Surfer slammed: New details, bodycam released

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Friday:

⬛ Trump's NJ golf club gets a huge tax break

(AP Photo/Canva/Townsquare Media illustration)

BEDMINSTER — Former President Donald Trump benefits from a generous tax break for a part of his Trump National Golf Club in Somerset County. And it’s because the property doubles as a farm complete with a heard of goats, the Morristown Daily Record reports.

A state law, Farmland Assessment Act of 1964, is what makes the tax break possible. It was enacted to provide tax relief to struggling farms that were victims of surging land values at the time.

⬛ NJ projected to see rise in car insurance rates, report says

Canva/Townsquare Media Illustration

It’s no secret different household costs are up — auto insurance is no exception.

Data released from Insurify this August finds the first half of 2024 saw a 15% increase in full-coverage premiums nationwide. But then by year’s end, they expect a rise to 22%.

Insurify found Maryland tops the list for the highest car insurance: an average of $3,400 annually; New Hampshire residents are getting the most relief with an average of $1,000.

⬛ NJ woman who killed husband on Christmas gets 6 years in prison

Marylue Wigglesworth (inset) admits killing husband at Mays Landing home (ACPO,Google Maps)

A Mays Landing woman who admitted to shooting and killing her husband nearly two years ago has been sentenced to six years in prison.

In June, Marylue Wigglesworth pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the death of 57-year-old David Wigglesworth.

The woman said she had acted in self-defense on Christmas night 2022, after her husband had threatened her with a gun in their Mays Landing home.

⬛ Costs keeping you away from college? NJ university wants to help

Photo by Peter G. Borg/Rider University

LAWRENCE (Mercer) — Roughly 78% percent of families last year removed a school from their list of choices based on its cost, according to a 2023 Sallie Mae/Ipsos national study.

But at Rider University, a new program aims to keep more cash in undergraduates’ pockets: Rider Tuition Guarantee. The fall 2025 semester will launch the savings effort.

The program is inactive during the winter and spring terms.

⬛ Surfer slammed by police: New Details

Belmar Police/Austin Downs via Facebook

Belmar police have released bodycam footage from the officers who confronted a surfer about a beach badge.

The video shows the surfer arguing with police about not needing a beach badge, and then walking away after police warned him he was going to get arrested.

Liam Mahoney refused multiple police directives and refused to put his surfboard down and show I-D.

That's when police finally grabbed him and forced him to the ground.

The most obese counties in New Jersey

New Jersey Department of Health age-adjusted data for 2011 and 2022 reveals the percentage of the adult population over 20 that is obese. The counties are listed from lowest to greatest percentage. Because of a small sample size in the survey in 2022, percentages were not available for the first two counties.

Remembering Tropical Storm Irene's impact on NJ, 13 years later

Some New Jersey residents and communities never fully recovered after Tropical Storm Irene's incredible, historic rainfall and flooding in late August 2011.

Gallery Credit: Dan Zarrow