NJN News; Friday July 24, 1998 [Master, Original]

In Washington, the city of Washington, the city of Washington, the city of Washington, In this afternoon, is it okay if I keep going, turning a tranquil mid-summer tour? A gunman opens fire inside the nation's capital. A possible bomb and a building in Newark forces evacuations including the Performing Arts

Center. Governor Whitman makes a face-to-face plea for Open Space Funding. It failed once, but supporters of a Trenton Tunnel project hope the second time will be the charm. And do you find this billboard offensive? One summer set County Town did, we'll tell you what happened. NJN News for Friday, July 24th. Major funding for NJN News is made possible by Grants Truff. The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, which believes that an informed citizen released to a healthy democracy. The SENG, committed to serving customers strengthening the business community and investing in New Jersey's future. First Union serves the financial needs of individuals and businesses from Connecticut to Florida.

HIC 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, in partnership with public television, serving to form, fight 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. Gunfire erupted inside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington this afternoon, turning a tranquil mid-summer tourist scene into one of pandemonium and panic. More people were shot just inside the Capitol's East Wing entrance. After an armed men's weapons set off a metal detector, two victims, both Capitol police officers have died of their wounds. A female tourist and the suspected gunmen were also hit, as bullets sprayed about.

The house was in session and the Senate had just adjourned for the day. Eyewitnesses say tourists ran and hid behind pillars until the gunfire subsided. One after the suspect was removed from the scene, police continued searching, ordering everyone in the vicinity to leave. The tourist, a woman identified as 24-year-old Angela Dickerson, suffered serious facial and shoulder wounds. She and the suspected gunmen are being treated at Washington area hospitals. Meanwhile, some tense moments today for people in downtown Newark, a man carrying what appeared to be a bomb was threatening to blow up an office building. Linda Morton has that story. Businesses in the military park area of Newark came to a halt this morning when police got worried that a man was carrying a bomb. We had a telephone call, came into our communications center approximately about 10.50 this morning. And an officer responded, we had a description on an individual, and a police officer responded and made the apprehension and of course then discovered the devices.

Police dismantled a device with a water soaking cannon. According to eyewitness accounts, a man had been on the bus bragging that he intended to blow up an office at 18 Rector Street. I was dated for the building, so the man was running down his jeep and I was talking to a couple of my friends. So he was running down his jeep, you know, trying to come, you know, apprehend a police man, told me he got a bomb, he got a bomb, but the man was already inside the building. About time the man was trying to, you know, get the police. I was on my way out of the building to empty the garbage. I worked for maintenance and the guy was coming through the doors, he was coming to get on the elevator as I was coming through one of the doors for desperate employees. As he came through the door, he walked past and as I came out of the door, someone informed me that he had a bag with a bomb. The suspect Gregory James was taken into custody shortly after the incident was reported to police. Hundreds of workers were evacuated from surrounding buildings in the area while bomb experts dismantled the device. At this point it appears to be clay. Authorities say the suspect is believed to be the same man who threatened to blow up a

military recruitment station with a fake explosive device. Belinda Morden, NJN News, Newark. A man who hijacked a New Jersey transit bus last year has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Dwayne Thomas was fleeing police when he boarded the bus in downtown Camden. He held the driver hostage during a four-hour standoff. There were no passengers on board. Thomas must serve at least half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Governor Whitman made a rare appearance before a legislative committee today to push for her open space funding plan. The governor wants to preserve one million acres over the next ten years. As Michael Aaron reports, the governor was greeted like an honored guest. Governor Whitman was escorted into the hearing room by Senate President Donald D. Francesco. A few in this room could remember the last such visit by a governor. I think it's almost unprecedented, and I'll say it that way that a governor would come to a committee meeting to speak to an issue that she's been talking about. Jim Floreo made a pitch for initiative and referendum once to a legislative panel.

It is highly unusual for a sitting governor to testify before a committee of a legislature and certainly the first time that I have spoken to you all in this menu. But I feel that this issue is so important. Whitman is asking the Senate to approve next Thursday her latest proposal for preserving a million acres, abandoning her quest for a two-cent hike in the gas tax. The governor now looks to a combination of $100 million a year from the state budget plus new borrowing over ten years to preserve 100,000 acres each year. Not just five acres here and ten acres there because we have the money today and we're not sure whether or not we're going to have it tomorrow. But intelligent planning that says let's preserve farmland in a way that makes it contiguous. To dedicate the 100 million a year to open space requires a constitutional amendment and that requires voter approval on the fall ballot. One thing is very clear that people support open space, farmland and historic preservation. There are a million reasons to preserve these million acres.

I ask for your support of the legislation that will enable us to bring this to the voters. The measure has bipartisan support and is expected to pass. Some have suggested that Whitman wants to be remembered someday as the open space governor. Is open space your legacy issue? Open space is clearly, I believe, a legacy for all of us. As I said today, it is the most lasting thing that we can do. It's the greatest gift that we can give to the people of this state and to the future. It's one thing that will not change. Once it's preserved, it's there. Policy directives change, buildings change, roads and bridges change, but this will not. Michael Aaron, NJN News, Trenton. Here's a look at New Jersey in the latest statistical snapshot released by the U.S. Census. Garden State residents are making more. Unemployment is down. There's less crime and there are still a lot of us living here. New Jersey continues to be made up of people from many different ethnic backgrounds. The 50 states are rated demographically.

Here's a sampling of how New Jersey fares. In terms of people living below the poverty line, this state comes in 48. In annual pay, New Jersey ranks third behind New York and Connecticut. The cost of auto insurance for garden stateers is still the most expensive. New Jersey ranks 29th and murders, 42nd and rapes, 48th in the number of mothers under 20 and 9th in the number of people without health insurance. New Jersey citizen action, a consumer watchdog group, interprets the data as a tale of two states, one of well-to-do residents, the other of people struggling to survive. The proposal to expand Route 29 in Trenton could be approved next month. The Department of Transportation says the plan will help ease congestion in the capital city. But some Pennsylvania politicians and environmental groups contend the $90 million project will hurt more than it helps. Mary Ann Bennett reports. The Department of Transportation says the so-called tunnel project will improve the Trenton traffic problem, the 1.8 mile riverfront project will extend and broaden Route 29 just south

of the state house complex, jilting the highway west along the river's edge and then back inland just south of Thunder Stadium, where it would merge into Route 129. It's critically important not only to the residents but to our future plans for development along the river. About a quarter mile of the road project will be enclosed. The way you get the concept of a tunnel is you're going to have the 30-foot high wall on this side. You're going to have a 3-10-foot high wall on most of the south Trenton community on this side. And on top, they're building a deck. Mya Van Rossum is trying to rally opposition to the plan. She says the project which entails filling in just under an acre of the Delaware river will harm the environment and that the tunnel will obstruct river access. So when DOT makes its claims that this project will improve river access, which they do claim, they're lying. Yeti says environmentalists can't prove the project would harm this natural habitat. This plan provides pedestrian access down to the river. So I don't understand that, I don't see where it is going to harm the environment at all.

Sometimes I just think that some of these groups have tunnel vision and they don't want to see anything happen. Environmentalists are getting heavy support from Pennsylvania politicians who claim the highway project will increase truck traffic into their state. Amoresville councilman says improved access to route one south will encourage truckers to use that already congested highway instead of an alternative route. He says New Jersey is ignoring their concerns. Governor Whitman stopped this project, removed the construction cranes from this river, walk in our shoes and be a good neighbor. With less than two weeks left before the tidalins hearing, Pennsylvania politicians who oppose the project will continue to work with environmental groups to try and rally public support. If the tidalins commission approves the project, the DOT will start construction in September. Mary M. Bennett, NJNU's Trenton. Coming up on NJNU's, is it offensive advertising or freedom of speech? We'll explain. It's graduation day for more than 70 teens at the State Police Summer Academy.

And it's the first for the U.S. Coast Guard. We'll introduce you to the new commander of the Kate May Training Facility. Summerville officials are smiling tonight, a day after they succeeded in removing a cigarette ad from a billboard in town.

The Winston ad was on a board owned by New Jersey Transit. Rich Young reports, while the ad is gone, the controversy lingers. They say where there's smoke, there's fire, and that was true in Summerville this week. Several residents were red-hot over a Winston-Cigara advertisement like this one, which was pasted on a billboard in town. The ad copy reads, finally a butt worth kissing. Five words, Summerville Council President Roberta Carpenez says goes too far. It used language that I just thought was crude. It's the language that we, it's the language of young people, unfortunately, today. And I don't think we need to continue to reinforce that, especially when we're promoting a product like cigarettes. The billboard is on land owned by New Jersey Transit. On Wednesday, Carpenez complained to NJT yesterday the ad was changed. A private firm handles NJT's advertising, but the transit company says since last year all tobacco advertising is banned on its property. In his statement, NJT says the ad was put up in violation of its policy and said it reminded the company no more cigarette ads can be on our property.

While too many such a policy can seem like the right thing to do, the ACLU has concerns. It's troubling in a way, because it's a lawful product. It's an advertisement that isn't obscene, it isn't libelous, it doesn't violate the law. It seems to be a government restriction on a message based on the message's content. And I think that's troubling. This billboard is on a fairly busy road in Somerville, so it was likely seen by a few thousand people. But this controversy got a lot of attention in the media, potentially creating an audience of millions. Carpenez may be smiling, she got this ad down, but the tobacco companies may be the one who've gotten the last left. Richung and JN News, Somerville. Some of them could be New Jersey State Troopers of the future. Missouri, Michelle, Trenton, 74, junior and senior high school students graduated from the New Jersey State Police Trooper Youth Week training program. It's designed to prepare young men and women for a career in law enforcement.

The cadets were exposed to quasi-military environment, including revelry and roll call, as well as tough physical training, field exercises and academic classes. This is the 47th year of the program. Having the first at anything can be a difficult task. Some agonize over it while others take it and stride, such as the case at the U.S. Coastguard Station in Cape May, which has its first female commander. Ken St. John spoke with her today about her new leadership role. 46-year-old Coastguard captain Sally Bryce O'Hara grew up in a Nampalus, Maryland, where she was exposed to the military at a young age. On Wednesday, she took command of more than 1,200 personnel and trainees at the U.S. Coastguard Training Center in Cape May. What company is there? Furniture one by day! Although she's the facility's first female commander, Captain Bryce O'Hara says it was her record, not her gender, that got her here. I really like to put the emphasis on my achievements as an officer and play down the fact that I'm

a woman officer. I don't know that that has really made a difference in my being here. I've been selected because of my credentials. The commander, who was commissioned in 1975, says there were a few roadblocks on her way to the top. I've had some very good mentors throughout my career. I've been quite fortunate to have had bosses and supporters who've been anxious to see me succeed and have given me the tools and the backing and the authority to be able to succeed. Will there be a big difference between a female commander and a male commander? I don't think as opposed to a male and female, I don't think that really has anything to do with it. The Coastguard's mission is to save lives at sea, drug interdiction, and fighting during times of war. My hope is that we come together as a team and work to do our very best to turn out enlisted men and women who are motivated and proud and ready to serve in the Coast Guard. The commander is married with two sons, ages 16 and 14. He says while her family is proud of her, no one is prouder than she is.

I'm one of the lucky ones in whom the organization has a lot of faith and confidence and has said, go ahead, take it, you can do the job. And I hope to do it to my very best. I can say, John, NJN News, Cape Man. Setting the record straight on NJN News, in last night, six o'clock report on the retrial of James Landano, a photo shown as Landano was actually that of another person. And if you're interested in the Landano case, you can see some excerpts from yesterday's closing arguments on this week's edition of On the Record. It airs Sunday morning at 11 on all NJN channels. Well, Dick Forney is off tonight. Rich Young is here filling in. He's here now with a preview of what he's got in his business report tonight. Well, Kent, after several days of losses on Wall Street, we'll have some good news there. We'll have some good times and bad times for a large North Jersey hotel operator. And the nation's largest check printing company will stop writing checks for employees at their new Jersey facility. Business news is next on NJN.

If you have a comment, call NJN News at 1-800-JERZY-1. For our email address, NJN News at AOL.com. Here is tonight's business news. The nation's largest check printer is shutting down three plants, including one in New Jersey.

This so-to-based deluxe corporation is consolidating operations and will close production plants in Seattle and Atlanta, as well as a distribution center here in West Caldwell. Some 100 employees will be affected at the Essex County facility. The company says it's trying to relocate them. The cutbacks come amid increased competition. The banking industry brought on by several bank mergers. The next time you're in New York, start looking out for two popular American hotels. Percipient-based sending corporation signed franchise agreements, which will bring Howard Johnson's to Romania, and the days in to ten other countries, mostly in Eastern Europe. The agreements allow developers in Europe to use the days in and Howard Johnson names. Send it already has 300 international hotels from China to the Dominican Republic. Well despite an expansion, Sende continues to deal with internal problems. 44 company executives sent a letter to the Sendex board seeking Chairman Walter Forbes termination. Forbes is slated to be chief executive through the year 2000, but after disclosing accounting problems earlier this month, stock at the franchising giant dropped 17%.

The board has taken no action on the firing request, as of yet. And the federal Pierce Court has upheld a $2 billion clash action settlement against Prudential Insurance Company. The settlement was a result of allegations that the insurance giant's agents misled policyholders. Prudential admitted persuaded customers to trade in old life insurance policies for more expensive ones, without saying the old policies would lose value. The $2 billion settlement covers more than 8 million policyholders. On Wall Street after a couple of days of watching stocks slide, the markets were mixed today. The Dow came back slightly in the final half hour of trading. At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average gained four and a third, ending the day at the 89.37 level. The AMX lost one, the NASDAQ composite dropped four, and the S&P 500 rose one. Among the treasuries, the 30-year long bond is off 13.30 seconds, it's yielded at 5.68%. Over the weekend, the Dow dropped 400 points, big loss. You come in, Dick is off, and the market goes up today.

Maybe it's a sea, maybe I'm in the sea. Thank you, Rich. When we come back, look at the weekend forecast, and they're teeing off in Newark. We'll visit a special golf clinic coming up next. A future Tiger Woods could be in the making in Newark. The annual Summer Golf Club clinic is underway in Weak Wake Park, Belinda Morton has the story. Nine-year-old Tony Middleton has been playing golf since he was five, and he learned the

game here at the annual golf camp held each summer at Weak Wake Park in Newark. You have a par-hole? How many times? I don't even know. More than 100 youngsters are participating in this year's program. Golf is like one of the sports that you gotta do that practice hard about. I was here last year, and I guess it was a nice experience side of side to come back this year. The golf clinic teed off 18 years ago, the brainchild of two old timers who've been hitting the little white ball for decades. We saw the at Weak Wake golf course almost kneel for youth participating coming to play. If a parent didn't bring their kids here, we didn't see no kids here. Now this is the most used course by youth in this county. The camp is run with a help of dedicated volunteers who want to make a difference in the lives

of these kids. It's the new way of life for them. They go, we visit country clubs and they meet people on another social straddle on another economic straddle. They get a chance to look and see things that they have never seen before and maybe to hope for in the future. The country is crying that there are no black male role models and we have more than, maybe more than enough. On Monday, some 250 kids from throughout the East Coast region will compete in the first annual minority golf championship right here at Weak Wake Park. Belinda Morton in JN News, Newark. Now that's a story. It's nearing the end of July and in New Jersey, that means balloons. Balloon enthusiasts from all over the country as a matter of fact are headed to Solberg Airport in Hunterton County. Over the next three days, purple, green, yellow, red and blue will canvas the sky. Altogether, 125 balloons will participate. There's also a fair to enjoy at the 16th annual festival.

You can also see fireworks and art show and arts and crafts exhibits. Turning to our air quality, the cooler temperatures mean moderate levels are forecast across the state for this weekend. That's good news. Let's take a look at the forecast. In the northern part of the state, tonight, clear skies, lows in the mid fifties. Tomorrow's sunny with highs in the lower eighties. In the southern part of the state, tonight partly cloudy with lows in the sixties and tomorrow a mix of sun and clouds. The chance of a shower highs in the lower eighties. And from colorful balloons to colorful works of art, whether it's storytelling windows and houses of worship or Tiffany lamps adorning posh restaurants, stained glass brings beauty to the beholder. Anisa Mehedi went to Wheaton Village to watch one of the nation's top stained glass artists at work. The process that I work with is very similar to the way the windows were made during the middle ages for the cathedral. So this is a very old process. Makers of stained glass in medieval Europe didn't use air filtering helmets or air brushes.

But like the artisans of old, Kenneth Leap dreams up windows, cuts clear colored glass and applies and removes paints. I've just put a layer of more black paint over the surface of this. And this is a technique that's referred to as matting. There's a fine sand in the soil of South Jersey. It's brushed and granular quartz, a gift from the glaciers. This sand is excellent for making glass. And Milville has a history of glass production of commercial and artistic. As artists in residence at Wheaton Village, Leap gets studio space to work on commissions, like this one, for a chapel at the Masonic home of New Jersey in Burlington. In return, the village has him as an attraction. The kind of stained glass that I'm doing is not what the public ordinarily gets a chance to see.

So I'm really here more on an educational level. One of Leap's pieces for the public is in the State House, Annex. I became interested in what were some of the significant firsts about New Jersey. So I have Amelia Earhart's airplane. We had the first drive-in movie theater in Pensacan. I had the Martian spaceships from the War of the Worlds. A professor of his at the Rhode Island School of Design told him, you should always reward your viewer for taking the time to look closely. And that, he does. Anisa Mehdi, NJN News, Millville. More interesting New Jersey history. That's our news. I'm Ket Madahann for Rich and All of us here at NJN News. Thank you for being with us, everyone. Enjoy the weekend and we hope to see you back here on Monday night.