerka noted some special interest groups are already lobbying for a budget that increases and reinstates several different taxes in order to fund $3.1 billion in additional state spending in the FY 2021 year that begins on July 1 — even though state tax revenues are currently running well ahead of projections and 6% above the same seven-month period in the previous fiscal year.

\”New Jersey\’s challenges won\’t be solved with more taxes and more spending,\” Siekerka said. \”What\’s needed are structural budget reforms that address New Jersey\’s long-term debt and the state\’s unsustainable spending on platinum-level public employee healthcare plans and pensions. Pension and benefit reform will allow New Jersey to spend more on important public policy priorities such as education and transportation.\”

According to NJBIA\’s analysis of audited state revenues, expenses and debt found in New Jersey Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, state revenues increased 23% from 2007-2017, while state expenses have increased 45% and state debt increased 382% during the same period.

CNB BUSINESS NEWS

CNB Business News: Ongoing Commitment to Service Earns Agents 2019 Quality Service Pinnacle Award

Madison, NJ (Grassroots Newswire) February 24, 2020 — Century 21 Real Estate LLC recently recognized the following sales affiliates with the CENTURY 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer Award. The annual award is based on results from the CENTURY 21 Quality Service Survey (QSS) which is e-mailed to consumers immediately after the purchase or sale of a home. To earn the

CENTURY 21 Quality Service Pinnacle Producer Award, an agent must receive completed customer surveys for at least 50 percent of their transactions surveyed from January 1 – December 31, with an average survey score of at least 95 percent or better for 2 consecutive years.

* Jitka McCabe, of CENTURY 21 Alliance, of Mantua, New Jersey, will receive a customized glass trophy, in addition to being recognized at the CENTURY 21 Global Conference. For more information, Charles Meyer can be reached at (609) 654-8797 or

chuckmeyer@century21.com

* Andrea Schoelkopf, of CENTURY 21 Rauh & Johns, of Sewell, New Jersey, will receive a customized glass trophy, in addition to being recognized at the CENTURY 21 Global Conference. For more information, Joseph Rauh can be reached at 856-582-0366 or

jrauhc21@aol.com

\”The Quality Service Pinnacle Producer Award is an integral part of our brands commitment to excellence and recognizes their dedication to making each and every client interaction a positive one,\” said Mike Miedler, chief executive officer of Century 21 Real Estate LLC. \”They provide their clients with knowledge and advice related to their real estate transaction and offers them confidence during what may be the most significant purchase of a lifetime.

About Century 21 Real Estate LLC

Century 21 Real Estate LLC is comprised of approximately 11,500 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices in 84 countries and territories worldwide with more than 131,000 independent sales professionals. Century 21 Real Estate has numerous websites to help answer specific consumer needs. They are

century21.com

century21Global.com

commercial.century21.com

century21.com/finehomes

, and

century21espanol.com

©2020 Century 21 Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. CENTURY 21®, the CENTURY 21 Logo and C21® are registered service marks owned by Century 21 Real Estate LLC. Century 21 Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each office is independently owned and operated.

CNB BUSINESS NEWS

Camden County Environmental Center Make & Take: Propagation 101

When: Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm

Cost: $20 per person

Information:

Join us and learn to make more plants from the ones you already have or just purchased! This session will explain basic propagation methods. Each participant will have hands-on experience in taking cuttings from a selection of plants and you will be taking your newly propagated plants home.

Place: Camden County Environmental Center 1301 Park Blvd., Cherry Hill NJ 08022

Tickets may be purchased through Eventbrite: Search event name within the Eventbrite site to locate this Make & Take event. Or via

mastergardenerscamdencounty.org/events

. Registration is required. Additional information, if needed, please contact Becki Szkotak at 856-216-7130 prompt 4.

CNB Business News: 20 Digits Establishes Executive Team in Preparation for National Expansion

GLOUCESTER CITY, NEW JERSEY—February 24, 2020—20 Digits, a start-up developing innovative solutions for the integrated facilities management (IFM) industry, has named Scott Dickson as Chief Technology Officer amid a

year of strategic expansion. 20 Digits is a subsidiary of

NEST

, the

Scott Dickson to guide the start-up’s growth as Chief Technology Officer

integrated facilities management consultant and analytics solution serving enterprises in the United States and Canada.

“As an organization, we recognized just how important technology is for an IFM program,” said Rob Almond, Chief Executive Officer of NEST. “Though 20 Digits was originally established to fill that need and develop solutions for IFM, it quickly exceeded our expectations. Now, with Scott leading the group, I have full confidence 20 Digits will expand as a company just as it grew its initial offering.”

In his new role, Dickson will be responsible for overseeing the continued expansion of 20 Digits, as well as development, product management, infrastructure and security for the existing platform offering.

Dickson joined 20 Digits from multinational retailer David’s Bridal after 15 years. During his tenure, Dickson was responsible for introducing DevOps practices built upon Amazon Web Services in order to deliver cloud-native services into a complex ecosystem with aging technologies.

“I’m thrilled to be helping 20 Digits on the next leg of its journey,” said Dickson. “IFM is an industry that’s ripe for tech innovation. We have the opportunity to save clients a lot of money and solve issues they haven’t even identified yet.”

###

About 20 Digits

20 Digits Technology is a provider of technology solutions for the integrated facilities management (IFM) industry. Comprised of a team of technology veterans but maintaining the agility of a start-up, 20 Digits is developing cost-saving solutions for enterprises with multiple large-scale brick and mortar locations, including those with robust digital experiences. A subsidiary of NEST, the leading IFM solutions provider, 20 Digits is driven to provide next-generation solutions that are both innovative and secure. For more information, visit

http://20digitstechnology.com/

CNB BUSINESS NEWS

JEROME BY DAVE WOLFE

ARTIST Dave Wolfe

Vol. 6 No. 34 (February 23, 2020)

Editor\’s Note: Each Sunday morning we post a weekly comic strip provided by cartoonist Dave Wolfe. (click image to enlarge)

Pick-6 Hits $3 Million for Feb. 24 Drawing

TRENTON (Feb. 21, 2020)

– The Pick-6 drawing on February 20 produced

six

winners of

$3,727

for matching five out of six white balls drawn.

Two

of those tickets were

purchased with XTRA, multiplying the prize to

$7,454

. The $3.0 million drawing will be held Monday, February 24, 2020.

The

winning numbers

for the

Thursday, February 20

, drawing were:

02, 06, 24, 35, 40 and 49

. The XTRA

Multiplier

was:

. By adding XTRA for an additional $1.00 per play, winners are able to multiply their non-jackpot prizes by the XTRA number drawn.

Executive Director James Carey announced that there were 447,247 tickets purchased for the drawing and of those sold, thousands were prizewinners! For correctly matching four numbers, 312 ticketholders won $69 each and 42 others won $138 each with the addition of XTRA. Moreover, for correctly matching three numbers 6,093 ticketholders won $3 each and 926 others won $6 each with the addition of XTRA. 7,574 ticketholders each won $2.00 for correctly matching two numbers with the addition of XTRA on their purchase.

Lawmakers Put Pennsylvania State Police On \”The Hot Seat\”

By Christen Smith |

The Center Square

House lawmakers grilled the Pennsylvania State Police on Thursday over the governor’s proposal to raise $136 million for the agency via municipality service fees that some see as akin to a tax increase.

“We were told this is a no tax increase budget, but in order to afford this, municipalities will have to probably raise property taxes,” said Rep. Ryan Warner, R-Fayette, during a House Appropriations Committee meeting.

“I think it’s up to the municipalities whether they want to raise taxes or find another way to fund it,” PSP Col. Robert Evanchick said.

Earlier this month, Gov. Tom Wolf proposed that the Legislature adopt a weighted formula that would charge municipalities for the state police services they use, rather than borrowing from the Motor License Fund to cover the bill each year. About two-thirds of Pennsylvania’s 2,560 municipalities rely on state police coverage instead of a local department.

Critics argue the service fee disproportionately shifts the burden onto taxpayers in poorer rural districts who would pay more per person than those in wealthier, more populated areas.

Prior proposals from Wolf’s administration used sliding scales and flat fees to generate additional funds, but never gained traction within the Legislature. The latest version is “predicated on station coverage costs based on incidents and coverage area and considers other factors like population and income,” according to the administration’s budget summary.

In Tioga County’s Delmar Township, for example, PSP would collect $32.92 per resident to fund the $92,000 it spends annually to maintain full-time coverage. Philadelphia residents, by comparison, would pay just 97 cents per person to cover the $1.5 million in PSP expenditures incurred there each year.

“Is this the best way?” Rep. Jim Struzzi, R-Indiana, asked. “We all want to make sure you have the funding you need, but is this the best way to fill that $136 million gap?”

“To add one more fee or tax or whatever you want to call it is a big ask for me,” said Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga.

Evanchick defended the formula as a fair representation of expenditures at each of its stations and said the department tried to limit the impact on the municipalities with more needs.

“We are concerned about the rural communities because that’s where we should be doing our greater work,” he said. “We understand that these communities don’t have resources out there.”

Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester, pressed PSP on the amount of free police coverage it provides at public events. In 2019, Evanchick said the agency staffed more than 111,000 events for free– including protests and little league baseball games. PSP also received $1.5 million in reimbursements for covering professional and college sporting events, he said, such as Eagles games at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

“We looted the Motor License Fund to pay the state police while the Eagles, Penn State and the Farm Show are getting a free ride on behalf of the Pennsylvania taxpayers?” Lawrence said. “We should really be taking a look at that.”

Evanchick again clarified that Lawrence’s statements weren’t “entirely true,” noting that the department had been paid for covering certain events.

Wolf’s budget also proposes a $13 million appropriation to fund four cadet classes to replace the 200 troopers expected to retire next year. Evanchick said PSP staffing levels are at a 10-year high, reaching 4,719 in 2019.

Rep. Chris Sainato, D-Lawrence, said despite the record amount of troopers currently employed, the numbers alone highlight the limitations of the agency.

“I think there’s room for both local and state police in Pennsylvania,” he said. “With your complement, you can’t do everything. It’s impossible, with your numbers, to solve everything out there.”

published here by The Gloucestercitynews.net with permission of

The Center Square

Edie May Downie of Runnemede, age 89

Edith “Edie” May Downie (nee Hlubb), on February 19, 2020, passed away at home with her daughters by her side. She was a longtime resident of Runnemede. Age 89.

Beloved wife for 57 years of the late Jim. Devoted mother of Donna Frost (Gene) and Denise Monahan (Robbie). Loving Grandmom of Holly Plank (Steve) and Kevin Roback (Tiffany). Proud Great Grandmother of Jackson, Caleb & Gracyn Plank and Madison & Logan Roback. Predeceased by her siblings, John Hlubb, Joseph Hlubb, and Laura Recca and loving sister-in-law, Joan Hlubb.

Mrs. Downie was employed by the Runnemede Board of Education for 25+ years and also served as bookkeeper for her husband’s business, DECO Tool & Die. She was President of the Runnemede Fire Company Ladies’ Auxiliary, a member of the Runnemede Women’s Club and the Collingswood High School Class of 1948 Reunion Committee. She delighted in baking and decorating cakes for friends and family.

There will be a visitation from 10:30am to 11:30am Saturday, February 29

at GARDNER FUNERAL HOME, RUNNEMEDE.

Funeral Mass 12 noon at Holy Child Parish, St. Teresa RC Church, Runnemede.

Interment private at the request of the family, Hillcrest Memorial Park, Hurffville.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Edith’s memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 33105 or Tidewell Hospice, 5955 Rand Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34238.

DOWN THE SHORE: Coming This Summer Sundays at Surfside Concerts, at Surfside Park

AVALON, NJ–The Avalon Department of Recreation has announced a brand new concert series at Avalon’s Surfside Park, located adjacent to the Avalon Boardwalk at 30

Street and the beach. Nine concerts will be held this summer during the “Sundays at Surfside” events, starting Sunday, June

. All concerts will begin at 7:00pm and conclude at approximately 8:30pm.

“Our ‘Sundays at Surfside’ promised to be a major attraction this summer”, said Avalon Recreation Department Director Chuck McDonnell. “We have scheduled some of the most popular entertainers in the Delaware Valley, and the event will feature a cross section of music from oldies to country to Irish music, and everything in between”.

The first “Sundays at Surfside” will feature “Jimmy & the Parrots”, the band that performed during the grand opening of Surfside Park in June, 2019. “Jimmy and the Parrots” play contemporary, country, island, and Jimmy Buffet music during an energetic performance.

Avalon’s “Sundays at Surfside” concert series is as follows:

June 28

—Jimmy & the Parrots

July 5

—40 North

July 12

—Dead Reckoning

July 19

—Trinadelphia Quartet Steel Band

July 26

—All Souled Out

August 2

—Johnny Cash Tribute Band

August 9

—Central Park/the Band

August 16

—The Quietman (Irish Night)

August 23

—Beatlemania Again

All concerts are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a beach chair or a blanket to see the concerts. In the event of inclement weather, the concerts will be held inside Avalon Community Hall.

Surfside Park opened in May, 2019 and is supported by a grant from the Cape May County Open Space Program. It includes a performance stage, restrooms, an open lawn area for recreation, and a playground that welcomes children of all ages.

For more, visit

www.avalonrecreation.org