A Full Moon on Christmas Day in Vineland

VINELAND, NJ— Unfortunately, there will likely be no snow this Christmas to accompany the full moon. The monthly average for December is 46.3 degrees.

This Christmas you'll be able to enjoy a full moon, according to the US Naval Observatory Astronomical Applications Department.

At around 6:11 a.m, the moon will be full, shortly before setting at 7:04 a.m. But it’ll return later in the day at 5:22 p.m.

The last time Vineland had a full moon on Christmas Day was in 1977, 38 years ago. The next one won’t be until 2034, following that 2053.

Although a full moon is just part of the life cycle of the moon, it is rare for it to land on the same day twice. According to the Chicago Tribune, a full moon can appear on the same date, on average, twice in any 59-year period.

There are tons of myths about the moon that are just that, myths. One popular myth is that a Blue Moon is blue, but it’s the occurrence of an extra moon that appears in a season.

In 2000, a partial solar eclipse took place during Christmas Day in North America. The next one occur again until 2307.

Theories always surface when celestial bodies such as the moon go through a rare event. On Sept. 27, the Supermoon was tied to beliefs about an apocalypse, in part due to the Pope’s visit to the US. Historically, people incorrectly correlated lunar eclipses and blood moons with unfortunate events.

The myth was kept alive and is still going.

In some forms, people believe that full moons cause more criminal behavior, as if the moon can make people mad. However, psychological studies found no link between lunar events and madness.

In fact, the moon has been a center for plenty of unfounded theories.

According to History.com, a Bavarian astronomer in the 1820s believed an alien civilization lived on the moon. He documented seeing advanced roads, forts, and buildings through a telescope.

Ancient civilizations like the Assyrians believed that the moon controlled fertility in women. In other civilizations, it was believed that the moon deity was a female. The connection between female gods and moons is hypothesized to be because of the myth of moon fertility.

The theories get crazier from NASA never going to the moon, the moon being a spacecraft, to the Nazis and Hitler having a base in the moon.

But just like the lunar madness, there is no evidence for any of these myths or theories.

Twenty-Four Competitive Gamers Battle It Out At The Salty Joystiq Gaming Lounge

VINELAND, NEW JERSEY—In a narrow building off Landis Avenue, local residents battled one another in a video game for a cash prize. Controllers clicked and clacked away as players made their run for first place.

At the Salty Joystiq Gaming Lounge, at 921 E. Landis Ave., competitive gamers came to play on Nov. 13 in a Super Smash Bros. Melee and Wii U tournament. The tournament was a one-on-one double elimination format. Entry fees went toward the pot prize. They hold tournaments like these every week.

The lounge has gaming posters hanging on the walls, stacks of Wii U, Xbox One, and Playstation 4 games on shelves with little gaming statues, and two rows of high-quality monitors running along the walls.

Twenty-four people showed up at Salty, some to compete, some to spectate, and some for both. For Smash Bros. Melee, 14 players entered and for Smash Bros. Wii U, 11 players ended. The payout for first place out for each game respectively was $42 and $35.

But that’s expected from locals, larger scale tournaments have prize pools up into the ten thousands.

A projector is set-up in the middle of one of the walls, creating a cinematic viewing stream of video game conventions, high-profile tournaments, or just a regular’s video game matches. They serve snacks and soda too.

Many of the players who come to Salty Tournaments are locals to Vineland. But it’s common for people from different counties such as Atlantic and Gloucester. During Salty Joystiq’s bigger tournaments, people have come from North Jersey, Philadelphia, and Delaware.

The owner, Matthew Jordan Boone, 23, opened the business in 2012 and is planning to expand to create better tournaments.

Will Sykes, 25, a member of Salty Joystiq, said one of his favorite experiences there was the 100+ tournament they held for Street Fighter and Marvel vs Capcom. Players from Syracuse traveled to Salty to compete. One competitor lost $100 making a side-bet on tournament results.

Jermain Sullivan, 20, said that he comes to Salty to “have an escape for life.”

Most of the tournament matches are best of three, but once a player makes it to top three, the matches become best of five. During a best of three and five, some rules are different. One of Sullivan’s favorite memories is when he made it to top three for the first time; he forgot that it was a best of five and blundered on the rules since he never had top three experiences before.

First place in Smash Bros. Melee went to Kile Johnson, who signed up under the alias Tank. First place in Smash Bros. Wii U went to a player called Sapphire. 

Vineland Board of Education Results: Inez Acosta, Christopher Jennings, Jeffrey Bordley, and John Sbrana win at the polls

Vineland, NJ—The ballots are counted and the polls are closed. Vineland’s new Board of Education members will be Inez Acosta, 51, Christopher E. Jennings, 51,  Jeffrey M. Bordley, 34 and Faustino John Sbrana, 65, for an unexpired one-year term

On Nov. 3 Vineland residents went to the polls to pick from seven candidates for four open Board of Education spots. Acosta and Jennings were the only incumbent to run alongside new candidates Bordley, Cedric Holmes, 18, and Xavier Cardona,18.

Meanwhile, the one-year unexpired term was battled out between Donald Anthony Carter Jr., 18, and Sbrana.

All seven were featured on The Daily Journal’s “Meet the candidates” with questions and background information. Each candidate had the opportunity to list their priorities when improving education. Here are brief excerpts from the winners of today's election.

Inez: “My priority is ensuring that all children are learning and growing by taking a holistic approach to education.”

Bordley: “First, my priority is always the safety of our children and the staff. Too often in the past several years, our schools across the country have been scarred by violence.”

Jennings: “Right away, these three things come to mind are; safety, comfort and execution. Our schools need to be a safe environment for our children and staff. With safety comes comfort.”

Sbrana: “To compete in the global economy, our children need strong 21st century skills in digital literacy, communication, collaboration, critical and creative thinking while providing access to the most advanced technology.”

The Vineland Education Association endorsed Acosta, Bordley, and Sbrana during their campaigns. And all three secured seats on the Board of Education.

Cardona, Holmes, and Carter ran as a team with the slogan “Revitalizing Vineland’s Education.” All three 18-year-olds campaigning together were defeated at the polls.

“Even though we were not elected to the VBOE, we still made a huge impact and that's what really matters,” said their joint Facebook page.

Sbrana, executive director of communications at Vineland Public Schools, took to Facebook too to celebrate his victory, “I will do my best to serve with honesty, integrity and a spirit of cooperation and consensus building.”

“I look forward to moving forward and helping our children's future be great!” said Bordley, a police officer of 14 years, on his Facebook page.

From the Cumberland County Board of Elections official website, here are the detailed results:

                                   Vote Count      Percent

Inez Acosta                   4,275            26.00%
Christopher E. Jennings      3,940        23.96%
Jeffrey M. Bordley     3,386                20.59%
Cedric P. Holmes    2,500                  15.21%
Xavier Cardona   2,325                      14.14%
Personal Choice  15                             0.09%
Total   16,441                                  100.00%

Faustino John Sbrana  3,633              61.59%
Donald Anthony Carter Jr   2,2613      8.33%
Personal Choice 5                                0.08%
Total  5,899                                     100.00%

7 Candidates Face-Off for Vineland Board of Educations Spots

On Nov. 3, the city of Vineland will vote on the Board of Education. There are seven candidates running, with only one incumbent choosing to run again. The race will be for four open positions. Three positions will be for three year terms and the last position will be for a one year unexpired term.

Three of the candidates running are under 19 years old, recent graduates of Vineland High School. They are running as a group with the slogan “Revitalize Vineland’s Education”. If any of them were to win, they’d be the youngest members on the Board of Education in Vineland.

Christopher Jennings, Jeffrey Bordley, Xavier Cardona, Cedric Holmes, and the lone incumbent Inez Acosta will be running for the three-year terms. Meanwhile, John Sbrana and Donald Carter will face-off for the one year unexpired term.  

A Breakdown of the 15th Disability Awareness Day Program at Cumberland County College

Vineland, New Jersey—“You are critical to our community,” said Freeholder Joseph Derella at the introduction of the 15^th Disability Awareness Day Program, Oct. 24th. The program is sponsored by the Cumberland County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Cumberland County Cultural and Heritage Commission. The Disabled Advisory Council presented the program around 9:45 a.m.

The program was held at the Luciano Conference Center at Cumberland County College from 9:45 a.m. to 12 p.m. But exhibitors were set up since 8 a.m. handing out informational pamphlets. A few stands giving out supplementary information on special assistance were the Easter Seals of New Jersey, Family Medical Equipment, Resources for Independent Living, Inc. and Senior Care of Bridgeton.

The first speaker at the event was Ryan Stevens, a blind representative from the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey. “I lost my vision slowly over several years,” said Stevens. He discussed the work the National Federation of the Blind did and the senior’s division for people experiencing vision loss later in life.

Stevens talked about overcoming his obstacles. He uses an automated speech device to do his computer programming work. He emphasized to not be afraid to ask for help because even people with vision ask for help.

“Independence means not feeling trapped,” said Stevens as he neared the end of his speech, urging people to seek out help when needed.

Sen. Jeff Van Drew arrived during Stevens’ speech and gave a few words. He told the audience that him and his team, Bruce Land and Bob Andrzejczak, support the event and have their future backing. “You can’t give people success, but you can give them opportunities,” said Van Drew before taking a seat.

Marissa Hacker, CEO and founder of Fantastic Friends, was next to the podium. She revealed her motivation to create Fantastic Friends, a social group designed for “young adults, teens and tweens with Special Needs”.

Her brother, Matthew, was diagnosed with autism. Although she said that they were “inseparable since birth,” she felt there was a social gap that needed to be filled with kids with special needs. “I wanted them to feel like they had a family,” said Hacker.

Fantastic Friends earned Hacker a Teen Tikkun Olam Award, which she used toward her education at Stockton University and Fantastic Friends. Though only a sophomore at Stockton, Hacker plans to expand Fantastic Friends nationally. The group had been featured on multiple news outlets.

“There is so much hope for all of us,” said Hacker.

 Matthew Pisarski, from the Cumberland County Cultural and Heritage Commission, later discussed the events that they help fund, including the Cumberland Players, Obon Festival, Deerfield Harvest Festival, Puerto Rican Festival and Morristown Art Festival.

He announced a logo contest for the commission that is open to the public.

David Grennon, from the Office of Aging and Disabled, closed the program by listing all the forms in which Cumberland County helps people with special assistance. From the Cumberland Area Transit System to the Universal Service Fund, Grennon covered all assistance provided.

Door prizes were given away at the end of the event.

“Life begins at 80,” said Dotty Cullen, an attendee at the event. She had done her own service work, “I’m in everything,” she said. She was honored at the 111^th Congress with the MetLife Foundation’s 2009 Older Volunteers Enrich America Award. She said that she still holds Christmas events at the Veterans Home.

As people filed out of the room, David Grennon shared that “people don’t know programs and services are out there,” and that “information is really powerful and when we have information we can improve the quality of life”.

When asked how Fantastic Friends has influenced her life, Hacker said “it’s become my life. I’m a more sensitive and loving person”. 

Two Vineland women indicted in massage parlor prostitution case

BRIDGETON ,NJ—On Sept. 30, two women arrested earlier this year for soliciting sex from
undercover officers were indicted on charges of promoting prostitution. The women, Seung Joo Myung, 53, and Rong Wang, 46, were allegedly offering sex at two Vineland-based massage parlors, Rainbow Day Spa and Elayne’s Asian Body Work. They were indicted by the Cumberland County Grand Jury.

The arrest was made in Feb. 26 by the Vineland Police Department with the help of the Department of Homeland Security. Authorities used search warrants on both business locations after three months of undercover investigation. They arrested Myung, Wang, and a third woman, Shen Zhen Fu, 50. All three were charged with engaging in prostitution.

During the arrests, $11,500 in cash was seized.

On Spahunters.com, a website where users post reviews and comments about massage parlors, users reported that both Vineland businesses were shut down shortly after the arrests were made. Later, comments appeared about the re-opening of the businesses.

From the South Jersey section of Backpage.com, a classifieds site similar to craigslist, an ad was posted for the Rainbow Day Spa on April 26, about a month after the arrests. For Elayne’s Asian Body Work, two ads have been posted, one on March 12 and one on July 3. Both ads note that the business is “under new management”.

A recent visit to the two locations found they had reopened.

Outside the Rainbow Day Spa, clients are now greeted with a paper message asking that they be buzzed in first before entering.

An employee in the Rainbow Day Spa said she did not know about the arrests or alleged prostitution. She said the owner was Michael, but that he visits once a month. She would not provide a way to contact him.

At Elayne’s Asian Body Work, an employee would not provide additional information. The employee, who spoke little English, said through a translator that the manager does not speak English either.

There are no updates on Shen Zhen Fu.

There is no information of the owner of the businesses and if they were held accountable or knew about the activities taking place in the parlor.