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Briana: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News" -- Game over?

Sorry, Camden, the mayor of Philadelphia says the 76ers are staying put, announcing plans for a billion-dollar downtown arena.

Plus, hazard NJ, the EPA plans to enact a permanent plan took -- to clean up the Superfund site as the community sounds off.

>> Human health and the environment are primary missions.

Briana: Also a nonprofit expanding its medication assessment treatment services for people with Opio disorders.

>> Our mission is for everyone to have access to quality health care regardless of what you are and where you live.

Briana: And more on play-by-play broadcaster Noah Eagle.

>> They've got about 36 million fans in that country alone and I think you can feel it.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ Announcer: From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight news" with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us this Friday night.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few key stories we are following.

First, the dream of bringing the 76ers arena to the Camden waterfront may be dashed.

The mayor of Philadelphia announce an agreement this week to keep the team in the city and build a $1.3 billion sports arena.

The action comes weeks after New Jersey offered the Sixers hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives to build the site just across the river here in Camden, which the team was reportedly seriously considering.

The New Jersey EDA released a rendering of a proposed arena that was so extravagant, it sparked a Cross River battle.

But the project still faces a number of hurdles.

It needs approval from Philly city Council for one and the plans are getting major pushback from neighbors and activists of the city's Chinatown who have felt the squeeze of development there for the last few decades.

That means New Jersey is down but not necessarily out.

Also tonight, a shakeup in the Jersey City burial race -- mayoral race.

Solomon last night kicked off his campaign bit in front of a crowd of hundreds at the Jersey City theater.

Solomon has held a council seat since 2017 and has become known for bucking the political establishment, much like Mayor Steven Fulop did as an up-and-coming Council member.

He emphasized unity in his speech and vowed to work on issues like rising property taxes.

He touted accomplishments like passing legislation to end tax abatements for luxury development and protections for Liberty State Park.

Solomon was an early supporter of Congressman Angie Kim's bid for the U.S. Senate seat and banking on the momentum of those grassroots operations.

But he's got a battle ahead, facing competition from former Governor Jim McGreevey, Jersey City Board of Education President Ali, and Hudson County Commissioner Bill O'Day.

And a landslide victory for former New York -- no work city Council President -- Newark city Council President who won the 10th Congressional District seat to fill out the remainder of junior's term.

She defeated her rival Republican with more than 80% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, which called the race shortly after a proposed close -- the polls closed.

The Democrat was heavily favored to win after a victory in a crowded primary in July but she will face him again in November to fill the full two-year term in Congress, she becomes the first black woman to represent the district and the second to represent New Jersey, also making it the first time New Jersey has ever had three women serving together in Congress.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency wants your input on the cleanup of one of the state's most toxic Superfund sites.

A nearly six acre stretch of land known as the diamonds alkali site, a site we focused on in our hazard NJ podcast, where the chemical company for years dumped hazardous waste into the Passaic River, polluting nearby communities in and around newark's ironbound.

They saw an interim cleanup of the site back in the 1980's and is proposing a more permanent fix.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the details.

Reporter: What lies beneath the cement in Newark's ironbound makes it one of the most toxic Superfund sites.

The chemical plant manufactured agent orange, used as a defoliant during Vietnam war.

It poisoned the site with a cancer-causing byproduct so toxic, the EPA sent workers in moon suits to vacuum the streets when cleanup started in 1983.

Residents remember that.

During a public hearing on the site's future, they asked via Zoom -- >> What is the plan to keep the community safe?

They were sitting outside watching people with hazmat suits cleaning up.

>> The committee has no access -- there are no risks from it.

Reporter: For 37 years, they say they have imprisoned the toxic chemicals on-site, locked up within underground story walls.

They believe that is the best most cost-effective option to safely secure the site for years to come.

>> Provides long-term protection for both human health and the environment, which is our primary mission.

Reporter: EPA officials said the material.

He remains far too dangerous to excavate and there is no place to dump it.

It will optimize containment, assess and repair the, reactivate and reinstall extraction wells that remove tainted groundwater, a great the system to treat -- upgrade the system to treat the water and continued to regularly repair and review the site, monitoring it for problems.

>> And by reactivating and installing new extraction wells along the flood walls, we aim to improve the groundwater capture and containment and prevent any contamination from migrating from the site.

Reporter: Another resident asked about decontamination.

>> Will it be another decade to see how technology progresses?

>> It's been 37 years and we have been looking at the technologies over time and there has not really been anything new that can treat the material.

Reporter: The EPA's proposal would cost $16 million and take a year to implement.

The site is protected by flood walls designed to withstand hundred year storms.

But with ocean levels rising and threatening neighborhoods along the Passaic River, advocates worry.

>> What is the life expectancy of the remedy that is in place?

Are we going to have to replace any of the components in time?

Reporter: The site also leached dioxin into the Passaic River where they have already removed some contaminated mud with a larger EPA cleanup awaiting along miles of waterway.

For now, ironbound residents remain focused on the cement expands along Lister Avenue.

>> Dioxin is one of the most carcinogenic substances known and that is what we are facing.

We have to be really careful.

Reporter: The public comment period on the EPA containment proposal remains open until October 10th.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Earlier this week, we reported on the declining numbers of opioid overdose deaths both nationally and here in New Jersey.

Many public health experts attribute that progress to the growth of community-based programs using overdose and to those like Naloxone and the expansion of medication assisted treatment or MAT services.

The use of medications with counseling and behavioral therapies to treat substance use disorders.

This week, and a nonprofit community health center in Sussex County announced that is increasing that service for patients with drug addiction, with the help of a $300,000 grant.

Raven Santana visited Zufall Health to see how they are putting the money to use.

Reporter: Dominic Hornack says after struggling with a heroin addiction for some 20 years, he now has not used drugs for two months and credits Zufall health.

>> The way he talked to me, like a human being, it was really important.

A a lot of doctors don't do that.

Reporter: He says that on profit which provides primary care and supportive services to low income residents across the state was able to prescribe him medically assisted treatment, or MAT, using medication to normalize brain chemistry, body functions, block the air for a good effects of alcohol and lesson cravings to help people maintain recovery from SUDS.

>> as soon as I took it, I almost felt normal.

I was like, wow, I have not felt like this in a long time without using drugs.

Reporter: He was one of a handful of people who spoke at Zufall's location to kick off the expansion of their MAT services in seven different counties.

The expansion was made possible by a $300,000 two-year grant to New Jersey safety net innovation program, which started last year.

>> The impetus behind that program is in harmony with our mission, at the foundation, for everyone to have access to quality health care, regardless of who you are or where you live.

Reporter: The president and CEO says the grant is being used and distributed to support the clinic's providers who can prescribe MAT in all of the locations.

The goal is for someone who may be receiving a check up to also feel comfortable talking to a doctor about their addiction.

>> Zufall offers services in seven counties in New Jersey, Morris, Essex, Sussex, Warren, Hunter 10, Somerset, and Middlesex, so we were able to hire a medication assisted -- assistant treatment coordinator and add the addiction specialist.

Their work will be in supporting our other primary care providers and getting them to be comfortable and supported in their addition of substance use disorder in their practice.

>> If we do not increase the number of primary care providers that are caring for folks with substance use disorders, we will never take care of all the problems.

We can't meet the need.

Reporter: Dr. Michael Gannon is the addiction medicine physician test with training and consulting primary care providers at all the Zufall sites with how to treat patients with substance use disorder, specifically opioid use.

>> Folks are getting treatment for the behavioral aspects of their care in one place, the medical aspects of their disease are treated by somebody like myself, or by a primary care provider who is comfortable treating that.

Folks see that folks that struggle with opiate use disorder are just like other patients -- then that breaks down the stigma itself.

Reporter: Dr. Gannon says they now hope to expand the program to be able to serve more patients in more locations and encourages anyone struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, with or without insurance, to make an appointment at one of Zufall's locations.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.

>> Support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Briana: In our Spotlight on business report, the oldest horse racing track in the country is shutting down.

The historic freehold Raceway where racing began in 1853 will cease operations at the end of the year.

The track has become a landmark both for the area and the state.

Employees and freehold's mayor say they were blindsided by Thursday's decision, but the Raceway's General manager said in a statement there is no possible way forward under existing conditions.

The facility is jointly owned by Penn entertainment and Greenway racing.

The closure will not affect Monolith racetrack or the Meadowlands and it is unclear what will happen to the property now.

Officials are hopeful a buyer will emerge to continue running the track.

Freehold is the third horse racing track to close in New Jersey since 2001.

Well, New Jersey is known for its most famous inventor, the great Thomas Edison, but what about the number of innovators whose stories have never been told or suppressed?

Like those of many Black inventors?

We highlight the contributions of inventors with James Howard, in the studio with me now.

Great to meet you.

What inspired you to set out on this venture to create a museum?

>> Wow.

I would say about four years ago, I was sitting in a studio similar to this, except it was virtual, and the producer at the end of that show asked me, he says, James, you know so much about Black inventors and so much about history, have you ever thought about opening up a Black inventors Hall of Fame?

And that sort of marinated for about three months, and three months later he and I were both opening the Black inventors Hall of Fame.

Briana: So you start this nonprofit, who and what are you looking to highlight?

Who are some of the inventors you think the public needs to know about?

>> Yes, we are going to begin with Ellen Eggman, a domestic servant from Washington, D.C. who in 1888 designed a device that revolutionized that industry -- problem was, she was afraid to get her name up there, so rather than sign the patent in her name, she gave over the rights to an agent.

He went on to make millions on this device.

She made $18.

Right?

Three years later, when asked why she sold her patent for so little, this is what she said, "you know I'm Black, if it had been known that a colored woman designed the product, white women would not have purchased it."

It shook the women's innovation magazine.

Briana: That's powerful.

I must think that there are so many similar stories like that and more that you have unearthed.

>> Yes, indeed.

The most poignant, in fact, is that of Charles Frederick Page.

Charles Frederick Page was an enslaved man who raised 13 kids, self-taught, and yet he was ambitious enough to design an airship and then have the audacity and the passion to try to sell that airship, not necessarily sell it but try to ship that airship off to the 1904 Louisiana world fair -- Briana, unfortunately, it never made it, it was stolen.

It was interrupted.

And the world has never seen Charles Frederick Page's airship.

However, we are in fact building and re-creating the airship for the museum so guests will be able to come and see what this man envisioned.

The largeness, the grandeur.

He ponded all his hopes and dreams into having that airship arrive at the Louisiana fair because it was a competition.

Everyone around the world submitted their planes and their airships and everything.

His never made it.

But here's an interesting fact -- He acquired his patent two years later, exactly 42 days before the Wright brothers attained their patent.

Think about that.

Briana: Wow.

That is remarkable.

And the way that changes the course of history.

>> Precisely.

Briana: So, you are a historian by trade and a lot of research has to go into this.

I know it's looking like you are going to acquire a speech in West Orange to be able to put this museum out there for folks.

What do you want them to know?

What should people know about coming to see this work, this ingenuity?

>> I think what I want them to know is that this is a place for everyone to become inspired, to become informed.

There is this humanistic quality in all of us that just wants to know how others achieve, right?

And at the core of my mission is to influence young, impressionable Black kids who will see for the first time -- This is a story that Charles Frederick Page -- This is a story that no one knows about.

Can you imagine if his dream had not been interrupted, how many more young impressionable kids may have aspired to be pilots, may have aspired to be engineers, may have aspired to dream big?

Briana: James Howard, thank you so much for your inspiration.

Thank you for coming in.

>> My absolute pleasure.

Thank you.

Briana: And finally tonight, a story of one New Jersey kid who is living out his dream.

In the span of nine years, Noah Eagle went from delivering the morning announcement at his Essex County high school to giving the prime time play-by-play for the NFL.

The son of famed basketball and football announcer Ian Eagle recently got the chance to be the voice of the Eagles Packers game in Brazil, and as Ted Goldberg tells us, he is one of the fastest rising announcers in network sports.

Reporter: A decade ago, Noah Eagle was the force of the morning announcements here at West Essex high school.

A few more people can hear him now, as Eagle's career has seen him become the voice of team USA basketball, the Paris Olympics, and the NFL.

He recently spoke with me after getting back from Brazil, where he provided play-by-play for the NFL's first game there >> When we were talking to the players and coaches, I felt like they put it best, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

It had never been done before.

There had never been a game there.

So to see the support that exists already for the NFL in Brazil was pretty remarkable.

The NFL estimates they've got about 36 million fans in that country alone, and I think you could feel it.

There were jerseys not necessarily just for the two teams that we saw, but we saw a bunch of Tom Brady jerseys -- but it was cool to see it up close and personal and I think it is something that the NFL is certainly going to capitalize on moving forward.

>> New York to Brazil is a bit of a schlep.

Was it a business trip for you or were you able to see some cool stuff while you were down there?

>> It was definitely a business trip.

And it was probably a trip that sparked an interest in me on a personal level.

Generally, with these trips, I get asked this all the time, I get to go to, you name the place, they go, "did you get to explore?"

No, I was still working.

Even if I'm not at the stadium, I'm getting ready to go to the stadium in many ways, whether it's taking notes, learning about players, reading articles, watching videos.

>> Were you able to get good local food out there?

I don't know if you are more of a room service kind of guy.

>> Yeah, I would say it was mostly that, but the food was great, I can say that the steak was off the charts, which is expected when you get to Brazil.

But they do a number of things.

-- do a number of things well.

There's a specific Brazil cheese bread that I don't even know how to pronounce it -- the correct name, if I'm being honest.

Reporter: Eagle heard concerns about safety in Sao Paulo, a city with more than 11 million people.

While some of the players were worried, the New Jersey native told me he was not.

>> Any time we have a condensed area with a lot of people naturally there's going to be some level of danger, some level of concern, but I think that so long as you are aware, and that's what we were, then certainly the players once they got there, it sounds like they did the same, you can absolutely function that way.

It was not like it was a nonfunctioning area.

It was probably blown out of proportion a little bit.

When we got to Paris, I had done two trips there this past summer, one for the French Open and one for the Olympics, we were told the same thing, do not walk around with your phone out like this, you are going to showcase you are a tourist.

Don't look lost this way or that way.

Reporter: Not surprisingly, Noah spoke with his father about the trip, fellow broadcaster Ian Eagle, the voice of the Brooklyn Nets, and a very proud papa.

>> He loves to just talk it through.

More so we just talk about life.

How the other side of it was.

How the trip was, how much fun we had, what we enjoyed, what we did, all that type of stuff, we talked about the game.

He watched from Cincinnati where he was for his week one game.

And I think he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed the fact that it was a fun game.

Reporter: And another milestone for a fast riser from New Jersey, in the world of sports broadcasting.

Frenchy spotlight news, I'm Ted Goldberg.

Briana: And finally tonight, we continue dropping episodes of our "NJ decides 2024 election exchange" podcast.

Remember all 12 U.S. House seats are up for grabs and one Senate seat is on the line.

This is a chance for you to meet the candidates and hear why they think they deserve your vote.

Today's episode which is the only Senate race on November's ballot where sitting Congressman auntie Kim is going head-to-head with Republican Curtis Basha.

Here's a preview.

>> Regardless of what your political affiliation is, you're going to be concerned about high costs right now, those are things that transcend.

I get it, we have some differences of opinions in terms of, how do we go about doing it?

But I hope people see in me someone who is earnestly trying to address this.

I've worked under both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.

I have focused on national security when I worked out in Afghanistan as a civilian advisor.

No one out there asked you if you are Democrat or Republican, you are just serving the country.

And I think people want a lot more of that in our politics.

>> He is a political insider.

He has only worked in Washington, D.C.

He's more of a bureaucrat.

I'm a businessman.

People are ready for change.

I am really driving up the middle of the Turnpike here as a centrist Republican, and he is a member of the Progressive Party.

He's one of the most far left candidates for the U.S. Senate we have ever had in our state.

And I think New Jersey independent voters and even some Democrats want to get things done for our state -- we are 49th in what we get back from the federal government, we have been a donor state for far too long.

I think we need practical, common sense minded business people that know how to work across the aisle.

Briana: You can check it out by downloading the NJ decides election exchange podcast wherever you listen.

That's going to do it for us this week.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great weekend.

We will see you right back here on Monday.

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