Go Figure
Twenty: Gloucester County municipal posts that switched from Democrat to Republican in past two years.
“Going back two, three years ago … the Democrats were playing against a different organization. Now the varsity team is on the field.”
—Gloucester County Republican Chairman Bill Fey
$849 million: Cost of the “direct connection” interchange for Interstates 295 and 76 and Route 42 in Bellmawr, which will be funded within the $1.6 billion plan newly approved by the state transportation panel. A proposed $1.5 billion Camden-to-Glassboro light rail project was not included in the fiscal 2011 budget.
57 degrees : “Temperature” of public opinion toward Gov. Christie, on a 0-to-100 scale, per to a national poll by Quinnipiac University.
56.5 degrees: President Obama’s rating—lower than Michelle Obama’s balmy 60.1, the highest of any public figure in the survey.
“Let me at them. Get me out of the cage, and let me go!”
—Gov. Chris Christie on New Jersey’s unions
$30,000 to $50,000: Mount Holly Township’s offer to residents of its Gardens section for their homes. Mount Holly is looking to demolish remaining homes in a redevelopment plan that would replace them with retail businesses and homes worth $250,000 or more.
200: Estimated number of New Jersey inmates being granted early release each month, under a law that provides for the automatic six-months-early release of some inmates. Bills in the House and Senate are now in motion to repeal the law.
18 Age of Ted Johnson, a Woodbury High School senior who is running for the Board of Education.
30.5: The average age of the Philadelphia Phillies 2011 roster, the oldest in Major League Baseball.
11,000: Crimes handled by the Camden County Prosecutors office—the second-highest workload in the state—where 66 people received pink slips effective March 31.
7,000 square feet: Size of 7 Deuce Sports, the Medford training facility ex-Eagles offensive tackle Tra Thomas will open this month to offer elite training for middle school and high school athletes.
19 percent; Increase in violent crime in Camden in January and February, compared to a year ago, following the layoff of 160 police officers. There was a 259 percent spike in aggravated assaults with firearms and a 60 percent increase in burglaries.
“The fight is to get the town not to sell itself out.”
—Kim Custer, president of Preservation Haddonfield, on plans to develop the five-acre Bancroft plot on Kings Highway
Top 10 Green Ideas of the Month
Earth Day is April 22, making this the perfect time to examine how you can live more a more eco-friendly life. With help from Sustainable Cherry Hill’s Lori Braunstein, we came up with a few ideas.
1. Connect. If your town is registered for Sustainability Jersey, sign on to the “green team” to help with environmental initiatives. Or, check out events like the Collingswood Green Festival, April 16; Haddon Township Green Event, April 30; or the Art Blooms Earth Festival, Cherry Hill, April 30. Check SustainableCherryHill.org for more.
2. Plant a tree. Offset your carbon footprint by greening your own yard—and then help green South Jersey. Volunteers can help plant 45 trees on May 7, for the new Butterfly Park Playground at 1724 Broadway, Camden. Visit NewJerseyTree Foundaiton.org to sign up.
3. Grow your own food. Growing your own veggies is both sustainable and affordable. Sign up for a plant-a-patch at a local community garden like the new Marlton Community Garden at Springside Park on North Locust Avenue. You can also help Whole Foods tend its community plot; harvests will be donated.
4. Eat local. South Jersey’s farmers’ markets are about to open for the season, as are community-supported agriculture programs that allow clients to purchase shares of local farm harvests. Visit www.State.NJ.US/Jersey Fresh for a listing of local options.
5. Save your rain. Irrigate your garden with rainfall and it will save water during dry summer months. Rutgers Cooperative Extension is offering a workshop including instruction and materials to build your own rain barrel, April 13 in Millville. Call (856) 451-2800 ext. 4 to register.
6. Recycle—everything. Do your research and you’ll find a home for everything from hazardous chemicals to electronics to appliances. For example, Burlington County offers computer recycling at the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex on Route 543 in Mansfield. Other local governments offer special recycling days, while local nonprofits can turn old clothes, shoes and linens into funds. Check out Terracycle.net for more waste collection programs.
7. Green your house. Install solar paneling, improve your insulation, switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. You’ll save money on utility bills and save the environment. Check out NJCleanEnergy.com for incentives.
8. Carpool, bike to work or take public transit. If you commute 20 miles a day, you release more than two tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Explore South Jersey’s rail trails, take PATCO or share the drive with friends, and you may find it’s more fun and healthier, as well as greener. Cross County Connection, at DriveLess.com, is a website devoted to helping you do just that. The site matches South Jersey carpoolers and offers public transit information.
9. Compost. Turn your food waste into amazingly fertile soil. Take a composting workshop April 16 at the Rutgers Eco Complex in Bordentown. Call (609) 499-1001 to register.
10. Be thoughtful. Turn out the lights when you leave the room, turn off your computer at night, plan your day for the most efficient route of travel, keep your tires full, wash your clothes in cold water and make other tiny, painless adjustments. Small steps can add up fast!
15 Minutes: Becky Quick
The Medford native and CNBC Squawk Box co-anchor is right on the money.
Favorite thing about visiting South Jersey … I always look forward to fresh fruit and vegetables from Johnson’s Corner Farm (all the better if you get to pick them yourself.) And in the summer, I love relaxing at Lake Pine in a kayak or on a raft.
If I wasn’t a financial journalist I’d be … probably a legislative aide in Washington. I spent two summers interning on Capitol Hill and really loved it. There’s an incredible amount of energy there. Or maybe a lawyer. I like arguing cases. (Just ask my husband.)
Best financial advice … Start saving for retirement from the first day you get a job. And live beneath your means. My grandpa always told me that once you get used to luxuries, they’re a lot tougher to give up.
My typical day off … First, I sleep in. Definitely ‘til at least 7 a.m. Then usually we spend time with the kids and try to do something fun.
I never leave home without … My BlackBerry. I even drive back to work to get it if I forget it on my desk!
Secret to success … Hard work and persistence. And luck.
Daily reading … The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, the New York Post, the [New York] Daily News, The Financial Times and Politico’s Morning Money note.
My favorite South Jersey memory is … Any one of a million summer memories spent at the Jersey Shore.
Preferred Jersey Shore spot … Long Beach Island. My family’s been vacationing there since 1986, when we lived in Oklahoma. (Long story. But we rented a big old Victorian home in Beach Haven for a family reunion and we’ve been hooked ever since.)
The biggest risk I ever took was … asking Warren Buffett if I could come along on a trip to China with him back in 2007. I didn’t know him well at all, but really wanted to go. So against my better judgment, I just blurted out on the phone with him one day: “Can I come with you?”
Proudest achievement … After a long pause, and probably against his better judgment, Mr. Buffett actually said, ‘yes.’
Little-known talent … I can play the flute. I collect sand from beaches all over the world.
Biggest adjustment to life in North Jersey … Space. I’m used to having a yard and living in a rural environment, and it took a while to find a place that makes me comfortable here.
When I get up in the morning I look forward to … A warm cup of tea. And finding out what happened while I was sleeping.
Pet charity … The Brain Injury Association of New Jersey. My brother suffered a traumatic brain injury 20 years ago. This organization provides tremendous help to families in their greatest time of need.
I hope to be remembered for … being everything my family needed and wanted from me.
Fashion Plates
If the Phillies ball girls looked a little out of breath last season, it was probably because their heavyweight uniforms weren’t exactly freeing. So, the Phillies invited local young designers, among them Haddonfield’s Jaime Melfi and Riverton’s Pamela Martin, to compete for the chance to create a new look for the on-field staffers. Melfi, a former softball player on the Phillies RBI travel team, created the pictured look. “I wanted it to be light-weight, because they run around a lot, so I made a vest with a tube top underneath and shorts with some cool detailing. It will be fun, but not too high fashion,” Melfi says. The winning design will appear at the season home opener on April 1.
How to … Get Fit for Summer in 30 Minutes a Day
Whether you’ve been in hibernation for the winter or you’re just looking to step up your fitness regime in advance of swimsuit season, help is at hand. We asked Angela Shaw, dietetic technician registered and coordinator of The Healthy Weigh weight management program at Cooper University Hospital, and Anthony Capozzoli, owner of Smart Bodies Personal Training in Marlton. Their advice: invest in some good sneakers and a sound weight loss plan, and get going.
GET PROFESSIONAL HELP. To be safe, check in with your doctor, consider meeting with a dietitian to get a customized nutrition program, or buy a few sessions with a certified trainer to avoid injury—and take notes. “Have the trainer show you a program that you’re able to continue on at home,” Capozzoli says. “You’ll able to do it more often and not rely on the trainer’s schedule to be successful.”
COMMIT TO A DOABLE EXERCISE PLAN. Schedule your day around your workout, rather than the other way around—and then stick to it. “Alternate three days of cardio and two days of strength training, and keep them separate,” Capozzoli suggests. He recommends 30 minutes of resistance training, and 30 to 45 minutes of cardio, such as running or cycling. “Each workout will be more effective if you focus on one routine. And each day your metabolism spikes, you burn more calories.”
KEEP A JOURNAL. Shaw suggests a diet journal, noting, “You’ll gain an immediate consciousness of your eating habits.” You’ll need to start weighing and measuring food, since we often underestimate how much we eat. As well, she suggests buying a pedometer, and aiming for at least 10,000 steps a day. Capozzoli recommends an exercise log, too, which will allow you to track your progress “on a weekly basis, as opposed to waiting to see results in the mirror.”
CHANGE UP YOUR CARDIO. Cross-training is popular for a reason. “Using the joints in the same manner continuously has a higher risk of repetitive motion injuries,” Capozzoli notes. Try 15 minutes on the treadmill, 15 on the elliptical and 15 on the bike, or switch from one workout session to the next. As well, he says, interval training—such as, alternating between 65 percent to 90 percent intensity—can burn more calories in a short workout.
TWEAK YOUR DIET. Shaw suggests making small changes each week—for example, removing the mayo and cheese from your sandwiches. “You’ll be able to stick with the minor modifications to your diet or exercise program,” she says. “It only takes a 500-calorie-a-day deficit to lose one pound of body fat per week.” As well, she says, eat five or six small meals a day rather than three large ones; avoid highly processed foods and cut out sugary sodas or juices.
BOOST YOUR PROTEIN. Shaw says protein should be included in every meal: ideally a plate will be half vegetables, a quarter protein and a quarter whole grains. Protein increases energy and keeps you full longer.
SET SOUND GOALS. One or two pounds of weight loss a week is safe and realistic, according to Shaw. Capozzoli adds, “Set short-term goals that will add up to your long term goal. So if your goal is to lose 30 pounds in three months, then make your short-term goal to lose five pounds in the first two weeks.”
Street Level
Gloucester Township
A Blackwood man, whose mother reported her car stolen in Florida, was charged with arson for allegedly setting the car on fire near his home.
Collingswood
Julie McNeely, 10, raised $3,000 for pediatric cancer research by shaving her head, participating in the sixth-annual St. Baldrick’s Day event.
Haddonfield
A resident complained that an ad on Craigslist, to which she had responded and subsequently sent $700 to Nigeria, turned out to be a scam.
Williamstown
A 100-year-old man celebrated his birthday with a 13,000-foot skydive.
Haddonfield
A high school student reported that his bike was stolen, making it his fifth bicycle lost to theft. The bike was not locked.
Yes to the Dress
When Medford’s Jennifer Salvage picked out her wedding dress—a Destinations by Maggie Sottero number in stretch jersey and lace—she wanted something that would survive the journey, via backpack, to her destination wedding on Easter Island. She never planned that the dress would accompany her to nearly 90 locales scattered across six continents. But since her husband, Jeff, is an avid photographer, and the two share a passion for travel, the wedding photo shoot turned into a honeymoon shoot, which turned into a photo book of Salvage exploring the world in bridal white. “As a part time photographer I wanted to include my wife in what I was doing and I thought this was a really good way to build something together,” Jeff Salvage says. Shots have included paragliding in New Zealand, hiking in Antelope Canyon, Arizona, and wandering the bazaars of Cairo—as well as kayaking in Medford and wading into the stingray tank at the Adventure Aquarium. Also on the wish list is an underwater shoot on a coral reef—the dressmaker has provided a few backup gowns for the occasion—Machu Pichu, Peru; Southeast Asia; Petra, Jordan; and the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Track their progress at OneWomanOneDress.com, or buy their book, One Dress, One Woman, One World, at the Book Swap in Medford.
Names to Know
Williamstown’s Anita Anastasi and Voorhees’ Jennifer Conners co-founded Lilo’s Promise, a volunteer-run animal welfare organization and no-kill rescue. Conners and Anastasi are currently working on a Pay it Forward for Pit Bulls campaign to raise funds for a permanent fostering facility.
Benjamin Peck, a retired dentist from Medford, and Cheryl Kovacs, a Lumberton dental assistant, spearheaded the launch of a dental clinic at Camden’s Cathedral Kitchen. For the past year both have volunteered two days a week, providing free care to individuals in need.
Cherry Hill’s Betty Mi-Yung Chung, a student at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, was honored with the American Medical Association Foundation’s 2011 Leadership Award. Chung volunteers with Hep B Free Philly, and helped to launch Hepatitis B education, screening and vaccination programs.
Lauren Megargell of Marlton and David Morgan of Cherry Hill were selected by ShopRite of Marlton to be featured on 150,000 special-edition Cheerios boxes. They’re being honored for their help in raising more than half a million dollars during the annual ShopRite Partners In Caring Cheerios Contest.
After scoring a perfect 2400 on his SAT test last year as a junior, Washington Township High School senior Parth Parihar has been nominated for the United States Presidential Scholars Program. In April, he will learn if he has been named a Presidential Scholar.
Pennsauken’s Joe and Kate Nasto started Build Jake’s Place, in memory of their son, Jake, who died of a cardiac condition at age 2. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to building “Boundless Playgrounds,” where children of all abilities can play together.
Moorestown’s Dr. Howard Hassman, a member of the Devereux Board of Trustees, and wife Cheryl, a Devereux liaison, will be honored at the Devereux New Jersey seventh annual Dinner Dance and Auction this month for their support of the nonprofit behavioral health organization.
Cathi Rendfrey, director of the Women’s Opportunity Center at the YMCA of Burlington County, was named a New Jersey Hero by First Lady Mary Pat Christie. Rendfrey has helped more than 3,000 women in Burlington and Camden counties by creating a computer resource center and securing educational funding.
Mantua’s J. Scott Rambo has led his Polar Bear Plunge Team to raise $17,000 for the New Jersey Special Olympics in the past two years. The team hopes to raise more than $30,000 through several planned fundraisers.
Do you know a local person who is doing great things and should be on our radar? Let us know by e-mailing Michelle@SouthJersey.com.
Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 8, Issue 1 (April, 2011).
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