Miscellaneous
February 7, 2018 Rain and snow with high temperatures in the low 40s. NTSB CITES ENGINEER’S SLEEP APNEA IN HOBOKEN TRAIN CRASH The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the undiagnosed sleep apnea of a NJ Transit train engineer led to a fatal train crash in Hoboken in September 2016, NJ.com reports. The NTSB said that NJ Transit failed to adequately screen and treat employees for sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to fatigue. The safety board also noted NJ Transit’s lack of technology to automatically stop trains on the tracks. FAITH LEADERS ARRESTED AT CONGRESSMAN’S OFFICE Four members of the clergy were among six protesters arrested Tuesday at the Westfield office of U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, a Republican, NJ Spotlight says. The demonstrators were urging Lance to support legislation to allow undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children to stay in the country. The protest was organized by an advocacy group called Faith in New Jersey. NJ SEEKS TO JOIN LAWSUIT ON MILITARY TRANSGENDER POLICY State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Tuesday that he has filed the paperwork for New Jersey to join a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s proposed ban on transgender people serving in the military, NJ.com writes. Last year Trump said he would move to bar transgender people from serving in the military “in any capacity.” BILL WOULD REQUIRE NJ TO INVESTIGATE POLICE KILLINGS OF CIVILIANS Legislation that would put investigations of police killings of civilians in the hands of the state attorney general received approval from the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday, WNYC says. The Legislature approved similar legislation last year, but the measure was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie. The Attorney General’s office issued a statement saying it was not desirable to mandate that the state investigate all police use-of-force incidents. HEAD OF NJ TRANSIT’S RAIL OPERATIONS TO RETIRE IN MARCH Robert Lavell, vice president and general manager of NJ Transit’s rail operations, will retire in March, The Record writes. A spokeswoman for the transportation agency said Tuesday that Lavell had told NJ Transit’s executive director, Steven Santoro, of his plans to step down. Santoro is leaving NJ Transit in April. Gov. Phil Murphy has called the transit agency a “national disgrace.”