The Morning Briefing - March 17, 2016
TRENTON - We are running out of places to aimlessly gaze at our smartphones. First, lawmakers had a big problem with us driving along the Turnpike at 80 mph while we "like" a Cornish hen recipe on Facebook. Now, under some proposed state legislation, we would be banned from crossing the street while we talk, text, tweet or Snapchat. Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt said pedestrians who don't use hands-free devices on public roads would be treated like jaywalkers - with the absolute worst offenders getting hit with 15 days in the slammer without their phones.
STATEWIDE - The hottest "must-have" for every undeclared candidate for governor is a website suggesting Gov. Chris Christie not let the Statehouse door hit him in his haunches on his way back to the Trump campaign. Undeclared gubernatorial hopeful Steve Fulop just launched the latest called, StepDownChris.com, the Jersey Journal says. It comes a few weeks after undeclared candidate Phil Murphy's PAC created DoYourJobOrQuit.com. So, what about those other as-of-yet undeclared hopefuls scattered across the Garden State? To help them out, here are some still-available domain names: GovernOrGo.com, TrentonOrTrump.com, LetKimFillin.com and LeadOrLeave.com. Call us; we design websites!
PATERSON - NBC News is going to feature Mayor Joey Torres tonight, but not in a good way. The segment examines accusations that Torres had city workers build bookshelves in his daughter's bedroom, deliver a commercial drink cooler to his house, and pick up renovation debris at his residence in a city-owned truck. City Council members, who saw the WNBC News promo are now picking up scythes and pitchforks at the local Home Depot, are calling for a criminal investigation. Torres tells the Paterson Press he did nothing wrong and no tax dollars were spent when he gave "side jobs" to friends who just happen to be city employees. "There's nothing there ... it's all false," said Torres. Here's the promo.
STATEWIDE - The overtaxed masses of New Jersey, left with just pennies on the dollar for such discretionary items as food, have little appetite for more taxes. So, even though our roads and bridges are crumbling into the earth, the majority of respondents give a fat NO to a gas tax, reports Rutgers Eagleton. Here are the numbers: 56 percent declare NO, a meek 42 percent whisper a "yes." And the question of who should pay to fix our infrastructure? The resounding reply: "Someone else."
ABERDEEN-MATAWAN - It must be one helluva printer. It's why the Matawan-Aberdeen schools will be welcoming the General Consul to Sweden, the CEO of Cellink, and local honchos on Saturday morning, as the company demonstrates the district's 3D dual-head, bio-medical printer. The gadget will be used for the students to print complex cell and tissue structures, with one of the first tasks being the design a three-dimensional human ear. Why all the high-tech? The school district has two New Jersey champions and a National Champion in the Neurophysiology Brain Bee.
ATLANTIC CITY - If you are a bargain hunter, read on. Atlantic City is willing to part with its airport - Bader Field - for about 90 percent less than what it thought it could reap a decade ago. The minimum bid will be set at $150 million for a 143-acre site, some ideal land on the coast that was once envisioned for gleaming, tax-generating casinos. The AP notes an investor offered $800 million in 2008, but the city held out, figuring it could do much, much better. Now, drowning in $437 million in debt, Atlantic City is begging for a deal. How about a really, really big Starbucks?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
QUEENS, NY - He could go down as one of the worst school principals in NYC history. And, that, is an obvious distinction. The NY Post reports the principal of John Bowne High School, who generated $500,000 in various lawsuit settlements for sexual harassment of staff and students, is now being accused of tampering with grades. Apparently, sources tell the tabloid, the principal told his staff to give kids passing grades, no matter what, so that it would appear as if his school was actually educating them. He appears, somehow, to still be on the job.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1756 that St. Patrick's Day was celebrated for the first time in New York City. What a memorable night at the Crown and Thistle Tavern; we are still writing about it.
WORD OF THE DAY
Parsimonious (par-si-MO-nee-es) - adjective
Definition: Excessively sparing or frugal
Example: I was looking for someone to buy the next round of Guinness, but I was stuck with a bunch of parsimonious drinkers, some real tightwads and cheapskates.