NJN News; Tuesday, January 16, 1990

You You You

Major funding for New Jersey Network News is provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation First Fidelity Bank and Jersey Central Power and Light From New Jersey Network, New Jersey Network News, where Kent Manahan I, James J. Florial To solemnly swear That I will support the Constitution of the United States That I will support the Constitution of the United States And the Constitution of the State of New Jersey And the Constitution of the State of New Jersey Jim Florial's 12-year quest to become Governor of New Jersey was finally realized today The eight-term congressman from South Jersey was sworn in shortly after noon

Becoming the Garden States 49th Governor Good evening, it was Jim Florial's day in the sun The New Governor began his term an old-fashioned splendor with the parade down state street in Trenton And with an assist from Mother Nature who cooperated with a magnificent January day But it wasn't just pop and ceremony, it was also a day for the New Governor to begin formulating his agenda for the next four years Statehouse correspondent Larry Stoopnagle is part of a team of New Jersey Network News reporters covering today's events He has this report Before Jim Florial was sworn in his governor he began his day with a 915 ecumenical service at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton Afterwards he had thanks for the sermons and the good weather Obviously inspirational and it's good to get a send-off with everybody helping Court of break on the weather so there's obviously good connections

Florial and his wife Lucinda marched to the Trenton War Memorial where Democratic National Chairman Ron Brown was among those awaiting the inaugural Jim Florial was an outstanding member of Congress he's going to be a great governor of the state of New Jersey But according to Florial's community affairs commissioner designate and Camden Mayor Ramney Primus No one today was proud of Florial than the people of Camden Camden feels like a member of their family has reached a goal in their life that they have set and worked hard for So needless to say everyone in Camden is smiling today Governor of the state of New Jersey According to the best of my ability And then shortly afternoon Jim Florial was sworn in as New Jersey's 49th governor The celebratory cannons were followed by an orchestral composition called family that was written by Florial's son Christopher In his inaugural address Florial called today a homecoming after 15 years as a congressman in Washington He thanked his predecessors and called himself a man who sets goals and keeps them

When I leave here I want to be remembered as the governor who brought new ideas to preserve old ideals His ideas on auto insurance for form will be formally delivered to the legislature next week We will bring back fairness to a system that has abused New Jersey drivers for entirely too long Florial said he wants to emphasize the old ideals of opportunity, community, security, family and leadership to make New Jersey a better place to live Florial speech was warmly received by this partisan crowd and Senator Bill Bradley said Florial's approach to New Jersey's problems that show the way for the rest of the nation He sets the agenda for the legislature and so what he does will obviously have reverberations throughout New Jersey And possibly what he does will have attention to a wider audience as well

1300 marchers and 41 bands from all over the state beat the drums loudly for Florial as the state had its first inaugural parade since 1935 Afterwards Florial marched into the office he will occupy for the next four years and perhaps contemplate the problems that await him after today's pageantry Florial now makes the New Jersey network news for instance Florial's inaugural address contained no real news as Michael Aaron tells us it was short on specifics and more concerned with setting a tone We've all been taught that keeping promises is a deeply held ideal and I want to talk today about ideals It was a relaxed and confident looking Jim Florial who occupied the limelight today and in this age when the term values has been successful for such Republicans as Ronald Reagan and George Bush Florial invoked a few of his own he called them ideals

Community security family leadership no one can argue with those words and in fact no one did not today not even Republicans Although it was a pretty good speech it was thematic he touched on a lot of the concerns that we all have but since it's only his first day I won't hold too high of a standard for what are his answers where the good new ideas for these old ideals He did a good job today and I hope he becomes a good governor I really do every New Jersey in regardless of whether they're Republican or independent now Whether they are part of the losing or winning team should rally behind the new governor and give him as much support as possible I won't soon forget hearing from a young couple from Bergen County who told me how they stared in disbelief at the real estate prices in the newspaper Wondering how it was that they got written out of the American dream if the words weren't new the problems they described are very real and in that vein Florial did reiterate his intention to be an activist

The people of this state want no they demand action this is what built this state made it great and it is what will keep it that way It was light on specifics but I listen and this is it was he's going to have more than ample opportunity to come forward with specific proposals Today wasn't the place for specifics that'll come later I think he set the tone that he wants to preserve the ideals with the new ideas that I think he has Florial wants the new ideas to come from everyone You and I inspiration and you always have been your hopes and your dreams put me here today You see you will be the source of tomorrow's new ideas He sees his role as setting it all in motion

Being a leader is being a spark, a catalyst that sets forces in motion that makes things happen Making things happen begins tomorrow Michael Aaron, New Jersey Network news, Trent and when the swearing in was over it was on to the celebration in the form of a parade through the streets of Trenton There were bands and floats from all over New Jersey representative of the great diversity of the garden state It was an event the state hasn't seen in more than half a century and was preceded by another more sedate march as Belinda Morton reports As the outgoing governor Thomas Cain bid farewell to New Jersey and lining the streets of Trenton today The state's incoming governor James Florial cheerfully greeted them on his way to take the oaths of office They came from areas throughout the state, one group from East Orange says they came to make the governor aware of their existence In hopes he keeps his promise of inclusion

We want them to acknowledge a prisoner or existence in the community like as a decent human being Because we participate also in the economy of this country Following Florial swearing in the new governor and his wife Lucinda led the inaugural parade through downtown Trenton A march that hasn't been seen here in more than 50 years Governor Florial says he revives the parade tradition to show that his administration will not only be accessible But also responsive to the people New Jerseyans young and old and for more walks of life line the streets of the state capital to welcome the new administration Small children seem just as thrilled as those who voted for Florial This is history being made right here today and this is an opportunity that a lot of our children ordinarily wouldn't have had By bringing them down here to see it right in action and live it's really important for these children to be here One Trenton resident said her family has been loyal to the party most of their lives Today's festivities made her proud to be a Democrat

It's exciting it's just wonderful I'm glad it's a parade they should do this all the time It's a real it's an honor it really is Camden's favorite son was cheered on as the mothers of those marching in Camden's high school's marching band pass by This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for our children from the Camden high school to marching the governor's parade And I'm just ecstatic I took off from work to be here with my child But despite all the hoopla state employees still had to work so many found a number of ways to enjoy the fun This is my favorite lunch place and I come here most most every day And so I came down a little early in order to watch the ceremonies I think that he will be accessible and I think that he'll be a people's governor Belinda Morton, New Jersey Network News, Trenton And just minutes before he was sworn in as governor today Jim Florio resigned as a member of Congress It's up to the new governor to set a date for a special election to select his successor in Congress Although Florio has yet to set that date a spokesperson for the governor says his first district congressional seat will most likely remain vacant until November

Under federal law the clerk of Congress assumes control of Florio's office He'll meet with congressional staffers tomorrow before naming an administrator to take over day-to-day duties of the office Two other members of the new Florio administration also took the oath of office today First to be sworn in to his new duties this afternoon was Robert Dale Toofo, New Jersey's new attorney general Dale Toofo is a former U.S. attorney who himself sought the Democratic nomination for governor some five years ago Also taking the oath of office this afternoon was Joan Haberley, a Lambertville realtor A Lambertville realtor tapped by the new governor to serve as Secretary of State Haberley was a former member of the New Jersey real estate commission and former chair of the state executive commission on ethical standards The day's activities came to an elegant crescendo tonight in Somerset where the inaugural ball is set to begin The new governor and his wife Lucinda will host the elaborate five hundred dollar plate party for some three thousand guests

And Marie DeNoia is standing by at the Garden State Convention Center with all the details on tonight's gala event Marie? Can't guests are just beginning to arrive here at the brand new Garden State Convention Center There's a lot of expectation in the air at this, the crowning event of a momentous day for governor Jim Florio But earlier preparation was the featured activity According to officials at the Garden State Convention Center, it's taken a lot of vitality to ready squib pharmaceuticals former warehouse for tonight's gala event One of the reporters in one of the most papers I think probably aptly described it as a battle zone But after a month of hard labor the center with its sea of white and burgundy play settings 46 bars and five dance floors is ready for the party hang The music will be Count Basie, the cuisine gourmet, of course, presented by 300 French service waiters

The facilities, at least for some, will be portable The overflow guest list has forced the center to resort to portable potty style lavatories They're quite a bit nicer than what you'd experienced on a construction site, but yes, they are portable facilities It's a seafood strutal, which is shrimp scallops and crab meat, and a cognac cream sauce, roast tenderloin of beef Now if that sounds like fine dining, caterer Franco Day promises it will be served with equal finesse We're going to be serving 3,840 meals, we've got it broken down into six kitchens Each kitchen station serves 100 meals, each waiter picks up a platter for 10 guests and serve 10 guests Now not only is everything about tonight's meal precisely planned, but it's time down to the minute I'm told by caterers that Governor and Mrs. Florio are expected to make their grand entrance at exactly 817 We'll see, 10th?

Hurry, I guess there are actually more guests than originally expected Yes, in fact, about two weeks ago I'm told again by the caterers, they were given notice there would be 800 extra dinners to prepare And so the convention center was forced to actually erect a very large tent, which they put alongside this building, to accommodate them I'm going to challenge for everyone involved, I'm sure, thank you Marie And still to come, the latest on the efforts to clean up the Arthur Kill oil spill and AT&T searches for answers to the computer snafu that tied up long distance lines around the nation We'll be right back We'll be right back

In other news tonight, there was a surprise announcement from Exxon today, a top executive who dealt with Exxon's massive oil spill suddenly announced his retirement That is the cleanup winds down, and the environmental impact begins to sink in Trish de Gasparis has this report And the work now is shifting from collection of oil on the water to treatment of the shorelines that might have been touched by the oil

Exxon also believed that public perception of this is a degraded area, allowed them some leeway In fact, this area, which is in the midst of refineries and heavy industry, contains sensitive islands where birds raise their young The area itself is a vital area, there's a wintering waterfowl here, the egrids and ibises and blue herons nest and summer here and feed This is going to be one of the problems with the long range environmental damage These birds will be back in the spring and the food, the crustaceans, the worms in the mud and the sand that they feed on is damaged Maybe to the point of extinction

Meanwhile, the federal EPA is demanding some answers from Exxon by 5 p.m. tomorrow on the cause of the spill If answers aren't provided, Exxon could be fined $10,000 a day. Trish de Gasparis, New Jersey Network News, Lyndon New Jersey's soft-spoken U.S. attorney may be headed for a spot on the nation's second highest court Although his office today refused to confirm or deny it, Republished reports say Samuel Alito is the top candidate for a vacancy on the third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals An identified Republican sources quoted by the star ledger of Newark, say Alito was interviewed last week by members of the Justice Department's Judicial Selection Committee Time now for Jim's business report, and I guess the buck stopped right with the chairman of AT&T today You might say he did a Harry Truman right? You know, reporters asked AT&T chairman and Allen today whether the snafu that threw the huge communication system into confusion might have been dirty work Sabotage, a virus, say Chairman Allen responded Well, that's always been a suspicion of ours, but we've had a growing level of confidence as our analysis went on that that is not the case

Not ruled out, but the indication was it was a straightforward failure of software. There were victims May 50 be able to get 40 times Montclair traveled with customers many parts of the country was a typical victim yesterday When we couldn't reach people in Florida, airlines in California or a steamship company to our operators, that sort of thing Then we realized it had to be something a lot bigger than just one line But like a lot of other business people, Montclair travel was spared by the fact of the national holiday No, I don't really think that we lost any business yesterday American telephone, though, did clearly But when chairman Allen was asked what he thought was the dollar cost to AT&T, he responded that the business at hand was getting the system fully secure And then they will take up other things AT&T's vast brain resources worked through the night, he said They worked throughout the night, nonstop, and flat out

Was it true that at first AT&T operators declined to direct customers to competing services like MCI? That was accurate earlier in the day, we asked But he said when the dimensions of the problem became clear, operators were told to provide that help Source of the follow up ironic, the guilty software intended ultimately to add an extra layer of protection to the vast system Chairman Allen said he's asking the FCC, by the way, to let AT&T have a day of reduced rates as a kind of payback to the customers So you thought the end was here, market down a hundred and some in the years still young But this morning the news auto sales jumping early January, GM sales up 40% And then there's this, today Commerce Department says sales in November ran way ahead of inventory growth And well, you know, top heavy inventories are the stuff of recession Anyway, a lot of disappointed investors today who had hoped the market would continue heading south A lot of stocks began looking like bargains like IBM up two points today

Philip Morris, most active and up also along with a bunch of technology stocks Some of the gurus who think up is temporary are recommending now long-term bonds And Uncle Sam's 30-year paper got cheaper today as some Japanese sold apparently to cover their losses in their own stock market Long bond yielded up to eight and a quarter percent tonight One scenario sees the prime going to seven and a half percent Sometime, well, anyway, it's your money, isn't it? You say that was such a custom, thank you, Jim Coming up, weather more suited to April than January, I'll have the forecast and in sports The preacher's punch ends, coonies come back, pat with the post-fight story coming right up You

If you're keeping track, the previous two Mondays brought a snowfall in New Jersey, followed by beautiful warm Tuesdays. Well, this Tuesday was a real winter, hopefully you had a chance to be outside and enjoy it, like these fellows. Frank Tripoletti and Tim Watkins, students at Stockton State College in Pomona, who took advantage of today's warm sunshine to toss around a football.

Readings actually got into the 50s and low 60s across New Jersey today, and a record was tied at Newark Airport, where it reached 57 degrees, tying the 1953 record. Here's a look at current conditions partly cloudy skies at this hour, with readings in the mid 50s. Partly cloudy, cool with dense fog in some places tonight. Temperatures between 35 and 45 statewide. The fog will continue into tomorrow morning, then we should see some hazy sunshine and more nice mild temperatures. Look at those expected highs 55 to 65 statewide. No, it isn't April, it just feels like it. Cloudy and again mild on Thursday. There is some chance of a shower though, 50 to 62 degrees from north to south. Pat's next with sports and another big fight in Atlantic City. In fact, Kent, it's the best heavyweight fight that's out there. The Mike Tyson Evander Holyfield bout will be held in Atlantic City on June 18. Donald Trump exercised an option for the fight and will pay a $12 million site fee. That's a million more than the record

setting Tyson's spinks fee. As for last night's former Cooney extravaganza, call it the preacher in the puncher or the geysers at Caesars. Soon to be 42-year-old George Foreman dropped Cooney at 157 to the second round. Foremanx come back continues, but Cooney's done. There's not going to come any more comeback for Jerry. I had enough. It gave him a shot. My career didn't go as well as I thought it was going to go. I had a lot of ups and downs and things just didn't turn out the way I wanted them to. And what can you do? You got to move on. And George Foreman would like to move on to an even bigger payday against undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. But before that, he'll have to stay busy. I do believe that the same thing that happened to Jerry Cooney will also happen if I'm given the opportunity against Mike Tyson. I want to stay active. I'll fight anywhere. I'll fight for a million dollars. I'll fight for peanuts. I got to fight all the time. If I don't, then I'll eat this planet up. He apparently has at one time or another. High school basketball, Unbeaten McCorston,

tops our NJ and high school basketball, top 10 for the second straight week. And Jerry Henry profiles the Iron Mike's. Coach John Castaldo could be coaching his best team in seven years at McCorston. The Iron Mike's are 10 and 0 and ranked number one in the state. And so far, his biggest problem is one most coaches would envy. He has so much depth. There isn't time to play everybody. You know, we have 12, 13 guys that practice hard every single day of the year, and especially during the during the preseason and even now during the season. So they all deserve to see some quality time. The starters include two all-american candidates, center Blitz Wooten at 6-8. He averages 13 points a game. And then there is the team leader, 6-4 guard Brian Cava, who is already committed to Seton Hall. Cava is described by some people close to the team as they're missed to everything. The averages 19 points a game along with seven assists. And he was recruited by over 200 schools before deciding to go to Seton Hall. How do you feel you'll fit in? I think I can come in right away and play. You know, I got a good opportunity there. You know, just put a lot of people to see me play and all that. It's close to home. That's

mainly why I did it. You're a senior. Do you take on the leadership responsibility here? I guess all the seniors are leaders on the court. When I'm not on the court, Blitz will take over, Mark Bass will take over. So whoever is out there, you know, we all are leaders within ourselves. Last year, the Iron Mike's finished 27-4 and Parochial A champs. They're well on their way to improving on that mark and could be the team to beat in the state's tournament of champions. Jerry Henry, New Jersey Network News, Hamilton Township. So our poll has been coerced in one St. Anthony of Jersey City to the Minuteman of Elizabeth R. 3. Followed by Christian Brothers Academy at 4 in the Bogota, Buccaneers at 5. Hillside is 6. Followed by Marist, Haddonfield 8. The Lyndon Tigers 9 and Camden Woodrow-Wilson rounding out our top 10. College basketball double-header at the Metallands tonight. St. Peter's host South Carolina, while Rutgers takes on Notre Dame, elsewhere, Monmouth is at Marist. Last night, Rick Barnes' Providence Friars extended the Seton Hall losing streak to 3, routing PJs Pirates 89-63. 24 turnovers by the hall, and 24 points by Eric Screen were the story.

Marty Conlon had seven points in a nine-zip Friar run as Providence pulled away in the first half. Hockey tonight, the Devils in Washington, the flyers visiting Pittsburgh, the flyers today deal day pool into Boston for Ken Linsman. Baseball, the Philly sign will live at Roger McDowell with $3 million dollar deal, and Rick is football coach Doug Graber returns to Anderson's assistance at O'Neill and Pat Flourty. Kent? All right, Pat, thank you. And that's our news for tonight. Before we go, though, a reminder, the New Jersey Network will re-broadcast Governor Floreo's inauguration ceremony in its entirety. That's tonight at midnight on all New Jersey Network channels. I'm Kent Mataham and from all of us here at New Jersey Network News, thank you for being with us. Good night. This has been a presentation of New Jersey Network. Thank you.