The Morning Briefing - April 26, 2016
PENNSAUKEN – You never know exactly what you’ll find in New Jersey. A simple Earth Day cleanup along the Cooper River in Pennsauken on Saturday has now prompted a full-scale investigation by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, after a volunteer grabbed what he thought was a white milk jug. It was, however, a fully intact human skull. Volunteers marked the spot by sticking a glove on top of a stick and notified authorities, who roped off the area in yellow tape. So…how was your Earth Day cleanup?
RIVERDALE – A local police sergeant is being nicknamed “Flash Gordon” after he saved a crying man who was trying to jump off a Route 287 overpass. Sgt. Greg Bogert sprinted toward the man, yelling “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” and was able to grab the guy at the last second. The man, who said he had lost his family and wanted to die, was brought to the hospital. Back at police HQ, the sergeant found a picture of Flash Gordon taped to his locker. See the save here.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Donald Trump has done plenty of business in New Jersey, but that doesn’t make him the hometown hero in the race for the White House. Rutgers-Eagleton says that 62 percent of New Jerseyans polled don’t like The Donald, even through he is the GOP frontrunner and has the strong, well-publicized backing of our governor. In fact, of those who don't like the guy, 61 percent say Trump makes them angry and 57 percent admit they are scared of him. Nine percent of opponents consider him a racist. Fifty-five percent of all voters polled said Trump “generally goes too far in some of the things he says," and three in 10 polled believe “he is simply saying out loud what other people are already thinking.”
STATEWIDE – PolitickerNJ sure likes its lists; it is a sure-fire way to get politicos to read the website. Of no surprise, there is now a new list on Politicker – listing 15 powerful municipal leaders who don’t have offices in Trenton or Washington. You can correctly guess the list includes the big-time city mayors who get daily news coverage, if they want it or not. But also pleased to see the Top 15 includes Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik and, of course, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian. See the list here.
ON THE ROAD – Perhaps you soon can can put the pedal to the metal (legally) again on the Parkway and Turnpike. Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon wants to raise the state highway speed limit to 70 or 75 mph, Patch.com reports. O'Scanlon (yep, same fellow who pulled the plug on revenue-generating red light cameras in 25 towns) says upping the speed limit would make for better traffic flow and make drivers “less paranoid” about tickets. And, after all, even a Kia Rio can reach 104 mph. “It's a matter of treating New Jersey drivers with the common sense and reasonableness they deserve.” Um … has he met Jersey drivers?
EDISON – Happy Birthday, Your Honor! Peter J. Barnes III turns 60 today. Cake, gifts, or even the Tootsie Rolls and Good 'N Plenty candies he loves so much won't be as sweet as yesterday's 34-0 state Senate confirmation vote elevating him to a Superior Court judgeship. Hizzoner is to serve in Middlesex County, which he has represented with distinction for nearly decade. Barnes, an Edison councilman from 1996-2007, succeeded his father, Peter J. Barnes Jr., in the Assembly and was elected to the Senate in 2014. His dad, a retired FBI agent and one-time Edison public safety director, is former chairman of the state Parole Board; and former chairman of the Middlesex County Democratic Organization. No slouches in the Barnes family.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
Anna Nicole Smith alert: former Pennsylvania Senator Harris Wofford is married again, 20 years after the death of his wife. This time, he is married to a man – 50 years his junior. Wofford, 90, a onetime civil rights activist and widely respected Pennsylvania elder statesman, came out of the closet in a must-read New York Times op-ed, disclosing that he had married a 40-year-old interior decorator: “We both felt the immediate spark, and as time went on, we realized that our bond had grown into love.” Gay, straight or whatever; but newlyweds at 40 and 90? The senator’s first marriage lasted five decades; let’s see how long this one goes.
IN THE MEDIA
NEW BRUNSWICK - Rutgers journalism students are getting a crash course in the hallmark of the industry: budget cuts. The Daily Targum - proudly publishing since 1869 - is losing 14 percent of its funding after university students voted not to subsidize the paper for some reason. And, so, the editors have to figure out how to do more with less, which is probably the greatest practical education they can get, as they prepare to enter a shattered industry.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Newark made history, once again, on this day in 1956, as the first modern container ship – the Ideal X – departed Port Newark for the five-day trip to Houston. Ideal X was a converted World War II T-2 oil tanker, able to carry 15,000 tons of bulk petroleum. It was a huge victory for those trying to get petroleum trucks off America’s highways.
WORD OF THE DAY
Defenestrate (dee-FEN-i-strate) — verb
Definition: To throw out of a window.
Example: Donald Trump defenestrated the latest Rutgers Eagleton Poll.