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2024 Preseason Gamethread #1: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders

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2024 Preseason Gamethread #1: New Jersey Devils vs. New York Islanders


Welcome back to New Jersey Devils hockey. Rather, welcome back to New Jersey Devils hockey of players that did not qualify for “rookie” camp in an exhibition game called preseason. As with such games, the goals are to perform well and don’t get hurt.

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV: MSGSN, MSGSN2; Digital, Out of Market: ESPN+

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils vs. the New York Islanders

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The Song of the Evening: School began for many earlier this month. Preseason is a return to the grind and reality of hockey for many. I think that is a theme that fits preseason. So I will run with it for the gamethreads until the real season begins in Czechia. One of the People Who Matter recommended me a song from a Filipino band called Kamikazee called “First Day High,” a really catchy pop-rock song about the first day at school. It came out on their 2006 album Maharot and it was also the theme for a movie of the same name that here.

The Rules: The rules remain as they are as the Devils starting preseason. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough, no I don’t care what Tom Fitzgerald said), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it), and please keep your comments relevant to this game. Go Devils!



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New Jersey

Progressive think tank urges tax hikes to close budget gaps • New Jersey Monitor

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Progressive think tank urges tax hikes to close budget gaps • New Jersey Monitor


New Jersey should adopt a host of progressive tax changes to generate nearly $4 billion in revenue to bridge structural deficits over the coming years, including new tax brackets for millionaires, an expanded sales tax, and a revived estate tax, a new report from a left-leaning think tank urges.

The report from New Jersey Policy Perspective calls for the state to levy higher income taxes on multimillionaires, undo a Christie-era sales tax cut, and apply sales tax to a range of services excluded under current law to bridge a gap between state spending and state revenues that threaten to drain New Jersey’s surplus over the coming years.

“New Jersey has to start raising more revenue, and it’s important to raise revenue in a fair way. We have to make sure that those who have wealth are paying more and those who are working and middle class are not facing as much fiscal burden to continue to live in New Jersey,” said Peter Chen, the report’s author and a senior policy analyst for the think tank.

New Jersey’s current budget calls for the state to spend $2.1 billion more than it collects through taxes and other sources of revenue, and that gap is set to expand next year when revenue from a recently enacted surcharge on some highly profitable businesses will move from the general fund to NJ Transit.

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Rowan University’s Sweeney Center for Public Policy in June warned the deficits threaten to drain New Jersey’s surplus in the coming years under most economic conditions, noting the state’s reserves would be significantly reduced even under their most optimistic forecast.

It’s unclear whether New Jersey lawmakers will seek to raise taxes when they enact a new annual budget in June.

Trenton’s Democratic caucuses launched an affordability kick and have resisted tax increases following legislative losses in 2021, and it remains to be seen whether they will reverse course with gubernatorial and Assembly elections on the ballot next year.

Sen. Tony Bucco said the Legislature should follow the GOP’s recommendation to “cut wasteful spending.” (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey

A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), who has championed his caucus’s affordability push, declined to comment. It’s unlikely the proposals will win support from Republican lawmakers.

“This is just another report to justify the progressive Democrats’ tired playbook of increasing fees and taxes on New Jerseyans. At first glance, it suggests identifying new revenue streams that include raising the state sales tax that will undoubtedly leave New Jersey more unaffordable,” said Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris), the Senate’s minority leader. “Instead, we should be focusing on reforms that Republicans put forth to cut wasteful spending and give New Jerseyans the relief they deserve.”

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The think tank’s report urges legislators to create new income tax brackets for the state’s highest earners — 12% for those making over $2 million, 13% for those making more than $5 million, and 14% for those with more than $10 million in income — to boost collections.

At present, New Jersey’s highest marginal rate of 10.75% is applied to all residents with more than $1 million in income. The report estimates the new brackets would boost collections by $1.2 billion, though it urges expansions to the state child tax credit and earned income tax credit that would decrease income tax collections by $432 million.

Because the pool of taxpayers shrinks in higher income brackets, revenue from taxes on multimillionaires can be volatile year-to-year. Chen said enacting new brackets alongside other tax increases could defray volatility risks.

“The idea here is if we can look at the revenue across the spectrum, we can limit the degree to which volatility in any one tax is going to be affected,” Chen said.

The report says New Jersey should undo a cut enacted under Gov. Chris Christie that brought New Jersey’s sales tax rate to 6.625% — it used to be 7% — and expand the tax to apply to a range of professional services like those provided by attorneys, accountants, and architects, among others.

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Raising the sales tax back to 7% would boost revenue by roughly $700 million, the report says, and expanding the tax to services could raise far more. The report’s authors cautioned those gains would be difficult to predict and depend on which services were subject to taxation.

Including more services could make the state’s sales tax more progressive because a larger share of wealthy residents’ spending goes toward services than toward goods, said Nicole Rodriguez, the think tank’s president.

“For example, rather than buying a lawnmower, they’re hiring a landscaper to work on their lawn. Part of this is not only to ensure equity and fairness in how we’re raising revenue but also around being in line, in step with the economy that we’re growing into more and more,” she said.

Applying sales tax to some services could boost bills for low-income workers, but Chen said that impact could be defrayed somewhat by enacting new exemptions or boosting other tax credits aimed at low- and middle-income residents.

The think tank’s other recommendations call for the state to raise a tax on sales of homes above $1 million from 1% to 3% and impose a 5% tax on homes worth at least $2 million.

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Those taxes would generate $410 million annually — though collections could change drastically based on activity in the housing market — while impacting only 10% of home sales, the report says.

The report says the state should also require corporations to report income from foreign subsidiaries instead of only those based in the United States, arguing the state’s current business tax structure allows corporations to shield some income from taxation.

Mandatory worldwide combined reporting would generate $888 million in tax revenue each year, the report says.

Business groups would oppose a shift to worldwide reporting. New Jersey Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken warned increasing corporations’ tax burden would  harm the state’s economy.

“It’s just finding a different way to attack the business community. It’s going to be money out of their pocket whether you do it with a corporate transit fee, whether you do it with taxing their international income, which they have every right to have in place. It’s all money coming out of the same business community,” he said.

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New Jersey

Boy, 14, charged with intentionally setting 52-acre NJ forest fire

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Boy, 14, charged with intentionally setting 52-acre NJ forest fire


A 14-year-old boy was arrested last week for allegedly igniting a New Jersey forest fire that destroyed 52 acres in an intentional act of arson, police said.

The teen, of Marlton, NJ, is accused of setting the Oct. 30 blaze that tore through an area near Sycamore Drive and the Berlin Township border over several days, and cops are now investigating if he may have played a role in starting an even larger fire, Evesham police announced Wednesday.

Evesham cops, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and Evesham firefighters battled the inferno for multiple days and were able to contain it before any structures were damaged, police said in a press release.

The Oct. 30 fire consumed 52 acres in Evesham, NJ, and was intentionally set, police said. AP

The departments launched an investigation into the fire and soon found evidence suggesting the flames were intentionally set.

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The teenager, whose name was withheld by cops due to his age, was then identified as a suspect.

He was arrested without incident on Nov. 7 and charged with aggravated arson and causing or risking widespread injury or damage. He was booked in Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center, pending his first hearing.

Police are investigating if a 375-acre fire in the same area near Sycamore Drive that started on the same day of his arrest is connected to the Oct. 30 fire. The blaze was extinguished after firefighters battled it for multiple days.

Police are investigating if a second, large fire in the area is linked to the Oct. 30 one. AP
The 14-year-old boy was charged with aggravated arson and causing or risking widespread injury or damage. AP

Forest fires have burned through several areas in New York and New Jersey over the past few weeks as record-breaking dry weather coupled with powerful winds have battered the region.

An 18-year-old New York parks worker was killed Saturday battling a since-extinguished wildfire that crossed both states.

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Five states — New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts — are under fire weather warnings.

New York City is under a “Red Flag Warning” issued by the National Weather Service over the increased risk of brushfires.

Elsewhere in New York and New Jersey, firefighters are struggling to contain a massive forest fire consuming more than 7,000 acres across both states near Greenwood Lake’s eastern edge. The inferno, dubbed the Jennings Creek fire, was only 30% contained as of Wednesday afternoon.

A bushfire in Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park was the latest to ignite on Wednesday afternoon — sending thick smoke high above the city skyline.

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Plans to convert Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey to a 252-room hotel

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Plans to convert Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey to a 252-room hotel


Ocean City planning group photo in front of shuttered landmark Gillian’s Wonderland Pier

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Ocean City planning group photo in front of shuttered landmark Gillian’s Wonderland Pier

03:23

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Plans to build a new resort at the former Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, New Jersey, are taking shape.

The new owner confirmed to CBS News Philadelphia that his team at ICONA Resorts presented the plans to the Boardwalk Merchants Association.

Those plans call for a new 252-room hotel that will be called, “Icona in Wonderland.” The plans also include retail space along the Boardwalk at 6th Street.

The iconic Ferris wheel and carousel would remain on site. To become a reality, all of these plans still have to be approved by Ocean City officials.

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ICONA Resorts


The president of the Friends of Ocean City New Jersey History and Culture opposes the plans, saying the resort is not a good fit for the historic shore town.

Wonderland Pier closed its doors in October, leaving bittersweet memories for families and community members not ready to say goodbye. Friends of Ocean City New Jersey History and Culture organized a community photo with hopes of sparking new ideas and helping save the 94-year-old institution.

After years of financial troubles, Jay Gillian, the owner of Gillian’s and the mayor of Ocean City, announced in August the amusement pier was closing for good, saying it’s no longer a viable business.

Back in August, Roy Gillian, founder of Wonderland Pier and a former Ocean City mayor, died at 94. He opened Wonderland Pier in 1965 at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk, later founding Gillian’s Island and Adventure Golf.

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