Vineland, Cumberland County See New Openings, Events, and Notices This Week

The Cumberland County Women's Hall of Fame held its 2026 Induction Ceremony on March 18 at Merighi's Savoy Inn. The three inductees were Effie-Maud Aldrich Morrison, honored posthumously as former Deputy Director of the Cumberland County Welfare Board; Robin Walton Voorhees, Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Chief Philanthropy Officer at Inspira Health; and Jennifer Webb-McRae, the Cumberland County prosecutor. The ceremony marked the 15th annual induction for the hall.

Elsewhere in the county, the Vineland Historical Antiquarian Society opened its doors for a March Open House on March 21, offering self-guided tours led by members of its Board of Trustees.

Also on March 21, Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River organized a Peek Preserve Trash Hunt in partnership with Cumberland County Clean Communities. The group returned March 24 with a follow-up program titled "What It's Like To Be A Bug," a Hymenoptera bees make-and-take workshop. The Maurice River, a designated Wild and Scenic waterway running through the heart of Cumberland County, has long been a focal point for the organization's conservation work.

On the cultural calendar, the Vineland Public Library hosted a "Raise Your Spiritual IQ" program presented by the ECKANKAR Satsang Society of New Jersey on March 24.

For small business owners, the city's Exterior Improvement Program remains open for applications. The program is available to UEZ-certified small businesses and nonprofits with 10 or fewer employees located anywhere within the Vineland Urban Enterprise Zone, offering five-year forgivable loans up to $50,000 with a 10 percent match by the property owner. It is designed to improve the appearance of Vineland's commercial corridors, and to qualify, a business must be UEZ certified, pay prevailing wages, and be in tax compliance. Interested businesses can reach the Economic Development Department at (856) 794-4000, ext. 4102.

Separately, the City of Vineland is working with a design consultant on a proposed improvement project along N. Mill Road between Garden Road and Forest Grove Road. No timeline for that project has been publicly announced.

Also drawing attention this week: roughly 100 people gathered at a Vineland park to voice opposition to a hyperscale AI data center under construction in the community, with some holding protest signs and shouting disapproval of local government officials who have backed the project. The facility is being developed by DataOne for the Nebius Group as part of a $17 billion deal with Microsoft. DataOne has said the facility will benefit Vineland by hiring more than 200 permanent, full-time workers and becoming one of the largest taxpayers in the city.