The Morning Briefing - August 19, 2016
AT THE POLLS – Vetoes trumped votes yesterday as our governor showed up for work only to rebuff a pair of measures that Democratic lawmakers say would broaden the state's pool of eligible voters. Calling it “legally questionable” and possibly unconstitutional, Gov. Chris Christie rejected legislation that would have allowed 17-year-olds to vote in June primaries as long as they turn 18 before the next November general election. Using harsher terms, Christie also derailed automatic voter registrations for residents applying for or renewing their driver's licenses, dubbing it “a cocktail of fraud” and ridiculing it as the “Voter Fraud Enhancement and Permission Act.” With 700,000 more Democrats than Republicans already registered to vote here, perhaps our GOP governor has a motive for not getting more people to the polls.
STATEWIDE – Two out of three usually isn't bad, except when it comes to how unfriendly the Garden State is to visitors. Apparently, we stink. Newark and Atlantic City are two of the nation’s three rudest, grouchiest and most inhospitable cities. (Got a problem with that??) That’s according to 128,000 readers surveyed by Condé Nast Traveler. On a global scale, Newark also ranked #1 as the world's “unfriendliest city,” edging out Pakistan's cranky, backward capital, Islamabad. About Newark, one tourist says, it's “one of the saddest looking cities I've ever seen.” Of Atlantic City, another writes: “It's a strange, split-personality town … grinding poverty and over-the-top conspicuous consumption.” You can read list, or not. Or jump in a lake.
IN COURT – It might not bode so well for Sen. Bob Menendez that the same federal judge handling his high-profile case just threw a courtroom tizzy over another, far less notable corruption case. Judge William Walls made national headlines for scolding the U.S. Attorney's Office this week over “a pattern” of swapping lighter penalties for plea deals. The Record says this hard-nosed judge called it “ridiculous” and “sheer legal nonsense” to go easy on a contractor who admitted guilt in a federal bid-rigging scheme involving two Union City officials. During his gavel-slammer, Walls said: “Society is being swindled and your office seems to care about notching wins. If you swindle the government … you should go to jail.” Might be why Menendez asked another federal appeals court yesterday to take a second look at tossing out his indictment?
PATERSON - In what could be the video of the day, national media is reporting the attempted robbery of a Boost Mobile in Paterson on Wednesday. Plenty of giggles as the owner was able to drop the security gate at the front of the store, trapping in the robbers. Video shows the exact moment the metal gates slammed down, sparking panic from the robbers, NBC reports. "Get us outta here!" they shouted as they tried to break through the glass, generating a crowd of laughing gawkers shooting cell phone video. "I can't let you outta there!" one woman shouts back. See it here.
MANCHESTER – Politicians here are drumming up votes for Julia Scotti. And it's working. Folks in her Whiting neighborhood now recognize her at the Heritage Restaurant and her local Stop & Shop, pausing to voice support. Except Scotti isn't a candidate seeking for public office. This 63-year-old transgender jazz drummer-turned-language arts teacher-turned stand-up comic is a finalist on NBC's “America’s Got Talent.” Viewers can vote for her by app, online or a toll-free number after her live appearance at 8 p.m. next Tuesday. Meanwhile, Mayor Kenneth Palmer and council members are busy mustering support, the Manchester Times says. Click here for Scotti's upcoming gigs in unfriendly Atlantic City and Ocean Grove.
MAHWAH — There really aren't any greasy spoons or rowdy bars in this affluent Bergen County town, so people here want weary truckers to stop using the town as the nightly pit stop. Apparently, a lineup of tractor trailers keep parking, night after night, on vacant land off Route 287, the site of a long-delayed shopping center. The police chief tells NJ Advance Media his officers have rousted and ticketed drivers, but the trend persists. Now, Mayor William Laforet is trying to get state transportation officials to do something “beyond signs that keep disappearing.” Perhaps advertise a 99-cent breakfast special and free showers over the NY state line.
JERSEY CITY – Going to court? Kindly leave your heroin at home. Sheriff's officers ended up arresting a guy they saw skulking around the courtroom door at the Hudson County's “judicial processing center” on Newark Avenue. When the man opened a bag he was carrying to get his identification for officers, they noticed more than a dozen bags of heroin, the Jersey Journal says. The old “Ha, ha, that’s not mine, officer,” didn’t exactly work. Police discovered the suspect had outstanding warrants in two towns, besides a series of drug charges. Looks like plenty of “judicial processing” for this guy.
ONLINE - Appearing on any social media page near you is the life-sized statues of Donald Trump that are greeting passers-by in cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Cleveland. Once you scrub your eyes out, you can thank the activist collective called INDECLINE for the artwork. You can see a serious-looking Trump with his hands folded over a big belly. There's some genitalia there as well, but some is also deliberately missing, we assume. No comment, as of yet, from the Trump camp. Nor, any orders for replicas.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1993 that Mattel and Fisher Price merge, plowing the way for an odd marriage between Barbie® and SpongeBob®, creating a legion of really funky Little People®.
WORD OF THE DAY
Throttlebottom [THROT-l-bot-um] – noun
Definition: A harmless, but incompetent person in a public job or elected office.
Example: Only a real throttlebottom like Wally gets to run a Motor Vehicle Commission office.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Beach.