The Morning Briefing - December 2, 2015
ON THE ROADS – Still miffed about that GWB toll hike in 2011? Get ready to punch the steering wheel again, as the last phase of the toll hike kicks in this Sunday. It is difficult to believe that it will now cost $15 for cash payers to cross the GWB. The toll was $2 in 1984, $8 in 2008 and $12 in 2011. At this rate, expect a $30 toll in 2022 – featuring even more traffic on the exact same bridge that cost 50 cents for your great-grandfather to chug along in 1931.
SADDLE RIVER – The battle of the moderate Republicans comes to Saddle River tonight, as fundraisers are planned for both Jeb Bush and Gov. Chris Christie in the same town, at the same price, at the same time, the Record reports. Apparently the Bush soiree has been planned for months, organized by Jets owner Woody Johnson and state Sen. Joe Kyrillos at the home of rich people. Other rich people are stepping up, with a Christie fundraiser hastily organized last week by the Saddle River Republican Club, at the home of even more rich people. Tickets for both events begin at $1,000.
STATEWIDE – No doubt it is a cut throat world for universities trying to fill their ranks with the best and brightest. There’s an interesting social media campaign from the University of Maine, which sees New Jersey teens and their wealthy parents as targets for admission. The University of Maine was found zapping this ad across social media, hoping some kids actually consider spending four years in rural Maine, on the banks of the Stillwater River, rather than enroll at Rutgers University. The ad forgets to mention the University of Maine is ranked 168th among U.S. colleges and accepts any living thing, such as incoming freshman Arnie the Amoeba.
NEW BRUNSWICK – So, how much will Rutgers cough up for its next football coach? Apparently, the university is dead serious about competing in the Big 10 conference. And the salaries for the big guys from the big programs net about $3 million annually. Fired Coach Flood earned a “bargain basement” $1 million to coach the team, so it will be interesting to see if Rutgers has the stomach to ink a fat contract. Just the car allowance for the new coach could fund the internationally-recognized crew team, stripped of varsity status in 2006 so more money could be pumped into football.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SWETT, ND – Could we have found the one gift you can’t buy online? For just $250,000, it can be a December to Remember for the lucky recipient of an abandoned ghost town in rural South Dakota. The prairie town – featuring its own watering hole – also has a three-bedroom house, a former tire shop and plenty of tumbleweeds – all within 100 miles of Rapid City, which we assume is a thriving metropolis. Swett seemed to peak in the 1940s, when it had its own grocery store, post office and a population of 40. Swett was then lost in a divorce settlement and reacquired. Most recent news has the state buying a new town sign, replacing the one riddled with bullet holes.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1961 that Cuban leader Fidel Castro declared that he was a Marxist-Leninist and vowed to lead Cuba to communism. Good to see a politician live up to his word.
WORD OF THE DAY
Rodomontade: (rod-ah-mon-TADE) - noun
Definition: Pretentious boasting or bragging; bluster.
Example: See here.