NEW JERSEY HAS FILED THE FIRST LAWSUITS FOR ALLEGED PRICE GOUGING STEMMING FROM SUPERSTORM SANDY. ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFFREY CHIESA SAYS THE STATE IS SUING SEVEN GAS STATIONS AND A HOTEL IN NORTHERN NEW JERSEY. THE GAS STATIONS ARE ACCUSED OF RAISING PUMP PRICES ANYWHERE FROM 17 TO 59 PERCENT DURING THE STATE OF EMERGENCY RELATED TO THE STORM. THE HOTEL IS ACCUSED OF RAISING ROOM RATES BY 32 PERCENT. VIOLATORS CAN BE FINED UP TO $10,000 FOR A FIRST OFFENSE AND UP TO $20,000 FOR A SECOND OFFENSE. THE STATE'S CONSUMER AFFAIRS DIVISION HAS RECEIVED NEARLY 2,000 COMPLAINTS ABOUT ALLEGED STORM-RELATED PRICE GOUGING. CHIESA SAYS ABOUT 83 PERCENT OF THE COMPLAINTS INVOLVE GAS STATIONS.
SUPERSTORM SANDY DECIMATED ATLANTIC CITY'S CASINO REVENUE AT THE END OF LAST MONTH. YET THE POWERFUL STORM LEFT THE 12 GAMBLING HALLS VIRTUALLY UNTOUCHED, A FACT THAT CASINO AND TOURISM LEADERS ARE MAKING A RENEWED EFFORT TO PUBLICIZE. THE CASINOS CLOSED FOR THE STORM ON OCTOBER 28 AND REOPENED NOVEMBER 2. BUT THE NINE BOARDWALK AND THREE MARINA DISTRICT CASINOS CAME THROUGH THE STORM IN FINE SHAPE, AND THE RESORT IS OPEN AND FUNCTIONING. THE ATLANTIC CITY ALLIANCE, THE NEW MARKETING ARM OF THE CASINOS, PLANS TO EMPHASIZE THAT FACT IN A RENEWED OUTREACH EFFORT.
ACCU-WEATHER'S DEAN DEVORE SAYS THERE WON'T BE TOO MANY WEEKENDS LIKE THIS ONE FOR THE NEXT 4 MONTHS OR SO. "IT'S GOING TO WARM UP AND THEN ANOTHER FRONT IS GOING TO COME THROUGH ON TUESDAY AND THAT'S GOING TO BRING US BACK TO THE CHILLY REALITY OF NOVEMBER FOR THE LATTER HALF OF NEXT WEEK," DEVORE SAYS. HE FIGURES TODAY WILL HIT 58 AND SUNDAY SHOULD REACH 66 WITH PLENTY OF SUNSHINE EACH DAY. THE SUNNY WARM WEATHER LASTS UNTIL TUESDAY WHEN CLOUDS AND COOLER TEMPERATURES MOVE INTO TOWN.
THE CITY OF ALLENTOWN SAYS DEMOLITION OF THE 15TH STREET BRIDGE ABUTMENTS BEGINS THIS MORNING AND CONTINUES THROUGH LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. DETOURS WILL BE POSTED THIS WEEKEND DURING WORKING HOURS FOR ALL TRAFFIC ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DRIVE.
A MAN WHO FATALLY SHOT A BOUNCER WHO KICKED HIM OUT OF A LOCAL CLUB HAS BEEN ORDERED TO SPEND AT LEAST 30 YEARS IN PRISON. A LEHIGH COUNTY JUDGE CALLED 35-YEAR-OLD PEDRO ALICEA-PEREZ A "COWARD" FOR KILLING ANDY HERNANDEZ ROJAS FOR DOING HIS JOB EARLIER THIS YEAR. ALICEA-PEREZ PLEADED GUILTY IN SEPTEMBER TO THIRD-DEGREE MURDER FOR THE JANUARY 29 KILLING OUTSIDE ALLENTOWN'S TU CASA NIGHT CLUB. INVESTIGATORS SAY ROJAS KICKED ALICEA-PEREZ OUT BECAUSE HE'D BEEN BANNED FROM THE CLUB FOR PREVIOUS INCIDENTS. ALICEA-PEREZ SHOT ROJAS A FEW HOURS LATER OUTSIDE AN AFTER-HOURS CLUB.
CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS HAVE RESUMED BETWEEN PENNSYLVANIA HIGHER EDUCATION OFFICIALS AND THE UNION REPRESENTING UNIVERSITY FACULTY. THE TALKS BEING HELD FRIDAY IN HARRISBURG CAME JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE FACULTY AT 14 STATE-OWNED CAMPUSES WILL BEGIN HOLDING STRIKE AUTHORIZATION VOTES. MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACULTIES HAVE BEEN WORKING WITHOUT A CONTRACT SINCE JUNE 2011. THE UNION CONTINUES TO BE AT ODDS WITH THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON COMPENSATION FOR ADJUNCT FACULTY, HEALTH CARE BENEFITS AND ONLINE EDUCATION. THE UNION REPRESENTS MORE THAN 6,000 FACULTY AND COACHES AT THE UNIVERSITIES, WHICH SERVE ABOUT 120,000 STUDENTS. THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A FACULTY STRIKE.
DEMOCRATIC STATE SENATOR ANDY DINNIMAN HAS BEEN WORKING FOR A YEAR AND A HALF TO BAN THE CARBON-MONOXIDE GASSING OF PETS IN PENNSYLVANIA. WITH HIS BILL APPROVED AND ON THE GOVERNOR'S DESK FOR HIS SIGNATURE, DINNIMAN APPEARS TO HAVE SUCCEEDED. "THE GASSING IS A VERY INHUMANE PROCESS. IT OFTEN TAKES 35 OR 40 MINUTES. WE WILL BE THE 20TH STATE TO END THIS INHUMANE PRACTICE," DINNIMAN SAYS. THE NEW EUTHANASIA LAW ALSO REQUIRES ALL ANIMALS BE PUT DOWN BY AN INJECTION OF AN FDA-APPROVED EUTHANASIA SOLUTION AND THAT THE PERSON GIVING THE INJECTION BE LICENSED BY THE STATE.
OPERATORS AT A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN NORTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA SAY A COMPUTER SYSTEM PROBLEM TRIGGERED A MANUAL SHUTDOWN OF ONE REACTOR. PLANT OWNER PPL SAYS THE UNIT 2 REACTOR AT ITS SUSQUEHANNA NUCLEAR PLANT NEAR BERWICK, COLUMBIA COUNTY, WAS SAFELY SHUT DOWN OVERNIGHT THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY. SPOKESMAN JOE SCOPELLITI SAYS THE COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS THE REACTOR'S WATER LEVEL WAS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY. HE SAYS THE OPERATORS PROPERLY SHUT DOWN THE REACTOR AND THERE IS NO PUBLIC DANGER. OPERATIONS AT THE UNIT 1 REACTOR ARE NOT AFFECTED.
PENN STATE COACH BILL O'BRIEN IS PLEASED WITH ONE ASPECT OF HIS TEAM'S OFFENSE, BUT SAYS IT COULD IMPROVE EVEN MORE. "I THINK THE RUNNING GAME HAS IMPROVED, BUT I THINK IT COULD BE EVEN BETTER," O'BRIEN SAYS. O'BRIEN HOPES FOR AN EVEN BETTER RUNNING ATTACK THIS AFTERNOON WHEN HIS TEAM VISITS NUMBER 18 NEBRASKA. KICKOFF IS AT 3:30 ON WAEB.
AFTER STARTING THE SEASON 3-AND-1, THE EAGLES HAVE LOST FOUR STRAIGHT GAMES AND COACH ANDY REID SAYS FRUSTRATION IS EVIDENT IN THE LOCKER ROOM. "IS THERE FRUSTRATION THAT THINGS AREN'T GOING WELL? ABSOLUTELY. THESE GUYS WANT TO DO WELL. COACHES WANT TO DO WELL, PLAYERS WANT TO DO WELL," REID SAYS. THE EAGLES HOST THE COWBOYS TOMORROW AFTERNOON IN A BATTLE OF TWO 3-AND-5 TEAMS. THE COWBOYS HAVE LOST TWO IN A ROW.
