The Morning Briefing - April 27, 2016
MENDHAM – Teachers who think they can score with that cute 18-year-old student – figuring he or she is a legal adult – should think again. A former Mendham High School teacher is losing her teaching license after having sex with an 18-year-old student (twice) in 2014. NJ.com says she isn’t going to prison for the trysts, but the former English teacher needs a new job – perhaps as a waitress at Applebee’s, home to plenty of 18 year olds.
PATERSON – An assemblyman wants to ban the state from taking over failing school districts, like Paterson. Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly claims these state-run school districts are “a breeding ground for fraud and mismanagement of public funds,” and are a gross disservice for minority kids from the poorest families. He even suggested “constitutional violations.” Gov. Chris Christie was quick to pounce on this one, saying “the state doesn’t take them over because like we’ve got nothing better to do,” adding “the only reason these school districts are state run school districts is because they’ve been abject failures for the people who live there.” Wimberly’s proposed legislation, if it miraculously gets to Christie’s desk, faces a big, fat veto.
ATLANTIC CITY – Another New Jersey teacher, on the verge of getting fired, gets to keep his job. The city school board will keep a 28-year-old gym teacher who broke up a fistfight between two sixth graders last fall, the Press of Atlantic City says. The teacher, who grabbed one boy under his arm to stop him, was suspended even after state child welfare workers ruled he didn’t use excessive force. As in the case of a Middletown teacher who nearly lost his job last week for showing students a funny video of Donald Trump, parents and co-workers packed the city school board's Monday meeting to defend the gym teacher, showing strength in numbers.
TRENTON – Usually, the idle chitchat at a political fundraiser is an awkward effort to fill the air, between sips of crappy Coors Light. But the Record is reporting an intriguing conversation between illustrious power broker George Norcross and Bergen County Democratic Party Chairman Lou Stellato. The party chair tells the Record that Norcross was pushing last Thursday to remove Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, and replace him with Valerie Vainieri Huttle, a Democrat from Englewood. At issue: Prieto is blocking the state takeover of Atlantic City that Norcross wants. The Norcross response to the Record? “Lou and I have regular and frequent conversations that are private and they’ll remain that way,” he says.
HOLLAND TOWNSHIP – New Jersey’s very own Nazi – a Holland Township man who grabs headlines every few years for abusing his family – is now pleading guilty to domestic violence and thankfully looking at some jail time. This is the same fascist who grabbed headlines in 2008 when he tried to order a birthday cake from ShopRite with his son’s name, Adolf Hitler Campbell. The baker refused, but a brainless baker at some Walmart in Pennsylvania granted the request. This is also the same Nazi who showed up at a DYFS office in 2013 wearing a Storm Trooper uniform to ask for a visit with his son, who the state removed. NJ 101.5 reports he has two other children in state custody: Eva Braun and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation. Tell them we say “Heil.”
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – It ended up being the longest 5K race in the life of a 12-year-old West New York girl, who mistakenly ran an extra 10 miles. Huh? She apparently jumped on the wrong race at Sunday's Rochester Regional Health Flower City Challenge. About halfway through, she thought “Boy, what a long 5K!” She huffed and puffed through the 13.1-mile trek, ahead of other runners, finishing with a respectable time of 2:43:31. Her mom was certainly relieved, frantic as to why her daughter was nowhere near the 5K finish line.
FRANKFORT N.Y. – Kids usually steal street signs. Not the mayor. But the leader of this tiny Herkimer County village is accused of ripping off 111 road signs for use on his streets, the State Police told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. Mayor Frank M. Moracco, 60, was charged with official misconduct and petty larceny for pilfering the road signs from a state DOT garage where he works as a sign shop foreman. He is due in court on May 3. The village clerk says Moracco is likely to stay on as mayor. Heck, he might even win re-election for his commitment to saving money.
AT THE STORE – Conservative family-values Christians are targeting Target over its transgender-friendly restroom and fitting room policy. More than 750,000 people have signed a nationwide boycott petition from the American Family Association. The Mississippi-based (it figures) nonprofit says Target's inclusive transgender policy encourages sexual predators and endangers women because “a man can simply say he 'feels like a woman today'.” A Target spokeswoman says the 1,680-store retailer stands firmly behind offering its employees “an inclusive place to work and for our guests, an inclusive place to shop.” For those with a problem, feel free to use the restroom at Home Depot, likely across from any Target parking lot.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Forever known as the Prince of Poop, R.C. Duncan secured the patent for Pampers on this day in 1965.
WORD OF THE DAY
Frangipani (fran-jah-PAN-ee) — noun
Definition: Any of various tropical American deciduous shrubs or trees of the genus Plumeria, having milky sap and showy, fragrant, funnel-shaped, variously colored flowers.
Example:
Customer: “Excuse me. You work at this Home Depot, right? Where do you keep the frangipani?
Employee: “Uh, check in plumbing.”
WEATHER IN A WORD
Sun.