The Morning Briefing - April 28, 2016
TRENTON - If you name yourself "NJ Weedman" and you have a business across from City Hall called "The Joint," isn't it just a matter of time before authorities conduct a raid? The Trentonian says the obvious raid on the East State Street business occurred yesterday afternoon, with narcotics officers combing the building. Social media posts have already popped up with the hashtag #FreeNJWeedman in support of New Jersey's most well-known pothead, Ed Forchion, proprietor and alleged purveyor of all things marijuana.
ON CAMPUS - We all surmise some funny business in those secret "fees" tacked onto college tuition. Now, the state comptroller has issued a report showing how out-of-whack the fees have become. The comptroller targets William Paterson and Kean universities and The College of New Jersey, where fees range from $3,600 to $4,600 and include everything from technology to athletics to payroll. The comptroller wants formal guidelines to ensure fees are spent for their intended purpose, whatever those may be. He notes Rutgers bangs students $363.50 each a year to pay for Big 10 athletics. Montclair State blew $100,000 in student fees for a statue of the university mascot. Ramapo College charges a $500 fee each semester for "capital improvements." Yes, colleges need to pay for stuff. But, how can it be more transparent?
JERSEY CITY - Apparently, it is not fast enough to order at McDonald's, get your food within a minute and walk 20 feet or so to a table to begin consuming. So, in the spirit of speed, McDonald's is now doing away with tables at its new prototype in Jersey City. There is no door to enter, no place to eat and no place to play with the toy that comes in your Happy Meal. You have two options at this Fotomat-like restaurant on 12th Street: Walk up and order from the window, or use a drive-thru. Food will come flying. Be prepared and keep moving.
PARAMUS - The most unpopular man in New Jersey must be that guy who owns the puppy store in Paramus, busted for leaving 67 puppies jammed overnight in an unlocked, unattended van behind the business. Apparently, the van was driven from Missouri, on a puppy road trip that lasted a few days. Cops found crying and whining puppies, with the stench of pee and poop, inside a 38-degree van with an ineffective space heater. Bergen County has now slapped the owner with 134 counts of animal cruelty and forced his store to close. The same owner's largest puppy store in East Brunswick was also forced closed recently after officials there revoked its license for similar complaints. When reached by the Record, the pet shop owner said, "there shouldn't be any charges." Yeah, tell that to Buddy, Daisy, Bailey and the rest of those pups.
JERSEY CITY - Get pulled over and lose your Mercedes. That's what happened to a Jersey City man, when cops noticed his luxury sedan didn't have a front license plate. It didn't take long to learn his driver's license was expired and, oh, he had about $12,000 in EZ Pass violations. Apparently, he didn't get around to paying the 200 or so violations that were piling up in his mailbox, along with all the reminders. Cops impounded the Mercedes, as he now deals with a host of "theft of service" charges. To add to the pile, cops hit him with a ticket for not having that front license plate.
METUCHEN - This "Brainy Boro" has a wealth of historic buildings and homes, but not much has happened to get them officially recognized. That may soon change, the Edison-Metuchen Sentinel says. Local history maven Nancy Zerbe is waging a crusade to get more Metuchen sites put on the state Register of Historic Places. While leafy towns like Fanwood and Westfield each have 50 structures on the registry; Summit and Madison, over 100; and Highland Park, Mendham, and Cranbury over 200; "we have two," Zerbe recently told local officials: "We have a wonderful history that should be honored on the state and national level."
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
HARVARD, Mass. - Sick of the local diner? Imagine you and your loved one could eat at any restaurant in the world. Well, that dream could be yours if you win the annual rubber ducky race on May 7. The Boston Globe reports the local rotary club in Harvard is giving the winner of the Ducky Wucky River Race free airfare, a two-night stay at a hotel and the fancy dinner - anywhere. Just make sure you numbered duck comes in first place, when a construction crew dumps the ducks in the Nashua River. Previous winners have dined in Venice, Paris, Tokyo and Australia. No one, to date, has chosen the Menlo Park Mall.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
You gotta be careful who you date. Clara Petacci would agree, shot by a firing squad with her boyfriend, Benito Mussolini, on this day in 1945.
WORD OF THE DAY
Prelapsarian - (pre-lap-SAR-ee-an) - adjective
Definition: Relating to the period before the fall of Adam and Eve
Example: The last time I had a day off from work was during the prelapsarian period.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Clouds.