The Morning Briefing - September 24, 2015
POPEWEEK – It is a Pope-pourri of news coverage, as Pope Francis delivers his speech to Congress this morning and then heads to New York City, where he will appear tonight at St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a prayer service. Sure, that means major security and traffic jams in two major U.S. cities in just one day. But at least he won’t be travelling on the Garden State Popeway.
TRENTON – Once the State Senate votes today to cut the sales tax on yachts, as a way to spike boating sales, we are all just one step closer to getting the boats of our dreams, right? Then, we just need Gov. Chris Christie to sign the legislation, slashing the state’s 7 percent sales tax in half before our spending spree begins. Imagine the tremendous savings we will all see as we drop millions on our 200-foot yachts, perhaps featuring a helipad, a Jacuzzi and a submarine for those little side trips on the high seas of Jersey. We just need this legislation before the floodgates open, right? Right?
LITTLE FALLS – The local school board is without three of its members today, with the trio quitting over the school district’s plans to launch $4.3 million in upgrades, the Record reports. A bond referendum is planned for next Tuesday, but these school board members claim the project has been rushed and does not address critical issues, such as dealing with old boilers, stinky locker rooms and leaky windows. As the district needs voter approval to spend the cash, it doesn’t look good when board members dive overboard to separate themselves from the project.
OFFSHORE – Ever dreamed of leasing 350,000 acres of ocean floor off New Jersey? OK, probably not. But expect plenty of competition from companies eager to sign leases with the federal government, in its latest effort to build wind turbines. An auction is planned Nov. 9-13 for companies interested in the wind energy business, as the government hopes to generate 3,400 megawatts of electricity, which, the Record reports, would power an estimated 1.2 million homes. The big question: Is this project real, or just hot air?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO – If a monkey takes a selfie, does he own the photo? That is the question consuming the federal court in San Francisco, as animal rights activists say a macaque monkey who took now-famous selfie photographs should be declared the copyright owner. But the nature photographer who positioned the camera and coordinated the whole thing thinks he should own the photos. PETA is demanding to administer all proceeds from the photos for the sole benefit of the monkey, who resides on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. What this monkey would do with a robust bank account is unclear.
IN THE MEDIA
STATE COLLEGE, PA. – They teach young reporters in journalism school to report the story, not be part of it. But a Centre Daily Times reporter fell smack into the breaking news of two missing boys, ages 7 and 9, who vanished Tuesday morning when they were supposed to take a bus to school. State College police tweeted a photo of the boys, launching desperate search. The reporter, Shawn Annarelli, jumped on the story, meeting cops at a playground where a search was underway. Suddenly, the reporter heard some rustling in a nearby blueberry bush and heard a boy whisper, “They found us!” The reporter called 911, and quickly learned the boys just wanted a day off.
Happy National Punctuation Day!?...;:”,
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Happy Birthday to email! It was this day in 1979 that CompuServe launched the first consumer Internet, featuring the all-new concept of “electronic mail service.” It wasn’t long before the first Nigerian prince sent his email, asking to make you a millionaire.
WORD OF THE DAY
Bezoar - noun
Definition: A small hard, solid mass which may form in the stomachs of animals such as goats or sheep.
Example: Why would I ever need to know the definition of bezoar?