The whole three to one last minute set of debate ends in a yelling match and passage of a new 135 million dollar tax package. In sports boxing and I swirl tonight and we talk to Peter Fleming and a look at an urban facelift in East Orange New Jersey Nightly News with Catherine stern and Bill Murray this morning. Good evening. The 109th New Jersey legislature came to a stormy end at noon today. The Senate debate on a new tax package went right down to the wire and ended in a shouting match when it was all over a 135 million dollar tax package had been
approved. Governor Burns saw on the tax hike just moments after it passed. Mehram also was at the State House for that heated debate. Mary who is going to be paying those taxes. Carol New Jersey has a new corporate income tax tonight 9 percent an increase of one and a half percentage points. But the Senate did not have the votes today to pass a new tax on gasoline. That was the outcome of a short but far from sweet meeting of the Senate today right before the start of the new legislative session. The Upper House met till midnight last night in an attempt to pass the two taps as the assembly rushed through on Saturday. But the Senate got nowhere last night because urban Democrats especially the senators from Hudson County were holding out their votes sometime late last night or early this morning. They got what they wanted a commitment that New Jersey cities would get more than 40 million dollars in state aid. That set the stage for today's stormy Senate meeting. It was eleven twenty seven when the Senate began its meeting today. Only 33
minutes before the end of the 109th New Jersey legislature and the start of the 199. The Senate got straight to business for one and a half percent hike in the corporate tax to help close a projected 250 million dollar budget. It's a serious story. I think that's up on the board. But the Republicans who will have 10 more members in the new assembly were unwilling to give in without a fight or a filibuster. All right. Right. 11:35 minority leader had to Dorna still talking
11:40 to another Republican Brian Kennedy is talking on Senate president John where Leno is biting his lip. The Democrats are doing some maneuvering and make a motion to cut off debate. PRESIDENT You know I have that same position that I like. However I have never heard the corporate tax bill passed while Republican the minority the Democrats again cut short debate on the gas tax angering even a Democrat senator as well as the Republicans.
But the gas tax bill just didn't have the votes. That's still left time for recriminations. Both sides stand by and say you're right. I'll tell you what this is going to do for you to hear from this month on opening day you're going to be sitting over here in the minority party which is where you want to be the Democratic Party. We are the Republican Party. Thank you come back and you and I that I can be you're going to die. Well I'm on the clock. The Republicans say they may go to court to contest the legality of today's maneuvers by the Democrats. Meanwhile the assembly had a short meeting this morning but it was basically house
cleaning chores. Nothing major. Carol thank you Mary and the Republican protests did not end with the old session when the senator started to go through the tradition of voting for the new Senate president in this case Senator Joseph Moore Leno. The Republicans withheld their votes in protest but that had no effect on the outcome since Merlino had already been elected to his second term. In a closed door caucus last year really no swearing in a senate president was obviously an emotional moment for him. Meanwhile in the assembly the new legislators were taking their vows. And with that the Democrats lost some of their clout as ten new Republicans took their seats in the assembly. After that the lawmakers listened to Governor Brown deliver his sixth State of the state message. Steve Taylor reports. Tradition calls for a warm welcome for the governor when he addresses a joint legislative session. But today the friendship was strained by the lawmakers failure to give burn the tax program
he wanted and it wasn't long before the governor was complaining. There is nothing more cruel and mean for a legislature to do than to give me good programs and then refuse to pay for it. On the subject of auto insurance the governor said he was disappointed that the legislature did not approve his so-called verbal threshold for a lawsuit and he said he would veto the revised dollar threshold bill which did pass. I will not. Approved legislation which pretends a solution which it does not really accomplish. The governor's speech wasn't all complaints. Byrne called for a new state office building in New York and a revision of state capped laws to help cities but not choke them. And the governor said New Jersey should channel economic development into the cities and not into rural areas like the plane lands. I do not advocate that everything changed in the next 10 years.
In 1990 we will still live on I as what you are pristine and I'm right and we will live. Clean water and clean oh you live and breathe. Not here we can see. And officials we can trust. Then said New Jersey is no better place to live. Then it was 10 years ago. However he told the legislators that doesn't mean there are some problems. With auto insurance and the tax problems at the top of the state. I'm Steve between the governors in these final days of their most recent session. There appears to be much room for debate in the coming year. Joining me tonight to discuss the governor's program and to take a look at the State of the state are our political commentators. I think. First of all your reactions to the governor's address today.
I don't think he said a great deal. Not a great deal that was spelled out in any way. He did talk about doing things for education but he didn't say whether he was going to take on the teachers as you would have to if he wants you talked about. The differences between the urban and rural areas limiting growth in rural areas and promoting it in the cities but if he's really going to do that then he's going to take on the whole concept of home rule and say how he's going to do that. He talked about a number of programs which would take a lot of money if we were going to implement them sharing of welfare costs transportation masterplan hazardous waste control and we all don't think he has the money to do those programs so all over I don't I don't think it is too meaningful a speech unless he comes up with bills to implement what he was talking about. I think it's fair to say it was a most general species given of the six on the other hand you know what follows in the tradition it's kind of sad he's always been short of money. Except for the income tax for education he's place great stock in changing the image of New Jersey
and having a medal and sports complex and casino gambling and he talked about things like that they'd be bringing the Battleship New Jersey back. And I think he also has believed for a long time that his administration should turn around the cities and he has for example in the Meadowlands called for a review of the new shopping center. So this speech revived those themes. What it doesn't do surprisingly to me is talk very much about the shortfall which I think is going to be important. Do you think that the governor has his major. Proposals that he's already stated that he has no major proposals. What do you think that he's kind of shocked by what the legislature has done to his money proposals. I know last few days I don't think that he's shocked actually. Frankly it was a surprisingly good humored speech he had a lot of good one liners and and he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely. I think that Bernie has been through so many ups and downs. That a setback on a small tax package like this are relatively small. It's not going to affect him very much I don't know.
How important the things in this speech were that's all because of you know what's next on your missions in this speech glaring omissions. I think a couple of things he really didn't talk very much about the kind of budget choices that will have to be made now of course that's the budget message is a little bit later. I'm surprised that he didn't take on more specifically some of the urban aid questions if there was a package of urban aid assistance for the cities he didn't say anything about increasing aid. Specifics were lacking. No. The governor did not get the kind of tax increase that he was looking for obviously. What will that mean to the financial shape of the state and what do you see lying ahead. Well. You don't know if he really needed all the things he was looking for. He cut a lot of money but there's a big big question exactly how real this budget gap is because they have been talk in the past in past years about budget gaps of two and three hundred million dollars and they raise about 100 million and all of a sudden the budget gap disappears.
Well well do you think you just purposely overestimate so that he gets something. What do you think you did and did it so late. Well. Why did it so late. I just don't know unless the role sorts of debates within his own administration as to whether to do it or not. And then of course one side won out but it was pretty late. But I think it's traditional for ministrations to overestimate their needs and then if hopefully to end up with a surplus at the end and say look how prudent we would get now whether he's overestimating his needs and whether it's got enough money now to balance that budget. I really don't know and you have to have the budget in front of you to know that. What will the political haggling that we saw in these final days spell out in terms of the political climate. In the coming year. Well I think he's going to have some bitterness to deal with as far as the Republicans go. There are two things happened one was the deal with Hudson County and the second was the cutting off debate that has real legislative violence I can say as somebody who served as speaker of the house and number of years and you just don't cut out cut off an elected representative before he has his say and.
That's going to create some but innocent I think is going to is going to last a while. Now if he wants cooperation from the Republicans it's good. Something's going to have to happen to make that climate a lot a lot better and put out some county deal knows what it would. I think realistically though if this package succeeds even though it's smaller than what they asked for and somehow bridging the gap in a significant way so they can put together a budget that they can live with. It will probably have been worth it because compared to dragging the thing out for six months which will tend to warp everything else it has it happens in the legislature. A quick admittedly bloody fight might be the best answer for them I don't know the answer to that but it's possible. Byrne has. But but part of his problem now is he's already promised. Do you think he promised. It 44 million and do you think he promised too much. Do you think he's political that I don't know whether those promises were in the nature of the sort of romantic courting of the votes or whether they were hard and fast political pledges obviously you will find that out in the next few months and a lot depends on whether the
pledges are contingent on other bills passing or other tax measures passing. That the chances of those tax measures passing though in a much more Republican assembly are. Far less and a great deal. That that's a problem I think plus a lot of that at least five of the Democrats I understand who are left. They lost 10 10 Democrats but five of the Democrats who were left. Did not vote. For the tax bills that got up on the board on Saturday so it is going to be. Much more problematical I think that particularly typically if they know it's been part of this deal. I mean no Republican for instance is going to go back and support a bill that comes up that was a promise to Hudson County in order to get a tax through that they all opposed that I didn't. OK gentlemen Mary thank you very much. There was more news in the state other than legislative news and we'll be back in a moment with that. All right.
Congressional hearings into dangerous working conditions at the Jersey City bulk mail center continue today as Phelps Hoffmann's reports. Yesterday's emotional testimony from the widow of postal worker Mike McDermott made today's remarks even more significant. Than. Their opinion. But I have. Never. Thought. That was yesterday. But Christine McDermott was back today listening to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors tell the panel that in
the postal service productivity rates higher than safety. Next it was the Postal Service is turning plan General Manager Alexander Galileo with microphone shaking up admitted that his emphasis on housekeeping would have been better focused on safety. But the hard questioning from the panel continued with. Them because you're worried that one day you can be removed. There is a procedure that you know we know. For Jersey City Congressman Frank Laurine the attitude problems in the post office come right from the top. We had asked the postmaster general to be here. But with bureaucratic arrogance he decided not to be here he had better things to do. And as the hearings came to a close. Congressman Don Bailey of Pennsylvania summed it all up. You're right. I mean you're right. And my
subcommittee staff members say that these hearings will have a nationwide impact. They point out that postal facilities including the Jersey City Center have been investigated before with no apparent success. Postal operations are still by far the most unsafe in the federal government. And they say it is precisely that history of stonewalling by the postal service that will carry this investigation right to the doorstep of Postmaster General William Bulger in Jersey City. I'm Phelps Hawkins. A retired U.S. Customs inspector has been arrested in the continuing probe into alleged corruption in New Jersey's federal customs office. Seventy year old William Potts or of Upper Saddle River has been accused of unlawfully removing goods from us a caucused customs warehouse. Investigators say they confiscated about 30 cartons of merchandise from Potter's home last November. He's the fourth customs official to be arrested since the federal probe again. And the political corruption
trial of former Essex County Sheriff John Cryan got under way in Newark today. CRYAN a former Democratic chairman Harvey Harry Lerner and two former sheriff's aides faced charges of extortion conspiracy and political racketeering. SANDRA KING reports. Deny it we deny it we deny it. That's what attorney Raymond Brown told the jury today his voice rising in righteous indignation in defense of John Cryan. What Brown denies our government allegations of racketeering extortion and conspiracy during prions reign as Sheriff Brown did not deny that the former sheriff sold tickets to political dinners and accepted donations to the Democratic Party. But he insisted all that was legal and he claimed that none of the money made its way into Crohn's pockets. However a learner's attorney was indignant to painting his client as a statesman like figure who stayed above the distribution of jobs or promotions. But the government's story is very different. Prosecutor Peter Bennett charged that political corruption was a fact of life in the
Essex sheriff's office corruption led by Cryan and Lerner and assisted by Rocco NEARY And William Lee an artist. He told the jury he'd prove that sheriff's office workers were victims tools of a corrupt system that forced them to make cash contributions in exchange for choice assignments where their very jobs. And during the months of trial still ahead Ray Brown will try to convince the jury of what he told them today. The crying and the rest aren't guilty of racketeering but only of what he called common experiences in the American tradition of politics. At federal court in Newark. I'm Sandra King. Checks totaling almost one hundred fifty thousand dollars were presented to a group of low income families in these storms today to help rehabilitate their apartment building. It's part of a new state program to stop the spread of urban blight. Raj Wells has more. This building doesn't look like much on the outside and it's even less impressive inside. This place has
been in a state of disrepair since 1975 when the tenants association organized a rent strike to get the landlord to make repairs. The owner eventually walked away from the building and a court appointed receiver took over. Then last spring there was a fire and six of the 12 families were left homeless. The building was almost completely gutted and many people say it will take nearly a half a million dollars to completely restore it. This morning checks for close to $150000 arrived along with the legal papers that will turn this apartment house into a co-op. This money the first of nearly two million dollars the state plans to spend on such projects will allow the low income families to remain here without having to seek welfare. The average rent for a five room apartment will be $200 a month and the tenants will now become owners. And they say they plan to be tough on other tenants who neglect their property. If we have anyone here that is drawing a profit in a thing we have all been ization very strong we think that person you know live in them. Yes. About 12000 dollars will be spent on each apartment for new bathrooms kitchen ceilings
walls and floors. Some of the people living here say they granted the tenants association God today would probably be better spent tearing the building down. But many of the other tenants say they have no place to live. And a look upon today's Grant is the first of many and not necessarily the final answer to their housing problems here in East Orange. I'm Reggie wells. Now here's the weather forecast for this day. Tonight we'll have clear skies with low temperatures in the upper teens to low 20s throughout the state. Tomorrow it will be partly cloudy with highs in the low to mid 30s. And the outlook for Thursday fair and cold. I. Know Perry is in New York
tonight because right after the news he's heading for the boxing matches in toto up Bill. All right Karen thank you looking forward to it. Tonight's boxing card in toto features three New Jersey state champions but only one is fighting a title fight Rocky Lockridge will defend his featherweight title against Sammy Gosse the state's welterweight champion. Gonzalez meets Mike Mashad and Scott Frank the state's heavyweight champion goes against Ron stander Now Frank is meeting his first name opponent tonight and a win could put him in against the Leon Spinks or Scott would do next so it's a biggie for Scott Franco Mowen has more. Scott Frank the New Jersey State heavyweight champ is going to face one of his toughest challenges in his young career. Frank is now 10 and know what his opponent Roland stander knocked out early Shavers Joe Frazier in a world heavyweight bout. And stander says a mere victory over Frank will not be enough. He plans to add Scott Frank to his long list of knockouts stander brings 35 wins 12 losses and two draws into the ring tonight. Frank says he's in the best shape ever but he does have respect for the
Hokie Nebraska man still you know he is for the top fighters of the world. You know Joe Frazier not the only shaders but a couple other good fighters. He's a veteran and you know like I say again about the mound you don't have to climb the mountain these are the guys that have to be migrated and become you know get a shot at the game to become the heavyweight champ of the world. Scott Frank demonstrated his toughness and quick left last September when he fought Bill Connell at the Meadowlands. He scored a TKL over the challenger Frank also showed his ability as a boxer when he stole the state crown from chop weapon. I swirled in a total of Martin and Bill blowing the $400000 drawing for a master's tennis tournament gets under way in New York's Madison Square Garden tomorrow the eight top singles players in the world based on a year long point system will go after the $100000 first prize a doubles title will also be up for grabs and without question the team to beat is the John McEnroe Peter Fleming tandem the two did it all in 1979. This is
action from their mutual benefit like Open win in August in South Orange. The pair also won the 79 masters Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. You just can't do better than that. Yet when the U.S. played Italy last month in the Davis Cup final stance Smith and Bob Lutz the McEnroe and Chatham's Fleming sat it out. But what can you say I mean we were picked and the only thing I can do is. We've been picked to play next year and so the only thing I can do is look forward to that. Okay to read John play singles and doubles you only play doubles now. It's important to you to win the doubles but I'm sure his priority is in the single so do you discuss that with McEnroe Well if this were the first time I might've broached the topic but basically he's so competitive that that he really doesn't play singles over doubles. I mean he might in his mind but once he's on the court the only thing that it enters into his mind is winning the match at hand and so there's never has been a problem with that. In college basketball tonight Princeton 2 and 10 host St. John's a nine in one NJT
TV Live 8 Also tonight Rutgers plays at home against Lehigh trouble at Seton Hall three starters have been suspended for violating training regulations Howard McNeil young and Wright artist will all sit out tomorrow night's game against Manhattan McNeil will also have to miss Saturday's game at St. John's That's the sports on Bill Perry in North Carolina. Thank you bell to you. Once again our top stories tonight in the final days of its old session the New Jersey legislature approved a 135 million dollar tax package which was probably enacted by Governor Byrne And moments later the new legislature was sworn in and in his annual State of the state message Governor Byrne outlined his goals for the remaining two years in office calling for among other things a planned urban growth for New Jersey. And that's the news for Bill Perry in Newark I'm Karen Stone. Good night for the New Jersey nightly news. New Jersey Nightly News has a joint presentation of New Jersey Public Television and
13.
