The Morning Briefing - April 2, 2015
**The Morning Briefing is going on Spring Break! We will return with a sunburn on Monday, April 13.
NEWARK - Sen. Bob Menendez vows he "is not going anywhere." But he is going to court today to answer a 68-page grand jury indictment that claims he traded lavish gifts and donations for political favors, stemming from his friendship with a Florida doctor. Menendez has done a great job rallying the troops, getting politicians and residents to tell the media about all the great work he has done. That all aside, Menendez has taken leave of his powerful post as ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is looking at a max of 15 years in jail. Can he wiggle out, or just be the latest New Jersey politician hauled off in cuffs?
NEWARK - While Menendez supporters are claiming the indictment is politically motivated revenge by the Obama administration for the senator's position on Cuba, it also serves to insulate Obama's Justice Department against allegations of political motivation. If and when the Democratically appointed U.S. Attorney in New Jersey drops the hammer on members of the Christie administration, it will be far more difficult for Republican defendants to claim they are being targeted because of party affiliation, much the way U.S. Attorney Chris Christie used to make sure a few Republicans spent time in a federal prison camp.
UNION - Kean University is known for acting prematurely - such as informing high school students who haven't even applied that they've been accepted. Now, the university is saying it acted prematurely in offering hip-hop artist Common the role as commencement speaker. NBC reports that cops are infuriated over his song about a woman convicted of killing a police officer who fled to Cuba. Kean announced Common was coming on Monday, but then recanted on Tuesday - an act for Kean that's not uncommon.
PERTH AMBOY - It should be an interesting school board meeting tonight, after seven administrators and teachers at the William C. McGinnis School have been placed on leave, following allegations that students were forced to march in formation around the school building last week, as they carried backpacks or book bags, the Home News Tribune reports. Probably a good time for spring break, which begins tomorrow.
MAHWAH - The big talk on the Ramapo College campus was about how the baseball team was chasing deer with sticks, in attempting to kill or injure. The Mahwah Police Department jumped on the case, studying surveillance video and conducting interviews, concluding there was no evidence the ball players were misbehaving. It seems one of the players had picked up a stick on March 24 to scare the deer from running into the street.
TRENTON - Among the many big funding questions in New Jersey - and there are plenty of 'em - is the issue of our crumbling roads and bridges. Of course, there's no money to pay for much of the work that has been desperately needed for years, adding some drama to today's Senate Budget Committee hearing. A special guest will be Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox, talking about how bonds, loan repayments and Port Authority cash could perhaps keep the Transportation Trust Fund solvent through the next budget year.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BOSTON - Arr! What's with these modern-day pirates? The land lubbers operating a replica pirate ship needed to be rescued by the Coast Guard and towed to a shipyard in southern Maine, after it lost power. While the typical pirate would prefer to go down with the ship, cursing the whole way, these bilge rats actually called for help late Tuesday, jumping into lifeboats, leaving their 85-foot replica ship to fend for itself on the high seas. (Insert another "Arr! here.)
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1978 that Velcro was put on the market, setting off generations of complaints from kids who question why they would ever need to learn how to tie their sneakers.
WORD OF THE DAY
Fard: noun
Definition: makeup on the face
Example: "Did you see all the fard that Sen. Bob Menendez was wearing as he tried to duck from reporters?"