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MONDAY 10.24.16

Fitzpatrick
solid in relief
Jets grab 24-16
comeback victory
over Ravens.
IN SPORTS

CAN THIS N.J. PLAN

SAVE OBAMACARE?

State Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, said

she is investigating the possibility of legal
action against the gasoline tax hike, along
with other unnamed legislators.

Legislators
mulling over
challenges to
gas tax hike
Suit could challenge hike
on constitutional grounds
MIKE DAVIS @BYMIKEDAVIS

TRENTON - A handful of legislators are considering

a last-ditch lawsuit against the controversial gasoline
tax hike set to take effect on Nov. 1.
Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth, said she is investigating the possibility of legal action, along with other
unnamed legislators.
If a lawsuit is filed, it would challenge the controversial 23-cent gasoline tax hike on constitutional grounds,
she said. Any potential legal action would run parallel to
a repeal effort launched by Sens. Michael Doherty and
Kip Bateman.
We are doing our homework now and talking to attorneys versed in this topic to get their opinion whether
we have the grounds to sue, Beck said.
Becks reasoning is twofold. First, she believes the
bill may violate the one object clause in the state constitution. That provision mandates that all pieces of legislation deal with one topic at a time, preventing bill
sponsors from shoehorning unrelated topics together
in order to secure votes and avoid vetoes.
The tax bill signed into law on Oct. 14 includes:
the 23-cent gasoline tax hike.
a sales tax cut from 7 percent to 6.625 percent.
a phaseout of the estate tax.
increasing pension and retirement income tax exclusions to $100,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for individuals and $50,000 for married couples filing separately.

Tiered option attracting customers

See GAS, Page 5A

MICHAEL L. DIAMOND @MDIAMONDAPP

NEW BRUNSWICK - The two remaining health insurance companies on New

Jerseys Obamacare exchange are rapidly signing up consumers to new plans that
charge them less if they visit a health care provider in their top network, insurance
executives said.
The so-called tiered plans have found an audience despite fierce opposition from
hospitals left out of the network and lawmakers worried about their economic impact on big employers in their districts. But insurance industry officials said New
Jersey consumers no longer can afford some of the nations highest health care
costs.
A tiered product is something the marketplace was looking for and something
the marketplace has accepted, said Ken Kobylowski, a senior vice president for
AmeriHealth New Jersey and former commissioner of the New Jersey Department
See HEALTH, Page 2A
JEAN MIKLE/STAFF PHOTO

Katharine McGreevy speaks about childhood cancer rates at a

recent meeting in Toms River.

Womans injury became a rare gift

JERRY CARINO
CARINOS CORNER

BOB BIELK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Little Silver resident Noelle McNeil (left) works with Donna

Calicchio at Meridian Rehabilitation Center in Holmdel.

Officials in California
investigating tour bus crash
that killed at least 13. 1B

ADVICE
BUSINESS
CLASSIFIED
COMICS
LOCAL

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HOLMDEL - Donna Calicchio has

some news to share: Shes able to stand
up in her own shoes. Seven years after
the 53-year-old from Aberdeen suffered a debilitating brain aneurysm,
this is progress.
She tells Noelle McNeil, who is visiting her at Meridian Nursing and Rehab at Bayshore.
If I can stand that way, Calicchio says, hopefully Ill get these shoes walking, like you.
Noelle is not a doctor or nurse, but in a way shes
the most important person in the building.
Yes, one step at a time, Noelle responds with a
knowing nod. I was in a wheelchair for a long time.
Noelles story is extraordinary. A brain injury
See CARINO, Page 7A

LOTTERIES
OBITUARIES
OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER

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VOLUME 137

Are Toms River

childhood cancer
rates elevated?
JEAN MIKLE @JEANMIKLE

TOMS RIVER - Are childhood cancer rates still elevated here?

The simple answer, however unsatisfying: maybe.
An analysis of childhood cancer data in Toms River
by Katharine McGreevy, a health science specialist and
program manager at the state Department of Health,
shows childhood leukemia rates in Toms River to be below state and county averages.
But brain and central nervous system cancer rates
for township children are higher than the state average, though similar to Ocean County rates. McGreevy
presented her analysis at a recent meeting of the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster.
McGreevy stressed that the small number of cancer
cases fewer than 10 in a five-year period means the
slightly elevated rates for brain and central nervous
system cancers could be caused by random fluctuation. The case numbers McGreevy evaluated are

NUMBER 255
See CANCER, Page 5A

SINCE 1879