The Morning Briefing - May 1, 2015
NEW BRUNSWICK – The pressure is on for members of the Rutgers University IT Department, who are getting extra rations of Cheetos and Mountain Dew as they try to figure out the cyber-attack that has crippled the university’s Internet system. Their orange-encrusted fingers are typing furiously, in their windowless, basement offices, upgrading network hardware and improving the web servers, as Rutgers orders these IT guys to come up with alternatives for final online exams. University officials say the attacks are “ongoing and persistent,” prompting the additional rations through the meal slot.
PARAMUS – Give or take $10 million. A typo on some paperwork has a project for a new public works facility under-funded by $10 million, as part of a $115 million bond issue the Bergen County freeholders approved, the Record reports. It seems an $18 million expense was only recorded as $8 million. (Add a “Whoopsie” here). This has prompted county officials to do some revised paperwork, shave the scope of work or poke around the county administration building for an extra $10 million or whatever.
ATLANTIC CITY – There was plenty of concern yesterday among players of the Pleasantville baseball team, which had been pounded 52-3 by a junior varsity team out of Buena, the defending state champion. Yesterday was the much-dreaded rematch between these two teams, with Buena only routing Pleasantville 20-2, the Press of AC reports. Quote the Buena coach: "I don't want to play the damn game. But it's on the schedule."
JACKSON – This whole “swatting” trend has got to end. It’s when bored, stupid or crazy people think it is hysterical to report fake emergency situations and then watch a heavily-armed police response, as they roll around in laughter. The latest idiocy took place yesterday in Jackson, when someone called authorities to report a man stabbed his girlfriend and wanted to kill himself and some cops. The Asbury Park Press says the call received the appropriate response, with cops surrounding a house and contacting the alleged victim, who said she had no idea about the call and noted the alleged suspect was sound asleep.
IN THE MEDIA
NEWARK – It may come as somewhat of a surprise to New Jersey’s political observers that Bloomberg Business broke the news about today’s expected plea deal of David Wildstein in the Bridgegate scandal and ferreted out details of a dinner between former Port Authority Chairman David Sampson and executives from United Airlines. But the reporters who’ve been on the story are no strangers to the Garden State. David Kocieniewski and David Voreacos are both veteran reporters well sourced in New Jersey. Kocieniewski previously covered the Statehouse in Trenton for the New York Times before winning a Pulitzer in 2012 for explanatory reporting about our nation’s tax loopholes. He moved to Bloomberg in January. And Voreacos, a former Bergen Record reporter, has been covering the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark for more years than the age of many reporters working in New Jersey today.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
PLATTE, S.D. – Forget that majority rules. A roll of the dice has determined who will be the next mayor in the South Dakota town of Platte. Election officials couldn’t figure out the too-close-to-call race yesterday, and dug deep into state statute for an answer, dusting off a rule that says certain elections can be determined by a high card draw or a roll of the dice, KSFY-TV reports. The winner clinched the mayor’s office by rolling a “7,” compared with his competitor’s lousy “4.”
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1987 that 46 home runs were hit in 13 Major League baseball games – ending the trial of having nine-year-old pitchers throw underhand.
WORD OF THE DAY
Godwottery – noun
Definition: Nonsense or balderdash, especially when it comes to overly elaborate speechwriting.
Example: “All that godwottery in his speech was god-awful.”