Here's what you need to know this morning.
Seat of Gilmore down to the wire
Liberal candidate Andrew Constance is slightly in the lead for the marginal seat of Gilmore on the state's south coast, with counting set to continue this morning.
Just 306 votes separate the Labor incumbent Fiona Phillips and Liberal candidate Andrew Constance, with about 80 per cent of ballots counted.
A further 1,316 postal votes will start to be counted at a large warehouse being used by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) at Port Kembla.
There will also be an automatic recount of the seat including all polling booths and preference allocations by AEC staff because of the close margin.
Ms Phillips has held the seat since 2019, which covers three local government areas, Kiama, Shoalhaven and the northern parts of Eurobodalla.
Constance resigned as member for Bega early in 2022, to be Liberal candidate for Gilmore.
Police recruits dwindle due to associated costs
The newly elected president of the NSW Police Association says new police recruits are not signing up due to the costs involved, resulting in a looming police shortage.
Kevin Morton says the situation is so critical that a new intake of officers in June had to be cancelled.
Mr Morton is due to address the Police Association of NSW conference in Wollongong, south of Sydney, today.
He says now that training is linked to university, it costs around $17,000 to qualify.
"We used to have a model where you would apply to be a police officer, go to the academy and you were paid while you learned," he says.
"But we have a situation now where you have to actually pay to go to do a university certificate," Mr Morton said.
Ban on single-use plastic bags from next week
The ban on lightweight single-use plastic bags will come into force next week in New South Wales.
From next Wednesday, people will no longer be able to rely on these bags at the grocery check-out.
Then from November other single-use plastics will also be banned, including straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls and cotton buds.
Environment Minister James Griffin said people have had plenty of warning about the change, which is designed to reduce more than half the amount of plastic litter in the environment.
"And as a result of the ban that's coming into effect, it means that people across New South Wales will remove more than 2.7 billion plastic items that would have ordinarily gone into landfill or our environment over the next 20 years," he said.
Heavy overnight rain causes road flooding
Heavy rain throughout the night has caused some roads across Sydney to flood.
The persistent rain affected Canterbury Road and Parramatta Road but did not stop cars driving through the puddles.
Light showers are expected across Sydney today, most likely near the coast, with a chance of thunderstorms according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).
BOM has also issued a hazardous surf warning along the entire NSW coast, warning of dangerous swimming and boating conditions.
Rain will continue throughout the week and looking to ease by the weekend.
Grants for flood-affected school communities
Teachers and families of students affected by the devastating floods in the Northern Rivers a couple of months ago can now access financial help.
The grants of up to $1,000 for teachers and $500 for students are in recognition of the disruption and trauma faced by these communities as they continue to rebuild.
"Families can use the student support for school- related expenses such as uniforms, books, pencils, lunch boxes or excursions," Minister for Education and Early Learning Sarah Mitchell said.
"I also want to provide assurance to students that they will be supported to continue working towards reaching their goals."
Ms Mitchell also said the education standards body was monitoring the challenges being faced by students particularly those undertaking their HSC.
The funding is part of the state government's $67 million Education Flood Recovery Package.
School communities in the Lismore, Ballina, Byron, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Clarence Valley and Tweed local government areas are eligible to receive the assistance.
Second Japanese encephalitis death in NSW
A man in his 60s is the second person to die from Japanese encephalitis in New South Wales.
The man from the Corowa area in the state's south was diagnosed with the virus in March and died on Friday, May 20 at Albury Base Hospital.
Thirteen people have so far been infected across the state since the mosquito-borne virus was first detected earlier this year.
NSW Health said the numbers of mosquitoes had declined but urged people to take steps to protect themselves including covering arms and legs when going outdoors, and applying repellent.
Those most at risk from the virus, which can infect animals and humans, include workers in piggeries, animal transport and veterinarians.
A man in his 70s from Griffith was the first person to die from the disease in NSW.
