Regional Briefs – December 18, 2016

NJ Lawmaker Wants to Rename Route 1 After Obama

TRENTON – A New Jersey legislator wants to rename Route 1 the “Barack H. Obama Highway,” The Associated Press reported. Assemblywoman Annette Quijano, a Democrat, will introduce the bill on Monday. She called Obama a “transformational” president.

Detective Who Made Racist Remarks Cleared

MILLBURN, N.J. – A police detective who made racist remarks at the scene of a brutal home invasion was cleared of criminal wrongdoing on Friday, The Associated Press reported. Colin McMillan had responded to a 2013 incident in which a black man severely beat a woman. The suspect argued McMillan’s remark had tainted the trial.

NY Awards $27 Million to Spur Agriculture Industries

ALBANY – New York on Friday awarded $27 million to support the growth of 68 agricultural, food and beverage industries in the state, The Associated Press reported. The projects include $1 million for expansion of Edelweiss Dairy Farm.

Obama Approves Honor For WWII Spies Agency

BUFFALO – President Obama signed legislation Saturday bestowing the Congressional Gold Medal Act, one of the nation’s highest civilian awards, on veterans of the OSS, a WWII spy agency founded by Buffalo native Gen. William “Wild Bill” Donovan. The Office of Strategic Services was the CIA’s precursor.

$11M Unused Gift Card Funds Turned Over to NY Last Year

ALBANY – State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned New Yorkers to “read the fine print” when buying gift cards since unused funds are regularly turned over to the state as abandoned property. Last year his office took in $11 million.

UPS Delivers Assault Rifle Instead of Toy for Gift

OCEANSIDE, N.Y. – A couple was horrified Wednesday night when a UPS gift delivery they thought was a toy plane turned out to be an assault rifle, Newsday reported. Joel Berman opened the case in front of his wife and 6-year-old granddaughter to discover a rifle, scope, ammo clip and copies of an Arizona man’s gun permit.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the December 19th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.