December 19, 2017
Partly cloudy with high temperatures in the low 50s.
CAP ON POLICE AND FIREFIGHTER RAISES SET TO EXPIRE
A 2 percent cap on the raises New Jersey police and firefighters can win in arbitration is set to expire at the end of the year -- and if the Legislature doesn’t extend it, property owners may see big increases in their taxes, Samantha Marcus reports for NJ.com. But the lame duck Legislature shows no signs of taking action. Before the cap was put in place, raises set in arbitration ranged from 2 to 6 percent.
FORMER PASSAIC FREEHOLDER CHOSEN FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has nominated Tahesha Way, a former Passaic County freeholder and administrative law judge, as secretary of state. Way, 46, will be the third woman and second black woman to head a state department if she is confirmed, Colleen O’Dea writes for NJ Spotlight. “We will ask her to stand up for the rights of New Jersey voters against pressures from President Trump’s voter suppression panel and others who want to restrict access to the ballot box,” Murphy said Monday.
ATTEMPT TO OVERRIDE OIL TRAIN VETO FALLS SHORT
Since July, when Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill to provide more information to first responders about hazardous material being moved through communities by rail, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg has been working to override the veto. On Monday, she withdrew the override measure as it became clear that it was 6 votes short of the 27 needed for success, Curtis Tate reports for The Record.
HOSPITAL’S PATIENT INFORMATION SOLD ONLINE
A computer hard drive containing information about patients treated at Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains has been sold online, Michael Izzo writes for the Daily Record. The hard drive contained patient information, which may have included names, dates of birth, addresses, medical record numbers, allergies, and medications the patient may have received, but it did not contain Social Security numbers of financial information, hospital officials said.
DELBARTON STUDENTS BURY REMAINS OF ABANDONED BABY
The body of a stillborn boy that was found in Mine Hill in October was laid to rest Monday because of the efforts of a group of students at Delbarton School, a college preparatory school in Morris Township, Peggy Wright reports for the Daily Record. Wave-4-Live, a student group at the Roman Catholic school, honors unclaimed bodies by providing burial. A small white coffin with the boy’s remains was buried at the historic Orchard Street cemetery in Dover.
PATERSON TEACHER PROVIDES GIFTS FOR 500 CHILDREN
Almost 90 percent of the children at Community Charter School of Paterson come from families living below the federal poverty level, school officials say. That means many do not receive any Christmas gifts. But Jennifer Olawski, a teacher at Community Charter School of Paterson, decided to do something about that, writes Joe Malinconico of the Paterson Press. She raised money through a GoFundMe campaign and on Monday she delivered gifts to 500 kids.
