Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show on Monday:

⬛ Dick Codey, who steadied NJ during scandal, dies at 79

🕯️ Richard J. Codey, the state’s longest-serving lawmaker, has died at 79 after a brief illness
🏛️ Codey became governor unexpectedly in 2004 after the McGreevey scandal rocked Trenton
❤️ Known statewide for mental health advocacy, Codey spent 50 years in public office

Richard J. Codey, a familiar name in Trenton for more than half a century and who became governor after the shocking resignation of a scandal-plagued governor who came out of the closet, has died after a brief illness. The Democrat from Essex County was 79.

A former funeral director, teacher, and insurance broker, Codey was known for his plainspoken style, sharp humor and deep knowledge of state government.

Codey was never elected governor. In 2004, then-Gov. James McGreevey resigned abruptly at a news conference in which he announced that he was "a gay American," triggering a succession rule that elevated Codey to acting governor.

For 14 months, Codey held the state’s top job while also remaining Senate president. Since then, New Jersey created the elected office of lieutenant governor to serve in the absence of a governor.

⬛ Controversy Over Possible ICE Facility in Morris County Intensifies Amid Nationwide Outrage

ROXBURY TWP., N.J. — As protests over the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent spread nationwide, New Jersey residents are also protesting a possible new ICE detention facility in Morris County.

According to reporting first published by The Washington Post, ICE is considering establishing new detention centers in vacant warehouses around the country, with Morris County’s Roxbury Township named as a potential location. The proposed facility could hold up to 1,500 people, though plans remain preliminary and “subject to change,” local officials say.

The possibility of a detention site has sparked protests and community pushback, even though no formal federal plan has been publicly announced. Around 200 people gathered Sunday in Roxbury to oppose the idea, holding signs like “No ICE in Roxbury” and voicing concern about impacts on immigrant communities in nearby towns such as Hackettstown.

Locals and advocacy groups say the protests tie directly into broader anger toward ICE activities nationwide, especially following the Minneapolis incident that has triggered demonstrations across New Jersey and beyond. Many fear a new facility would increase enforcement operations and strain trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.

Town leaders say they have not received official confirmation from ICE and are seeking clarity on whether a facility will actually move forward. For now, the prospect continues to fuel community organizing and calls for legislative limits on federal enforcement within the state.

⬛ Man charged after rock smashes school bus; girl undergoes surgery

🚨3rd grade girl seriously injured when a rock smashed through a school bus window
🚨State Police link suspect to multiple rock-throwing incidents
🚨The girl is recovering from surgery, according to Teaneck's mayor

TEANECK — A man was charged with throwing a rock at a school bus near the New Jersey Turnpike, hitting an 8-year-old girl in the head on Thursday.

State Police said the bus carrying third graders was headed north on Route 95 and had just exited at Exit 70 (Leonia/Teaneck) when it was struck by a driver around 2:10 p.m. The bus was returning from a class trip to the Liberty Science Center. The third grader suffered a fractured skull that required surgery, according to the Yeshivat Noam Jewish school in Paramus.

Hernando Garciamorales, 40, from Palisades Park, was charged after being found at a "self-made campsite" within Old Croaker County Park in Bergen County. Route 95 runs through the park. He was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal mischief, resisting arrest by flight, and hindering. Garciamorales is being held at the Bergen County Jail.

⬛ New Jersey still has the cheapest gas in the Northeast

💲 NJ continues to have the cheapest gas in the Northeast, according to GasBuddy
💲 Wholesale prices continue to trend down allowing retailers to absorb the increase
💲 Prices will likely start going up in mid-February

Even with a 4.2 cent increase in the state gas tax, New Jersey has the cheapest gas in the northeast, according to Gas Buddy.

Gas Buddy analyst Patrick De Haan said wholesale prices continued to trend down into the new year allowing retailers to take the hit rather than increase their price at the pump. The statewide average as of Friday was $2.79, a decrease of three cents. It's down 18 cents per gallon compared to a year ago.

"If stations are more profitable, they might just not raise prices; they might just kind of take it on the chin. The tax is still implemented, but stations may have just absorbed the increase out of their margin instead of raising prices," De Haan told New Jersey 101.5. "The stations essentially decided that they were okay with taking less margin and not having to raise prices."

New Jersey has carved a spot for the lowest gas prices in the northeast with Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, all quite a bit higher, according to De Haan. New York's average is $2.99, Pennsylvania is at $3.04 and Maryland at $2.83.

⬛ Family slams portrayal of off-duty firefighter after NJ crash

🚨Wrong-way crash on Route 80 in Totowa killed 2 people
🚨Victim’s family says coverage is unfair
🚨Accusing media of portraying the off-duty firefighter driver as a hero

TOTOWA — The family of a woman killed in a head-on crash on Route 80 with an off-duty firefighter is upset at coverage they say puts her in a poor light.

The crash happened at 2 a.m. Jan. 5 when Joanne Furman, 60, of Norwich, Connecticut, was headed west in a Buick SUV with her daughter, Imani Furman, 24, and her 2-year-old son. Traveling in the opposite direction but on the wrong side of the road was Albin Fermin, 30, in a Honda sedan. He struck the SUV head-on near Minnisink Road in Totowa.

Furman's daughter and Fermin were killed in the crash. Joanne Furman was seriously injured while the toddler suffered injuries described as moderate.

Fermin had been a member of Newark Fire Department's Engine 10 since February 2024, according to Newark Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda Sr.

Janice Furman, Imani's grandmother, told CBS New York that she resents that Fermin is bring portrayed as a hero.

"It wasn't my daughter's fault. It was not her fault," she said. "They're showing pictures of [Fermin], his family and the whole team of his fire department. 'We're going to miss you.' Almost like a heroic thing."

"This isn't heroic. He killed someone."

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You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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