The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 68

Geraldo can't shake reputation Cod reception at NBC, A-8 IN SPORTS Girls hoops season opens on Friday S5! Rookie Keith Van Horn snaps a tie with 1: 12 to play as New Jersey ends an 11-game spell against Detroit, B-l Dorcas Miller leads Bridgewater-Raritan, B-l Hunterdon County Edition Thursday December 18, 1997 irpn 0 35 cents A Gannett newspaper serving Central Jersey Bridgewater (908) 722-8800 ff Parking debate may stall mall plan BRIDGEWATER: Autopsy report shows resident died from smoke inhalation By LARRY HIGGS Staff Writer ill IV Hr BRIDGEWATER Fire followed a furious path through eight condominiums here Tuesday, and investigators are trying to explain why. "Fire travel is an issue they're looking at," Bridgewater police Chief Richard Voorhees I i 4' MORE ON FIRE, A-5 For some, the hardest part was seeing what was left. State fire codes failed to prevent the condo fire. EDITORIAL: State should study fatal blaze. A-13.

said Wednesday. How did it jump to the upper level as fast as it did? We're still trying to finalize what happened." The initial call to authorities at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday was from someone complaining of smoke in the area. When firefighters arrived five minutes later, they found flames through the roof. The blaze started in a first-floor condo and spread quickly upstairs, over the roof and into neighboring units.

It killed i -y 1 one woman, critically injured her parents and damaged 16 Vander-haven Farm condominiums, eight of which were destroyed. On Wednesday, firefighters were called back to the damaged condos on Lindsley Road after By ANNA FARNESKI Staff Writer A judge may give North Plainfield a second chance at fighting off a shopping center slated for Route 22. Judge Victor Ashrafi told attorneys Wednesday he will hear arguments Jan. 12 on whether there is adequate parking for the proposed Watchung Square Mall. Opponents of the mall, North Plain-field residents and the borough have been waging a legal battle to stop its development.

Plans for Watchung Square which will be roughly the size of the Bridgewater Commons include a 14-screen movie theater, a Home Depot and other big-name stores. In October, Ashrafi nearly paved the way for developers to break ground on the mall. However, he ordered the Watchung Planning Board to reconsider the parking space requirements it set down previously for the mall. He agreed with North Plain-field's contention that the board incorrectly interpreted the local shared parking ordinance and ruled that the proposed 612 slots are inadequate. Developers later obtained a second variance from the board allowing 612 spaces in which the board detailed its reasons for granting the variance.

During a hearing Wednesday in state Superior Court in Somerville, Michael Rosenbaum, the developer's attorney, asked the judge to immediately hear arguments on the subject. He said Watchung Square Associates, his clients, had spent "astronomical" sums on the project so far and wanted to resolve the matter before the end of the year. "We have committed business interests that really need to be addressed," Rosenbaum said. Ashrafi set the hearing date, noting that neither he nor North Plainfield's attorney, Brian Hak, were expecting to handle the matter Wednesday. ft a mattress ignited in a charred second-floor unit.

Staff photo by Ed Pagliarml Firefighters on Wednesday spray the remains of the burned out condos on Lindsley Road in Bridgewater. Selfless victim carea or eic 14 fi By JASON ALT Staff Writer "In everything she did, she never thought of herself. Country Hills and Bradley Gardens firefighters quickly doused it and combed the building for other hot spots. Bridgewater Fire Official Gary Ewald said it is common for fires of such magnitude to reignite. An autopsy Wednesday found Diane T.

Mer-cadante, 50, died of smoke inhalatioa Rescuers found her body under debris, but medical examiners concluded the falling debris did not kill the woman, said Frank Apisa, Somerset County Prosecutor's Office chief of detectives. Her parents, Felix and Diane M. Mer-cadante, scored a slight victory Wednesday in their fight for life at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where relatives were at their sides. Their condition was upgraded slightly, said Robin Lally, a hospital spokeswoman.

"They're doing as well as can be expected," Lally said. "They're in critical but stable condition. It's a little bit of an upgrade." Mr. Mercadante was burned over 30 percent of his body; his wife had burns over 18 percent of her body, Apisa said. Both also had esophagus burns and were breathing with a respirator.

Three dozen of the Mercadantes' neighbors are staying with relatives or friends. Some could return home by the weekend. Pending a review by inspectors, up to six units in the least damaged end of the 16-condo building could be reopened to residents then, Ewald said. "Families will be able to get in, We're just not sure when," Ewald said Wednesday at the Lindsley Road complex. "We're checking for structural damage, smoke and heat damage." Police ordered a chain-link fence erected around the damaged section of the building to guard homes from trespassers while officials continue their investigation.

Arson investigators determined that a faulty wire inside a pole lamp shorted and set curtains on fire in a first-floor unit downstairs and behind the Mercadantes' home. from their second-floor condominium. The younger Diane Mercadante had worked in a mail room for nearly 20 years before she quit her job to care for Mercadante Lesbians, gay men can adopt in Jersey BRIDGEWATER Diane Mercadante's life revolved around helping others, even in her final moments. "In everything she did, she never thought of herself," said Ryan Phillips, 17, of Branchburg, her godson and nephew. "Even when she died, she was trying to get out for help for my grandparents, to get them down from the balcony." Mercadante, 50, a self-employed care-giver for seniors, died Tuesday of carbon monoxide poisoning from smoke inhalation in a fire that destroyed the condominium she shared with her parents, who were injured in the blaze.

Felix and Diane M. Mercadante, both 80, remained hospitalized Wednesday with severe burns. Emergency workers rescued them Even when she died, she was trying to get out for help for my -grandparents." Mercadante's godson and nephew, Ryan Phillips, 17, of Branchburg OBITUARY Diane T. Mercadante was care-giver. C-3.

her parents. She previously lived in Middlesex. She worked part time as a caregiver for sick people and seniors, a job she loved, Phillips said. She took them for medical treatment, cooked meals and spent time with them. Mercadante had "a heart of gold" that shined brightest when she was helping other family members, some of whom had been See VICTIMS on Page A-5 Staff photo by Ed Pagliarini Firefighters remove smoldering debris Wednesday as the crews began cleaning up rubble left by the fire.

Weather i 'Titanic' timing may not be right Mostly sunny and pleasant, high 50. Cloudy at night, low 25. i mrt n-rr-mnrm-iimi nm Full weather report, A-3. By ROBERT MAKIN Staff Writer By JEFFREY GOLD The Associated Press NEWARK A settlement announced Wednesday in a class-action lawsuit gives gay and unmarried couples the right to adopt children on equal footing with married couples. New Jersey is the first state to permit such adoptions, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which announced the settlement.

absolutely thrilled," said Lenora Lapidus, legal director of the state's ACLU chapter and co-counsel in the lawsuit. "This means lesbian and gay couples will be judged not on their sexual orientation or their marital status, but only on whether they can be good parents. "This is a historic victory for lesbians and gay men." A consent decree approved by a state judge nullifies a state policy to which there had been at least two exceptions made recently. The order takes effect immediately. In one of the recent exceptions, a gay couple in Bergen County were granted joint adoption of their foster child, a 2-year-old boy named Adam, by a family court judge.

The men, Jon Holden and Michael Galluccio, of Maywood, were also the leading plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit seeking to overturn the state regulation that barred unmarried couples from joint adoption. Index File photo In Get Out! New movie epic tells vivid story of doomed luxury ship. 'Tomorrow Never Dies' brings James Bond back to the big screen. Does he save the world again? ReviewD-13. Titanic has shattered a Hollywood spending record.

C-5 Bridge C-10 Local C-1 Business B-9 Movies D-13 Classified C-6 Obituaries C-3 Comics B-7 Our Towns C-2 Crossword C-10 People B-6 Crvptoquote C-10 Religion B-5 Editorials A-13 Sports B-1 Get Out! D-1 Television B-6 What you can do Contact the International Titanic Society at P.O. Box 7007, Freehold, N.J. 07728 "The Titanic," the most expensive movie ever made, may not float with moviegoers when it opens nationwide Friday. Rutgers University film curator Al Nigrin thinks "Titanic" will be a disaster at the box office, because people won't want to be depressed during the holidays. "People are depressed enough this time of year," Nigrin said.

"Who's going to interrupt their holiday shopping to go see a disaster movie?" But the $200 million, three-hour and 15-minute disaster film gets an A-from George Haas, co-author of four books about the tragic ship. "There are parts that left my jaw ence, Greek fate, all the if-onlys about the voyage In two-and-a-half hours, this drama unfolds and you see human beings at their very best and in some cases, their very worst" Razvan Rosea, a 26-year-old Cameron fan, can't wait to see those effects, but he also hopes the film has a cohesive story. "I'm not philosophically opposed to spending $200 million on a film," the Warren resident said. "If he can get that kind of money, more power to him. But if I pay $8 for trash like 'Independence I'm being swindled." covery Channel documentaries on the subject "I think it will make its money back." The more than one million visitors to exhibits of Titanic artifacts and readers of some 130 books about the 1912 disaster will want to see the film, said Haas, co-founder of the Freehold-based International Titanic Society.

The organization, one of dozens in the world, was founded in 1989 with 50 members. It now has 900 members in 24 countries, Haas said. "The story is not finished and there's so many ways to approach it," he said. "Naval architecture, sci open in amazement as far as the special effects go," said Haas, an English teacher at Randolph High School who has participated in three expeditions to the Titanic and three Dis- FOR HOME DELIVERY BY 6 A.M. CALL (800) 675-8645 TO BUY A CLASSIFIED AD: CALL (800) 675-7519 See ADOPT on Page A-5 4.