The Morning Briefing - February 11, 2015
SHORT HILLS - One retail employee figured how to earn more than minimum wage, concocting a scheme to return more than $17,000 in clothes that were never purchased at the Mall at Short Hills. NJ.com reports the total bill at Abercrombie and Fitch equaled $17,329.83 (or the retail value of two pairs of jeans and a fabulous top). The employee was busted on theft charges, setting himself up for a future in Wall Street finance.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - It's interesting to watch Gov. Chris Christie try to beef up his international credentials without leaving the safe confines of his office. After hosting the Alberta Premier Jim Prentice in Trenton last week, today he is rolling out the red carpet for the Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai. It's a great strategy; Christie can't be blamed for wasting taxpayer money on Presidential trips and can't be caught saying something stupid. The meeting, of course, will be closed to those meddling reporters and all their questions.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Gov. Chris Christie, still officially considering a run for President, has returned from his 12th trip to Iowa, a first-in-the-nation caucus battleground state. It's fascinating to see how the governor portrays us New Jerseyans when on the campaign trail or fundraising circuit. Christie informed Dallas County Republicans he is qualified to handle Congress because he has been dealing with liberals in our State Legislature for five years. "As folks in Iowa will probably recall, this is a group of people that twice passed a ban on gestational crates for pigs, yet we produce almost no pork," Christie told the group. Or, "the liberals" may say, they tried to pass the bill because such crates are mean and unnecessary. But good to see the governor finally able to use that talking point in Iowa.
UNION CITY - First Lady Mary Pat Christie will be in Union City this afternoon to honor the founder of a thriving music program for kids in a mostly immigrant, non-English-speaking community. Melina Garcia, executive director of the Union City Music Project, has been named the first New Jersey Hero of 2015 for launching the program in 2012 and ultimately creating a full orchestra of 100 elementary school kids.Very impressive.
NEWARK - Apparently the airline industry has something to be proud of, with the fewest three-hour tarmac delays in recent years, NJ.com reports. The reason is a financial one, as airlines now face punishing fines of $27,500 per passenger when planes sit on the tarmac for more than three hours with everyone trapped inside. (That's a $5.5 million fine for just one flight with 200 passengers.) Newark International Airport had only one three-hour delay last year, when a United flight sat in May. "It appears that the airlines have gotten the message," says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.
IN THE MEDIA
MONTCLAIR - Political junkies will be flocking to Montclair State University next Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for a free program titled, "Tracking Chris Christie: A Conversation with Political Journalists." The teaser: "Whether he's urging tourists to get off the beach as a superstorm approaches, telling hecklers to 'sit down and shut up' or speaking passionately about the ravages of drug addiction, Governor Chris Christie is, by most accounts, the most colorful politician on the national scene." The event features WNYC's Matt Katz, NPR's Mara Liasson, thin-skinned Star-Ledger columnist Tom Moran and New York Post columnist Robert George.
The talk also marks the official launch of The Christie Tracker Podcast, a weekly show from New Jersey Public Radio and WNYC that explores everything Chris Christie. Click here for more.
Also, check out Tom Moran's "Christie and Me: 2 thin-skinned guys" column from yesterday here.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ON THE LAM - It is always amazing that criminals feel compelled to post on social media, figuring cops would never think of checking Facebook. The latest idiot hails from a Pittsburgh suburb. He posted a selfieon Facebook while taking a Greyhound down south, after allegedly assaulting a woman. Police nabbed him Tuesday as the bus entered Youngstown, Pa. "We like it when dumb criminals assist us in our investigation," Ambridge police Chief James Mann told the Beaver County Times. The suspect's first post announced "IT'S TIME TO LEAVE PA." The second post announced he was on his way to Spartansburg, SC. Cops just checked the bus schedule. Genius.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was a short-lived love-fest on this day in 1997, when the New York Jets announced the new head coach (and savior) would be Bill Parcells. He did bring the Jets - a woeful team that won just one game in 1996 - to the conference title game in 1998, before quitting in 1999, vowing to never coach again. (He later joined the Cowboys)