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TUESDAY 10.04.16

Watch this weeks episode featuring Central Regional hosting

Brick Memorial on Wednesday at noon at APP.com/RoadShow
NO RED FLAGS
Ahmad Rahami, suspected of planting bombs
in Seaside Park, Elizabeth and Manhattan, in
a photo provided by the Union County
Prosecutors Office.

HOW THE NEW

GAS TAX HIKE
MAY IMPACT YOU
$115 $12.50 $100K
What you would pay

What you would save

What you would have

extra for every 10,000

in sales tax for every

to spend on taxable

miles under the 23-

$10,000 spent in 2017;

items to see savings

cent gasoline tax hike. rises to $37.50 in 2018.

of $125.

I think the one thing that changes

any elected officials mind is when the
general public rises up and voices
their concern. ... A lot of angry people
will be weighing in with their
legislators. SEN. JENNIFER BECK

Suspect in N.J.,
N.Y. bombings
legally bought
gun in Virginia
Store owner says Rahami presented
state ID, passed background checks
ANDREW FORD @ANDREWFORDNEWS

The man accused of wounding two Linden police officers in a shootout after planting bombs in New Jersey
and New York legally purchased a 9mm handgun in Virginia two months before the shooting, the owner of the
gun store said.
Ahmad Rahami presented a Virginia ID and fishing
license and passed state and federal background
checks to buy a $499 Glock 19 in Salem, Virginia, according to Jerry Cochran, owner of Trader Jerrys, the
store where Rahamis gun was purchased.
Just a typical, common sale, Cochran said of the
purchase. Nothing stood out of the ordinary. No red
flags.
That is until federal agents requested the forms Rahami filled out when purchasing the guns. Cochran saw
Rahamis name on the news and drew the connection
between the sale and the suspect.
I really hate that anybody got hurt with anything
weve ever sold, Cochran said. We sell them with the
idea that people are using them to protect themselves
and not to harm others. Because people that buy guns
from me have gone through a criminal, and a small portion of a mental, background check.
See GUN, Page 2A

N.J. drivers will have to cough up 23 cents more per gallon

unless an angry public can beat proposed increase back
BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD

Public outcry stopped a proposed gas tax increase cold

three months ago, and a Monmouth County lawmaker who
led that uprising says taxpayer resistance is building
against a new effort to send prices at the pump soaring.
Drivers gassing up in New Jersey will have to pay 23
cents more per gallon under a proposal from Republican
Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic lawmakers, but state
Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, is not on board, and there
are signs a sizable faction of the public is getting angry
about it, too.
The extra proceeds are earmarked for the Transportation Trust Fund, used to pay for improvements to rails,
roads and bridges. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the
tax increase Wednesday, but Beck said proponents expecting a slam-dunk may be in for a surprise.
I think the one thing that changes any elected officials
mind is when the general public rises up and voices their
concern. I think youre going to see a lot of that until
Wednesday, Beck said. A lot of angry people will be
weighing in with their legislators.
A Rutgers University-Eagleton poll in March found 56
percent of New Jerseyans and 62 percent of Shore
See GAS TAX, Page 2A

How to reach your state lawmakers:

District 9 (Southern Ocean)
Sen. Christopher J. Connors (R)....................609-693-6700
Assemblywoman Dianne C. Gove (R)...........609-693-6700
Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf (R).................609-693-6700

District 10 (Northern Ocean)

Sen. James. W. Holzapfel (R).........................732-840-9028
Assemblyman Gregory P. McGuckin (R).......732-840-9028
Assemblyman David W. Wolfe (R)................732-840-9028

District 11 (Central Monmouth)

Sen. Jennifer Beck (R) ....................................732-933-1591
Assemblywoman Joan Downey (D)..............732-695-3371
Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling (D)..............732-695-3371

District 12 (W. Monmouth, Ocean)

Sen. Sam Thompson (R) ................................732-607-7580
Assemblyman Robert D. Clifton (R) .............732-970-6386
Assemblyman Ronald S. Dancer (R) .............609-758-0205

District 13 (Monmouth Bayshore)

Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. (R)........................732-671-3206
Assemblywoman Amy H. Handlin (R) ..........732-383-7820
Assemblyman Declan J. OScanlon (R)..........732-933-1591

District 30 (Coastal Monmouth, Ocean)

Senator Robert W. Singer (R) .......................732-987-5669
Assemblyman Sean T. Kean (R).....................732-974-0400
Assemblyman David P. Rible (R)...................732-974-0400

Gov. Christie and legislative leadership:

Governors office...........................................609-292-6000
Senate Democrats .........................................609-847-3700
Senate Republicans.......................................609-847-3600
Assembly Democrats ....................................609-847-3500
Assembly Republicans ..................................609-847-3400

3 towns team up
to fight JCP&L
transmission line
RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

Not in our backyard.

Thats the message from Middletown, Hazlet and
Holmdel three municipalities that have banded together to hire a law firm and an engineering consultant
to make their case against a controversial 230-kilovolt
transmission line that Jersey Central Power & Light Co.
says is necessary to shore up the regions electrical
grid.
By standing together, we want to make clear to
JCP&L that it will face determined municipal opposition to the plans as currently proposed, on top of already widespread public opposition in all of the communities impacted, reads a joint statement from the
communities.
Bevan, Mosca & Guiditta PC, a Bernards-based law
firm, and Maser Consulting, an national engineering
firm headquartered in Middletown, have been retained
to lobby the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities,
which has the ultimate say on the transmission line.
The 10-mile line, known officially as the Monmouth
See POWER, Page 7A

SURVEY OF N.J. EMPLOYERS

More health costs shift to workers

MICHAEL L. DIAMOND @MDIAMONDAPP

New Jersey employers shifted more of the cost of

health insurance to their employees in 2016, helping
them slow down the rise in insurance premiums, a
survey released Monday by the states biggest business lobby group found.
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association, however, said increases in health care costs still

Millions of Americans might

fall victim to hackers hitting
home devices. Page 1B

ADVICE
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
HEALTHY LIVING
HOME & SCHOOL

6D
7D
5D
1D
5A

far outpaced inflation. That prompted the organization to call on Trenton to take steps to protect consumers from steep charges when they use a provider out
of their insurance companys network.
Theyre willing to take a hit to their bottom line in
order to (provide health benefits), but in some instances theyre at a tipping point, said Michele
See COSTS, Page 2A

LOCAL
OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER

3A
6A
9A
1C
8C

VOLUME 137
NUMBER 238
SINCE 1879