Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show with Eric Scott on Wednesday:

⬛ Mahwah couple is arrested in residential cocaine condo bust

🔴 Two Matawan residents were charged with selling cocaine from their condo
🔴 Police received an anonymous tip about suspicious activity
🔴 Three others were charged with cocaine possession

MAHWAH — After an anonymous tip from a neighbor, a Bergen County couple has been arrested on charges of selling cocaine from their condo.

The Mahwah Police Department said it received a complaint about suspicious activity in the Paddington Square development.

Investigators eventually obtained a search warrant for the residence.

Inside the condo, detectives found “a quantity of cocaine,” packaging material, and alleged proceeds from the sales. All the items were seized, officials said.

⬛ 'Vigilante justice' involving Lexus leads to murder conviction

🚨 'Vigilante justice' results in murder conviction
🚨 Newark couple chased a stolen car
🚨 A city teen was killed when the coupled shot at the car

NEWARK — Two city residents have been found guilty of murder after chasing and shooting at a stolen luxury SUV in what prosecutors called an attempt at “vigilante justice.”

An Essex County jury convicted 33-year-old James Headen and 51-year-old Felicia Bynum of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and weapons charges.

On Aug. 17, 2023, Headen and Bynum pursued a stolen white 2022 Lexus SUV throughout the South Ward after witnessing the people inside commit multiple robberies.

Duo kills 17-year-old while shooting at suspects in stolen Lexus

Bynum and Headen opened fire on the vehicle, killing a 17-year-old passenger, Kiman Mays, of Newark.

The Lexus driver, 29-year-old Lonell Carruthers, of Irvington, was hurt, but a second passenger, 21-year-Yusuf Julious, of Bound Brook, was unharmed.

The targets of the vigilantes, Carruthers and Julious, each face multiple charges for their alleged crimes that night, including first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery, third-degree receiving stolen property and weapons offenses.

Bynum and Headen, meanwhile, are now set for sentencing on Sept. 15, when they face 30 years to life in prison.

⬛ Secret Service Spends Big On Golf Carts For Trump’s Club

⛳ Secret service orders golf carts and porta potties for Trump National
⛳ Taxpayers will foot the bill
⛳ Needed to transport agents around gold course

Taxpayers will foot the bill for golf carts and luxury porta potties at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster.

The Secret Service said the vehicles and relief stations are needed for agents who work protective duty at President Donald Trump's private golf club in New Jersey.

Documents published by The Independent show contracts were signed on June 3 totaling more than $600,000.

Associates Golf Car Service of Poughkeepsie, New York, will be paid more than $550,000 by the federal government to rent a fleet of golf carts.

Restroom Resources LLC of Wrightstown, New Jersey, was contracted for more than $80,000 to provide 'portable restroom rentals.'

The company website boasts "luxury amenities in every (porta potty) unit."

⬛ Should Sept. 11 be a state holiday?

🔴 Efforts to make 9/11 a state and national holiday have failed
🔴 Many believe it is not appropriate
🔴 Monmouth County has declared their own holiday

As efforts to designate Sept. 11 as a Federal and/or state holiday have failed, Monmouth County officials will continue to close government offices for a "County Day of Remembrance."

Sept. 11 falls on a Thursday this year and the Monmouth Board of Commissioners recently approved a resolution to honor the "victims, first responders, volunteers and all who were affected by the attacks."

Monmouth County will remember the 147 residents among the nearly 3,000 who died when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City.

Sept. 11 not likely to become and official holiday

In 2001, Congress did designate Sept. 11 as "Patriot Day," a national day of mourning for the victims of 9/11, but it is not an official federal holiday.

While many have suggested turning it into federal holiday, there are multiple factors working against the idea.

Historians note that American holiday's typically do not commemorate tragedies, for one.

Creating new holidays is rare. There have only been four in the past century.

There is also an economic factor that plays into the decision.

USA Today reported in 2018 that adding a new federal holiday, with paid time off for federal employees, could cost taxpayers over $430 million dollars.

A growing number of lawmakers have also suggested in recent years that there are already too many federal holidays, and have suggested getting rid of Columbus Day.

It's possible New Jersey could create an official state holiday, but efforts to do so in the past have failed, and for many of the same reasons listed above.

Still, Arnone, says it should be done.

"While our world has changed dramatically, this is one thing we need to stay united on: we need to make sure what happened on September 11, 2001 does not happen again, is always remembered and never forgotten."

⬛ Lock it up: the frustrating trend of locked merchandise in NJ

😡 Everyday items locked up behind glass

😡 Its supposed to deter theft

😡 It actually hurts sales

Before a recent vacation, I needed to pop inside my local pharmacy to grab things like shampoo, deodorant and a razor.

It should have been a quick stop, but when I went inside, every one of those items was secured behind a locked plexiglass case.

I had to find a store employee to unlock the case so I could grab what I needed. There was no one to be found.

When I finally did find an employee, he told me to wait in the isle, he would be with me in a moment.

Five minutes later I was still standing in the isle. A few minutes more, and I was out the door.

In the car I ordered everything I needed from Amazon and it would be delivered to my door before dinnertime.

Combating theft, frustrating customers

Look, I get it. Retail theft has skyrocketed in recent years. Drugstores, Target, Dollar General and other retailers have started putting high theft items behind lock and key and pulling back on self-checkout lanes.

It may be better for a store's anti-theft efforts, but it is extremely frustrating for consumers.

The CEO of Walgreens Pharmacy, Tim Wentworth, admitted on a recent earnings call the strategy cuts down on theft, but also hurts sales.

“When you lock things up," Wentworth said, "You don’t sell as many of them. We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively."

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Eric Scott hosts the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show from 6 - 10 a.m. on New Jersey 101.5.

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