The Morning Briefing - July 15, 2015
ON THE ROAD – The rubber hits the road for NJ Transit commuters this morning, as the board is expected to raise bus and train tickets by an average of 9 percent to cover a $56 million budget gap. Expect desperate, Manhattan-bound commuters to make one last futile plea to curtail the hikes, as it seems like these cash-strapped workers have a better chance earning a living by staying home and waiting for an email from a Kenyan prince.
ON THE ROAD – Meanwhile, down south, the Delaware River Port Authority will be voting today on a plan to reduce tolls. Say, what?? Yes, it appears to be true, as a discount would be in place December 1 for regular commuters who use four Philadelphia-area bridges. Those who make 18 trips a month would earn a $1 per trip refund, costing the authority $6.4 million a year. A nice giveback here. Now, if there was just some way that commuters could access Manhattan via Philly. Hmm.
TRENTON – Under the category of extremely boring but important, the state court is allowing three municipalities to act like private business – giving them the authority to furlough public workers and make other job cutbacks without having to deal with those testy labor unions. NJ.com reports Belmar, Keyport and Mount Laurel acted fairly in their 2009 cutbacks, faced with a colossal budget mess. Interesting to see what can happen when government is run more like business. Wait; ignore that. It makes us sound like Trump supporters.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Just as captivating as the daily polls tracking GOP primary candidates is the unapologetic, unceasing race for cash. Gov. Chris Christie has a PAC that has raised $11 million, NJ.com reports. That money will go to the giddy television stations in New Hampshire, which soon will have enough cash to bail out Greece. While $11 million sounds like a windfall, a PAC for Jeb Bush is quick to note it has raised $103 million for the first half of the year. Insane how much money a PAC can fundraise – especially when it has a candidate that New Hampshire voters have actually heard of.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BOSTON – On July 15, we can declare winter is finally over in Boston. The mayor announced that huge 75-foot tower of repulsive, blackened snow has finally melted, the final memory of a brutal winter in which 110 inches of snow dumped on the city. Authorities called it a public nuisance, comprising 80 tons of garbage that mixed with snow as Bostonians put out their household trash. Many thought it wouldn’t melt until Labor Day, marking the mayor’s announcement with surprised relief.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL -Please, please, please keep Donald Trump in this race! The stories are endless, like a recent gaffe from the Trump intern who tweeted a promotional photo that featured Nazis superimposed on the U.S. flag alongside Trump’s face. Priceless. The intern apparently didn’t see the very faded figures within the flag of the stock photo. Expect the intern to hear those immortal words: “You’re Fired!”
IN THE MEDIA
NEWARK – Mark Bonamo, a well-known political reporter for PolitickerNJ and a TV talking head, has landed a new gig as editor of NewarkInc.com, a recently-launched news website that covers business, politics, arts and education in Newark. A resident of the Ironbound and a veteran of the 2014 mayoral campaign, Bonamo has an encyclopedic knowledge of the city. His sendoff from PolitickerNJ and coronation as editor takes place tomorrow at McGovern’s in Newark (of course).
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1987 that Boy George was banned from British television shows, deemed a bad influence – perhaps by the fashion police.
WORD OF THE DAY
Cruciverbalist – noun
Definition: Someone who creates crossword puzzles.
Example: “Sheila seemed very interested in me, until I whipped out my pencil and announced I am an aspiring cruciverbalist.”