New Jersey Nightly News; New Jersey Nightly News Episode from 01/06/1979

A. New Jersey nightly. With somber. Evening in the news tonight. The teachers and police unions are keeping the pressure on Newark mayor Gibson but Gibson says the layoffs stand. We'll have a report. In other news the first major snowfall of the season takes some people by surprise and some students in Glassboro are lost in space. In sports rector's gets blitzed on national TV. Bill Perry will have all the sports. And on a closer look tonight we'll examine the nor' crisis and other stories of the week. City unions in New York today threaten to keep the pressure on Mayor Gibson until the recent layoffs are rescinded. The union said they plan to call a general strike later this month and they pushed again for Gibson's removal as mayor. Greg Wells has more. More than 200 members of the Newark teachers union in the Fraternal Order of Police joined forces this morning to protest the recent layoffs in Newark and they threatened to make trouble with the

proposed school board cutbacks are carried out next month. The union members were calling for unity amongst unions general strike and the recall of Mayor gives it a 16 year old student from New York's arch high school told the teachers that they could count on the support of most high school students in the south. He said he has formed a coalition of high schoolers to lend moral support to the teachers. We formed a coalition within our school and all we've been working with some students from Barrett who come in contact with people from Week way down Broadway junior high. We've been you know working with t2. We have been to from walkouts you all know about that. There will be more walk out. In this time I don't think the principal can stop them in my school because now people are realizing you know these clowns from the board are talking out here. Teachers Union. Exactly when the union would call a general strike.

But she did say that the recall movement is in full swing despite a potential hitch. We have no question that we will get the 30000 signatures and more on that there is a state can't be recalled until he's been in office. Go on the ballot is going to give him time to take the legs out from under. You know that far away the opportunity to mount a successful campaign for recall not only matter before the voters but this time around if he's interested truly running the union leaders say they were pleased to hear about one policeman whose demotion were rescinded. But they say they won't be satisfied until all recent in Newark. Well Mayor Gibson had his say in a television interview today. There was nothing the

unions can do about the layoffs no matter how loudly union leaders complain. While they are responsible to their union membership I'm not going to criticize them. If I were a union president I may be a little bit responsible than myself but they are responsible to their union membership so they have to sound like they're going to be able to get all these people that in reality they know as I know all of the hoopla and hollering and threats will not create any money. The layoffs in the city of New York have taken place as of 12:00 midnight of December thirty first. They will stand there's nothing they can do about it. The mayor did make one conciliatory move. Yesterday he rescinded an order to demote 91 police officers. New York's police director Hubert Williams today applauded the mayor's decision. Williams said that without those officers at their highest rank the department could not be effective. A lot of variables at play. The potential for problems

based on the on the on that which is the key need the need for intensified supervision during times of uncertainty and instability is critical. You can for example have less people with good strong supervision and get more productivity. And in the times we're living in today we have to have an operation that's going to be productive. So I was able to impress upon the mayor the importance of the strength of our supervision in these particular times. The Navy and the Air Force joined the Coast Guard search today for a 70 foot tugboat that's been missing off the Jersey coast since Wednesday. The tug and its four crew members were first reported missing when they failed to arrive in Camden after a cruise from Greenwich Connecticut. Twelve thousand square miles of icy Atlantic waters were covered in today's unsuccessful search. As one state trooper in Bordentown put it the first snowstorm of the year is always a surprise. The snow began late last night and ended in most sections of the

state by mid morning. Sections of North Jersey received up to four inches of snow. Central Jersey two to five inches and up to seven inches in extreme south Jersey today being Saturday. Most people can take a little time and enjoy the snow. Maybe partake in a little leisure league cleanup. And because there was no morning rush hour there were no major problems. Newark Airport was on top of things. Runways were cleared and there were no delays. No other transit problems although a bus skidded off the turnpike in East Windsor this morning and seven were treated for minor injuries. The speed limit on the turnpike was reduced to 35 for a while this morning. Trains and buses kept pretty close to schedule. There could be transit problems tonight however as the temperature drops and road surfaces freeze. Here's the weather forecast for New Jersey cloudy tonight throughout the state with traveler's advisories due to slippery roads. Temperatures should range from the low 20s to near 30 degrees tomorrow. A winter storm watch will be in effect for south jersey with a chance of some snow developing toward morning

then changing to rain during the day. Highs in the mid to upper 30s in northern New Jersey the rain will be heavy at times with temperatures just above the freezing mark. The outlook for Monday windy and colder with periods of rain likely. Plan touching it his passion his politics. Lady Glencora. Passion is another man. Left to their own devices these two would continue their pursuit but stripped the tour and restored because it will force them to marry and so will begin a saga of romance power intrigue murder based on the novels by kind of neutral. The palaces. Watch the palace or somebody at 10 o'clock. New Jersey Public Television. Now here sports with Bill Perry.

Thank you Sandy. In college basketball Princeton opened its Ivy League season last night Dartmouth handed the Tigers a 51 33 defeat it was the first big green win over Princeton since 1972 and tonight Princeton tries again playing at Harvard today Seton Hall over conditions 90 to 87 the hall now 18 for all five starters have for double figures in that Dallas led the way with 25 Danny Cowan had 22. Also today Rutgers at UCLA. It was all bromance. Final seventy eight fifty seven Kiki Vander wait two minutes in he had 16 points up two to nothing. Next trip down James value no offense of setting a pick then reaching on the fence. Roy Hamilton's just made it for nothing. One had to make it to the band the way wide open anyone claimed to hear. Then Tom Brown hit the records to make it order to win with 4 minutes gone. One basket made it 6 6 but then UCLA ran off 10 points electors went seven minutes without a point Brad Holland hitting bare then Holland the drive plus the foul.

He missed the free throw 10 6. From the other side 12 ball club in trouble. Roy Hamilton hit from way out to make it. 14:6 and then inside to the 16 secs. Next trip down the court records James barely picked up his third foul he was forced to the bank came back in the second half with 17 points but as the fourth goes it's too little too late. And UCLA beat Rutgers today. Final of 78 to 57. The Nets the last of the hot San Antonio Spurs last night final one turn one off for tomorrow night. The Nets host Phoenix and Kevin locker really will be back on the Nets bench after sitting out a league imposed a three game suspension. San Antonio is ice man George Gervin burned the nets with 16 first quarter points last night and the Spurs led 28 20 after one. Watch Gerben go without the ball here to get an easy jumper.

Girvan sent John Williamson to the bench. Soup just couldn't do the job defensively Al Skinner came on to Williamson and immediately Skinner started going to the basket Skinner scored six points in the final five minutes of the first quarter. Bernard King who led the nets with 36 jam to start the second quarter that got the Nets going any Jordan was super with 11 second quarter points here. Eddie on the drive. Then Jordan feeds Bernard King and the comeback is underway. Jordan King to a cutting spinner on the nets were within 130 332 after playing basketball. Jordan's solo put the nets up 39 37 but then a couple of minutes later with the score 47 46 birds Wynford Bourne's missed a solo slam for the Nets the Spurs converted on the other end. Garvin hit and they were never headed the Spurs by five at the half by 12 after three and a late night rally fell short. The Spurs have now won 12 of 13 after a slow start of the NBA Central Division by two and a half over Houston.

I asked former net Paltz about the Spurs turnaround Billy played his high school ball at Riveredge. He played at St. Johns as a collegian. Well I think two things First of all I think we were healthy which we weren't in beginning the season. And James Silas coming back. I don't think anybody in the NBA really realized what kind of a player he was he was out for two years because he is me and you know but he's come back maybe a total recovery from his knee operation and is just a tremendous ball player and helps are all friends and he's a 20. 22 23 point score a ballgame. Now he's starting in. Just giving our offense a tremendous lift. Let's talk about billy clubs last year I know you were in that option year and there was some talk that you may become. New York may become the New Jersey which scientists say in San Antonio so I assume you're pretty happy out there. Yeah they met they they pretty much filled my contract demands whatever you want to call it. There was no reason to leave. I really like it down there I enjoy playing ball down there and it's just. Just a good opportunity a good place to play and. It's been very

enjoyable three years and hope I have many more people around here you know. You're born in Jersey went to college in New York so a lot of people thought you would be coming home. Well it was a nice thought you know when I entertain that thought because you know it appoint the next it was mine. I grew up with the next of course coming back to New Jersey would be great too but. But it just wasn't in the cards and the way things turned out they turned out really well for me. For me anyway. The annual New Jersey State women's squash championship tournament has moved into the semifinal round with the action to resume tomorrow at Princeton's Jadwin Gym level see over 50 women enter the tournament representing eight states plus Australia top seed Barbara malty led the advance into tomorrow's semi's MS malty is the number one player in the U.S. and she's after her fourth consecutive Jersey title. She has yet to lose a game in this year's tournament and in the last three years she has only dropped one tournament game that was last year to sue Newman in The Finals Newman who was the number one player in Australia defeated Didi Webster from Princeton today. Newman

seeded second was pressed by Webster the match went the full five games in tomorrow's semi's at 10. Newman will meet Carol why Mark why Mauer defeated former Princeton Captain Wendys a hard go today in a quarterfinal match malty will meet Joyce Davenport in the other semi Davenport is a former United States national champion the semifinal winners will square up at three for the New Jersey championship tomorrow and the event is open to the public. You know that's a difficult sport to capture on video tape or film it really is incredible how good these women are if you have some time get over there for instance tomorrow to check it out. That's for Sandy. Thank you Bill. The creation of new jobs in the private sector will be the top priority item for state Senate Republicans when the legislature reconvenes this month. Senate Minority Leader Garrett Hagedorn says each new manufacturing job adds more than $5000 a year to the state and local tax shield. So the Republicans will introduce legislation that would offset the corporate income tax in return for new investments in plants and equipment. For a few hours today Glassboro

State College in Gloucester County was hooked up to the United States space program as students learned about the planet Venus in an unusual way. Steve Taylor reports. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration brought a portable ground station to Glassboro and aimed its dish at a satellite in stationary orbit over the Earth's equator. The so-called communications technology satellite or CTV has is a joint Canadian-American project launched three years ago. One man in a small station can make contact with CPS because the satellites transmitter is 10 to 20 times more powerful than most communications satellites. Coming in was a live picture from NASA's Ames Research Center in California where scientists were putting out a lecture specially for Glassboro aerospace students. The topic U.S. unmanned spacecraft now orbiting Venus not only where the students learning about the project directly from the men in charge but they were asking questions and getting responses. Yet another thing that is a good question and one that I think now questions and answers were being bounced off the

CTF satellite 22000 miles in space. Informative to us to know what's going on in Venus and we can interpret that and find out some things about our own planet from the interpretive data from Venus probe. Just it's fascinating knowing that this is going to be your future all this kind of technology and it's just so interesting to see the kind of things that are going on. Of course there is a public relations aspect to all this. NSA puts on these demonstrations to show that there's more to the space program than men walking on the moon. There's also scientists sharing information with students in ways and places that were possible just a few years ago Glassboro State College. I'm Steve Taylor. And in the sky over the one of the reservoir here in New Jersey strange light configurations have been sighted since 1066. Now a nonprofit research group wants to find out just what those lights are. Some Passaic County residents contend the lights are unidentified flying objects. But researcher Robert Jones believes that seismic pressure from the ram a pole

fault creates an electrical field and optical illusions. He'll find out who's right when a study kicks off next month. Just begin to look as if ever the nation can be pinned in it's actually the animals die because you can't be sure why they died when I should have thought we could. Watch Marie Curie Tuesday at 9 o'clock on New Jersey Public Television. That's because you like me better at. Your job crisis there. This week Mayor Kenneth Gibson said he's still trying to get more

federal money into the city. He's also involved in skirmishes with the city council over police layoffs. We'll discuss Newark and other New Jersey stories with John McLaughlin political reporter for The New York Daily News. John's covered New Jersey knows it well. And Jim McQueen of The Star-Ledger Jim is the Washington bureau chief. How much hope can New York realistically have for some kind of help from Washington. Well Newark can have a lot of hope. But as for money that's another question. The problem is that the size of the program of the restoration of counter-cyclical funds at The Economist ration is proposing at this point is 400 million two hundred fifty million dollars would be in the form of a kind of supplemental appropriations which could immediately help Newark. It's interesting to note that the one the other hundred fifty million dollars that they're talking about for the next year fiscal 1980 they've made they have not budgeted the money nor do they intend to. They've also set the trigger at which this money would be activated at a high unemployment rate that six and a half percent which might mean that might that

money might not even be triggered and Newark will be in a fix. One thing to do expand if it I suppose in the current ministration proposal is that they're going to reduce the amount number of cities from qualified in the previous one from 12000 to roughly several hundred of the neediest and that was their only fault in that. Yes it certainly falls in there. And they're also thinking about all the formula hasn't set the exact amount of money that will be coming to cities like Newark. They are saying that not only would they include unemployment as a as a main factor they would also include possibly whether giving additional money for cities that have already laid off employees. This is yet to be determined and the proposal itself that they're going to set before Congress is not cemented. But at least they're including factors for north that could be helpful over and above what other cities might get. Let's back up for just a minute and talk about why this card or proposal is necessary in fact there had been a counter-cyclical anti recession aid bill for the cities that

died in committee. In the last session. And. What do you think the chances are that Congress will go for the Carter proposal whatever it is. Well. There's a problem with that because when they reduce the size of the program they also have a lot of congress in from the Midwest and western states that were hostile to the original one saying well if you're reducing it so it's something this small. Why have it in the first place. There's also a feeling among some skeptics that the con a ministration thing is just a throwing to the mayors. The Economist ration people may feel at least these skeptics feel as well that it's doomed to defeat going before Congress but at least they can come back to the mayors and say look we went to Congress. We've given you what you wanted and then they can also go after the thing if it is defeated in the house. They won't be remembered as throwing money to the cities at a time that Carter was calling for sturdy in the in the budget. Ken Gibson isn't calling only for help from Washington he's also calling for assistance from

Trenton. And. Of course he's caught in a double bind because there's not only the federal money that's been taken away. But the fact that federal money had been exempt from our five percent. Caps law. That limits the spending on its policies. Ken Gibson says what he really needs right now he doesn't expect much help from Washington. And what he really needs right now is for the legislature to come back in the middle of this month and say We understand your problems. We will lift lift the cap laws at least temporarily. What are the chances that that will happen. Well. I think the mare is going to make a case that the. Contrast catastrophe is really looming here. We like to our policeman to our sanitation people 11 other school personnel. And a town like New York. You could have very very severe problems. The teachers may well strike every other militant union. It's entirely possible that. Newark is sitting on a surplus I think of for five million dollars which would help them deal with say 20. I don't think it's unreasonable. To go and ask the legislature to lift the caps and in a

situation like this on the other hand there are lots of other cities got similar problems although not quite so intense and I would think the legislature and a governor would be reluctant to open the door while the governor and Ken Gibson are our good friends they have their cooperation. They get along very well on the other hand. How much does the legislature care whether Newark has a teachers strike a police strike whether there's chaos in the streets of it. Well it's a suburban legislature but I just know they are humane. Individuals more or less I don't think anybody wants to see your blood in the streets and what. Could happen. Well while Mayor Gibson is looking toward Washington there's a new politician in Washington he has great hopes. He's New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley. He officially went on the payroll this week moving into the offices once held by outgoing senator Clifford Case. In fact the long time Republican was still there on Bradley's first day cleaning out his office in the process. Bradley was learning the ways of the Senate. Well the first order of business is to learn the pass to the floor. You walk to the floor where the restaurant is.

The second important thing is to begin to learn the process of the Senate the rules begin to learn how to be effective in committee. And gradually if I get those committee assignments I think that my own interest will be revealed and certainly my work will be. Sizable. Bradley won't stay in cases office for long he seniority is about as low as a freshman can get. Bradley ranks ninety eight out of 100 senators. Look at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to permanent office assignments. And this whole question of seniority traditionally has a bearing on a senator's effectiveness. Jim what about Bill Bradley. Can he make any difference to aid for New Jersey and particularly for New York. Well as you said Traditionally it has had a bearing on how it can perform but things have changed a little lately over the last especially the last two sessions of Senate. I know there was a lot of first term senators who who have

cultivated certain issues for instance Gary Hart of Colorado came out and he's the man to see about military construction. John Calder another first term when he was he's become an expert on salt all these first termers take particular interest specialized areas and they go in a pound and they pound on these particular areas of interest. And what they lack or can get in an influential committee assignment they can get by speaking out in that kind of thing and I think that's what Bill Bradley may have in his mind. Because obviously he's not going to get that good of a committee assignment due to his low standing strictly speaking on seniority but he can speak out on a lot of issues in that regard. As to whether you can get aid for New Jersey and that kind of thing. Well he's a member of the Senate that was fairly looking kindly toward the counter-cyclical as you remember the Senate did pass their counter cyclical aid program and it went over to the House and the house killed it by let it die in committee so the Senate is largely looking favorably upon the aid as far as it seems now anyway.

Well John this question with Bill Bradley of course not particularly of being an expert on anything but of being a celebrity and all that give New Jersey a voice that we haven't had before. Well he's the only one American in the Senate as far as I know. The Senate change a great deal. I think something like 40 percent of the membership has been elected since 1972 were much younger than used to be. They're much less likely to abide by these hoary Senate traditions. I think the median age of this new group The first is like 40 and a half years old. Mr. Bradley's youngest of all he's 35. But he's a celebrity. People like to be nice to celebrities even senators like to be nice to celebrities I think will do fine. OK on another topic New Jersey's attorney general said that almost 90 percent of the state's wholesale liquor dealers are involved in bribery and kickbacks. Attorney General John Degnan complained that the state's liquor controls are antiquated and he said that control would help lower the price of liquor. John is is that necessary what is that going to mean. Why it is not only necessary it's long overdue. You know I think the situation is in history is outrageous you can put. Forth a record of whiskey here and I

sort of haven't compare yet say New York there's no competition at all. They say this is not. Controlling prices fixing prices. And. It's fixing them in the head of eight or nine wholesalers who make a lot more money than they really ought to make because they're not competing in the marketplace. What happens is. They go up and they follow prices that the other 8 guys have got five days to file their prices and sure enough you know all the prices were identical. Well what else do we gain other than having competition for the people who sell the liquor and maybe cheaper prices for the people who buy the booze. Jim are we really going to cut corruption in this industry. Well we might look to a precedent California is a good example. Last May there are the highest court overturned there. Trade laws fair trade laws that had stem back and I 39 said fix the prices of living that we had here. Now they have been in this free market competition since then. For beer wine and liquor. The situation there is resulted in California wines for instance now that prices have reduced by about 40

percent according to a consumer group that was influential in the court decision. Other liquor is a 10 to 20 percent. But what about in private bribes and kickbacks and the corruption. Will that really be limited. Oh sure it will because if you if you can't compete in terms of price you're going to compete and some want to matter. And the way this conversation takes place now is on the table. If the prices are all the same you have to give a buyer some sort of consideration which is that we should give money. Which is illegal and. And appropriate every other thing. A lawyer who dealt with the case in California said that that's essentially true and what they did by putting it to the free marketplace was remove the table literally from one to which you could do all this stuff and now it's open in the open full page ads in a lot of the California newspapers competing against one another all liquor industries. And an interesting one other thing that happened was the liquor industry had a warning that the mom and pop stores would go out of business because of the high discounting the experience so far at least according to the consumer people. Is that hasn't happened.

OK. That's what we want is more newspaper ads. Time is up. That's this week in New Jersey. Thank you. John McLaughlin of the New York Daily News. Jim the Queeny Washington bureau chief of The Star Ledger. And recapping our top stories tonight Newark unions are still threatening to strike and they're gathering signatures for a recall of Mayor Gibson. The snow several inches worth caused minor inconveniences throughout New Jersey. Well the weather service says we could get more of it. That's New Jersey Nightly News the Saturday edition will be back tomorrow night at 6:00. I'm Sandra King. Have a good night. Did your presentation public television

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