The Morning Briefing - November 12, 2015
ON THE RAILS – The good news is that the feds and Amtrak have agreed to cough up $10 billion or so to build the desperately needed rail tunnels under the Hudson River to support the two, 105-year-old tunnels. Just two questions: What is New Jersey’s share and how the heck do we pay for it? Corporate sponsors? $100 train tickets? Bake sales?
NEWARK – In yet another example of how good it is to be ultra-rich, the billionaire owner of the Devils, Josh Harris, was picked up on a private helicopter Sunday night on the field of St. Benedict’s Prep after watching his team play. The only problem was the landing forced the school to cancel a kids soccer game. If the school knew in advance, it could have arranged the big landing at halftime – a great show for the 13 and under sports teams. No comment from the Devils on this, Deadspin reports. But showing such wealth doesn’t play well when mom and dad are debating whether they should drop $250 on a hockey game. See it here.
PRINCETON – Chuckle, chuckle. Rutgers students are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the university by celebrating a key tradition: painting Princeton University’s revolutionary war cannon a deep scarlet red. That’s great, but there was also some graffiti reported on Princeton’s tiger statue near Nassau Hall, with choice expletives directed toward Princeton and Penn State, NJ.com reports. Rutgers is dispatching some students to Princeton for cleanup. We love the cannon rivalry, dating back to 1777. But the other graffiti? C’mon.
STATEWIDE – With word the nonprofit Morristown Medical Center has agreed to shell out $15.5 million in property taxes, the Record reports, this could open the floodgates for other towns salivating to tax their hospitals. A judge stripped the hospital’s property-tax exemption, deciding it operates more like a for-profit company than a charity. Nonprofit hospitals are among the largest landowners – a prime taxable target. But that could mean the $100 Band-Aid could now cost you $200.
BRIDGEGATE – Sorta bored with the whole Bridgegate thing. Seems it accomplished what the Democrats wanted – to embarrass Gov. Chris Christie and knock him off that lofty pedestal. But it also cost taxpayers millions of dollars in lawyers and redirected everyone’s attention from pressing matters. The latest news is on the front page of The Star-Ledger today, talking about how David Wildstein stole the hard drive from former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni and handed it over to the feds, who then indicted Baroni. Yeah, mildly interesting. But what does any of this matter to the typical New Jerseyan?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK – There must be a great book to write about the guy who keeps stealing NYC subway trains and going on joy rides through the city. Cops arrested him yesterday for stealing a Greyhound bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. This suspect has had about two dozen arrests, beginning in 1981, when he drove the E train to the World Trade Center at the age of 15. In 2008, the AP reports, he stole a Trailways bus in Hoboken. The AP tried to seek comment on his latest arrest, leaving a message for the defense lawyer who has handled the previous cases and is likely wondering what possible new argument he can concoct.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2008 that Britain stood up an announced, “We need more sperm!” The country was facing a critical sperm donor shortage after ending confidentiality laws and limiting the number of women who can use sperm from the same guy.
WORD OF THE DAY
Aglet – noun
Definition: That mysterious piece of plastic at the end of your shoelace that makes it possible to lace your shoes through the eyelets.
Example: I wonder how many people know that piece of plastic is called an aglet?
Here's a word from our friends Phineas and Ferb.