BIG tuition hike at Rutgers – NJ Top News for Tuesday

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Tuesday:

⬛ Rutgers passes BIG tuition hike

In a statement, Rutgers officials blamed the large increase on labor costs.

"The university's new labor contract with the faculty union, which was agreed to in May 2023 following the first-ever strike by the university faculty, applies retroactively to July 1, 2022. It increases labor costs by nearly 8 percent in the first two years and by a similar amount in the last two years of the four-year agreement," the statement reads.

Click HERE to read more.

⬛ Flood insurance too expensive? Bill aims to control costs in NJ

As a growing number of New Jersey residents opt out of insurance coverage for flooding of their home, federal lawmakers from the Garden State unveil a plan to overhaul the way flood insurance is handled nationwide, so that no more policyholders are driven away by increasing costs.

"Insurance is about spreading the risk across the greatest pool possible," said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., during a press conference in Sea Bright. "The lower the pool, the higher the premiums. The broader the pool, the lesser the premiums."

Click HERE to read more.
⬛ Attack behind church — Bridgewater police want answers

BRIDGEWATER — Authorities want to know who's responsible for an assault on a woman behind a church over the weekend.

The Somerset County Prosecutor's Office has released a photo of a potential suspect in the case.

Bridgewater police say that just before 10 a.m. on Sunday, they received a call about a theft in progress behind Blessed Sacrament Church on Washington Valley Road.

Click HERE to read more.
⬛ Gov. Phil Murphy loudly booed on stage at a Red Bank, NJ event

RED BANK — If you were at a certain restaurant in the Monmouth County borough on Monday, July 3, you witnessed quite an event that unfolded.

Gov. Phil Murphy was mercilessly booed when he was brought up on stage by Brian Kirk, lead singer of local Jersey band, Brian Kirk and the Jirks at Red Rock Tap + Grill restaurant the day before the Fourth of July, according to SaveJersey.com.

Murphy, sporting dressed in a long-sleeved red shirt and white pants, popped into the restaurant and was invited on stage by Kirk.
Click HERE to read more.
⬛ NJ’s sweet corn growing season has started out with a bang

MEDFORD — New Jersey’s sweet corn growing and picking season is in full swing and should last through mid-September.

Since sweet corn likes the hot and humid weather, the crop looks really good this year in the Garden State, said Gil Johnson, owner of Johnson’s Corner Farm in Medford.

“Early on in the spring it was a little bit cooler so the corn was a little bit late but right now it’s loving it, and we started picking around June 28 this year, and we started out with a bang,” Johnson said.

Click HERE to read more.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

New Jersey's First News with Eric Scott is the longest running news program in New Jersey. Eric Scott began hosting the program in 1991.

It airs live on New Jersey 101.5 each weekday morning from 5:30 - 6 a.m.

New Jersey's First News with Eric Scott is the winner of the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.