The Morning Briefing April 25, 2012

NEW YORK – This morning, the villain for every New York-bound commuter is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, who is trying to screw about 300,000 New Jerseyans with a revived commuter tax. NJ Spotlight reports the 0.45 percent tax has little chance of passing, but trying to stoke a senseless border tax war with New Jersey gets the self-interested Stringer what he wants: some extra votes in New York.

BERNARDSVILLE – Announcer: "Mitt Romney: You've won the Republication nomination for President! What are you going to do next?" Mitt: "I'm going to Bernardsville!" That's right, Romney will be celebrating yesterday's primary wins in five Northeastern states by headlining a fundraiser tonight in Bernardsville for U.S. Senate candidate Joe Kyrillos at the home of a prominent attorney.

RIDGEWOOD – Here's a story sure to get plenty of news coverage; it brings together the two elements the media finds irresistible: kids and pets. Children at Willard Elementary School will today be reading books to some state police K-9 dogs as a way to improve skills and build confidence. Nice, but will these confused dogs have any inkling what these kids are doing? Of course not, but don't dare say that to the teary-eyed soccer mom juggling two cameras and an iPhone.

ON CAMPUS – As the Assembly Budget Committee today grapples with the Governor's proposed higher education budget, labor unions representing professors and professional staff will be protesting on seven public college campuses. The key is to have plenty of student involvement today, otherwise it will just come across as self-interested unions protecting their perks. Many students - drowning in loans and bracing for even more tuition hikes - couldn't care less about contractual raises for professors or what percentage these people pay for health insurance. But, still, the union needs to show this is all about the kids.

ATLANTIC CITY – Hey, for any media who couldn't make it to the Golden Nugget casino yesterday for a PR event to promote a $150 million rehab, no problem! The casino has decided to offer more media tours today. And, hey, if you can't make it, no problem, we bet they will do the tours again tomorrow, the next day and the next. No problem. Just please, please come, OK?

PAULSBORO – If you look out on the Delaware River today, something will appear very, very wrong. Twenty government agencies, the Coast Guards and workers from private companies will be scrambling to respond to a fictional pollution spill. Think the BP crisis, as maritime officials establish a command post and deploy booms to limit the spread of this pollution. All made up, but still a little disconcerting that officials see such a widespread disaster as plausible on the banks of the Garden State.

ATLANTIC CITY – Tonight, even the mayor could be the winner, as he doubles down on his political capital to wrangle a $15,000 raise out of the City Council. Mayor Lorenzo Langford thinks he should be the highest-paid civil servant in the city, seeking to earn 1 percent more than the highest employee paid on the city payroll. Seems to be silly and somewhat arrogant reasoning for the mayor to be bumped to $118,874 come January, but let's see what the majority of the City Council thinks.

COLLINGSWOOD – The dozens of Michael Landon fans in South Jersey are celebrating that a plaque honoring the "Bonanza" star is back in Knight Park. You may recall the marker was removed last fall during a clean-up. Local media ran headlines howling about how it has been carelessly dumped in a DPW storage area. The Courier Post reports the plaque is now safely installed near its former location, and now even includes a bench and small garden, making "Hoss" and all the other Cartwrights as pleased as punch.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

New Jerseyans got their first glimpse of both "da noise" and "da funk," when "Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk," opened at the Ambassador Theater in New York on this day in 1996.