The Morning Briefing - December 1, 2015
THE WOODS – If you are going to cut down a tree and stick it in your house for a month, why not make it a New Jersey tree? That is the message from state agriculture folks, who announced that 69,000 New Jersey trees have been mowed down for Christmas and are available for sale in a formerly abandoned parking lot near you. Call us crunchy, granola, Birkenstock-wearing hippies, but why don’t we keep our trees in the ground and ship in holiday ones from elsewhere?
ASBURY PARK — Next summer, the “Dark City” will have a new bright spot along its beachfront. Developers have unveiled its $30 million plan to convert the derelict seven-story Salvation Army building into the city's first new 110-room hotel in over 50 years. Billed as a “boutique hotel,” The Asbury is to feature a rooftop garden-game center that transforms after dark into a "drive-in" theater without cars. (Yeah, figure that out.) There will also be a poolside beer garden with outdoor lounging beds, live entertainment and sunset Springsteen sightings in this land of hope and dreams.
POMONA – For those who still follow the happenings of the Kennedy clan, you may want to go stand in the parking lot of the AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center this morning, as former Rep. Patrick Kennedy and his wife hold a press event to introduce their newborn daughter to the Kennedy-loving world. Station yourself near the Roger B. Hansen Center for Childbirth and keep your camera steadily focused on the lobby, where Camelot is expected to briefly appear. For added spice, perhaps the baby will be nicknamed “Jackie.”
NOT HUDSON COUNTY? –A music professor at a small Catholic college in Albany thinks New York could boost tourism by cashing in on public corruption. The Albany Times-Union says Prof. Bruce Roter is fundraising for a Museum of Political Corruption. For a “bribe” of $12.50, people can learn about crooked politicians, backroom power-brokers and all the salacious, shady deals. Shouldn't the Garden State beat this guy to the punch? The Washington Post reported in April that New Jersey tops the nation in criminal-politicians, dating back to the days of “Nucky” Johnson and Frank Hague, god bless their benevolent souls.
PATERSON — Good news for city employees: They are actually getting paid on Friday. Last night, the City Council avoided some uncomfortable conversations and voted to approve a last-second $50 million temporary budget for the next couple of months, the Paterson Press reports. The budget was the exact same same one the City Council rejected last week. But some politicians are vowing some deep budget cuts when city officials attempt to pass a final spending plan in early 2016.
LINDEN – Hang on to your button-flies. Brazen thieves have made off with more than $22,000 worth of jeans from New Jersey department stores since August, the most recent theft last week when they wheeled a shopping cart with 58 pairs of Levi's out an emergency exit at Kohl's in Linden. Police told NJ.Advancemedia the same thieves may have hit that same Kohl's back in August, making off with 42 pairs of jeans; stealing 40 pairs of jeans from the Banana Republic in downtown Westfield; and $10,000 worth of high-end designer jeans from the Neiman Marcus in Short Hills.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
YORK, Pa. – If you are a defense attorney looking for a real challenge, head on out to York, Pa., where a man is charged with stealing an ambulance in front of a house, as the paramedics responded to a call inside. The ambulance crew quickly noticed something askew when they wheeled out the patient, but couldn’t seem to locate the ambulance. The York Dispatch reports the 21-year-old suspect just wanted to go for a joy ride Friday, with an in-vehicle camera capturing his crime, frame by frame. Again, the perfect challenge for the right lawyer.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1960 that Paul McCartney and the fifth Beatle, Pete Best, were jailed overnight and thrown out of Germany for allegedly setting fire to a drafty flat in Hamburg.
WORD OF THE DAY
Cachinnation (kak-ah-NA-shen) — noun
Definition :a loud, hard, convulsive laugh; a guffaw.
Example: Boy, I had one heck of a cachinnation when I read about the guy who stole an ambulance.
YOU’VE READ THIS FAR… SO WHY NOT SOME JERSEY TRIVIA?
Inspired by the Dark City, connect the shore town with its nickname. (Note: Googlers are cheaters.)
A.Atlantic City1. The Irish Riviera
B. Long Branch 2. Your Home for Family Fun Since 2013
C. Ocean City 3. A Moral Seaside Resort
D. Seaside Heights 4. America’s First Seaside Resort
E. Spring Lake 5. Brick City
Send us your answers at