The Morning Briefing - February 19, 2016
EVERYWHERE – While the two proposed North Jersey casinos would have no problem siphoning business from Atlantic City, you can bet they would be livid if New York allows a casino to open in Manhattan. That’s the talk, of course, because why should New Jersey be allowed to take a bite out of tourist dollars from the Big Apple? And what is to become of all the older casinos in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New York, which have been beating the pulp out of Atlantic City? To save this industry from consuming itself, sane minds need to decide where to draw the line before casinos become as ubiquitous as the neighborhood Walgreens.
TRENTON – No one – including Gov. Chris Christie – should be surprised that the latest polls show that almost half of New Jersey voters don’t trust him. But, as we know, voters can be a fickle bunch – as it was just two years ago that we re-elected the big guy in an enormous thrashing of former Sen. Barbara Buono, who then escaped to Oregon. The Rutgers Eagleton poll finds that nearly half of New Jersey voters say Christie isn’t trustworthy, and just 30 percent say the term “strong leader” describes him very well. This specific poll – which the governor has said he has little respect for – noted these were the lowest percentages it ever recorded. But we firmly believe in a Christie bounce-back, especially if he keeps showing up in Trenton.
CLEMENTON — Tomato soup with pig snout and fava beans may not sound too appealing to the palate. But that dish, along with a raspberry doughnut and cocoa mousse, won Camden County Technical School teacher Timothy Witcher $10,000 this week on the Food Network competition show “Chopped.” The episode called “Ready for Redemption,” gave second chances to three chefs who flubbed on previous shows. Witcher told the Courier-Post that culinary arts are his passion “and the only way I can express myself without words and truly have the whole world understand me.” Snout, anyone?
STATEWIDE – Interesting new recruitment campaign by Uber, eager to have as many drivers as possible in New Jersey to ensure anyone, anywhere, can hitch a ride within minutes. To further expand the growing network, Uber will pay the state chapter of the NAACP a “finder’s fee” to secure 3,000 new drivers in the state who hail from low-income communities, Politico reports. This interesting partnership between a civil rights organization and a corporation is supposed to begin in June.
MILLVILLE – If you want free PR for your restaurant, name a sandwich after Bernie Sanders. So, let us join in the over-coverage of the overstuffed meatless wrap on the Wildflower's menu. “It's a winner,” owner Eric Nyman told KYW-TV News in Philadelphia. Although it’s called a “Bernie Sanders Burger,” it's really a large flour tortilla stuffed with red beans, hummus, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and avocado. Nyman knows Sanders is carnivorous – an almost obligatory quality for any politician – but he said: “Bernie seems open to new things … we’re hoping he’ll realize vegan is a good thing.”
JERSEY CITY – Bilking his own elderly mother of her life's savings earned a 45-year-old city man a harsh rebuke from acting Attorney General John Hoffman: “Stealing from vulnerable senior citizens is always a despicable crime but . . . these allegations, if proven, would put him among a very low class of criminal.” The Record reports the man impersonated his mother to make at least 10 withdrawals from the 85-year-old's annuity accounts. He's facing a slew of theft and forgery charges that may put him behind bars until he's much, much older than mom, in what will be an epic “time out.” No chicken soup tonight.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
MOUNT POCONO, PA. – A pair of alleged purse-snatchers really picked the wrong grandmother to rob. The plucky 81-year-old woman chased down the couple in her Toyota Camry (which we assume is sky blue), after they grabbed her purse from inside her vehicle. She rammed their car with hers, causing enough damage for police to track the whipper-snappers to a nearby Shop-Rite parking lot, WNEP-TV first reported. The pair, who face a series of robbery charges, told police they targeted the woman after noticing a she had a wad of cash, which turned out to be just $140, at a nearby pharmacy.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Kansas became a national downer on this day in 1881, the first state to ban all alcoholic beverages. But with less than 1 million people living on 82,200 square miles, interesting to know how that law was enforced.
WORD OF THE DAY
Logorrhea (log-ah-REE-ah) - noun
Definition: Excessive, incoherent talkativeness.
Example: Sitting with Marvin at the diner, with him blathering on about how his great great, great grandfather couldn’t buy a drink in Kansas, it’s obvious this guy suffers from logorrhea.