CNBNews

by Anjeanette Damon, Byard Duncan and Mollie Simon ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Cory Evans was well-versed in the HomeVestors of America playbook when he arrived at a suburban Los Angeles home on Nov. 4, 2016. His franchise with the “We Buy Ugly Houses” company had executed more than 50 deals in the preceding two years. Patriot... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Several American cities, a few years ago, named themselves "sanctuary cities," never having any idea what was to come. They thought that they would get a few illegal immigrants here and a few there. Little did they expect floods of illegals, so many that the border states (Texas, Arizona, and Florida) would have to "outsource." This flood of immigrants was supposed to be someone else's problem. Earlier this year 54/57 illegals... Read more →

GLASSBORO, NJ - Rowan's Chad Yates has been named to the 2022 D3soccer.com Men's Soccer All-America Third Team after a career-best season in which he helped lead the Profs to the NJAC Championship and an appearance in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship. Yates (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp) earned United Soccer Coaches All-Region IV First Team honors this season and was named the 2022 NJAC Pat Baldiserra Midfielder of the Year, becoming the first Rowan... Read more →

UPDATED Philadelphia Water Department's latest alert, "Tap water from the Baxter Drinking Water Treatment Plant will remain safe to drink and use at least through 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023." Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 26, 2023)(CNBNews)The City of Philadelphia recommends using bottled drinking water from 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 26, 2023 until further notice for all Philadelphia Water customers. Contaminates have not been found in the system at this time... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 20, 2023)(CNBNews)--After tonight's City Council Meeting (Monday, March 20, 2023) you will again pay more just for the privilege of living in one of the state's poorest, yet highest-taxed cities. Technically, your taxes won't increase (yet) because these new costs are fees. Shakespeare said that a rose by any other name smells just as sweet. For generation after generation Gloucester City and the State of New... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 16, 2023)(CNBNews)--People, usually older ones who lived through the Great Depression (1929 - WWII) or their adult children (1946 - 1964,) half-heartedly joke about hiding their money under their mattresses or in the freezer (cold cash.) They didn't trust banks because banks were not regulated a century ago and they operated on their own. Anything went. To help the nation climb our way out of financial... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist There is so much going on in the United States that is so "crazy" (sorry, but there is no better descriptive word.) Men playing women's sports? Racist automobiles in California? A transgender nuclear rod disposable kleptomaniac who stole women's suitcases from airports. Attempts to take away our gas stoves? The list just goes on and on and at each layer, the craziness increases. We have to win an award for... Read more →

DOROTHY PHILBIN | CNBNEWS See the video below, Opioid Tragedy: Inside the Fentanyl Crisis | $10 Death GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 13, 2023)--World War III was well underway; we were losing it even before we realized it had begun. This war is not being fought with bombs, fighter planes, or even nuclear weapons. It is being fought with drugs - large quantities of opioids, cocaine, fentanyl, and new drugs which don't respond to any known... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 9, 2023)(CNBNews)--Following California's Governor Gavin Newson's lead in making his state reach 100% clean energy by 2035, New Jersey's Governor Phil Murphy announced the same goal for New Jersey. Murphy announced that his initiative would require all new cars sold in New Jersey to be electric powered. New Jersey's original plan was to mandate clean energy/electric cars by 2050. Governor Murphy refers to his updated plan... Read more →

The tribute to the military is erected at the front entrance of Gloucester High School (CNBNews photo) William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (March 9, 2023)(CNBNews)--The Gloucester City Board of Education will accept sealed bids for the interior and exterior alterations of an Industrial Arts (wood shop) at the City High School, 1300 Market Street, on Friday, March 17, in the Board offices. This is not a school development authority (SDA) project.... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (CNBNews.net)(February 26, 2023)--The Secret Service has code names for the various people they protect. Listed below in the left column are the names of recent presidents and on the right are code names. Your job is to figure out which code name was given to which president. The answers are at the bottom. John F. Kennedy Mogul Richard Nixon Lancelot Gerald Ford Celtic Jimmy Carter Search Light... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist In New Jersey people of almost every profession have to have a required number of educational hours, pass a test, and then pay a small fortune for a license to practice the trade. Some of these trades are hair stylist, manicurist, plumber, electrician, and all others but one. That trade is home improvement. If there is a storm, you will see home improvement companies come out of the woodwork. The... Read more →

UPDATED/CORRECTED (Feb. 22, 2023) William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (February 20, 2023)(CNBNewsnet)--Since June 2022 CNBNews has been trying to find out if the rumor about a Public Works assistant supervisor allegedly taking either equipment or money from that department was true. Each time we submitted an OPRA request about this supposed incident Brian Morrell, the Acting City Administrator/Police Chief replied with the same five words, “the matter is under investigation”. Some... Read more →

William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (February 9, 2023)--Gloucester City residents interested in voicing their opinion on two ordinances to allow a section of the Southport area to be developed into a marijuana zone should attend the public hearing on Thursday, February 23, at 7 PM. The meeting is being held at the Police Administration Building, 313 Monmouth Street, in the council chambers. RELATED: HOW MUCH HAS ORGANIC RECYCLING LAWSUIT COST CITY... Read more →

KINGSTON, RI (01/31/2023)-- The University of Rhode Island is pleased to announce the Fall 2022 Dean's List. Students named to the Dean's List represent nearly all of Rhode Island's cities and towns, all six New England states, New York and New Jersey, and many other states and countries. They include: Ellie Sennhenn of Audubon (08106) Chris Bracchi of Berlin (08009) Alyssa Gentile of Blackwood (08012) Melanie Wilson of Blackwood (08012) Katie Reichert of Bordentown (08505)... Read more →

By Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist PHILADELPHIA PA--Fox29News, 6ABCNews, and 1210 AM radio were all talking on air about the Gloucester City School District starting classes two hours late the day after the Super Bowl (photo credit CNBNews photographer Amanda Stevenson Lupke image from the 2018 Super Bowl parade) SEE PHOTO ALBUM +++++ GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (FEBRUARY 3, 2023)--On Thursday, February 2, 2023 Fox 29 posted a facebook announcement that Gloucester City School District's schools... Read more →

by DOROTHY PHILBIN | CNBNewsNet While reading some old newspaper articles last night I came across one particular article about the BLM protest/march almost three years ago. The article from the Courier Post, was dated June 8, 2020. In that article a man from Camden City, Isaiah Conteh, said "It shows this town is changing." Gloucester City's own Joe Gorman added "Gloucester is thriving because it is more welcoming and supporting of people who in... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (January 18, 2023)--In today's news, it was revealed that a library in a small town near Boulder, Co. had to be temporarily closed to clean the restrooms of the chemicals and residue of methamphetamines. For several days prior, people complained about strange odors, sore throats, and even a dizzy feeling. While investigating the problem, it came to light that one of Boulder's libraries had been closed for... Read more →

by Dorothy Philbin| CNBNews Columnist Coming up this week are a few things you should know. 1. The price of postage stamps goes up this week. There aren't too many people who send first-class mail anymore, but it is always a good idea to have a few stamps around, just in case. On January 22, 2023 the stamp price goes up from 60 cents to 63 cents. After that, the cost of stamps will go... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin |CNBNews Contributor (GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ 08030)(January 13, 2023)--At least one person and probably several people in our city government don't want us to ask too many questions and they definitely don't want to give the city taxpayers the answers. CNBNews graphic file The average person has no idea how many police cars the city has. Is that accidental or by design? If you follow the city council's resolutions and ordinances you will see... Read more →

by Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews columnist The people in Harrison Township stopped the building of a 2.1 million square foot warehouse by showing up at the township planning/zoning board meetings. According to many of those interviewed, the problem was that although it was a three-year project, they didn't know about the warehouse until they heard about it from neighbors. The township, they said, did nothing proactive to inform the taxpayers. That is probably true, at... Read more →

by Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist Do you want to get rich quickly? Head west to California. Really rich? Stop by San Francisco. Just about every news station has shown clips of mile after mile of homeless tent cities, mainly in, but not limited to, Los Angeles and San Francisco. These images courtesy of unsplash tent cities have presented numerous problems for homeowners and small business owners. It is almost impossible to determine which issue... Read more →

BY DOROTHY PHILBIN | CNBNews Columnist photo credit https://www.gloucestercitynews.net When was St. Mary's school built? a. 1893 b. 1896 c. 1902 d. 1905 2. Which of these was NOT a Gloucester City hotel in the early 1900s? a. Thompson's b. Beuna Vista c. The Sands d. McGlade's 3. Where was Billy Thompson's racetrack? The early 1900s. a. In what is now Proprietor's Park b. Charles Street c. Brick Street d. North King Street 4. What... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin l CNBNewsnet Car 54 Where Are You? was an old-time (1950s) television comedy about the zany adventures in a New York City police station. Police Car 54 was assigned to officers Twitty and Muldoon and much of their conversation took place through the front windshield of the car. We always knew where Car 54 was. How about Gloucester City? Do we have a Car 54? The citizens who pay for the 34 vehicles... Read more →

1. c. toward the river 2. a. the Kittyhawk 3. c. 514 4. c. 1902 5. d. She refused to holster her gun. 6. a. 1888 7. a. February, 1961 8. c. or d. It depends how "dainty" your parents thought their daughters were. 9. a. Sherrif West 10. fill in as many as you can, we'll print the answers later. Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet How much do you know about the city in which... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet Anyone who has read or listened to the news in the past two weeks knows that Big Tech is getting smaller on a daily basis. The company which has been in the news most is Twitter, recently purchased by Elon Musk (self-named "Chief Twit.") Musk said from the very day he expressed interest in buying the company that he would eliminate thousands of jobs and he made good on that promise.... Read more →

William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNews THE GHS SENIOR PARKING SPOT...What a great idea.-- On a recent walk, we noticed some of the parking spots at Gloucester High School (GHS) were painted with different designs. Wanting to know more, we contacted School Superintendent Sean Gorman. "The new Senior parking spot tradition that we started has been wonderful. Seniors are assigned a parking spot in our lot. They worked with our Senior Class Advisor and Art... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet Sunday's Courier Post (November 13, 2022) profiled 50 South Jersey women who have raised the profile of women in sports in this year, the 50th anniversary of the implementation of Title IX which evened the playing field for all sports and genders. Three of those women are from Gloucester City. They are Lisa Angelotti Gedaka of Gloucester Catholic, class of '84; Megan Light Mason of Gloucester High School, class of 1998;... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist France and Brazil still vote with paper ballots but they both have the results counted and announced within five hours. America, with all the technology money can buy, takes into the following month to count our results. One week after election day neither Alaska nor Georgia has a winner and neither plans to know the winner until sometime in December. So much for technology. However, people conduct "exit polls" where... Read more →

William E. Cleary Sr. |CNBNewsnet GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (November 13, 2022)(CNBNews)--An unwelcome group of young men in their 20s and teens driving unlicensed ATVs and Dirt Bikes visited Gloucester City last weekend, riding up and down Broadway at a high rate of speed. 6ABC video image of illegal ATV and dirt bike drivers riding through the City of Philadelphia last summer. (see video below) On Sunday, November 6, a group of these individuals got gas... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ November 4, 2022)--While researching one thing, I found another, and another and eventually found myself researching sexual offenders living in Gloucester City. I wondered how many there were, where they were living, and how the predator population in our city compared to other towns. All of this information is available on datauniverse.com and the NJ State Police Megan's List. I have to say, the State Police Megan's List... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (November 1, 2022)--A short time ago, I challenged our candidates for local offices to answer specific questions. Of the seven candidates, I heard from two. Republican council candidate Jason Fanning submitted a PowerPoint presentation from his team. The production needs to be reformatted to be included in the Notebook. If it is finished in time, it will be published here. On the Democratic side, I only heard from... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (In the spring a long-time public works employee was accused of stealing city property and using a city account for personal purchases. Old-time Gloucesterites know the details, no reason to go into them here. Each time the part-time Chief of Police is asked about the status of the alleged incident the answer is the same "under investigation." It didn't take this long for the Warren Commission to investigate... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews This week I, as likely most of you, received election fliers from every candidate running for every office under the sun. I sent a letter to "one issue" Donald Norcross explaining that most average people are more concerned about putting gas into our cars, food onto the table, etc. I didn't hear back from Mr. Norcross, but I never really expected a reply. I also received fliers from our local candidates.... Read more →

Corner of Market and Joy Streets (photo provided) DEAR EDITOR Attached are photos of the ongoing parking problems (parked on the corner and in both crosswalks) at the intersection of Market and Joy Sts., which is across the street from the Middle School. We have a privilege problem with people who believe they are entitled to convenient parking while ignoring public safety. Public safety is a fundamental right, and driving and everything associated with it... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (October 17, 2022)--A not-for-profit organization, Public Interest Legal Foundation, announced the results of a New Jersey voter records study this week. The results were interesting but predictable. image courtesy of Dreamstime.com They found over 33,000 voters with fictitious birthdates. That doesn't seem like such a big deal but think about it for a minute. John Smith is age 21 and registered to vote. Then he goes back a... Read more →

Ozzie Myers (image courtesy of https://whyy.org) PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced today that former U.S. Congressman Michael “Ozzie” Myers, 79, of Philadelphia, PA, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100,000 in fines, with $10,000 of that due immediately, by United States District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond. Myers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of... Read more →

William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNewsnet (photo provided) GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (October 13, 2022)--Gloucester City has become attractive for people looking to build warehouses or move into existing buildings to modernize a warehouse. For example, the Levine brothers, the owners of SafeSavings®, have recently purchased the former Table Top Fashions property at 410 Jersey Avenue. Decades ago, the building was the headquarters for Products Research. Their nearby neighbor was Publishers Inc., a printing company specializing... Read more →

By William E. Cleary and Dorothy Philbin Above, the Peterbilt trash truck, purchased by taxpayers in 2021, cost $193,000. In 2020, the taxpayers purchased a 2020 ISUZU street sweeper for $214,000. This year the taxpayers spent $450,000 to buy a Freightliner Camel Jet-Vac. The Public Works Department has 31 Motorized Line Items (MLI) valued at $3,181,813. The oldest piece of equipment in that department is a 1995 front-end loader purchased that year for $60,510. photo... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ-I worked for 17 years for INA, later to become CIGNA. That was my business experience. I taught every grade from kindergarten through 400-level Rutgers University. That was my educational experience. I owned a small bus tour company. Never, in any of these experiences, did I work only 40 hours a week. Never, in any of these experiences, did I get paid for working overtime. This is the world... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet I see a lot of names I know on Facebook's Haddonfield United website. This week that site published an article about the State of New Jersey's school's sex education mandate. The state sent this mandate to NJ's approximately 600 school districts over the summer. Have you heard anything about this over the past few months? I'm retired now so I'm not so much involved in what is happening in our schools,... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet I don't like being used as the city's ATM. And in return, what do I (or we) get? That's an easy answer. Not enough! I realize that things change over the years, but there is a difference between routine change over time and spending the taxpayers' money irresponsibly. There are a few things that we've always had that have been taken away, regardless of the city payroll increasing exponentially. Something so... Read more →

CNBNews graphic file UPDATE: GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (September 22, 2022)--We submitted another OPRA pertaining to the alleged theft of property by a Public Works employee in June. Besides that crime, we recently heard that the same individual allegedly purchased tires for a family member's pickup truck using a City credit card. In response to our request, Acting Gloucester City Administrator/Police Chief Brian Morrell said, once again, "The matter is under investigation." +++++ William E. Cleary... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNewsnet Anyone who peruses Facebook, and probably other social media sites, has seen time and again that kids today are so disrespectful. If you have gray hair, you will probably agree - that is, until this week. All three major North American countries managed to embarrass their countries, their citizens, and sadly, themselves. Let's start in the south. The Mexican president did not attend but sent his Secretary of Foreign Affairs. That's... Read more →

UPDATED WITH PHOTOS AND NEW NUMBERS William E. Cleary Sr. | CNBNewsnet GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ (CNBNewsnet)(September 21, 2022)--Twelve years ago, we looked at the housing market in the City of Gloucester City. Former Mayor William James and the council were worried as blight was absorbing sections of the city. They were concerned too about the number of homes converted into apartments. CNBNews graphic file The numbers today reveal that rental properties have increased from 1946... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist The flag at the Gloucester Township Municipal Building is flying at half-staff (photo by D. Philbin) I admit that I really don't understand royalty. What's with castles and crowns? Palaces and tiaras? And the bowing and curtseying (which I haven't done since the 4th. grade at St. Mary's.) I also admit that being very, very Irish, I have ill feelings against the British Empire, having heard terrible stories of the... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist Today in Pennsylvania, President Joe Biden announced that his administration will allocate $37.5 Billion to refund the police and fight crime. What crime? Here in South Jersey, I can't name any community which defunded its police force. I don't know of any community which saw riots, burning buildings or city takeover (do you remember the City of Chas?) So why should we have to pay to rebuild other cities' police... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist It was announced this week on the Haddonfield Police Department's Facebook site that a state grant of $75,000 had been received. The purpose of the grant is to study the feasibility of combining the Fire and Emergency Medical Services of Haddonfield, Haddon Heights and Barrington. It is surprising that Haddonfield would want/need to decrease their property taxes. After all, Haddonfield is rich, isn't it? Well, the last year for which... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist Did you know the original purpose of the Secret Service Agency was to protect our money supply? The agency was started by Abraham Lincoln who apparently never thought a well-trained and well-armed security force to protect the President was a necessity. Move forward 157 years and most people think the Secret Service Agency's purpose as only protecting the government officials. But the "Feds" are very much still in the money... Read more →

Dorothy Philbin | CNBNews Columnist It is only 36 hours since President Biden announced the Student Loan Forgiveness program and we're not even sure it is legal yet. I suspect it will be long after the promised December 31, 2022, date before anything will happen as many states, banks, and people who paid off their loans will probably file suits in federal court. This program is only popular with current and recently-graduated students. People who... Read more →