EDA
A high-ranking official at the tax-prep firm Jackson Hewitt said, in testimony before a task force on the EDA, that a top executive at the company lied to get a $2.7 million tax incentive to keep them from moving to Florida or New York even though they already had a deal for a site in Jersey City, the Spotlight reports.
The company had gotten a $2.5 million tax break under an earlier program and wasn’t meeting the jobs-creating requirement for that when it applied for this second incentive. Fun times.
ACPD
David Danzis at the Press reports 50 people showed up at City Hall to support ACPD officer/city resident Huan Le.
An internal affairs investigation led to disciplinary charges against Le for improper use of force and not submitting the right paperwork, Danzis reports. Given that internal affairs stands up a tiny portion of of excessive force complaints (two out of 570 between 2007 and 2014, or 0.35%) it’s surprising that they got the wrong guy here. Or maybe it isn’t.
Anyway, Councilman Jimmy Cheng of the fifth ward said Le was being scapegoated. The case is being heard by Steve Perskie.
Texting and Driving
Elsewhere in policing, cops in a number of county jurisdictions will be targeting persons texting behind the wheel as part of a “U Text. U Drive. U Pay.” campaign directed at distracted drivers.
Eating, drinking, grooming, futzing with the radio, futzing with Google maps are all things they can issue a ticket for, so put your phone down and enjoy the spring weather.
For more feats of journalism…
New York Lawsuit Claims Sackler Family Illegally Profited From Opioid Epidemic–New York state Attorney General Letitia James leveled the fiercest legal broadside yet against the Sackler family, owners of the privately-held Purdue Pharma which makes the powerful prescription painkiller OxyContin. www.npr.org
Margate investigates trolley service to address parking shortage–MARGATE – Over the last year, Margate officials have made a concentrated effort to address the city’s parking shortage by developing parking spaces on city owned properties. But some of those parking areas are a long walk to the beach. www.downbeach.com
Phillies-obsessed hacker with white supremacist past nearly died from cobra bite in his snake and spider horror house–Six months after a man nearly died from a bite by his pet cobra, state wildlife officials have released the skin-crawling details of his Vineland horror home, a creepy den with more than a dozen cobras, pythons, tarantulas and mysteriously barricaded doors. www.nj.com
Born-again Christian firefighter shaves beard after N.J. judge says safety comes first–An Atlantic City firefighter who sued the department last month has shaved the beard he grew for religious reasons after a judge denied an order that would have allowed him to keep it for now, his attorney said. www.nj.com