NJN News; News April 15, 1997 [Master, Original]

You 100 of state college students protest tuition hives as education budgets are crunched in Trenton. NJN News learns of a new state plan to attract environmentally friendly businesses. Who's really behind the wheel of government appointments campaign bus tour? It's tax crunch time, New Jersey and Scramble to mail those returns and in health watch why these devices may save more lives for heart patients. Those stories and more on NJN News this Tuesday April the 15th.

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Good evening, Kent Manahan is on assignment. I'm Kent St. John. Hundreds of students walked out of class at at least three state colleges and universities today. The students say they need more state funding to avoid big tuition hikes next year. Rich Young reports from one protest at Montclair State University. At first glance it seemed like a campus party. But while they had a good time, students say the gathering was of no laughing matter. Classes emptied here today is hundreds walked out to protest proposed tuition hikes. Montclair and all of the state's colleges and universities are filling the budget crunch. And that could mean students pay more. It's going to mean that I might be able to come back to school next semester. They can't afford it anymore. That was Montclair's strong, strong point that it was a affordable college and it's slowly deteriorating. Rowan University announced last week tuition could go up 14% tuition here could rise nearly not in a half. It's a scenario that might be repeated across New Jersey campuses.

The official line of Trenton is the governor's proposed budget calls for level funding to state colleges next year. But the problem is that state colleges have state negotiated contracts calling for salary hikes at 5.6%. So the colleges say they have few options, either hiked tuition or cut programs. I blame Christine Todd Whitman, our governor. Because it's her and her tax cutting policies that in fact have caused this shortfall. One of the things that we averaged all the universities to do to look to their surpluses which have been growing over the last few years and look at administrative costs that they can trim in order not to pass this through in the form of tuition hikes. She should come here and listen to the students. The students are between a rock and a hard place. Phyllis Miller is a university spokeswoman. Who do you blame for these tuition hikes? Blame Trenton? I don't want to say that I blame a specific person, but the state legislature is where we get our appropriation problem. The students ended the protest in the school's administration building.

While there was anger, there was also hope. Hope the legislature increases funding to state colleges next year. If not, students can likely expect to spend much more to earn a degree. Rich Young, NJN News, Montclair. A big test today for 553 school districts. New Jersey and still have three hours to vote in school elections. They're voting for school board members and local school budget. More than $7 billion in school spending is at stake. There are changes this year due to the state's new education funding law. Residents are being asked special questions to approve money to prevent school program cuts. The new law also mandates that districts keep their budgets under the state set spending limit. If they can't, then programs must be listed that is on separate ballots. NJN News has learned the Whitman administration will announce a new environmental initiative on Earth Day next week. Environmental reporter Ed Rogers has the tales of the plan, the first of its kind and the nation. New Jersey's emergence as a destination for travelers to enjoy bird watching and other outdoor activities is a good example of sustainable development.

So our newspaper recycling companies across the state. Businesses that do not have a negative impact on the environment or resolve environmental problems are known as sustainable businesses. NJN News has learned that the Whitman administration will announce an initiative next week to foster sustainable businesses. Sources say Governor Whitman will sign an executive order establishing an office of sustainability. New Jersey will become the first state to make such a move. That office will provide $2.1 million in funds for businesses that adopt environmentally sound practices. The governor will probably name a director of this new office next week. She'll be making good on a promise made during her state of the state address. Our proposal will establish a fund to help existing environmentally friendly businesses expand or locate in New Jersey. Businesses like these are good for the environment and good for the economy. Political analysts say the environment will probably be an issue in this year's governor's race and that this initiative will help bolster the governor's record against any possible attacks from her democratic opponents.

Ed Rogers, NJN News, Trenton. Both of New Jersey's US senators signed off on a bill to preserve the transportation funding formula. Senators Lottonberg and Torres Sully join 30 other senators sponsoring the legislation. The bill designates how the billions of dollars are given to states depending on transportation needs. As it stands now, the current formula has been very generous to Northeastern states because they have the oldest infrastructure. NJN News has learned moments ago that officials have approved unanimously casino reinvestment development authority money for the controversial tunnel project in Atlantic City. The CRDA met behind closed doors today to vote on its $120 million share to construct the tunnel. Nicholas Ribbis, CEO of Trump Properties and Arthur Goldberg, executive director of casino gaming who sit on the authority were squarely against using public money for the project as were others. Let's deny anything the possibility of destroying neighborhoods in this city.

Many of you don't live here, but you visit here. And we want you to continue to realize those of us that have been born and raised here will fight to the death to make sure that we stay here. Now the $330 million tunnel is the key ingredient to bringing casino developer Steve wind back to the gaming city. A consumer watch group today offered another version to the governor's auto insurance reform plan. Consumers for civil justice called for a 20% roll back in auto insurance rates. They also proposed to eliminate automatic cost of living rate increases. The group says the insurance industry could make up the lost funds by cracking down on insurance fraud. Let's reduce our current premiums by $160 and let's really work with our insurers so that they can recoup that $160 by eliminating fraud. Now Governor Whitman has also proposed her own anti fraud measures. There's more ahead on NJN News in Health Watch. How new Jersey patients take part in a study revealing new information about heart deep fiber layers.

If you have a comment call NJN News at 1-800-Jersey-1 or our email address NJN News at AOL.com. If you have a comment call NJN News at 1-800-Jersey-1 or our email address NJN News at AOL.com. Governor Whitman finishes up her two-day 10-county reelection swing tonight in Gloucester County. As we showed you last night Whitman is touring the state on the same bus she used in the late stages of her victorious 1993 campaign.

The driver is no stranger to Republican politics. Michael Aaron has his story. At the end of each stop, Kristi Whitman and Johnny Williams high five won another. It usually means we had a pretty good stop. Indeed today the crowds were larger than yesterday. This gathering of seniors was enthusiastic. She's a great lady. She's done a lot for us. Johnny's role in all this is to drive and act as occasional MC. And now ladies and gentlemen, Governor Christine Todd Whitman. The crowds were good but there was something Whitman didn't encounter yesterday. Protesters from the local office of Diphus, the Division of Youth and Family Services. We felt that it was necessary to take our lunch off today to come out and show the governor that we need more staff. When the bus came by, Johnny acknowledged them. The bus and Johnny are based in Alabama. He started driving Pat Robertson in 1988.

Then famed campaign manager Leigh Atwater hired him away for George Bush. Since then, he's driven Dan Quale, Bob Dole, Whitman, Chuck Heitayan, and many other Republicans. And he likes it. Well, I like to be a part of something that's making a difference. In fact, he draws a tombstone for every Democrat he's helped to defeat. Johnny has 10 Democratic tombstones on his dashboard. So far, he hasn't driven any Democrats. Well, you know, we do. A Democrat, if you find a good honest one, but we've been looking around. They kind of flew in far between, kind of in danger species right now, yes. On the bus, key members of the governor's staff, the state party chairman and Whitman's press secretary, her best friend, her brother. The thing that's nice about the bus is you can have a lot of people on it. And he gets to work done actually at the same time. It has a better than average public address system. It has his big open bay window. She can reach out and meet people through. It has what we call a malt box. It's part of the equipment so they can have media microphones plugged in and get good sounds. People can hear what she's saying. There's a TV, a fax machine.

Johnny's wife Brenda makes sure everybody gets fed. The tape machine is usually playing Willie Nelson, the governor of Book Johnny again, because they won in 93. And she enjoys him. Johnny's great except he won't let me play my Apple Merman disc. I see no Apple Merman tapes in this bus. I told him he came up. If I had to lift an Apple Merman again, it was going to probably cost her about 10% extra. The crowd in Mount Holly was huge as well. The future really means something positive. And when it was over, another high five. We got started with it and we never miss one yet. So we got a whole lot more to go yet. Michael Aaron, NJN News on Asphalt 1. NJN will sponsor a debate among the three Democratic candidates vying to challenge Governor Whitman this fall. The two-hour debate will air on NJN on Thursday, May 22nd from 7 to 9 p.m. WCBS Channel 2, KYW TV3, TCI Cable Television and TKR Cable TV. Have joined NJN in the project.

The debate will be rebroadcast on NJN on Sunday, May 25th at 10.30 a.m. Other NJN partners include the Record of Hack and Sack, the Asbury Park Press, the Times of Trenton, the League of Women Voters, and the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers. Hundreds of thousands of New Jersey ins today are playing beat the clock. Tonight's the deadline to file those agonizing tax returns. Jim Hooker has more on the tax crunch. The check finally went in the mail today as Uncle Sam and a hungry state government enjoyed their annual payday. Thanks in part to the hundreds of thousands of New Jersey ins who waited until today's deadline to pay their income taxes. We expect 600,000 people in New Jersey or 600,000 tax returns to be mailed today by the procrastinators that are there every year, which really represents 15 percent of all the returns filed will be put in the post office today. Not me, I was well prepared. He's my husband wife. So who's filing here today?

He's Bozos. But many of these last-minute tax filers don't see themselves as Bozos or procrastinators as much as they do savvy financial planners. I don't like paying things before they're due, so I waited till the 15th. Why the last-minute? Because they owe. You owe? I owe. Yes. So you wait until the very day? Exactly. Isn't that what everybody does? That's what David Moore was doing. He's got to make the most of your money. If you want to give it to the government, it's in their hands and they make the interest on it. But when you have it, it's in your hands and you make the interest on it. Tara Stefano says the government owes her money, but she still didn't get around to filing till deadline day. I could have been, I was shit of, but I didn't hand it in early enough. Some said getting their taxes in this afternoon was early enough. I've had it done for a while, but I've been busy and I've been away, so if you let me get it in before the rat race tonight. Basically, six o'clock to midnight is going to be our heavy point. Ten minutes to midnight, it really becomes a zoo out here.

Jim Hooker reporting, and of course I'll be there at midnight too. In tonight's health watch, every year, 350,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest. Most deaths are triggered by deadly irregular heartbeats. Now, a new study shows implanted defibrillators give patients the best chance of surviving another life threatening incident. Health and Medical Correspondent, Sara Lee Kessler has the story. The study involved more than 1,000 heart patients at 50 sites around the country, including St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Patterson. That's 14, no votes. Like this 73-year-old Wayne Mann, all the patients were at risk of death from ventricular arrhythmia, irregular heartbeats. All had suffered close calls. Robert Menez came this past New Year's Eve. Ten minutes before the ball drop, I dropped. Literally. Literally on the floor. You just collapsed without any warning. None.

Menez got lucky, a fellow party-goer, new CPR. He resuscitated Menez. Today, he's doing fine. The, uh, haven't been any episodes of attack and cardiac. So your heart's been behaving. But just in case, a defibrillator has been implanted in Menez' chest in a procedure like this. The study showed that patients who survive a cardiac arrest or have life threatening ventricular arrhythmias live longer if they receive an implantable device. It's smaller than a beeper, but it's a lifesaver in a box. The next time this patient's heart beats too rapidly, this defibrillator will deliver a strong shock to the heart, forcing it to beat in a normal rhythm. The survival was 38% better in the patients you receive the device than those who took medications. Anti-arhythmia drugs like SOTALOL and AMIODA-RON. The National Institutes of Health says if the 20,000 people a year who choose drugs over defibrillators were to make the switch, 1500 lives could be saved.

What's it like living with the defibrillator? There's no pain, and the fact that you know that it's there and that it could save you. Why not? Sarah Lee Kessler, NJN News, Patterson. It was billed as a conference to explore how business and the arts can work together. The site was norac at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, still under construction. It was there today in the Center's Victoria Theatre that our Cat Manahan moderated a panel discussion with a group of corporate leaders on ways business and the arts can forge a profitable partnership. Arts and the relationship to the business community will be the cover story on this week's edition of New Jersey Incorporated. Thursday night at 7 and Saturday afternoon at 1 here on NJN. Coming up in business news, the casino slump continues along the boardwalk and putting clothes on your back costs more in New Jersey last month. Dick Porney has the latest inflation numbers. Time now for business news, here's Dick Porney, the cost of dressing up going up.

How much did you pay for your Easter bonnet? Probably more in March than it would have cost you had you bought it in February. From the shirt on your back to the shoes on your feet, clothing items were more expensive last month in the garden state. The latest read on inflation from the Fed's fingers higher prices for apparel as the culprit driving an increase in the consumer price index. Much of the increase in clothing prices however may have been caused by retailers change over from winter to summer lines for the temporary suspension of discounting ahead of the early Easter holiday. Higher clothing prices help push consumer prices up for a tenth of a percent last month in northern New Jersey. Although the increase is partly offset by lower energy costs in South Jersey, much more moderate price increases,

but the retail price index up only 2 tenths of a percent. For the last 12 months, inflation has been running at about 2.5 percent across the state. The new headlines and headlines in New Jersey business tonight, Atlantic City Casino revenues in March fell 1 percent according to new figures from the Casino Control Commission. The latest report is more evidence of a slump in the short town's gaming business. Newark Public Service of the Enterprise Group, parent of PSE and G held its annual meeting in which the company chairman told shareholders the company will play to its strengths on the era of deregulation, capitalizing especially, on its images the hometown team in competition with out-of-state suppliers of electricity and gas. Taipei, Taiwan, Lucent Technologies of Worry Hill has signed two contracts with two Taiwanese firms to supply them with 140 million dollars of wireless telecommunications equipment. Lucent says KG Telecom and Tontex are two of the Taiwan's of Taiwan's six licensed wireless communications suppliers. How now, Dow Jones? Quite well, thanks. The stock market bounced back decisively today as long-term interest rates fell spurred by a better-than-expected report on inflation.

The Dow industrials had their second biggest point had its second biggest point gain ever, soaring 135 in a quarter to close at the 6587 level. The AMX composite rose to the Nasdaq composite, still played by weakness in technology issues, fell three and a half for the standard and pours 500 gained 11. Bond prices jumped with a 30-year treasury up one and one 30-second. It's yielded down to under 7.10%. For first time in a while. Okay, that's good news. Thank you, Decker. Texas. Will the nice weather continue? A check of our forecast is just ahead and Jerry's here with a preview of sports. Okay, we'll have a look at an effort to honor Jackie Robinson here in New Jersey. That story next. Time now for sports here is Jerry Jackie Robinson. That's right. The nation honors a great man, baseball will honor Jackie Robinson tonight at Chase Stadium with a ceremony during the 5th inning of the game between the Metz and Dodgers.

President Clinton is expected to be there with Mr. Robinson's wife. It was 50 years ago today when Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the first African-American to play in the majors. But New Jersey has a part in that history as well. Robinson played his first non-negrily game in Jersey City. There's an effort underway to honor Robinson with a statue to be placed in General Square in Jersey City later this year. It's headed up by the New Jersey Sports History Commission and the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Alan Steinberg is chairman of the fundraising committee. This will be a reminder to all those who traverse the gates of General Square that history was made in Jersey City, not just in sports, but in the history of America. As Dr. King often said, without Jackie Robinson, the civil rights movement, the great strides of the 1960s would not have been possible.

Robinson's Odyssey in the majors was made even more difficult because of a pledge he made to Dodgers boss, Branch Ricky. He told him he wouldn't answer to abuse associated with his arrival in the majors. I had to give him an actual picture by voice, by gesture, but by every means I had to have him realize what he was in front of and what he was about to agree to. He had to know that he would be called these names and his mother would be attacked. We have come a long way since those days, but we have a long way to go when you consider that over 50% of the great stars in baseball are African-Americans, yet there are only four African-American managers and only one African-American general manager. Jackie would feel that we came a long way, but we have a long way to go. So as the nation honors Robinson today, New Jersey will honor him later on this year.

I'm told in October, November, when they erect the statue in Journal Square in Jersey City. I think that's very nice considering all the ball fields that this man played in. Great man, great role model, and great effort to get this done. That's right, not only in sports, but in society itself. Okay, thanks, Jerry. No complaints about the weather. We saw sunny skies with highs in the 60s. It was a little cold, but not too cold for the Carney High School crew team, as they practice rowing on the Pasey River. As far as our air quality tomorrow, Code Yellow or moderate ratings are forecast across the state. In North Jersey tonight, clear with lows in the mid 30s. Tomorrow, sunny with highs in the mid 60s. In South Jersey tonight, partly sunny with lows in the mid 30s. And tomorrow, mostly sunny with highs in the mid 60s. Finally tonight, Princeton University is naming its film theater after famed movie actor Jimmy Stewart. Stewart of the class of 32 already holds an honorary degree and served as university trustee from 1959 to 1963. It's unclear, however, whether Stewart, who starred in more than 80 movies, will attend the May 30th dedication ceremony.

A university spokeswoman says the actor has not been feeling well. That's the news for Kent Manahan, Dick 40, Jerry Henry. I'm Kent St. John and don't forget to get those tax returns in Goodnight is talking to Dick. It will cost you a lot more, right? Thank you very much. .

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