NJN News; Thursday January 2, 1997

There's that noise that is at the end and not happening there. You can watch your story ahead of... Kiwi officials are all smiles as they announce the airline will soon take flight again. Delaware is a dream for South Jersey shoppers will show you why and fears, hopes, life and maybe death going public with AIDS. A Trenton reporter shares his stories.

Those reports and health watch on NJN News this second day of 1997. Major funding for NJN News is made possible by grants from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation which believes that an informed citizen relieves to a healthy democracy. PSENG committed to serving customers, strengthening the business community and investing in New Jersey's future. The first union serves the financial needs of individuals and businesses from Connecticut to Florida. HIP Health Plan of New Jersey dedicated to providing quality health care to employees of large and small businesses as well as individuals for two decades. And by Bell Atlantic, the heart of communication in partnership with public television serving to inform and lighten and educate the citizens of New Jersey.

From NJN, the New Jersey Channel, the Emmy Award-winning NJN News with Kent Manahan, Dick Forney with Business and Jerry Henry with Sports. Good evening. After coming face-to-face with extinction, New Jersey's homegrown Kiwi Airlines is once again tax-seeing for take-off. Business correspondent Dick Forney has more on the return of Kiwi and what it means for passengers and employees. Kiwi Airlines is back in business. Reservations agents have begun fielding calls. In about 40 percent of its former 1200-person workforce is being recalled. It's been a turbulent three months for the airline which has, as its mascot, a flightless bird. Three months ago, it was a grim CEO, Jerry Murphy, who announced the airline's demise. It is ironic that the Kiwi Excellence Service won the hearts of the traveling professionals

and passengers, but the Kiwi never had the capital to weather adverse events which were totally outside of its control. But that was then, and today it was an upbeat Murphy who announced Kiwi's rebirth. Many so-called experts have written off this carrier since the beginning. But with the reincarnation of Kiwi on January 20th, I think that we have proven that if a cat has nine lives, then a Kiwi has at least ten. After a number of false starts, Kiwi's resurrection is being bankrolled by a Florida investment company. The airline will take flight January 20th to Chicago, Atlanta, and West Palm Beach, Florida. Less than one-third its pre-bankruptcy schedule. And it's a different type of company. Kiwi was founded as an employee-owned carrier. But the new investors will now assume control of Kiwi's destiny. Still, Kiwi employees say that won't dampen their spirits. It's a new year. Let's hope it's a new beginning for us. And you can do it right.

And make everybody proud. I'm happy to come back. All right, you take care. Have a new year. That's a chili back in the way. Huh? That's a chili back in the way. Oh, feel wonderful. Yeah. They're happy that we're back. They wish us well. And you can see we're busy. Kiwi has about five million dollars in new financing right now, and is still awaiting an additional ten million from its investors. But for now, the airline says the money in hand will provide lift to get it off the ground. Kiwi will charge $79 to $99 one way on the routes that it plans to fly beginning January 20th. Thank you, Dick. And we'll check back with you later on in the program for the rest of the business report. Travel along New Jersey's roadways in 1996 was the deadliest in a decade. 805 people died in traffic accidents during the year compared to the previous high of 790 fatalities in 1990. State Police report fatigue and alcohol played a role in many of those fatal crashes. They say that speeding was a contributing factor.

For many New Jerseyans, Delaware is not just the first state. It's also the first stop for shopping. With no sales tax there, people in South Jersey are flocking across the river to shop. And that's costing the Garden State millions. Ken St. John headed for the mall south of the border today and has our story. For many New Jerseyans, especially those in South Jersey, a short trip across the Delaware Memorial Bridge can lead to a bananza in savings. The destination is the 130 store Christiana mall. The reason? Delaware is one of five states that has no sales tax. Unlike the Garden States, 6%. New Jersey is very definitely our home customer, if you will. We have regular customers who are here several times a month. And I have to admit though, if it's a particularly big item, then I may consider coming over here. If you tie in after holiday sales offered by many stores, the savings can be even higher. And as evidenced by the number of New Jersey tags in the parking lot,

people are taking advantage of the savings. When you realize that the stores are now doing discounting through their sales, that probably on a good day matches any of the off price outlets that you'd see. And you also then get the tax free-ness on top of that. Today you have to save wherever you can. And a good way to spend a day. Saving money makes it... Oh, sure. That helps too. Okay. The wife that's spending and I try to save. Some of the big draws for shoppers are perfumes, cosmetics, high-tech toys and jewelry. Fortunately, location of the mall gives a great access for people from Jersey to come and visit and save a lot of money. Although there's been no formal study, the New Jersey Division of Taxation says the state stands to lose several million dollars annually to shoppers who spend their money in Delaware. It also seems many shoppers don't mind the bridge toll or the gas mileage to get there, like this man from New York. No sales tax makes a lot of difference in your dollar.

Can St. John and JN News at the Christie Animal in Delaware? 1996 was a record year for child support collections in New Jersey. The state took in $598 million between October of 1995 and September of 96. And about 100 million of that went back to counties as reimbursement for welfare programs. Authorities credit new strict state laws for the nearly 10 percent increase over the previous fiscal year. New York's former top cop is behind bars tonight. William Celester began his federal prison sentence in Lexington, Kentucky. He'll serve 30 months for stealing money from a police department account for his own personal use. On top of generally good news, in crime statistics around the country, there was a substantial drop in the murder rate in the city of Camden. Authorities say the number of homicides was cut in half in 1996, because Camden police cracked down on gangs, high-risk probation cases, and gun trafficking. The number of murders dropped to 28 down from 58 in 1995. The Camden police department says it's been a cooperative effort,

including state and federal law enforcers, community groups, and clergy. During the same time period, the murder rate dropped in New York City, but was unchanged in the city of Newark. One student remains in critical condition tonight following a New Year's Eve party near the Rutgers University campus. Reliminary findings indicate a support being gave way, causing the floor to collapse under the weight of some 50 student party goers. An investigation is underway. In all, there were six injuries causing two hospitalizations. We all want to avoid having to think much about AIDS, and that's certainly true of those who have the disease. But we can't, because it really is all around us. In the last dozen years, the number of people with AIDS has increased 10 fold, and in each of those last few years, more than 2,500 people from New Jersey died from the disease. And it promises to go up further in 1997. New Jersey now ranks fifth behind New York, California, Florida, and Texas in the number of AIDS cases.

More than 32,000 New Jerseyans now have AIDS. One of those New Jerseyans infected with the AIDS virus is Joseph D, a writer for the Trenton Times. Over the past few days, D has shared his very personal story with the Capitol Daily's nearly 100,000 subscribers. Our Jim Hooker talked with D today about his own story, and Jim, you're going to tell us now, and you've known Joe for a long time. That's right, Ken. I used to work with Joe at the Trenton Times. We worked together for a number of years, where we became close friends. I'm proud to say we remain close family friends today. Now, Joe's story is a very rare story to be told. So far, there have been first-person accounts by reporters or editors with AIDS that have appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the San Francisco newspaper, but nothing in New Jersey as far as we know. Now, a number of people that we talk to today said, Joe D has been courageous in his telling of his story here. I lay there in bed feeling as if I were becoming translucent and nearly weightless. I slapped my thighs with my hands and rolled on my side,

as if I were in a game of tag with death and gestivated its touch. It's words like these that have moved the readers of the Trenton Times the past four days in a first-person series that began running Sunday and ended New Year's Day. Times reporter Joe D, who believes he contracted AIDS through unprotected gay sex more than a decade ago, tells his story. I was really tired of hiding it. I'd been hiding certainly the AIDS part for many years. And what is believed to be the first story of its kind, published in a New Jersey newspaper, D takes his readers from an upstate New York childhood, where he first grappled with his homosexuality through the closet doors. He began to open both to being gay and later to the onset of the AIDS virus. I knew it would be new for a lot of our readers, but I thought that would be important to get the story out to people who might not have a lot of first-hand information.

AIDS activists say D's work is important. Well, the fact that Joe is willing to share his story will perhaps open the door for other people to do the same, and it will also clarify a lot of the misunderstandings that people have. D's editors, as nearly two dozen phone calls, have come in since the story began running, and they're showing a largely positive response to the articles. The best way I can put it is the way one caller described it today. She said that she wanted to thank the Times for publishing Joe's story because it put a human face on the tragedy of AIDS. Knowing that he's kind of accepted it makes it easier for us to accept it. Meanwhile, D says he's picking up strength, and after months of working four-day work weeks has resumed a five-day schedule at the Capitol City newspaper. I mean, I was in trouble, and as you see, you know, I'm doing pretty well. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for, you know, new medicines.

He says he believes AIDS will eventually be beaten. I'm absolutely certain that medicine is going to come up with a cure. When? I don't know if it's going to be in time to save me. I hope so. Okay, and we hope so too. Now, one indicator that doctors use to monitor AIDS patients is a count of a person's T-cells, which fights sickness in the body. Now, healthy people have a count of between 1100 and 1200 of these cells. Joe's have been fluctuating, and right now they're down to 38 at last count, and he hopes that they'll go up some. So, Joe is finishing a book on this, and the Times is going to keep its readers updated over the months to come. Keep us updated as well on Joe's story. Okay. Thank you, Jim. Coming up on NJN News and our Health Watch report, the FDA gives the green light to mark at a new asthma drug. Stay tuned for that story. If you have a comment, call NJN News at 1-800-Jersey-1,

or our email address, NJN News at AOL.com. If you have a comment, call NJN News at AOL. If you have a comment, call NJN News at AOL.com. Patterson Mayor William Pasgrill delivered his last state of the city address today.

Pasgrill has led New Jersey's third largest city for six years. Now he's heading to Washington to represent the eighth congressional district. In his remarks, Pasgrill called Patterson a safer, more prosperous city than it was seven years ago. In his remarks, Mr. Pasgrill, his heart and home will always be in Patterson. I may be leaving a classroom called City Hall. But I won't be leaving my hometown of Patterson. Believe me, I gave my best at all times. This is all I know. May God bless you all and please remember, I'll always be your friend. Thank you. Pasgrill, who was in his sixth term as an assemblyman, told NJN News, he'll miss his training job as well. and the rest of the Congress will be sworn in in the nation's capital on January 7th. In tonight's health watch report, asthma, it affects 14 million Americans. It's a growing problem in New Jersey, especially among African Americans. But as health and medical correspondent Sarah Lee Kessler tells us, there's new hope for patients who have trouble managing their

medication. This man has asthma, an inflammatory lung disease that literally takes his breath away. So does this baby. Both are patients of Dr. Leonard B. Alarai. He's the director of the New Jersey Medical Schools, asthma and allergy research center. The inner city of New Jersey's are suffering an epidemic of asthma and asthma deaths and no one should die from asthma. Dr. B. Alarai and other New Jersey asthma specialists see it as good news that the FDA has just given Shearing Plow, a Morris County pharmaceutical company, the go ahead to market this drug, Bansaril, a little differently, double strength. The benefit of an eventual double strength is that it can be prescribed both for adults and children over the age of six with a wide range of asthma severity. Bansaril has been around for 20 years. It's already the most widely prescribed inhaled

steroid. But allergies hope now that it will be available double strength, it will improve patient compliance. So try to tell someone to take eight puffs of this. It's very, very hard for you, me and anybody else to tell them now to take two to four puffs. We have a better chance of getting the appropriate dose into the patient. It's a big issue especially in Newark, which has the highest asthma mortality rate in the state. We see ozone plays a factor for example, pollution. And in the inner city, we see dust mites, but more so than dust mites, our cockroach allergens, which are becoming extremely important in the health of our patients. Roger B. L. Arise says, until you solve those problems, the asthma death rate will continue to go up whether asthma drugs are available double strength or not. Sarah Lee Kessler, NJN News, Newark. Some customers could soon see their gas bills rise and what's in the economic forecast for

New Jersey in 1997. Dick Porney has details coming up in his business before next. Say, too. It's time for business with Dick, so what does the crystal ball say? Yeah, it's a time here. Everybody pulls out their crystal ball to see what the economy brings. Well, we've got one of the top guys here. Most economists seem to agree that 1997 holds little in the way of dramatic change in the foreseeable future.

Nationally, interest rates are low, inflation is tame, and economic growth is moderate, at best. Recently, I spoke with Edward Bainey, the president of the Federal Reserve District of Philadelphia, about New Jersey's economic performance. How has 1996 shaped up economically? I think 96 has generally been a good year for this region, including New Jersey. The national economy has done well, and the regional economy has followed along. This part of the country is still growing somewhat more slowly than the rest of the United States. But on the whole, I think almost everyone will look at 96 and say it was better than 95. The economy at the present time in our region, is it solid, or is there some weakness there that we have to be watching out for? What is dragging down this part of the country and has been really dragging it down for a couple of decades or more, is the decline in manufacturing. And while manufacturing output is at a high level, there are fewer people that are needed in manufacturing.

And so we have to offset that drain. What are the folks who are preparing reports for you telling you we might expect in this coming year economically? I think that we are going to continue to trail the national economy. But nonetheless, I think we'll continue to be on this fairly moderate growth path in 1997 in this region. In spite of an unemployment rate that is persistently higher than the national average, the Philly Fed president says there is a growing shortage of skilled workers in New Jersey for available jobs. Elizabeth Town Gas is a subsidiary of Union-based NUI Corporation has asked the board of public utilities of the state to approve a $14 million rate hike effective February 1st. Elizabeth Town says higher wholesale prices for natural gas brought on by severe calls in other parts of the country led to its request. Elizabeth Town's 240,000 natural gas customers in New Jersey would each pay an average of an additional $116 annually if the rate increase is approved.

While streets slides into the new year, the market numbers are next. Tonight's NJN News Business Report is made possible by Core State's New Jersey National Bank providing financial services to New Jersey families and businesses. Well, the stock market began the year with a slight decline. Today, the Dow slipped about five and three-quarters points to close at the 64-42 level. The MX Composite fell more than three points, the Nasdaq Composite slipped ten and a third, and the standard of poor is 500, dropped three and three-quarter points. So, hey. Starting off the New Year. Slow. Maybe we'll pick up. All right, Dick. Thank you. Still ahead tonight. Still some milder temperatures on the way. The forecast is coming up, and Jerry's here with a preview of what's ahead in sports. For Kent, the local bad college basketball scene, heats up tonight the stories next in sports.

Jerry, two of New Jersey college best basketball players go out at tonight in their buddies. Recently, at Shaheen Holloway of Seton Hall, and of course, Tim Thomas, a big game for both teams tonight. It's the New Year, and things heat up for Area Basketball teams, and the big East Seton Hall travels to number 10, Villanova tonight. The parrots are six and four, but will face their toughest tests tonight with NOAA, led by Patterson, Catholics, Tim Thomas. And Rutgers will host you, Conn, the Scarlett Knight, or undefeated at home so far, and will have their lone senior, Johnny McCrimmonds back tonight.

He has played only five minutes all season because of a stress fracture, but the 6-8-4th is slowly playing his way back into shape. Johnny, we can't play him a lot of minutes right now. It's a stress fracture, and these things are, you know, anybody's guess as to how they develop. But he's practiced a couple of days now, and he's played live, which means scrimmaging, and like it would be a game for four or five or six minutes, the last couple of days. And he doesn't have any deleterious effects, so hopefully he's going to be okay, and he'll be able to give us some minutes in the next few games. In the NHL, the devil's host Pittsburgh, at the metal ants tonight, New Jersey is hoping to have as good a January as December when they went eight, three and one. That's the most wins they've ever had in December, that despite a loss in their last game, New Year's Eve to Buffalo, the devil's with this really strange, it's real going on in practice today, getting ready for the penguins, but they're happy with 20 wins so far. We had a good stretch in December last week or so, we weren't a little inconsistent, but I'm sure now, after New Year's, we're going to get a good start, and I'm sure we're going to be fine with what we have here.

I think we have a very good team, everybody works hard, but we've got to get everybody going every game if we don't. That's what happened in Buffalo, we have mental lapses and create those mistakes, and then we lose games, but if we have all 20 players going the same directions, we are successful. Ken, of course, college football fans will be in their glory tonight, the national championship on the line, Florida, Florida State, and the Sugar Bowl, all eyes on New Orleans. Now in that practice session, if it were golf, you just turn the bucket over on the side, right? Yeah, but I think you're supposed to put them in the net. Thank you, Charlie. How about the weather? The day started off today, cold and icy in some parts of the state, but the mercury eventually reached the high forties today in New Jersey. Here are the Trenton marshes this morning, the cold didn't seem to bother this goal, who managed to fight the chill to grab some breakfast. As far as our air quality goes for tomorrow, we can expect parts of North Jersey to see cold yellow readings.

The rest of the state will have good air quality throughout. In North Jersey tonight, here's the forecast expects some light rain with lows in the lower forties overnight. Tomorrow, a mix of sunshine and clouds by afternoon with highs and isn't this nice highs in the upper fifties. In South Jersey tonight, light rain is at a mistake or some drizzle, and tomorrow, cloudy with a chance of rain highs there too in the upper fifties. And that's our news for tonight. I'm Kent Maddahan for Dick and Jerry and all of us here at NJN News. Thank you for being with us and we'll see you again tomorrow night. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Take it down.

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