New Jersey Nightly News; 03/13/1980

It may be with her last gasp and we may get up to 10 inches of snow before it's all over on a closer look I'll talk civil rights with one of its most influential champions wins for the Rutgers women and the St. Peters women and national collegiate women's basketball tournament. We'll have the highlights. New Jersey Nightly News with Karen Stone. Correspondent does HENNINGHAM and Bill Perry with sports. Good. Evening. One of the season's first and possibly last major snowstorms throughout the state. Most of the day. And then just before thousands of commuters got into their cars for the track home it began. Jack Kennedy has a report on how the state and its residents prepared finally in New Jersey. They seem to gotten hit very hard. In Jersey City No. 1 1 to 9 at the time we have new traffic circle. It was an earlier overturned tractor trailer that has been upright. But there are thirty five. The lady really couldn't hit it at much worse time enough just long enough before rush hour

to really make a mess of the trip home. If it's not the biggest snowstorm of the winter it's certainly the best forecast. Two days of warnings. Heavy snow predictions and forecasts ranging from two to 10 inches across the state. That may be just as well. Some of us may have thought winter was already over. By late afternoon today we knew better yet to take it as it comes. It's no big deal. So depressing how this cost is right. It is a little bit but we'll hand what. Oh no I don't like the snow because I have to stay home. The snow is no good. I love the snow. I'm getting my skis out tonight. Going up to great garden do some of that great skiing. This is good news for you. Oh no snow all winter long. I love to see it. The Department of Transportation had the snow crews out in force by the middle of the afternoon. More than 120 crews from Newark to Cape May spreading salt and calcium on the roads to try and keep the snow from sticking to the road in. The snow room in Trenton. The emergency control center for street crews monitored each

new weather update and prepared to keep the crews on the street all night and reduce the speed limits on state highways. Many state workers lost their jobs early trying to get home before the rush hour crunch. In all it was a wet chilly reminder that spring has not yet sprung. And while winter may be fading it was far too early to write it off. So New Jersey has got out the shovels scrapers and snowshoes and got ready for a winter night of 20 degree temperatures and rapidly accumulating snow. Where was it all winter. We don't know. But if the forecasts hold out much of it should be gone by late tomorrow. Washed away by rain. 40 degree temperatures in Newark Jack and we'll have a full weather update later in this program. New York's mayor Kenneth Gibson spoke out today saying hey neither fear nor expect an indictment. That in response to a published report that the Justice Department has been

withholding approval of his prosecution. SANDRA KING reports. The Star Ledger reports it's been two months since the local U.S. attorney first sought permission to prosecute Gibson but potential charges would reportedly involve income tax violations and the misuse of campaign funds. But Gibson today asserted that he's not worried. I am not expecting nor am I prepared nor do I think anyone should ever be prepared for indictments. Gibson also agreed to comment for the first time on his brush with the Abscam affair. He described his meeting in a suite at Resorts International with three men one of them Mel Weinberg who presented themselves as agents for an international firm ready to invest one hundred million dollars in Newark. They said that they were representing the people for Abdul enterprises the poor the court. I'm gonna pass out so he Alosi. Bruce was that there was petro dollars money that came from. Countries or people who had oil.

We went into their place in a fairly large room with a lot of food on the table to get him some drinks. I don't drink cigars smoke and we talked about possibility of development. Gibson said members of his staff later tried to contact Weinberg but were unable to reach him. So there was no second meeting he said and no suggestion of bribes. Gibson also again denied reports published yesterday in two New York newspapers. Both reports hit while Gibson was in Buffalo opening a campaign headquarters for President Carter and both referred to remarks allegedly made by contractor George Katz to Abscam agents one accusing Gibson of taking a $40000 bribe. The other highest level attempts to chill the grand jury probe both the mayor said were untrue but the real significance of today's news conference may lie less in what Ken Gibson said than the fact that he talked at all those Justice

Department leaks and the subsequent news reports that put the heat on New York's mayor. So he's apparently decided to do what he can to cool things down at city hall in Newark. I'm Sondra King a Philadelphia based company is recalling several thousand bags of sugar because they may contain particles of stainless steel wire the contaminated sugar is sold under the brand names of Jack Frost and IDEO added new jersey. It was distributed. Acme supermarkets in South Jersey and the Impey on Delaware Avenue and Twenty sixth street in wildwood. The serial numbers on the so-called were called sugar to a 26 27 28 and 29. If you have some of that sugar return to the store you bought it from and it will be replaced. The state assembly is still in session tonight trying to pass a new code of ethics. That's what the assembly was trying to do Monday when the Republicans threatened to steal the Democrats thunder by proposing tough new amendments. While the Democrats have now written their own equally tough

amendments and the whole assembly is back for a vote we have a report from Mary and we're also live from the state house in Trenton. KAREN Right now the assembly chamber is almost empty because key Republicans and Democrats are upstairs in the assembly speaker's office trying to hammer out agreement on the ethics code. Normally the legislature passes a code of ethics every two years at the start of the new session and it's no big deal. But this year Abscam has turned the ethics code into an epic event for the first time they've included standards for how legislators should conduct themselves. A viz the casino industry. Under the proposed code legislators can take jobs from casinos can't represent casinos before state regulatory agencies and have to disclose any financial relationship with the casino. Right now Republicans and Democrats are fighting over who will get to sponsor tough new amendments. Everybody wants to cover himself with glory. Included in the amendments are these strict provisions all bribe offers must be reported within 72

hours. All sources of income over one thousand dollars have to be disclosed. No legislator can accept any freebie or discount from a casino and no legislature legislators can have more than a 1 percent interest in a casino. There are lots of amendments and the assembly won't begin to debate them probably till 9 p.m. but the major ethics amendments are bound to pass. Since everybody wants to look like Mr. Clean. Back to you Karen. Thank you Mary. A package of bills which would change the state's gross receipts tax received final approval in the legislature today. The gross receipts taxes paid by utility companies to communities where they have plants. But today the state Senate approved a plan to redistribute the revenue from the tax. Steve Taylor reports. It was pretty much a formality by the time the gross receipts tax bill is reached the Senate floor late this afternoon. Most politicians have accepted the idea that the municipality is who've been getting all of the gross receipts tax money must be made to share it with the rest of the state. These were the boomers which would do it. And the Senate

passed them six weeks ago. The assembly however changed the Senate bills and sent them back. There were senators from both parties who were grumbling about the bills that came back from the assembly. Those senators said the assembly's changes Rob many municipalities of some of the tax money they thought they'd be getting. But when the votes again the Senate went along with the assembly. Supporters say the bills will produce 15 million dollars to be spread among 334 municipalities. The first year there should be 27 million by the third year. And some legislators hope that with these bills they can cut some other municipal aid measures from the proposed state budget. The package of gross receipts tax law changes now goes to the governor of the state house in Trenton. I'm Steve Taylor County grand jury charged today that the county jail there is you using totally unskilled Siedah workers as guards. The grand jury is calling for an abolition of the comprehensive education and training program at the Hudson County Jail and the replacement of the jail's warden. The current warrant is John

Kelly who has no formal corrections experience but who is a former Democratic assemblyman. The grand jury probe began in 1978 after two convicts held hostage a guard hired through the sea to program landlords in New Jersey can now be sued for criminal liability if a tenant is assaulted in a building not adequately protected with security locks. The Supreme Court has ruled landlords must face up to their tenant safety responsibilities or face lawsuits. Kathy Manahan reports. Many apartment buildings do not have adequate locks on the outside doors of the buildings. If this door were not locked from now on the owner would be liable for any criminal assault that occurs on the tenants inside the building. The court's decision was based on the case of an elderly Passaic lady who was seriously injured in the hallway of her apartment in 1973 and was later awarded $25000 in damages. In New Jersey tenants organization claims it handled thousands of tenant complaints about insufficient apartment security protection. Every year tenants are

concerned specially with inflation now there are more robberies that are carrying. There are more people that are in need of money and and things and they're going to be more breaking state law requires apartment building inspection every five years for adequate security devices like doors that close and lock automatically all doors open. But the apartment house council of New Jersey says those devices often cause landlord problems. Anything that looks good Nikki tends to attract attention of the children or of the young adults who soon many of the landlords in urban areas have reported repeatedly putting locks on doors and repeatedly having them vandalized. But no matter where a tenant rents he now has the right to expect his landlord to provide some effective means of keeping criminals out. Just what may be considered effective though and how the law will be policed are questions that will undoubtedly create conflicts between landlord and tenant in Trenton.

I'm Kent Manahan three trustees for Ballis Park Place casino are all associates of Governor burn the Trenton Times reported today the three men pay fifteen thousand dollars annually by valley all have ties to. Washington D.C. attorney John George. John Kito it was Birns roommate at Harvard Levingston lawyer Harry Barry Evan Shick was assistant to Byrd during governor's tenure as an Essex County prosecutor. And William Dwyer often plays tennis with the governor. State law requires casinos to name three trustees before obtaining a temporary license. A Bally spokeswoman said today the three were chosen because they already had government security clearances and a spokesman for Burns says he sure the gov had no influence in Ballis decision. A recent Eagleton poll shows that New Jerseyans haven't changed their opinions much since 1977 about the honesty of public officials. The Rutgers based poll shows 49 percent of those surveyed thought their politicians were very or somewhat honest. While 44 percent thought very or somewhat

dishonest the great majority of state residents also considered their government at least somewhat corrupt. Though no more than any other state government. A survey by the way was taken after the Abscam scandal. The Board of Trustees of the College of Medicine and Dentistry finally ended almost a year of controversy by voting this afternoon to build a classroom and research facility in Camden. But the decision apparently avoided the possibility that Veterans Administration might cancel plans to build a hospital in Camden. But today the board members were faced with a surprise dispute the college facility is for the school of Osteopathic Medicine. But the dean of the school says Camden doesn't want osteopaths. So really industry in Canada which certainly the long list that was prestigious powerful individuals has never called our institution and asked how can we incorporate you into the mainstream of medicine in this

city. Board Chairman Steven Wylie says the state's commitment to its urban areas should be maintained then by unanimous vote. The Camden site was approved and about 9 million dollars allotted for the project. Possibly also saving the V.A. hospital project and now an update on the weather situation in northern New Jersey. Snow should turn to rain tonight but only after accumulations of four to 10 inches in southern New Jersey. Rain and sleet are expected tonight but all precipitation should end by tomorrow giving way to partly sunny skies and mild temperatures. Highs will be around 45 degrees and the outlook for Saturday fair and mild. Get

an old joke on a postcard called the Mosquito the bug that made New Jersey famous. And just to give that little bug all the fame it deserves. Riker's plans to open the state's first mosquito Museum in New Brunswick. One of the exhibits will be photos of efforts to cut down the mosquito populations in the Meadowlands between nineteen hundred and nineteen 9300 in 1920 and letters between mosquito experts in New Jersey and the builders of the Panama Canal who were tortured by the little insects. Assuming Rucker's doesn't scratch the idea the museum should open sometime this year. And now with sports news here is Bill Perry. That was fascinating. I bet you think it's Las Vegas Nevada right. It's St. Petersburg Nevada Las Vegas tonight it's an exciting quarterfinal if the peacocks win this one. They'll be in the final four in the semifinals on Monday night at Madison Square Garden where working on getting highlights from tonight's game hopefully please we'll have that for you tomorrow night. And women's college ball rational right.

Rutgers beat Central Missouri 87 to 75 Rutgers and white sandy purines number 34 right here hi where she had 20. There were eight opening round Division 1 national tournament games last night. Eight other teams received byes. So now there are 16 survivors Rutgers will next meet Providence in Providence Saturday in the region one semi's if Rutgers wins that one they will meet. Old Dominion the nation's top ranked team in the next round. That is if Old Dominion wins Saturday. As they say is a lock. Number 24 for Rutgers is Joanne BURKE She scored 16 last night and that gives her five hundred one points for the season. A new single season record at Rutgers and Joanne loves that transition running game. I usually play better if it's a fast breaking game. We get rolling more than you know set up and now we're just working the ball around working in and getting a good shot and playing on. And Rutgers coach Teresa grunt's is always getting good advice before her team's games. She gives me an awful lot of advice. You know told me things and when to be home right. Right that's right.

OK. National Division 2 women's tournament St. Peter's over Niagara last night. Seventy five fifty five St. Peters is now 27 in St. Peters doing it on offense here. And they had an easy time. They will next play the College of Charleston in South Carolina Saturday. St. Peters is one of 16 teams remaining in the hunt for the Division 2 title number 20. Jerry Lauer right there led St. Peters with 19 points and eight rebounds last night. The New Jersey Gems of the women's pro basketball league have three games left this season and I'll be playing them without Coach how he landed the GM suspended Atlanta for insubordination according to owner Robert Mylo player Juanda Zometa will serve as coach Kevin Lockerby says there's nothing to report that he wants to leave the nets to coach the Washington Bullets and last night the Nets beat Detroit 137 1 19:7 nets in double figures 23 for one for Boynes 22 for Cliff Robinson. This is Robinson in action last Sunday when he scored 45 points against Detroit which was picked by the NBA as the player of the week. And happy birthday quick. Today he's 20 still the youngest player in the league but not a teenager anymore.

Or you know a player who's for being able to just come in off the bat. You mean you started all the terms are very her recent game you've been scoring a lot of points right near the basket with numerous jams done. But you also have shown the ability to hit the 15 20 foot or now is this a shot. You always had that kind of develop since you've come into the NBA. No hitter in college got. The ball just about it all right. You know I had more of a free will and you know the Super Bowl. So you know I have developed a couple different which was more like one you said I want I get to every now and I was prepared which you know. But you know. No one plays music when it's my birthday. We're going to hold off on the weekly report for New Jersey until

tomorrow with all the snow the conditions should be rapidly changing in the next 24 hours so tomorrow night we'll check the weekend skier look OK. Thank you Bill. New Jersey Bell released its annual report today. It shows the company's income went up seventeen point seven percent last year. Even so phone company President Morris timebombs says he's worried about Bell's financial future. Tannenbaum says New Jersey Bell still needs a 270 million dollar rate increase including a proposed jump from a dime to a quarter for a local pay call. The U.S. Labor Department says Prudential Insurance Company has illegally withheld records on hiring and promotion policies. The finding follows a nine month review of Prudential equal employment record in New Jersey and New York. Company officials dispute the charge saying they're in full compliance with all Labor Department regulations. Cadential is the nation's largest insurance company with headquarters in Newark. Our closer look tonight is about a man who was a pivotal leader in the civil rights movement of the

1960s. And in those years Gus Humming-Bird was also active at a time to extend equal opportunity in America. Here's Gus in Newark the Reverend Theodore Hesburgh Father Ted two insiders in the civil rights movement has been called a living saint for his efforts on behalf of America's disadvantaged. From that perspective he became a kind of Marda when immediately after his re-election in 1972 President Nixon promptly fired Father Ted as head of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Yesterday. Father Hesburgh was at Seton Hall University in South Orange for a ceremony honoring mother Elizabeth seat. Father Hesburgh continues as president of his Catholic University Notre Dame. He's held for nearly three decades but he continues to use his considerable influence on behalf of the nation's and the world's poor stature which gives him ready access to the boardrooms cabinet rooms and throne rooms of the world.

He shared with me his perspectives about the American civil rights struggle. You served as chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and the period that probably everybody would call the heyday of that civil rights movement and then sort of unceremoniously got pulled out of that position can you. How do you look at it now. Well I worry a lot about it. I really do because I I believe honestly and I think I could justify this if I had to intellectually that during the 60s we made more progress as a nation that is very good as any nation on earth. But we made more progress in racial social justice than any country in the history of mankind. Well is it possible though that we got too much too fast and too soon or at least in the minds of people and now we're beginning to get a backlash from those days. I don't think so because I think when we institutionalize most of the gains we've we cranked them into the social fabric if you will and they are part of the machinery

now. There's no way on earth we're going back to the kind of apartheid we had in the early 1960s and for two or three hundred years before that that's over done buried thank God. And that was a it was a flash of light and I'm glad it came that way. It probably couldn't have come gradually. The second thing I think that is important that we ought to remember is that it turned out a whole new generation of people and new aspirations. And the problem I have today with our black students at the university is they will believe me when I told them to tell them how things were during the early 60s as late as the early 60s right up to the days of 1964. They just don't believe that the world was like that in America. But the problem still remains. Sure it no outrage. The problem remains in a sense the problem is getting institutionalized in the whole welfare system as one is to civilization I think which is probably bad for the people involved it destroys their pride if you will. Many of them I think the family. Breakup of the family institutionalizes deprivation for youngsters who can't really make it

without a good mother and father we all needed that and I think to the extent we got it we made it. The school system now gets institutionalized in a ghetto context which just means no education and I get sick when I think of four or five hundred thousand minority youngsters Hispanics as well as blacks and others who are simply not going to have any future in a highly technical society when they can't read or write or speak. And I think the. One thing that ghetto school is perhaps the worst of all because it destroys hope and future and upward mobility. If I had my way I'd bulldoze every ghetto school in the country out of existence just force people to think of another way of educating kids from that area. But Father what what role does leadership play in this whole thing. You served under three separate Presidents Kennedy Johnson and Nixon. Which of those three do you think was most committed to the civil rights movement. JOHNSON question I think President Kennedy knew exactly what the

problem was. He had all the right answers and you know all the right commitment but he was on very thin ice politically. He got in by a margin about that thing and he was worried about his Southern constituency he was worried about really worried about Cuba of course early on. And I think he just had a lot of things on his plate and this wasn't the main thing he had on his plate. Now Johnson came in and we all remember sitting with Johnson on the right outside the Oval Office he had a little hide out room where he used to when he was retired who had to stretch out and he was actually stretched out on the six of us on the commission were sitting around like folders. And he said he said the one thing I want to say to you. He said that at the end of my being president if they say there one million five million 10 million poor people have a better life than they had like him. That's the test of whether I've been a good president or not. He really believes that he got all mucked up with the Vietnam

War and he got mucked up in a lot of other things but he really had his heart when he went to Congress that joint session of the House and the Senate and wound up in a speech that famous speech under the 1964 act saying We shall overcome. That took a lot of guts for a Southerner to get up and say that I mean that was the battle cry. And he did it and he got that law through it I don't think anybody on earth except him could have gotten that law through. And I think that was the high point. That was the plateau that was the time to fire off the candidates. And I think from that day through the Nixon years and the other years that have followed we had made occasional victorious Sallys now and then but to the great enthusiastic battle I think has not come back to the fore after leaving the Civil Rights Commission. Father Ted turned his focus to the problems of global social justice serving with a variety of international agencies most notably as chairman of the worldwide economic development council. But he told me yesterday as we parted that he still believes the

quest for human and racial equality begins right here at home. Karen thank you guys. Once again our top stories. It's nearly spring but New Jersey residents are finally getting a better taste of winter. Up to 10 inches of snow forecast for some parts of the state. And thousands of bags of sugar containing particles of steel wire are being recalled from stores in South Jersey. And that's the news for a guy selling bargain Bill Perry. I'm Carol Costello. Good night for the New Jersey nightly news. New Jersey Nightly News is a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and w t 13