January 2, 2018

Daily News Roundup

January 2, 2018 Sunny with high temperatures in the mid-20s. NEW LAWS TAKE EFFECT ON SALES TAX, ESTATE TAX, MINIMUM WAGE The state sales tax has dropped to just over 6.6 percent and the estate tax has been eliminated, now that 2018 has arrived, Patch.com reports. The minimum wage in New Jersey has been raised 16 cents to $8.60 an hour. And in an effort to cut down the length of lines at the Motor Vehicle Commission offices, driver’s licenses and state ID cards will expire every four years on the numerical day of the holder’s birthday instead of at the end of the month. The driver’s license change should take effect by February. STATE’S FIRST SIKH MAYOR TAKES OATH OF OFFICE IN HOBOKEN Immediately after being sworn in on Monday, Hoboken’s new mayor, Ravi Bhalla, signed his first executive order, declaring the municipality a “fair and welcoming city,” News 12 New Jersey reports. Under the order, police and other officials will not use city resources to enforce federal immigration laws except when they are legally required to do so. Bhalla, who was the subject of racist fliers in the mayoral campaign, is the first Sikh to be elected mayor in New Jersey. LAWMAKERS MAY REVOKE RULE ALLOWING DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHLANDS The state Senate and the Assembly are expected to vote Thursday to rescind a rule adopted by the Department of Environment Protection last summer that eased restrictions on the number of septic tanks in the New Jersey Highlands, Tom Johnson writes for NJ Spotlight. The regulation would have opened up some of the forested land to more development. If the Legislature revokes the rule, it would be a rare rebuke to the administration of Gov. Chris Christie in its final days. TEENAGER FACES HEARING TODAY IN LONG BRANCH SLAYINGS A 16-year-old boy was arrested after the killings of his parents, his sister and a family friend on New Year’s Eve, Jessica Remo reports for NJ.com. Prosecutors said they would seek to have the teenager tried as an adult in the fatal shootings. Authorities have not commented on a motive in the killings. TEMPORARY HOUSING IN NJ ENDING FOR PUERTO RICANS The federal program that has housed in hotels and motels nearly 4,000 families who were displaced from their homes in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria is ending this month, Monsy Alvarado writes for The Record. New Jersey hotels have been the temporary home to 72 of the displaced families in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Transitional Shelter Assistance Program, which ends Jan. 13. Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rosselló, has asked federal authorities for an extension. TETERBORO AIRPORT: VITAL LINK, NUISANCE OR DANGER? When Teterboro Airport opened in 1919, it was the first airport in the New York metropolitan area. But now there are clashing views on whether the airport run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is a vital economic driver for the area or an outdated facility whose noise disturbs neighbors and whose low-flying jets pose dangers. Vivian Wang of The New York Times takes a look at Teterboro’s history and future. ATLANTIC CITY BEGINNING YEAR WITH WAVE OF OPTIMISM Beleaguered for the last decade with casino closings and dropping property values, Atlantic City may be heading for a resurgence in 2018, Nicholas Huba writes in the Press of Atlantic City. Set to open this year are more than $800 million in private investment projects, including the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City, the Stockton University Gateway project, the Beach at South Inlet and possibly the reopening of the Revel. And if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the federal ban on sports betting, that would open more opportunities for casino operators.