The Morning Briefing - March 15, 2016
NORTH JERSEY – Could this be the end of the Monopoly? The state Legislature gave the green light yesterday for a ballot question in November, asking voters if they want casino gambling in northern New Jersey, ending Atlantic City’s 40-year reign as the only town in the state allowed the privilege. So, will northern New Jersey be allowed to pass “Go” and collect millions of dollars? It’s up to voters, all of whom are promised “Free Parking.”
JERSEY CITY – The size of Liberty Science Center's planetarium may soon eclipse New York's Hayden Planetarium. You can thank the single, record-setting $5 million donation of Short Hills philanthropist Jennifer A. Chalsty, who has served on the Liberty Science Center board since 2004. Her latest contribution will renovate the IMAX Dome theater for bigger, better sky-watching. Her previous donations paid to establish the 20,000-square-foot science teaching and learning center named in her honor. This philanthropist has definitely earned a lifetime pass to the center (weekdays only, please).
NEWARK – With approximately 1,000 union members working the docks at the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal – and not one of them who happens to be a woman – perhaps Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has a point by calling for a federal investigation into the not-so-diverse workforce. Unions also claim that less than six percent of the union membership is black and slightly less than 13 percent is Hispanic, Politico notes. In contrast, the mayor notes, Elizabeth and Newark have a combined population of blacks and Hispanics at 77 percent. And let’s also assume the cities have plenty of females.
STATEWIDE – How bad could a rainy Tuesday be? Because, no matter what, it is “Free Cone Day!” Stop by Dairy Queen for the annual cone giveaway. This year, it honors the 75th year that DQ has been holding the promotion, Patch.com reports. Customers at every DQ location – except for those in malls – can get a free small vanilla cone (street value: $1.99). In return, DQ seeks donations to the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Last year, participating DQ stores each handed out an average of 1,330 free cones.
TRENTON – Job reports are always interesting; everyone has his or her own thoughts on what’s “good news.” Take the state’s January numbers, released yesterday. Of course, the Christie Administration is proud to say the unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent for the month, below the national average. And that was accomplished, somehow, with the state still losing 14,100 jobs in January. But the most concerning stat is that the state lost 10,100 jobs from the professional and business services sector. That’s the well-paid people who pay a big chunk of the property taxes, as well as have the cash for the $8.99 chicken fingers, $650-a-month car leases and $80 jeans “on sale.” Low unemployment means little when jobs are low-paying, especially in expensive places like New Jersey. Luckily, there’s Free Cone Day.
STATEWIDE – American Express: Don't leave home without it - especially if you happen to be Governor and don't want taxpayers knowing how much of their money you're spending. Everyone knows Gov. Chris Christie's enormous appetite for travel, and N.J. Spotlight reports the price tag has been equally huge. Christie's State Police protection detail has spent more than $1.77 million to keep him safe since 2011. But 85 percent of those costs – over $1.51 million in AmEx credit card charges – remain a tightly held secret for “security reasons.” Those bills include hotels, meals, transportation and other “incidentals,” maybe even gallon jugs of New Hampshire maple syrup or Iowa blue cheese, that Christie's protection detail needed while on the campaign trail. As the Star-Ledger notes this morning, taxpayers should not be paying for Christie to now stump for Trump.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
PORTLAND, OR. – Trafficking stolen Legos? Really? Sure, you see a big black market for drugs, guns, human organs, or even entire humans. But Legos? Portland police just ended a month-long sting, arresting a 25-year-old man for allegedly trying to sell stolen Lego play sets to undercover cops, The Oregonian reports. Lego-trafficking also made headlines in 2014, when a California store manager swiped $50,000 worth of Legos for resale. Last year, Phoenix police rounded up a Lego theft ring, seizing 18 pallets of stolen play sets with a street value of $200,000. Move over heroin.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1960 that the first underwater park was established as the Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve. To gin up tourism, snorkels were later introduced.
WORD OF THE DAY
Ptochocracy (toh-KOK-rah-see) — noun
Definition: Government by the poor
Example: Ptochocracy is the antonym for “Trump Administration.”