(VIDEO) Be on the Lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly

TRENTON, NJ (December 2019)–The State of New Jersey is warning the public once again about the dangerously invasive spotted lanternfly. It has been found in Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Burlington, Salem, Somerset and Warren counties. State officials say that Cape May and Gloucester counties are among the newest additions to the list.

Spotted Lanternfly Background

• Detected on September 22, 2014 in Berks County Pennsylvania

• Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is a plant hopper, Lycorma delicatula (white) belonging to the family Fulgoridae in the order Hemiptera (true bugs).

• Makes use of over 70 different plant species, including fruit trees, ornamental trees, woody trees, vegetables, herbs and vines. Strongly prefers the invasive “Tree of Heaven”

Damage

• Like most hemipterans, SLF feeds on plants using their sucking and piercing mouthparts to extract plant sap.

• Adults and nymphs feed on phloem tissues of young stems with their piercing and sucking mouthparts and excrete large quantities of liquid (honeydew).

• Feeding creates weeping wounds

• Honeydew facilitates the growth of sooty mold

• Weeping Sap attracts activity from hymenopteran such as wasps, hornets, ants, bees etc.

• Impacts quality of outdoor life for everyone

MORE INFORMATION HERE

THREE KINGS CELEBRATION JAN. 6

CAMDEN CITY, NJ

January 6th from 2 PM to 5 PM at the Kroc Center for food, live music, and gifts for the children for the Three Kings Day Celebration. This event is presented by the Camden County Board of Freeholders, Camden County Department of Constituent Services Office of Hispanic Affairs.

For further info please call (856) 225-5312.

The Salvation Army Kroc Center

1865 Harrison Avenue, Camden, NJ, 08105, United States

Monday, Jan 6th, 2020 @ 2:00 pm

–

5:00 pm

Norcross, Booker, Hayes Introduce Legislation to Support Childcare for Student-Parents

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01) this week joined Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) to introduce H.R. 5475, the Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers

(PROSPECT) Act. This important legislation would invest heavily in federal grants supporting childcare for student-parents at community colleges and Minority Serving Institutions (MSI’s).

There are over 4 million college students in the United States who are raising children while attending school. Although the number of student parents has been on the rise, the share of community colleges and four-year institutions with campus child care has been in decline. In New Jersey, 46 percent of all residents live in a child care desert, according to the

Center for American Progress

. The PROSPECT Act would help New Jersey students enrolled in community colleges fight costly barriers to degree completion and make sure more young people have the tools they need to learn and succeed.

“Today, many student-parents are forced to choose work over their education because they cannot afford child care,”

said Congressman Norcross, a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor.

“Access to quality, affordable child care for college students impacts the strength of our economy and the diversity of our workforce. The PROSPECT Act will help provide student-parents with a level playing field. South Jersey is a leader in higher education, and this legislation will ensure that parents, their children and educators are afforded the resources and opportunities they need to succeed.”

“I was a student-parent while I pursued my bachelor’s, master’s, and graduate degrees. I know first hand the struggles of being a young parent, while trying to study and earn a degree,”

said Congresswoman Hayes,

a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor

. “The PROSPECT Act would provide student-parents with much-needed assistance, which removes one more barrier to success. I thank Senator Booker and Congressman Norcross for joining me in this effort to support student-parents.”

“Today’s college students are faced with realities that are very different than the idyllic assumptions we have of them,”

said Senator Booker.

“Millions are raising kids and have enrolled in college to improve their life circumstances for their children, but too many are forced to drop out because quality child care is unavailable or unaffordable, leaving them without a degree and saddled with student debt. This legislation will address this crisis by investing in campus child care and infant-toddler educator preparation programs, making our college campuses better equipped to help today’s students succeed.”

The PROSPECT Act is endorsed by the following organizations: American Federation of Teachers (AFT), CLASP, Education Reform Now – Advocacy, Generation Hope, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), National Black Child Development Institute, National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), Public Advocacy for Kids, UNCF, UnidosUS and Zero to Three.

“Representative Jahana Hayes’ bill addresses two essential family needs – the cost of child care, and the need to meet the appetite children have to learn and thrive,”

said

Randi Weingarten, President of American Federation of Teachers.

“Children are always learning, particularly in the months and first few years of life, which means finding ways to help nurture this learning will help the children who receive that. At the same time child care costs pose an undue burden for working parents that immediately hamstring kids whose parents work to earn a living. Child care for infants and toddlers costs parents roughly 60 percent more than child care for a 3- or 4-year-old. Finding and affording child care is even harder for parents who are in college themselves. Rep. Hayes’ Preparing and Resourcing Our Student Parents and Early Childhood Teachers Act takes bold steps to address the reality that in today’s economy, most parents are working parents, and many are also in school. It will make infant and toddler child care more affordable and accessible on college campuses, enabling student parents to finish their degrees and access a better a better life for their families. By funding high-quality child care programs with well prepared and compensated early childhood educators, this bill helps parents and educators address take care of themselves, and their families.”

“In 1999, I started as a full time freshman and teen mother at the College of William & Mary, struggling to find childcare for my three-month-old daughter while adapting to the new world of college and the academic rigor of a prestigious school,”

said

Nicole Lynn Lewis, Founder and CEO of Generation Hope. “

I founded Generation Hope in 2010 to ensure young, parenting college students have all of the supports that I lacked, and the PROSPECT Act builds upon this work in an innovative way by providing childcare and opportunities for students across the country who are working incredibly hard to become college graduates.”

“Every student deserves a fair chance at completing a college degree and pursuing their American Dream,”

said Dr. Michael L. Lomax, President and CEO of UNCF.

“This is something that HBCUs know all too well given their unique mission and continued efforts to ensure that our neediest of students are not ignored. The PROSPECT Act builds on the invaluable approach lead by HBCUs to make sure students with children are also taken care of and able to achieve their dreams. UNCF is proud to support such common-sense legislation and urges Congress to act swiftly and pass the PROSPECT Act.”

“Latinos are enrolling in college in record numbers. But support services are needed to help them finish on time, such as expanded access to quality early childhood education for student-parents,”

said

Eric Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at UnidosUS.

“The PROSPECT Act will lift up entire families by expanding child care at college campuses, helping with college completion and providing young children a strong start in early education and life.”

The World Lottery Association Recertifies New Jersey Lottery

for Level 4 Responsible Gaming Certification

TRENTON (Dec. 20, 2019) – In 2016, the New Jersey Lottery was only the third state lottery in the nation to be awarded a World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Level Four Certification, the highest level of international recognition in the

gaming industry. The Lottery has been recertified by the World Lottery Association in 2019 for continued efforts to incorporate responsible gaming best practices into its every day operations.

The World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Principles and Framework Certification Program outlines lotteries\’ level of commitment to corporate social responsibility and responsible gaming. New Jersey Lottery received the recertification of its Level 4 distinction for its commitment to continued review and ongoing development of extensive responsible gaming efforts.

“I am proud of New Jersey Lottery’s efforts to incorporate responsible gaming messages into all areas of communication and our work toward continued enhancements of the Responsible Play Program,” said New Jersey Lottery Acting Executive Director James A. Carey, Jr. “We are pleased that the extensive review by the World Lottery Association of our responsible gaming initiatives and continued commitment has earned the New Jersey Lottery recertification of the prestigious Level 4 Responsible Gaming Certification.”

FACE OF DEFENSE: Coast Guard swaps summer buoys with seasonal winter buoys on Chesapeake Bay

BALTIMORE — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter James Rankin has finished replacing the summer buoys with seasonal winter buoys on the Chesapeake Bay, Friday.

Throughout the month of December the crew replaced 66 summer buoys and removed the Francis Scott Key buoy in preparation for the winter season. The seasonal buoys are kept in until late February or early March.

Ice and snow have the potential to damage, displace and submerge the large summer buoys, which would leave the channel unmarked and could create a substantial hazard to mariners. Displaced buoys could misguide boaters, which might result in groundings or allisions with partially-submerged buoys.

“The summer hulls run the risk of snow and ice attaching to the cages above the water, which would pull the buoys under the ice, under the water and create a significant hazard to navigation for passing ships,” said Chief Warrant Officer Christopher Runt, aids to navigation officer at Sector Maryland-National Capital Region. “Winter hulls are designed to ride better in the ice and don’t have surfaces for the ice to attach to.”

The James Rankin is a 175-foot Keeper-class buoy tender homeported at the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore.

Face of Defense

American Hero

CNBNews Tips and Snippets

CNBNews Point of View

BREAKING NEWS

published olive-wolverine-471793.hostingersite.com | Dec. 24, 2019

AG Grewal Sues Companies for Selling Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines into NJ

Some Refused To Turn Over Evidence of Prior Sales

Elite Aluminum Complaint

22MODSFORALL Complaint

TRENTON

– Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today filed suit against two separate out-of-state companies which previously sold illegal large capacity magazines (LCMs) to undercover state investigators in New Jersey, and which have failed to comply with state subpoenas demanding the records of their New Jersey sales.

New Jersey law prohibits the possession and sale of firearm magazines that are capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. LCMs allow a shooter to fire an unusually high number of bullets at a time, without requiring the shooter to even pause and reload. As a result, violence that involves LCMs can result in more shots fired, persons wounded, and wounds per victim than other gun attacks.

Although both Elite Aluminum of Holly Hill, Fla., and 22Mods4All of Longwood, Fla., appear to have discontinued sales of LCMs into New Jersey after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Attorney General Grewal, both companies have refused to turn over documents showing their prior sales into the state, despite receiving a subpoena.

This investigation predates, and is unrelated to, the attack in Jersey City last week.

“Large capacity magazines are illegal in New Jersey, which is why I’m continuing to file suits against LCM companies that sell their products to our consumers,” said Attorney General Grewal. “The companies we’re going after today have repeatedly stonewalled and withheld evidence from investigators, despite a subpoena. These lawsuits serve as yet another warning to the industry: hide the extent of your unlawful sales from our investigators, and we will see you in court.”

“New Jersey banned the possession and sale of LCMs because of their devastatingly lethal capacity, and because of the role such products have played in tragedy after tragedy around the country,” said Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Paul R. Rodríguez. “Not only do we allege that these companies put New Jersey residents at risk by selling dangerous, illegal weapons into the state, exposing purchasers to criminal liability, they have now failed to comply with our investigation. These two sellers have had ample warning and time to cooperate. Their time has run out, and we’re taking them to court.”

Filed in Superior Court in Essex County, the State’s lawsuits against Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All each include two counts. The first count addresses alleged violations of the Consumer Fraud Act that occurred when the companies offered and sold LCMs to New Jersey buyers despite the fact that possessing an LCM is a fourth-degree crime in New Jersey punishable by up to 18 months in prison and fines of up to $10,000. The second count centers on the failure of both sellers to comply with a subpoena for records documenting their sales activities in New Jersey dating back five years.

The sales information was first requested in cease-and-desist letters sent to both vendors by Attorney General Grewal on January 7, 2019.

The Elite Aluminum cease-and-desist letter came in the wake of the company’s sale and delivery of eight 30-round LCMs to an undercover Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) detective through three separate transactions in 2018.

The 22Mods4All cease-and-desist letter came in the wake of the company’s sale and delivery of nine 30-round LCMs to an undercover DCJ detective in two separate transactions, also in 2018.

Attorney General Grewal’s letters called on Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All to stop advertising, selling and/or shipping LCMs to New Jersey. Both appear to be complying with that portion of the letter, as revealed by subsequent undercover efforts to purchase LCMs from both vendors in 2019.

However, the cease-and-desist letters to Elite Aluminum and 22Mods4All also called on each to provide details of past sales of LCMs to any New Jersey address since January 1, 2014, which would allow the State to identify the extent of the companies’ LCM sales and alleged legal violations.

After neither company complied with the demand for information in Attorney General Grewal’s cease-and-desist letters, the Division issued a subpoena to 22Mods4All in July 2019, and to Elite Aluminum in August 2019.

Neither company has complied with the subpoena. 22Mods4All did not respond at all, while Elite Aluminum failed to supply the demanded documents.

Today’s lawsuit is not the first action by Attorney General Grewal to protect New Jersey residents from illegal firearm products and gun violence filed this year. Among other things, in June, Attorney General Grewal filed suit against a Nevada company – New Frontier Armory – after it ignored a cease-and-desist letter and allegedly sold six LCMs to an undercover state investigator, including a 100-round magazine, a 30-round magazine and a 15-round magazine.

And earlier this year – on March 22 – Attorney General Grewal filed suit against James Tromblee, Jr., owner of the California-based “ghost gun” company U.S. Patriot Armory. The lawsuit alleged that U.S. Patriot Armory violated the State’s Consumer Fraud Act by continuing to advertise, market, and offer for sale ghost guns to New Jersey residents. (Ghost guns are partially-assembled firearms sold with the parts needed to create a fully-operational gun – and often even with the instructions on how to do so.) That same month, Attorney General Grewal announced criminal charges against individuals trafficking ghost guns into the state.

Newark Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Firearms Offense

Related To Shooting Of 5-Year-Old Girl

NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jamar Battle, 31, was previously convicted after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge

William J. Martini on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The jury deliberated two hours before delivering the guilty verdict. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence at trial:

On the evening of July 4, 2018, Battle was involved in an argument with his girlfriend and was waiting for her outside of her home. After she arrived near her home, Battle fired six shots at the car she had been riding in as it pulled away. He did not hit his intended target, but did hit a 5-year old girl who had been walking with her father after watching a neighborhood fireworks display. The child survived the shooting but suffered a major injury that required immediate medical attention.

Prior to this shooting, Battle had been convicted of six felonies. In 2015, Battle was sentenced to New Jersey State Prison on two firearms offenses and had just been released from prison in May 2018.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Battle to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited law enforcement officers of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose; special agents of the Department of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson in Newark; special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens 2nd, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.

The government was represented by Senior Trial Counsel Robert Frazer and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Naazneen Khan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Violent Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Michael P. Koribanics Esq., Clifton, New Jersey

Attention Family Caregivers

BLACKWOOD, NJ–This program has been highly beneficial for many family caregivers. Caregivers will learn about stress and its effects, practice stress management techniques, and develop problem solving skills. Some of the strategies include the following: breathing, imagery, humor, massage, meditation and yoga.

Space is limited to reserve a spot contact Rose Candy at: 856-858-3220 or Rose.candy@camdencounty.com

This program will be held every Tuesday from January 7th until March 3rd.

Camden County Senior Services

512 Lakeland Road, Blackwood, NJ, 08012, United States

Tuesday, Jan 7th, 2020 @ 5:00 pm

–

6:30 pm

Pick-6 Rolls to $5 Million for Dec. 26 Drawing

TRENTON (Dec. 24, 2019) – The Pick-6 drawing on December 23 produced seven winners of $3,790 for matching five out of six white balls drawn. One of those tickets was purchased with XTRA, multiplying the prize to $7,580. The $5 million drawing will be held Thursday, December 26, 2019.

The winning numbers for the Monday, December 23, drawing were: 04, 11, 13, 25, 42 and 49. The XTRA Multiplier was: 02. By adding XTRA for an additional $1.00 per play, winners are able to multiply their non-jackpot prizes by the XTRA number drawn.

Acting Executive Director James Carey announced that there were 530,737 tickets purchased for the drawing and of those sold, thousands were prizewinners! For correctly matching four numbers, 437 ticketholders won $53 each and 107 others won $106 each with the addition of XTRA. Moreover, for correctly matching three numbers 8,573 ticketholders won $3.00 each and 1,279 others won $6 each with the addition of XTRA. Lastly 9,587 ticketholders each won $2.00 for correctly matching two numbers with the addition of XTRA on their purchase.

Joseph Brodie, 40, of Millville Sentenced For Threatening To Murder A Congressman & His Staff

CAMDEN CITY N.J. – A New Jersey resident was sentenced yesterday to 87 months in prison for threatening to murder former U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and members of the congressman’s staff, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Joseph Brodie, 40, of Millville, New Jersey, was previously convicted in Camden federal court on two counts of making threats to officials, officers and employees of the United States – specifically, for a telephone threat to murder LoBiondo’s chief of staff and an email threat to murder LoBiondo, his chief of staff, his veterans affairs liaison, and all of the other staff of the Mays Landing office. During the sentencing hearing yesterday, the Court determined that over the course of the prosecution, Brodie had obstructed justice and that there also was evidence to show he had intended to carry out his threats.

According to documents filed in this case and the evidence presented at trial:

In the spring of 2017, Brodie reached out to LoBiondo seeking assistance with the medical care and treatment that Brodie was receiving from the Veterans Administration. Over the course of the next few months, Brodie spoke and corresponded with the congressman’s Veterans Affairs Liaison and a caseworker, both of whom assisted him with appointments and meetings regarding his medical care. On Sept. 19, 2017, Brodie contacted the congressman’s office and spoke to the chief of staff on the phone. Brodie wanted the chief of staff to arrange a meeting with the congressman, but the chief of staff refused. During this phone call, Brodie became angry and ultimately threatened the life of the chief of staff – calling him “a dead man.”

Approximately an hour and a half later, Brodie sent an email to the congressman’s veterans’ affairs liaison as well as the caseworker, threatening their lives as well as the lives of the congressman and his staff in the Mays Landing Office. In this email, Brodie stated that he wanted to meet the congressman “face to face” and he pointed out “how easy” it was to find the congressman’s Mays Landing Office. Brodie also attached a terrain map of the area, with the area around the congressman’s office enlarged for detail and a red pinpoint location marker on the office. Writing about the map, Brodie stated, “[i]t even shows the environment and surrounding terrain, parking lots, wooded areas, etc., (like the kind a highly trained Combat Infantryman would use)…”

On the same day as the threats, Brodie sent text messages to his fiancée stating: “I threaten the life of a Congressman’s Chief of Staff. I’m pretty sure the Secret Service are going to investigate.” He also wrote that he was “prepared” for any law enforcement officers who might respond to his home. He wrote, “I’ll give them a chance to leave. If not, it’ll be First Blood Part II Type Shit (if you never saw that Rambo movie).” Brodie also wrote, “I won’t surrender. It’s not in me.” The same day, Brodie spoke to his fiancée on the phone and told her that he was going to travel to an address in New Jersey, that he had GPS coordinates in his car, that he was going to kill LoBiondo’s chief of staff, and that there was going to be a “blood bath.”

One week later, in a statement recorded by the FBI, Brodie confessed to having made the phone threat to the chief of staff on Sept. 19, 2017, and to having sent the email threat on Sept. 19, 2017.

The evidence showed that at the time Brodie made these threats, Brodie owned several firearms and a large amount of ammunition at his home.

U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie in Newark; special agents of the U.S. Capitol Police, under the direction of Chief Steven Sund; officers from the N.J. State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan; and the Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, with the investigation leading to yesterday’s sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara A. Aliabadi and Jason Richardson, of the Camden office.

Defense counsel: Gina Amoriello, Esquire, Westmont, NJ and Philadelphia, PA