New Jersey Nightly News; New Jersey Nightly News Episode from 03/02/1979

New Jersey nightly. With the Baucus bill in Trenton and Clayton Vaughn in Newark. Good evening. In the news tonight hundreds of firemen battle a warehouse fire in Trenton that drives the krausen people from their homes. And a Newark City Councilman says crime in his city has gone up 30 percent since the police layoffs began. Good evening Rebecca. Also we'll have a report on our conference today for new mayors. The conference was on how to be a mayor. And in sports Rutgers beat West Virginia last night to advance to the eastern championships. All bloodline will have on our lives. More than a thousand residents were driven out of their homes last night when a fire in several warehouses spread chemical smoke through the streets. Tonight though streets remain closed and the thousand people still cannot return to their homes because a Steve Taylor reports officials are afraid the smoke may be poisonous. By midnight the fire was tearing through Penn buildings many of them filled with plastic products. Even now fire officials don't know what kinds of plastic were burning.

And last night they were afraid the acrid smoke might contain poisonous fires Gina nerve gas so surrounding homes were evacuated. The lack of my kitchen just then the burning part but no flames I seen then sparks in that class in the next month. I was up in the sky you see flames shooting smoke look like you know coming from blasting mushroom clouds and everything. You just see the wood and everything fine up in the air and you can hear different explosions. Those who couldn't stay with relatives went to a local school where the Red Cross set up cots. And then we brought in coffee and donuts and they stood in line for donuts and coffee and started talking with the other people and I got to be a friendly group. By breakfast time you had broken up groups where people were friends and talking now. By first like today things were under control along the quarter mile long fire line and environmental officials had decided be I feeling fumes probably do not contain fires Jeanne. We're not sure exactly what might be involved chemically with what's in it.

We're doing a lot of checking now to get manifests of the companies involved to find out what chemicals might be involved and we weren't sure if it's better to be safe than sorry. When you smell these fumes you get a new appreciation for how tough a fireman's job is if you've ever smelled a hard plastic like model airplane burning and mix that with each other. You're getting close except that's just the smell most of the time it keeps changing. The fire was put under control at 1:00 this morning. But firemen may be fighting the flames and fumes through tomorrow. Well we have a lot of heat vented their hero is burning on the lower floors. We have some of mine which will be modern until we finally flooded in the area. So far 13 firemen have been treated for smoke inhalation and fire investigators are calling the blaze suspicious. Nobody is ready to put a dollar figure on the damages in Trenton. I'm Steve Taylor. Newark schools still face the threat of a teacher's strike next Thursday. The picketing

early today at New York's Central I may be a preview of what's to come. A handful of demonstrators paraded in front of the school chanting. They say cut back we say fight back. Only about a quarter of the teachers and students at Central showed up today but school board officials said attendance throughout the rest of the city was normal. The Newark teachers union has set a strike vote for Tuesday union president Carol Graves says she expects the membership to walk out Thursday. However Ms Graves is still planning to meet in a closed door session with the school board president Carl Sharif Monday an apparent final attempt to head off that strike. In addition to the school layoffs Newark has already laid off 200 police again blaming a budget crunch. There is now a dispute over the effect of those police layoffs. Police Chief Charles as a. Says the layoffs may have resulted in some rise in crime. But a city councilman today charged the increase is for Amanda's Anthony Korinos says he's been studying the police computer records for the periods immediately before and after the layoffs.

And Perino contends the rise in street crime is more than 30 percent. I sallied. And realistic enough to know that a policeman is not going to be on every corner and be able to stop if he can. Nobody expects that. When somebody knows that a police car or unarmed Marc Pachter unit is not on patrol it's a lot easier to mug an army and waiting for a bus to steal something out of a car. Well for that matter to go into a house and break in and these are the things that have been caused because of the lack of men that there are no says the police who are laid off could be rehired with a part of that 4.3 million dollars Newark will Gadd in special state aid although the mayor's office has indicated that money should be used instead for tax relief. The state urban aid package more than 22 million dollars was signed into law today by Governor Byrne two attendants and one former attendant at the public hospital for the elderly in Jersey City have been charged with assaulting patients and county prosecutor James or Holleran. So the investigation into complaints of widespread abuse of the hospital showed that there was no pattern of

abuse but only a few individuals involved. The three attendants charged are males and two are still working. They were suspended however one of the charges involved hitting an elderly patient over the head with a bed pan. A demonstration last month Bush opponents of the Shaw of Iran has led to orders to four of them to get out of the US or be thrown out. Another nine phase deprecation hearings as illegal aliens with 13 students were among 21 held last month after a demonstration in support of three others who were on trial for disturbing the peace by staging an anti Shar rally in Jersey City State College. While slumlords in Newark and Jersey City is starting to feel some new and for them unwelcome attention from city officials the people who live in the slums continue to be ignored by the bureaucracy. Earlier in the wake reporter Jackie Kennedy detailed some of the conditions in two tenements owned by Newark rail after Kitty Kevil sent kettles and has become the most notorious slumlord in Jersey City. But city officials say they'll also investigate

five others comedies next report picks it up from there. This is the fire that brought the heat on Kibby Cavils and he owned this building on York Street in Jersey City. He was landlord to the family of seven including five children who died here last month. But even with the press attention and TV coverage other families living in this neighborhood are just as vulnerable to a fire like this over one month later next door to the burned out shell on York Street. Tenants live huddled in rooms heated by kitchen stove pipes kettles and owns this five story walk up to. And while he claims to be trying to fix the building's boiler system the fact is it's been broken for a month. Assistant housing superintendent Tom shields toured that building with us. But despite a city law requiring officials to fix the heat if the landlord won't it's still off and Shiels now says it will stay off. These people were all issued cold sheets for financial expenses for moving. And we are working with me location trying to get them upon sufficient of the

means. But until that time we'll have to stay without it. Absolutely. It's just a major achievements for us now we don't have the funds for it. And while the city doesn't have the money to fix the buildings the tenants are afraid to take any action on their own. They've seen the grief that's brought others. Felix why don't you hold the checks why do you pay the rent. Because if we don't pay they put a lock on the door. Like you know they do you know next door. Because they didn't pay the rent a lock on the door with all their belongings inside. So these families continue to live dangerously in buildings that have been allowed to deteriorate. Next door the building that burned sits is a grim reminder of the economics of slum lorry Kelsan has not been accused of arson but he did all more than $6000 in back taxes there. And the city had a lien on it. But the fire insurance will go to kettles and the city will get only more bills for demolition and tenant reallocation. That's what has Mayor Thomas Smith furious.

What we're doing specifically Now with respect to this could be Kevin Acee who frankly makes me sick to my stomach to say the least. And he seems to be very arrogant about his replies and his lack of concern about the misery that so many people going through. Is that we're conducting a very intensive investigation here. And besides that investigation both New York and Jersey City are changing their laws to require insurance companies to check with the cities first before the company pays off our claims. Under the new law the cities will get the first cut the pay off back taxes demolition costs and the bills for moving families who lose their homes. But there's a catch here too. The state requires that all mortgage holders get their money first. And in the case of the building you've just seen the landlord in the mortgage holder the same couples and can't lose. It's all legal and until it's not. Slumlord will be with us. I'm Jack Conway. Blue Cross says earnings are up for the first time in a long time but the company is going to ask for a rate hike anyway. Blue Cross spokesman saying Christine Romans is responsible for the

higher earnings a total reserve of more than fifty six million dollars for 1978. But spokesmen also say a new law requiring the company to share in the cost of indigence poor people will eat up those reserves. Blue Cross has asked for a thirteen point one percent rate hike. There is as of today a pine lands Review Board the Department of Environmental Protection announced today the three member board as promised by Governor Burns will handle all requests for building during the 18 month moratorium on construction in the pine lands. Meanwhile a developer in woodland Township that's in the sensitive pine lands area had his plans for a 5000 unit Senior Citizens Housing Project rejected by a judge because of inadequate sewage plants. A judge ruled rather than the Pinelands review board because the plan had been submitted before the moratorium. State officials may have to start allowing New Jersey industries to burn dirty your fuel because of a regional shortage of clean or low sulfur fuel. Environmental commissioner Daniel O'Hearn an energy

commissioner Joel Jacobson talked today with oil industry officials about possibly lifting the state's ban on dirtier fuel. But they say they didn't have enough information to make a decision. So they set a public hearing on the question for next Wednesday. Clayton. You may remember our report last week on that West Caldwell gas station owner Ed Applegate Applegate told reporter Jack Conti he was sure suing Chevron for more supplies of gasoline and damages for the time that he had to close a station because he didn't have any. Now a federal judge in Newark has refused to order Chevron to supply Applegate with the gas Applegate says his contract with Chevron guaranteed. However the part of the lawsuit about the damages is still the law and the Federal Energy Department has struck down chevrons new gas allocation plans with the result that Applegate now has all the gas he needs. He says he needs a lot because he still hasn't raised his prices was what he says Chevron wanted to do all along. Some newly elected mayors met today in North Brunswick for a course on

naturally how to be a mayor. Jeffrey Hall reports today's meeting was sponsored by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. All of the people here were either just elected or appointed mayor for the first time. For many being mayor means learning a whole new set of skills. Most of these people are only part time mayors. We spend most of their working time doing other jobs jobs like plumbing and funeral directing. So they had to learn some things about being a mayor. Things like handling complaints from a voter whose car just got plowed in for the second time in an hour by one of the mayor's snow crews and things like learning how to handle the news media. That was the most popular subject line re items discussed are why it's important for men to wear makeup on television. How to get that boring zoning board meeting covered and most important of all what to say to reporters. I Porter's law catchy words phrases they love. Because it

gives and lead to their story the league just sets the tone for the whole thing as as homespun as you can be a lot better than being very very technically musing and trying to be academic and intellectual. But Maire Let's try a little test as quickly and simply as possible what have you learned today about being a mayor of being a man. You know allowed to come across as a day that if I was in service years God wear big earrings to try to get re-elected again. But right here I don't. It's one of those things. In North Brunswick. I'm Jeffrey whole. The son had trouble breaking through today but couldn't find it too difficult to morrow. Temperatures tonight will be in the mid 30s inland in the upper 30s along the shore. Tomorrow should be unusually warm for this time of year. Early morning fog will give way to sunny skies with a slight breeze blowing from the south and temperatures in the mid 50s for Sunday. Warmer still but what are the forecast calls for temperatures in the 60s. But with a chance of rain.

I mean let's move it. You know everybody we're talking about the show. If you keep talking about it with me. Presenting public television first of all do you know I'll report you to his worker programs on the festival show in the morning beginning northward on New Jersey public television career. Rutgers is on a good streak awaiting Strake and here's Paul Budde line. Thank you Rebecca. Rutgers continues its march toward the championship of the eastern 8:00 tomorrow night in Pittsburgh the starlit nights played the University of Pittsburgh for the conference title. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Last night in the semifinal round Rutgers outlasted West Virginia 55 to 52. More than 15000 at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena watched number 20 James Bailey take the man in the second half. Bailey scored 13 in that second half 17 points in all at one time Rutgers had a 13 point lead but the Mountaineers of West Virginia did not give up. They got back in it on some terrific outside shooting. Down the stretch the big gun for Rutgers was number 20 for Darryl Strickland he finished with 18 points. With 30 seconds to play West Virginia cut the Rutgers late to 153 52. But Strickland had a couple of foul shots with five seconds remaining 55 to 50 to the final. Again Rutgers goes for the Eastern a championship tomorrow night against the University of Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh civic arena and another game last night Seton Hall was eliminated from the ECAC metropolitan tournament hall was knocked out by Iona 80 to 73. Bill Perry reports from Long Island.

It was the guards of Seton Hall against the size of Iona number 11 Nick galas played his usual super game for the foreseeable 17 high 25 points Jeff Ruland was a tower of strength for Iona who will have to go elsewhere. Nineteen and Iona did it on the boards they out rebounded the hall forty nine to 30 it was a close game throughout the whole 31 27 with a half a second after I want to fill in all the Danny calendar about got half of the hall number 20 had a couple of key jumpers and came up with a deal and it was a 2 point game 67 65 I own up to 56. Well after this calendar about my own I came up with a three point play and then another hoop off a steal the Gaels and by 7 they wanted by 7 the final 80 to 73 it's over for the Hall unless they and i t seconds. I see you all desperately wanted to come back into this building Saturday afternoon to play in the ECAC Metro division championship game but it is not to be now Seton Hall is hoping for an eye to bid and we're going to have to wait and see about that at the Nassau Coliseum.

Bill Perry and other college basketball St. Peters of Jersey City is now in the market for a new head coach. The school did not renew the contract of Kelly Kelly finished last year coaching St. Peters to a 10 and 15 record. And for the very best teams in the country are in Newark right now for a high quality volleyball tournament beginning tonight. Top ranked UCLA Southern Cal Ohio State and Rutgers Newark will all compete in the Golden Dome classic on the campus of Rutgers in the works. Trista Gaspar's reports. This is the fight of the Golden Dome volleyball classic here in downtown Newark. But we're the crazy idea come from to invite west coast powerhouses UCLA and USC to come East to play volleyball in the middle of winter. It came from Coach Ray Caprio who wanted to bring something unique to the records Newark campus and allow his team to prove it. Whoever reaches to a finals from the East Coast. Isn't familiar with playing against top competition like you find out on the West Coast in the Midwest. Therefore this type of storm is

going to help us train for such a competition at the end of the season. Are people surprised to find out that one of the top volleyball teams in the country comes from Newark. People aren't interested in volleyball are people who know volleyball pretty much know their way around and they support us pretty well and the fans certainly do. This event was about six weeks in advance in Newark. I'm trying to get. That tournament tonight and tomorrow. Franklin Jacobs has withdrawn from this weekend for a track meet at Princeton Jacobs suffering from a heel injury Villanova the favorite to win the team title in the icy foray and the New Jersey Amateur Athletic Union remains firm. Inmate Rickey Jefferson cannot compete in the State Golden Gloves tournament. That decision was made final today and that's a good week. Rebecca. The New Jersey Bankers Association says it doesn't understand all the fuss about a racer make. That's the new plan with the race of the link. The possibility that some people might use the pen to alter checks led the American Bankers Association to voice concern this week.

But the state banker's group says bank teller should be able to spot most array sure's because they leave a blotch on the check. And state bankers say it's unlikely someone will slip you such a pen because it's a race or gives it away and it's refills don't fit into regular pens. But State Bank or Spokesman Bill Saunders told reporter Mariama Rosso that people should use common sense. Our advice is to follow an. Explicit warning that's put on the check package. Ever use this time to read. And to write a check with early documents. That is important. One last bit of advice. Never take a pen from a stranger. Then.

How often do you get a chance to talk to a pro coach. Not very often I'll bet. But Monday night March 5th at 8 on that student sports join me Dick Landis with New Jersey Nets coach Kevin Locke really is my guess you can call him live and talk basketball with Coach locker. Don't forget now Monday March 5th at 8:00 on that CNN sports hall and talk to New Jersey Nets coach Kevin lottery. Maybe I'll sign you to a contract. Most of you by now must have heard of the workfare experiment in Borden town. That's the town that's had welfare recipients who can work must work on city assign jobs or lose their benefits. Tonight our ad issue commentators Tom Paine and Dick Leone tell us there's more to this story than we've been told. Will. Tom you and I like others in New Jersey complain about a lot about the lack of attention the state receives from the New York media barons. But sometimes the attention we do get is a mixed blessing. For a while corruption and pollution seem

to be the staples of New Jersey coverage. More recently casinos and tenement fires have surged to the front as standard news items from the Garden State. To that list of misleading stories about the state I would add all the coverage received by the mayor and the other board and town officials for their put the welfare chiselers to work schemes. Not only did their activities attract the attention of the New York and Philadelphia TV stations but the New York Times and even 60 Minutes thought the story worthy of national coverage. Why. It can't be because they invented something new. New Jersey has had for some time a workfare program by the end of 978 there were 400 people in municipal jobs around the state under that law. Two thousand in training programs and about another 1000 in jobs in the private sector. At the peak Borden town which only had about 24 people on local assistance to begin with found jobs for perhaps eight. It's worth pointing out that this whole controversy has nothing to do with the big national welfare programs like Aid to Dependent Children.

Half a million people are involved in that program in New Jersey. Here we are only talking about local general assistance a program affecting no more than 25000 statewide. A film about 12 to 15000 may be able to work under current New Jersey law. The merit board in town could have worked out an arrangement with the state to match some of its general assistance cases to local job openings. He didn't. But the trouble really began when he made himself the local welfare director and the city council the local welfare board. Now that is strictly against the law. And that's what the court ruled when it struck down the marriage plan and required him to reestablish a citizen board. The reasoning is obvious. Nobody wants the politicians the elected officials to determine who and who is not eligible for local assistance payments. That was the old method used by the political machines to take care of the faithful and to punish the opposition. Let's be blunt. The out of state media just about missed that aspect of the story. In fact the heart of the

Borden town case completely. They stayed with the sexier tale of a marriage war with the state bureaucrats over putting welfare recipients to work. After all everybody wants to believe that welfare costs could be slashed by putting people to work. Well there have been some savings but unfortunately for all of us the problem is much too big and complex to be solved that way. And Tom unfortunately to the story about New Jersey and the truth is often too complex to make a good news story in New York. Dick you're right that the coverage wasn't very good. But I don't think the story was that complex. Actually the story at its heart was rather simple. The first thing to note about the Bordentown experiment is that it worked. The caseload shrank from 30 to two. And the recipients themselves unanimously in its favor. But enter the state of New Jersey. Gordon towne was breaking the rules they said. They must forget the new system and return to the states mandated program. The town's

claim that workfare was working fell on deaf ears. After all. Regulations were being violated the state went to court to force the town to conform. Well the law is clear. One town has broken the rules. But the issue is larger than that. For that particular community. This program is a good system because it works. Nobody's being punished nobody's going hungry or without shelter. And the town in the state are both saving money. Now I'm not suggesting that the Bordentown plan would work in Newark or Jersey City. But it well may work in a number of other municipalities and it certainly ought to be tried. The bottom line after all is people. Not rules and regulations. People. And for that matter the state's five hundred sixty seven minutes a polity just can't be forced into one mold. The state does have a responsibility to ensure that welfare clients are provided with life's necessities and dignity. But the system must be flexible. The bill is now pending in the New Jersey legislature to make much of the border town experiment legal.

It's a good first step. But Dick. I think the ultimate lesson of Bordentown is that a community is better equipped to handle its own problems and people in trouble rather than a faceless bureaucracy many miles away. Once again our top story is an overnight were house far and Trenton forced about a thousand residents in the area to evacuate their homes and officials as the origin of the blazes suspicious. And two attendants and one former attendant of the public hospital for the elderly in Jersey City have been charged with assaulting patients. One of the charges involves hitting an elderly patient over the head with a bed pan. And that's the news tonight Rebecca. Good night good night for the New Jersey nightly news. New Jersey Nightly News has a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and w o n e g 30 on Saturday and Sunday the program is broadcast at 6 p.m. both on New Jersey public television and on Channel 13.

Portions are recorded.