The Morning Briefing - June 10, 2016
AT THE POLLS – New Jersey's record voter turnout is the biggest story from Tuesday's primary, considering Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had their party's nominations sewn up before our polls opened. At least 1.26 million people voted. Guesstimates put the final tally closer to 1.3 million, but Middlesex County hasn't reported its turnout tallies yet. Safe to say, the Trump factor played a HUGE role. Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for N.J. Politics, tells N.J. Spotlight: “Trump remains his own vote-generating machine … he's a unique force in American politics and therefore inspires many people to show up even if the vote really didn't matter.” Now, that’s one good thing to say about the guy.
HACKENSACK – And that’s about it. Pointing the finger at Donald Trump, New Jersey lost two registered Republicans yesterday as this city’s mayor and deputy mayor flipped to Independents. Mayor John Labrosse and Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino say Trump's “divisive and racist statements” are “insulting to many of our people and completely unacceptable.” Plus, they don't want school kids thinking local elected officials support prejudice. No specific comment ticked them off; it's the general highlight reel from Trump's campaign that forced them from GOP, as one-third of their constituents are foreign-born, predominantly Spanish-speaking and would probably be thrown out of the country under a Trump Administration.
PATERSON – It's déjà vu all over again for Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres after the NBC News last night aired new video and unearthed more city payroll records allegedly showing three public works laborers doing renovations at the mayor's nephew's beer distribution business while collecting city overtime. This follows an NBC report in March showing the same three guys, plus two other city workers, who reportedly got overtime for working at the mayor’s home. That report, including surveillance video from a private eye, prompted the N.J. Attorney General’s Office to subpoena city documents. Capture this mess on NBC News.
PATERSON – As if enough TV cameras aren't focused on Paterson, publicity happy Police Director Jerry Speziale told the City Council he's bringing the reality show “Cops” to shadow his officers for 10 weeks starting in July, the Paterson Press reports. Speziale thinks it'll be a real “morale booster” for officers, who must be outfitted with microphones and body cameras as they respond to emergencies and try to keep control of the gritty city. Some council members are less thrilled, saying “Cops” could make residents with literacy or hygiene problems look bad, harming Paterson's oh-so-sterling reputation. Perhaps "Cops" may also capture some footage from the beer distribution business.
JERSEY CITY – A London tourist ended up an accidental castaway early yesterday after the 19-year-old sat on a makeshift plywood dock to watch the sunrise from Jersey City's Newport Yacht Club & Marina. He ended up adrift for two hours after the 4-by-8-foot piece of plywood came untethered. The Daily News says wind and strong currents pushed the would-be Gilligan two nautical miles into New York Harbor's busy shipping lanes before he was rescued near Governors Island by two FDNY fire boats. Next time, maybe he’ll just buy a ticket on the ferry.
NEWARK – Could taxes actually not go up next year? That's the crazy prediction from city Business Administrator Jack Kelly, saying Newark expects to reap $12 million more in lease payments from the Port Authority in 2017. Newark is squeezing $97 million out of that agency next year. Kelly, and Mayor Ras Baraka, made this promising forecast to wary, but hopeful, members of the Newark Regional Business Partnership, N.J. Advance Media says. City officials haven't said what might be in store for taxpayers this year, but property taxes have jumped an average of nearly $500 since 2014 for a city budget fast-approaching $770 million. For this one moment, the Port Authority is the golden ATM; no password needed.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK – A drive is underway to help the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge get the “Z” it long deserves. A 21-year-old Brooklyn College student is pushing an online petition to fix a half-century-old typo on the bridge's huge concrete monument that robbed 16th-century Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano of the second “Z'” in his last name, The Brooklyn Paper reports. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the 4,260-foot span between Staten Island and Brooklyn, is well aware of the misspelling, but won't fix it, saying it would cost millions to replace highway signs, maps, brochures and websites. Famous author Gay Talese is somehow in the debate, telling AP that Verrazzano's name was misspelled in the original 1959 construction contract for the bridge, and it stuck. “We're talking about a typo and everybody let it go … nobody really knew who Verrazzano was then,” Talese says. (Note: Talese is spelled with one “L,” not two.)
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1935 that Dr. Robert Smith and William Wilson of Akron quietly form Alcoholics Anonymous. Apparently someone, at some point, spills the beans.
WORD OF THE DAY
Moil – verb
Definition: To work very hard
Example: You won’t believe how hard Tony Gallotto moiled over this issue of the Morning Briefing.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Awesome.