William Lobb "Will" Cosans, age 75, of North East, MD, passed away Sunday, June 16, 2019. Born in Camden, NJ, on January 26, 1944, he was the son of the late Sara Smith Cosans and Thomas Cosans, Jr. Will graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy in 1963, attended Valley Forge Military Junior College, and Rutgers University-Camden. Before being drafted into the U.S. Army, he worked for RCA Communications at Cape Canaveral, FL, on the Gemini Space Program. He was a member of Merchantville, NJ, Lodge #119 F&AM for more than 50 years, and the Boumi Shrine, Collingswood, NJ, Consistery 32nd Degree. Full obituary.

Packages of fresh vegetables produced by a Maine company under several brands including Green Giant Fresh, Growers Express, Signature Farms and Trader Joe’s over concerns of Listeria contamination, by the FDA, though no illnesses have been reported. The products include butternut squash, cauliflower, zucchini, and butternut squash based veggie bowl products. Most of the affected products are labeled with a “Best If Used By” Date of June 26 – June 29, 2019. No other Growers Express products are impacted or part of this recall. This recall does not affect or include any Green Giant® canned or frozen vegetable products.Trader Joe’s also had zucchini spirals included in the recall, but those packages were not sold in the New Jersey area.

A section of the beach in Wildwood Crest has been closed to the public for at least 24 hours due to a malfunction at a Cape May County wastewater treatment facility have reopened to the public as of July 2nd. The public health coordinator for Wildwood Crest ordered the beach closures as a precautionary measure, according to a notice explaining the decision. Areas affected by the closure include Miami Avenue through Jefferson Avenue, which covers approximately the southern third of the Wildwood Crest beachfront.The malfunction occurred at the Seven-Mile Treatment Center and will impact several popular beaches as the Jersey Shore town prepares for a holiday rush.

Independence Day, better known as the The Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence of the United States on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies were no longer subject, and subordinate, to the monarch of Britain and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence two days earlier, on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

Red, White, and You! Merchantville's First Friday is back this week. Food trucks, Sister Act 2, Yoga on the Path, and more. Check it out! So far we have the following Food Trucks: Red's Rolling Restaurant, Rasta Kitchen and Dan's Waffles; Local & Handmade Vendors: Sparrow Lake Farm, Tara’s Cozy Kitchen, SoulFlower Yoga, The Flower Peddler, Kenzees Kloset, Elle Elle Craft Collection, Graceful Knit Knots, To the Rescue, Bear Soaps, Aradia's Treasure Metaphysical Shop, Tizzy's cupboard and Clark Family Breast Cancer Services. Live Music/Activities include: Movie "Sister Act 2" at 7:30 p.m., Bucolic / Unfolding / A Day Without Love ($10) at 7:00 p.m. at Eilandarts Center; Not Fur Longs/Strength (FREE) - 6:00 p.m. at Ryan's Retail Loading Dock, 22 North Centre and a donation based yoga class on the walking path hosted by SoulFlower Yoga. These Merchantville Businesses and Restaurants will be open late: Spirit to Sole Connection, Merchantville Antiques and Salvage, Ryan's Retail & Pop-Up Shoppe, Eclipse Brewing, The Station Coffee, The Juice Bar, Charlie's Crepes, Park Place Café & Restaurant, Pronto Pizza, Blue Monkey Tavern, Vincent's Pizza, Aroma Indian Bistro, Sakura Sushi and Hibachi, Grand China, Merchantville Diner, Play With This Toys, Aradia's Treasure and Castle of Beauty Salon.

The Station Coffee is excited to announce that they have partnered with our friends at Soulflower Yoga to host a morning yoga session followed by breakfast on Saturday, July 6th, from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Sign up with some friends and kick your weekend off with an hour of yoga outside (weather permitting, otherwise it will be inside) and enjoy a bite to eat. The preregistration cost is $20 which includes an hour of yoga and breakfast (a bagel, egg and cheese sandwich, cup of fruit, and a coffee). Preregistration is encouraged. The price the day of the event is $25. Register online. Please make sure that you pre-register and pay prior to the event to take advantage of the $5 savings!

Thursday, July 4th is a Borough Holiday. Borough offices will be closed and reopen during regular summer hours on Friday, July 5th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. West side (properties from Center Street westward to West End Avenue) trash collection - bulky items, garbage and recycling - will take place on Saturday, July 6th. Wednesday, July 3rd and 17th are yard waste collection dates for the East side (properties from Center Street eastward to Ivins Avenue) of town, and July 10th and 24th for the West side. You can sign up for Recycle Coach or get the App to receive up-to-date information and notices about municipal trash collection.

"2040" is not a sophisticated film, nor is it original, the ideas and arguments all having been developed by others. It’s not meant to be either of those things – engaging, persuasive and urgent, it’s an exercise in what you might call muscular hope. Filmamker, Damon Gameau's eco-commentary operates on a knife edge: if you’re critical of government policy, you’re derided as an Eeyore; constructive, you’re a nutty utopian. Gameau dances the middle path, outlining the intractable issue - carbon from transport, waste, farming, energy and ignorance - before focusing exclusively on two surprising solutions that deploy existing technology and address the climate crisis - things that are doable.

It's generally understood that helping out others makes a person feel nice, but that experience goes beyond just the feel-good glow of altruism. Studies have found that helping others has tangible benefits, both mental and physical, from lowering your blood pressure to reducing feelings of depression. And research hasn't found any significant difference in the types of volunteering—any kind of helpful act can create benefits. "Research has shown that there's evidence volunteer work promotes that psychological well-being you're talking about," said Rodlescia Sneed, a public health research associate at Michigan State University who has studied the impacts of volunteering. "In my own work I've shown it's linked to improvements in factors like depressive symptoms, purpose in life, and feelings of optimism."