The Morning Briefing - February 10, 2016
TRENTON – Welcome back, Gov. Chris Christie. As the governor takes a “deep breath” from the Presidential race – after performing as well in New Hampshire as everyone said he would – New Jersey is bracing for his return. Christie will have little time to relax in his Mendham La-Z-Boy and watch reruns of Hogan’s Heroes, as he needs to prepare for his budget address on Feb. 16 for fiscal ’17. There’s also the Atlantic City mess, the state pension mess, the Transportation Trust Fund mess and other various messes. There’s also a need to rebuild the Republican State Committee and to mend plenty of fences, with a gubernatorial election looming. The big question: Could Christie’s last two years in office be as successful as the first two? Or his he now “too good” for New Jersey?
PERTH AMBOY – If our shrewd state lawmakers were waiting until gas prices dropped through the basement before adopting a gas tax, well, here we are. As we aimlessly drove around New Jersey last night, recklessly burning all that cheap gas through our six cylinders, we were surprised to see the Delta in Perth Amboy selling a gallon for $1.37. Lawmakers: Now is the time to pass a 14.5 cent a gallon gas tax to replenish the Transportation Trust Fund. You will never, ever, get less opposition from the motoring public.
JERSEY CITY – With the Presidential primary season in full swing, let’s get started on naming things after President Barack Obama. The city council has lined up behind Assemblywoman Angela McKnight's idea to name the new Public School No. 20 for Obama when it opens on Ocean and Cator avenues this fall, replacing century-old PS 20 on Danforth Avenue. McKnight must still get the school board's blessing and ramp-up community support for her plan, the Hudson County View reports. This is just the beginning; expect many more ObamaSchools, ObamaRoads, ObamaLibraries, etc. to be named after the first African American president.
EDISON – An outspoken rabbi's “bromance” with Donald Trump has fizzled. Less than 60 days after he launched his “Rabbis For Trump” Facebook campaign, Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg has cut loose its 1,000-plus followers. The conservative Republican rabbi seemed unfazed by Trump's outlandish remarks or his anti-Muslim, anti-Syrian, anti-Mexican rants. But The Times of Israel says Rosenberg rescinded support after Trump's staff told him “the Jewish vote is not important. They think they can win without it.” Rosenberg, also behind “Rabbis for Romney” in 2012, says “if the (Ted) Cruz or (Marco) Rubio people want my support, I'll be happy to give it to them.” The rabbi is waiting patiently for his phone to ring. Just don’t call on Shabbos.
VOORHEES – Happenstance happens. The living proof are twin sisters Stephanie Edginton and Nicole Montgomery and their newborn daughters. Stephanie and Nicole each delivered their babies minutes apart and four days early on Monday. Stephanie told ABC Eyewitness News that she and her sister had separate doctor's appointments, and Stephanie's obstetrician said she needed to get to Virtua Hospital immediately. “We got a call that Nicole and (her husband) were on their way there too," said Stephanie. Their daughters, Cora and Louisa, came just six minutes apart. Stephanie and Nicole say they were born three minutes apart.
ATLANTIC CITY – How tough are times in Atlantic City? School officials are now saying they don’t have the extra $900 to host six City Council meetings in their buildings, the Press of AC reports. Council President Marty Small appeared before the school board to say the initiative would only cost a few cents per resident, an item “so small in the overall scheme.” Board member Allen Thomas says school officials don’t appreciate “getting pimped by the city.” Meanwhile, the school district is facing a $50 million shortfall for the next school year. Every cent matters, Mr. Council President.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BRADFORD-ON-AVON, ENGLAND – Mistaken for a male stripper, an auxiliary cop made a quick escape from a 50-year-old woman's raucous birthday bash. Two dozen partying ladies went wild when uniformed community support officer Mike Obern poked his head inside a social club after noticing that a routinely locked door was propped open, the BBC reports. Cheers and hoots rose up after someone shouted: “Are you the strip-o-gram?” Obern, 26, apologized for the confusion, then bumped into the real stripper as he made a hasty exit. “Our uniforms aren’t very flattering,” he said.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1863 that two of the world’s most famous midgets, General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren, were married in New York. It was a small affair.
WORD OF THE DAY
Evanescent (ev-ah-NES-ent) – adjective
Definition: Vanishing like vapor.
Example: Will Chris Christie’s evanescent campaign for President end today?