NJN News; Thursday June 6, 2002

mgm news is made possible by espn she is serving customers strengthening the business community and investing in new jersey's future first union serve in the financial needs of individuals and businesses from connecticut to florida writes a communication solutions designed for the people and businesses of new jersey a rising blue cross blue shield of new jersey making a health care worker in new jersey's businesses and individuals the new jersey education association people who care about your kit and geraldine archive foundation and a better bipartisan battle in the senate budget committee and the governor's plan to raise the cigarette tax goes up smoking in the race for us senate republicans' top solidarity while torricelli talks about their candidate and the republican candidate for essex county executive unveiled her plan to reduce taxes by new jersey transit commuter train tracks and a new report outlines the future of higher education a new jersey injury and

use for thursday june six the effort to craft a new state budget in time for the july first deadline flared into hardball politics than evenly divided senate today at state house correspondent jim harker reports a partisan stalemate developed over a proposal to increase the cigarette tax to help bridge a projected budget gap you know we won't make it clear you're not going to get any bills that a committee could support for the cigarette tax this spring's battle over the budget reached perhaps its most heated exchange today as democrats and republicans on the evenly divided senate budget committee blasted each other for failing to make headway closing what the democratic weekly the administration estimates there's a more than five billion dollars spending gap in the next fiscal year and the twenty twenty senate legislation including the budget can even move out of committee without at least one vote from the other party so the democrats' refusal to vote on un related bills that republicans like senator walter kavanagh

crying foul you know it's almost like bring me back to my child is deployed don't know the old saying if i can picture this is ridiculous that were democrats turn back the criticism saying if the republican arrive at today's meeting with the intention of not voting for a cigarette tax increase would raise more than two hundred million dollars for the budget kavanagh denied a republican headcount had been taken captive penny's honor and that it's irresponsible center the capital of for you to say that your caucus is not done a head count on the cigarette tax when it's on the agenda i haven't been included in the caucuses out of line no everything's going to just be cut and dry was certainly the message that delight when we could both a moment your second wife and then your wind i drive down here an hour and fifteen minutes to send but

as weakness by june thirtieth it's time you come to the table you're a call majority party take responsibility for the budget you not a minority party and it's time that you took responsibility and start plotting a way to balance this but republicans said they haven't been treated like a majority party and claimed to have been kept in the dark over important details on budget legislation who should receive the information haddock i'm american ninja kremlin trying final richman doesn't matter of common courtesy after a break in which both sides regrouped the committee returned and voted for a separate bill that would enable even a strange and to raise at least an estimated two hundred million dollars from one claimed properties something the republicans also voted for still the movement on the cigarette packs though as republicans abstain republican co chair at one point even prematurely adjourned the meeting in germany as john lennon

jeremy's the level of acrimony in the public show of raw partisanship on display here today was an eye opener for longtime observers of the statehouse see we've come to a situation pre where we got three weeks to go to get a big budget put together and it's crunch time as i said so you know on some of these emotions in order to want to close those are no out for the public to see and i think and right down to last year's elections and the unique nature of a split house jim harper and say and news they defeated republican candidates and other top republicans rallied around their new senate candidate today doug forrester meanwhile democratic senator robert torso his campaign turned up the heat on yesterday's charge the foresters business takes too much money out of the health care system michael allen reports actor for a long time i've gone around the state saying hi i'm dianne allen i'm a candidate for the us

senate starting tuesday night live very happily began saying hi i'm dianne now and i'm part of the forest is team republicans think they might actually win the new jersey us senate seat for the first time in thirty years it's been thirty years coming and doug forrester is going to be back next us senator who's gone to the government ahead of politics forester said he got a congratulatory call yesterday from the president offers abortion a kid that he's somewhat euphoric the same interest in and certainly weren't important to sing him the event brought together two republicans barely on speaking terms a year ago the anti francisco and brett chandler who shook hands francisco said the state gop is very strong and can be forced selling is going to be in for the fight of his life is no clear landslide available to him in november and there was general praise for forester he will be an excellent contrast to the incumbent united states senator in style and temperament and

record and walk baggage but the torricelli campaign says forrester does carry baggage while forster was showing off the republicans' unity torricelli campaign was making the argument that foresters company better card is part of an industry that is sometimes inefficiency and often greedy this is a sector healthcare delivery has made hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of senior citizens and working families without the senator present his campaign presented critics of the pharmacy benefit management industry forrester has amassed a fortune as a co owner of a company called that accord ministers prescription drug benefit plans for employers but critics say pharmacy benefit managers or pbm was made deals with drug companies that benefit both at the expense of the employer korean and the patients these practices are not only heard here why they're hurting and how oh it ends are like hmo them the way they dominate drug decision making according to several

associations of pharmacists and i have no choice in america doctor has no choice in the matter and the fact that they tell us what we can dispense the mayor of hamilton county in which card he says he was distressed to learn the company maybe talking manufacture reveals getting rebate and are keeping them up for themselves when in fact they should be sharing that with their client forster called the whole thing a political stunt was democratic politicians who don't understand is in the street and jealous pharmacists to the whole purpose of this industry is to lower the cost of pharmacy benefits are i think it is unfortunate that people would talk about the industry and large i don't participate in things that are inappropriate and in any way my clarity the democratic candidate for essex county executive may have won his primary by a decisive margin that the campaign is not over today republican candice straight officially jumped into the race with a promise

to reduce county taxes zachary frank reports and a straight social slash taxes by reducing the county budget she says there's been a lot of wasteful spending at the county level that can immediately be cut while maintaining the same level of services the first place we're going to cut our sweetheart contracts with vendors tied to the political establishment now more insider deals no more sweetheart contracts straight maintains that there are other examples of policemen standing pledge a promise to trim the budget of the county executive office by twenty five percent simply by eliminating unnecessary staff talk a minute the budget that will not take as much money from county taxpayers because the state pushes belt counties in the soprano is the board of education somebody is going to pay more money and for her to say she's come to this job when she knows nothing about sixty percent of our budget is state mandated stray was a republican fundraiser and campaign consultant but this is the first time she's run for political office however

de vincenzo says he doesn't remember ever seeing her at a free older meeting any questions what she knows about as its government i've lived here all my life i've studied the budget i will be very active and i have no doubt in my mind that i will be able to leave this county as county executive during the primary even send joe and his opponent tom repeatedly clashed with their personal finances and even challenged each other's epics street ran unopposed in the primaries say she does not want to run that kind of a campaign i will not allow joe di vincenzo to do to me what he did to timetable and i will not allow him to attack me and my family the republican candidate also made reference to current essex executive jim trapping fur without actually mentioning him by name she said she wants the office to make headlines for its innovative ways and running government not for a federal investigation dr injured reserve for two terms have his offices raided two months ago forcing him to drop out of the us senate race has everything

continues to feel new jersey transit says human error may have played a role in this morning's train derailment in harrison and they can direct commuter train heading into new york jumped the tracks this morning no one was seriously hurt service was suspended and trains were rerouted to hoboken four passengers to take the path or a ferry into manhattan by the evening's rush only minor delays were expected going into your the findings of the two year study examining the progress and needs of higher education institutions in the garden state were released today deseret taylor has the details it's been nearly fifteen years since the last comprehensive study was done a new jersey sporting private colleges and universities the result was a list of goals that educators and government officials now say only partially financed capacity don't have enough capacity in his state students are we are we give an account of the coast because

of friday's calls a new commission was formed in part two thousand today the findings of their state were revealed inside the details new challenges that may lie ahead among them rising in norman bates inadequate funding and meeting the needs of a growing diversity two thousand and eight december twenty two thousand students and giving it end up so thats a supporter of your problems and what the great because education is really big the study also revealed some success stories including higher graduation rates among minorities in addition the findings show new jersey's private colleges and universities are the largest private sector employers in the state then certain rules seven percent or higher than thirty three percent of business degrees thirty two percent of engineering degrees and thirty percent of visible signs agrees new jersey commission on higher education estimates more than four point eight billion dollars will be needed over the next seven years to meet capital

requirements and all the new jersey's colleges and universities a hefty sum under normal circumstances with a looming budget crisis meeting those projecting financial demands may prove to be the nation's toughest test yet point three billion dollar deficit we have to understand that as a reality check a long term with independent colleges universities have asked me to do today so understand the importance of long term addressing the capacity issue is the fact that we're sending more more of our students out of state which is a major loss the study may be finished but mcquivey says the real work has only just begun he challenged in some educators and business leaders to come up with recommendations on how to improve higher education by next april as a retailer and gene used to work coming up an ingenue as lawmakers debate legislation to regulate telemarketers i'm sara lee kessler rising medical malpractice insurance rates are creating a

crisis you're in new jersey i'll have the story is by in recent years doctors have faced a growing number of medical malpractice lawsuits insurance companies have responded by razing coverage premiums now is health and medical correspondent sarah lee castle reports new jersey positions claim they're being driven out of business

this ridgewood doctor has been delivering babies for fifty years about a hundred per year now she and many other lgbt why ants are rethinking their specialties the reason the rising cost of medical melt practicing a year ago it was twenty nine percent of my yearly salary and this year is thirty three percent of my salary or something and then they say now that i did last year and was probably not a good assumption dr ruth shults says walther hmo reimbursement for office visits remain the same for insurance bills keep going out what the latest is for forty five thousand dollars have you ever been sued for malpractice yes twice and at one sitting and it's like but she still lost because your premiums are going up exactly they change you have sent us here two of the original partners and dr shelton six person

practices have decided to abandon obstetrics rather than pay the premiums that we did the same amount of deliveries between the two of us with the last year we would lose money dr lykken says he'll stick to go and ecology other doctors are quitting changing careers forward tiring early malpractice insurance crisis isn't confined just to doctors to deliver babies all physicians who perform high risk surgery are affected we just can't continue or on his present course and republican lawmakers have to be aware of the fact that this was a crisis bus loads of new jersey doctors led by obstetricians are expected to close their offices and june thirteen to rally at the state capital i think at most disappointed us they are absolutely a money business not caring for the way that the medical profession works under current state law obstetricians can be sued for twenty one years after delivering a baby and in new jersey there's

no limit on the amount of money juries can award patients for pain and suffering we're not asking for the world or we want to be able to do is to practice medicine and to be able to earn a living doing it certainly kessler mj and his hackensack still to come business news the head of anti war the rail line could face a total shut down within weeks and gambling on success and into your company starts offering packages in atlantic city details next it's been fb

a warning from the head of amtrak today david gunn says the nation's passenger rail line needs money now and without it the line could shut down board members at amtrak met today on a plan to dramatically consolidate the rail line gunn warren the commuter rail line will start running next month unless it gets two hundred million dollars in loans officials at amtrak are hopeful the money will come through amtrak is also asking congress for one point two billion dollars in funding for the next fiscal year beginning in october a new tour company is providing air service from the steel city to the casinos in and lennox at ac getaways is offering package deals with transportation from pittsburgh to several hotels in the shore resort great start at one hundred am seventy nine dollars per

person and a clean air hotel food and point bonuses travel company says it's all about convenience is now scheduled airline service agencies says being anti aging whether hotel here and here is going to want israel and the arrangements can be made or travel agent by phone or over the net the company also has a counter at the atlantic city airport another down day on wall street it started with a downgrade for the chips sector that push the major indexes lower then the markets fell i'll even more after president bush announced he was making another speech on terrorism to the nation tonight at the close the dow industrials fell one hundred and seventy two points to nine thousand six hundred and twenty four among the broader market's the amex last ten nasdaq dropped forty points s and p five hundred gained back twenty in the credit market the ten year note is up a quarter its heeled advice like oh one percent lawmakers wanna protect people from excessive

telemarketing calls today the senate commerce committee her proposals for pulling teeth in the state's telemarketing regulations a derisive you know has the story darkened gallery of betty who's there are fed up with annoying calls from telemarketers they say seniors are being targeted by callers trying to sell them and stand them when they see the phone say on they call it well right now they are still picked it up because i want to talk to someone and they usually get taken so the ladies changed a statehouse to hear the proposal of several lawmakers attempting to crack down on callers testing new jersey law allows residents to submit a letter to the direct marketing association asking to and calls but there is no penalty for non compliance lawmakers want an official no call list for new jersey senator dianne allen says the dna should not control the list if we allow the organization that represents for telemarketers to do this cause

i fear that we're not going to be able to enforce it well and i fear that they represent the telemarketers not the people of the state of new jersey is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house today the legislation was put on hold a disagreement though these telemarketers we have a big government bureaucracy to manage this or should we manage it the way we do everything else when there's a violation we prosecute the violator through the consumer affairs there are already federal laws banning telemarketers from calling between eight pm and eight am but they also require telemarketers stop listening anyone who pass muster these companies usually no call list would find how marketers who violate the law legislators say the final telemarketing bill will likely be a combination of those put forth today and because it has bipartisan support they will likely have an easy passage adrian city now nj and use the statehouse look at the annual race

has been killed fb to pay the first union cycling series came to trenton this afternoon it's the fourteenth annual bike race through the capital city three former winners were on the starting line jerry henry profiles a member of the new jersey came just as likely to reconstitute and it's an especially important powerful symbol of its cyclists morally lost by the allentown pennsylvania resident is

whatever the navigators new jersey's only tijuana for cycling two were displaced in hackensack and he's just making the move from amateurish the world series i asked kaiser to tunnel at that level is winning the golden silver and what that was is he says it's been a major adjustment even getting down to wait for this kind of racing not about twenty five pounds lighter sends out a game since the nineteen nineties but also i'm still a men's tennis matches ever so i was taking a marathon runner if you will and today is a great test for him to see this banana will develop great endurance on top of veterans ptsd and so all eyes and mr niles times because theoretically fastest man as it's tried to get him to raise more than a hundred for the writers of the seven mile course which was

shortened the left today because of the link to restart which means fifty six miles from the finish jury reconvene news and that's the news on the regionally after all let's hear again janice thanks for joining us the piece is by the piece by this

is by air it's been the pope