The Morning Briefing - October 20, 2016
STATEWIDE - There's still a pot of macaroni and cheese sitting on your stove from last night. There are seven pizza boxes in your recycling bin. You recall someone going for another "beer run." You obviously are the parent of a recent college graduate, saddled with debt after four or five or six years of "higher learning." A new report says the average college debt in New Jersey rose 6 percent in 2015, with two out of every three proud graduates owing an average of $30,104, up from $28,314 the previous year. New Jersey now ranks 11th in average debt for graduates, which is probably why Junior is comfortable living in the basement until he is 35.
TRENTON - And speaking of dried-out macaroni and cheese and pizza boxes, the delegation of New Jersey lawmakers who travelled to Colorado to get a whiff of legalized marijuana will be discussing their, er, findings today from detailed study and analysis. Earlier this week, they toured retail dispensaries in the Mile High City and sat through a day of lectures from Colorado cannabis regulators, trying to figure if this $1 billion-a-year industry is right for the Garden State. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, part of this fact-finding mission, is "very confident that a new law will be passed in 2018." Perhaps, then, in the fuzzy haze, no one will notice the new gas tax.
ON CAMPUS - And speaking of higher learning, bragging rights go to five Garden State institutions, all of which earned top honors on U.S. News & World Report's 2017 Best Colleges list. No shocker that the No.1 school in the nation happens to be a little-known, Mercer County-based university, a few miles south of Plainsboro, adjacent to Palmer Square. Meanwhile, the College of New Jersey was tops in public schools among regional universities in the northern United States. Rutgers, Ramapo and Rowan universities were also well-regarded in various categories.
ATLANTIC CITY - If it sounds like a scheme that robs Peter to pay Paul, it probably is. But that's the $110 million deal the City Council made to sell the city-owned airport to the Municipal Utilities Authority. While it may help the city avoid state takeover, it also doubles the utility authority's debt, the Press of Atlantic City says. The autonomous authority provides the city's drinking water, gets its revenue from ratepayers, and must borrow every dime needed to pay for 143-acre Bader Field. But, Mayor Don Guardian said deep municipal debt could be a "poison pill" that scares off private companies hoping to acquire the city's prized water utility.
BRIDGEGATE - With word that Gov. Chris Christie is being required to appear in a Bergen County courtroom on Nov. 23, that means his lawyers only have about a month to wrangle him out of it. He is being summoned to respond to a citizen complaint related to the GWB closures. While it makes for glorious news copy to report the governor in the hot seat, it's more than doubtful he'll ultimately need to show. Meanwhile, giddy lawyers will earn even more.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
PYONGYANG, North Korea - Now that we no longer have Pedals the Bi-Pedal Bear, sadly, we need a new animal to consume our attention. After much internal debate and discussion, our focus is now officially on Azalea, the smoking chimpanzee. The 19-year-old female, whose name in Korean is "Dallae," smokes about a pack a day. The chimpanzee lights her own cigarettes. If a lighter isn't available, she can use a lit cigarette if one is tossed her way. It is insisted, however, she doesn't inhale.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Another stellar day in the history of the Nets, as they sell Julius Winfield Erving II (Dr. J) to the Philadelphia 76ers on this day in 1976. Known for that great afro, Dr. J then had a stellar 10-year career with the Sixers. An historian later noted: "Dr. J was like Thomas Edison, he was always inventing something new every night."
WORD OF THE DAY
Guerdon [GUR-dun] - noun
Definition: a reward
Example: The guerdon of tangling every day with a maniac is that you could ultimately be elected President.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Cooler