The Morning Briefing - July 14, 2016
STATEWIDE – Take a drive around New Jersey and marvel in all the wealth. The stunning high-rises in Jersey City, the five-garage McMansions in Somerset Hills, the jaw-dropping beachfront properties in Deal. And then you learn that New Jersey remains the foreclosure capital of the nation. One in every 102 Jersey homes is in foreclosure, compared to one in every 250 across the country. Atlantic City and Trenton are key drivers, of course. Some blame the slow judicial system, as every foreclosure needs to go through the courts. But, it begs the question: is our real estate a gleaming House of Cards?
STATEWIDE – Among the many, many things that cops need to deal with, now they are on the lookout for pre-teens who are wandering into traffic to play Pokemon Go. Cops throughout the state are issuing advisories, reminding people they should heed pedestrian crosswalks, traffic lights and the roaring sounds of a speeding 18-wheeler, as they bury their heads in a smartphone. “Please keep your heads up and phones down,” wrote the Long Beach Township Police on its Facebook page, noting there are no Pokemon in the Police Department, “and if there are, you still can’t come in and catch them.” Cops also want kids to use common sense, like avoiding dark alleys, homeless encampments or wandering along the EZPass lanes on the Turnpike.
ON THE ROAD – If you’ve been following the news lately, there’s been plenty of stories about serial toll cheats, continually screwing us all out of thousands of dollars. The latest is a Verona woman, who, the Jersey Journal reports, has managed to skip tolls more than 500 times. The cops tried to stop the woman near the Holland Tunnel yesterday to casually ask why she has an outstanding $16,000 bill. But, she didn’t stop for them, and zipped through the $15 toll without paying - again. (Perhaps a high-speed game of Pokemon Go?) Cops nabbed her on the other side, patiently waiting with a pile of summonses. Hopefully, there are no tolls on the way to the courthouse.
IN THE WILD – Tough to muster sympathy for big-game hunters who go on extravagant safaris to far-off places like Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Belarus, but can no longer bring trophies of their kills home to New Jersey. Now, a lobby called Conservation Force and a group of Jersey hunters have filed a federal lawsuit to overturn a new law prohibiting the import or export of threatened or endangered animal trophies. The law's sponsor, Sen. Raymond Lesniak, told the AP that hunters may have a “monetary interest,” but the public has “a humane interest … I expect the humane interest will prevail.” One upset hunter, however, argues “a trophy is a critical part of the hunt … if I cannot bring back a trophy, I will be less likely to hunt.” Um, ok.
BLOOMFIELD – High-tech parking meters have some residents certain Big Brother is watching. Seven “touch-display” meters on Washington Street are making motorists uneasy, the Essex News Daily says. The meters take quarters, credit cards and can accept cellphone payments. Cameras trained on streets and sidewalks record license plates. Any driver who parks, but doesn't pay within five minutes, can get a ticket automatically mailed to their home. The meters can also be programmed to provide news, weather, advertising or emergency reports – for those who want to stand around on the curb to do their daily reading. Drivers and merchants say the meters are “abusive and despicable,” and a “money-making scheme,” One said: “It’s another form of control. Once someone leaves their home, they’re being monitored.” Yup.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
AT THE STORE – A frosty bottle of “Hillary Hooch” or “Trump Tonic” might quench some political thirsts this campaign season. These new sodas from a Connecticut soft drink company prove, once again, that if there's a way to make a buck off current events, somebody will find it. Avery's Beverage's general manager told the Hartford Courant that Trump Tonic is a refreshing grape soda that's motto is “Make America Grape Again.” And Hillary Hooch is a berry soda, but its ingredients “are classified.” This is the third time Avery's Beverages has produced a special presidential sodas, previously offering John McCream, Cream deMitt and Barack O'Berry.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
The next time you go to EPCOT Center and it looks, well, a little dated, remember that the “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” was first announced on this day in 1975.
WORD OF THE DAY
Twee (TWEE) – adjective
Definition: Excessively dainty
Example: The hands of the Presidential candidate are a bit twee, if you ask me.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Muggy.