The Morning Briefing - April 17, 2015
OCEAN CITY and ALLENHURST – While state and federal officials hit the beach today to mark some new beach replenishment projects, the AP is putting a damper on all the hoopla – noting that some of these multi-million dollar projects don’t provide any new protection against future storms. The reason? Congress is only willing to pay to restore what was lost in Superstorm Sandy. So that means the same towns that were slammed during Sandy will remain unprotected for the next storm, whenever that hits. This would seem like throwing good money after bad, but how dare us question the eternal wisdom of Congress?
TRENTON – The bond rating companies apparently have no consideration of Gov. Chris Christie’s Presidential ambitions, as they continue to pound the state’s credit rating. The latest drop is courtesy of Moody’s Investor Services, as any opponent of the governor is quick to note that is the record ninth rating downgrade since Christie took office, NJ.com reports. The pension mess continues to drag down the state, as Moody’s notes our “weak financial position and large structural imbalance.” Moody’s is also threatening even more cuts - unless the state miraculously figures out how to fatten up the fund, while getting rid of all those nagging structural deficits. Suggestion: invade and conquer Delaware.
ON CAMPUS – While some consider Gov. Chris Christie to be a viable Presidential candidate, the accounting office at Notre Dame sees him as just another revenue source – sending a polite letter that tuition for his daughter is “only” increasing by 3.9 percent, NJ.com reports. Christie told a crowd yesterday that a year at Notre Dame now costs more than $61,000, to the gasp of many, and that this run-away train is careening off the rails, with no one left to afford a seat. Christie suggests that colleges and universities be forced to control tuition, or lose out on federal grant and loan programs. Now that is an idea worthy of the Notre Dame fight song.
STATEWIDE – When it seems we finally scored a victory against Joe Camel –convincing our youth that cigarettes are disgusting – the tobacco industry is raging back with a new product that’s tough to beat: electronic cigarettes. A new federal study shows the use of e-cigarettes tripled among high school and middle school students last year, to the shear pleasure of tobacco execs. There are two big problems with e-cigarettes: they are ridiculously easy for kids to get, and they include the addictive nicotine that keeps the industry humming from generation to generation.
ATLANTIC CITY – The fire chief who famously dropped his pants at a surveillance checkpoint and then decided it was time to retire has found himself with some golden suspenders: a $13,000 a month pension. The Press of AC says the fire chief was put on administrative leave on April 1, after dropping his drawers when a female security guard asked him to put metal objects on the table. He explained he was “having a bad day,” but now has a pension to ensure he has plenty of good years.
JAFFE HAPPENINGS
NEW BRUNSWICK – Wanna know the future … of public relations? Our very own Jonathan Jaffe will appear “live and in person” at Rutgers University this morning at “NovaCOM: What's New/What's Next in Communication and Public Relations," a conference sponsored by the School of Communication and Information. Jonathan – a proud RU alum – is a panelist talking about ways public relations firms use “creative content” to best serve clients. The keynote will be president of the Women's National Basketball Association Laurel J. Richie. Afterward, Jonathan will be available for autographs and photos. It all happens at the Heldrich Hotel; open to the public. No stampeding, please!
IN THE MEDIA
TRENTON - In the pre-internet era, press row in the Statehouse in Trenton used to be brimming with reporters. But as newspapers began scaling back, the numbers of reporters in Trenton began dwindling and much of the Trenton bureaucracy these days hums along without the watchful eye of the Fourth Estate. Politico, the political web site that started in our nation’s capital, announced it is expanding to Trenton to beef up coverage of state government. What these means is more competition and likely better coverage as the current Trenton wags are forced to step up their game to compete with a national newsgathering operation with deep pockets.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
UNIONTOWN, Pa. – A motorist told cops she had a perfectly reasonable explanation for driving off the road and crashing into a guardrail: her pet parrot kept drinking her coffee, the Press Herald reports. She was on the road at 5 p.m. Tuesday when she noticed the parrot was pecking at the lid of her coffee cup, trying to get to all the goodness inside. When she focused on the parrot, the car went off the road and smashed into the guardrail. Cops say it was evident she was telling the truth, finding birdseed in the cup-holder, and a few feathers nearby.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1997 that 115-year-old John Bell received a pacemaker – apparently in preparation for the next 115 years.
WORD OF THE DAY
Flibbertigibbet – noun
Definition: A frivolous, flighty, or excessively talkative person.
Example: “That bloke is a bloody flibbertigibbet.”