The Morning Briefing - January 30, 2017
DOWN THE SHORE – What do Jersey beach debris and dandruff shampoo have in common? Apparently, plenty, as a Trenton recycling company is scooping up plastics found on our shores. It will all be used to make about 25 percent of a Head & Shoulders bottle that will be sold in France beginning this summer. NJ 101.5 reports this will be the first shampoo bottle comprised of recycled beach plastic. So, when some guy in Paris finds a cigarette butt floating in his shampoo, he can say, “Ahh, New Jersey!”
ATLANTIC CITY – Banning helium balloons? Well, with no other obvious pressing issues in our gambling resort, apparently, the City Council is taking a bold step to make Atlantic City the fourth Shore town to prohibit the airborne release of helium-filled latex and Mylar balloons. Environmentalists from the Surfrider Foundation have already persuaded Longport, Margate and Ventnor to enact similar bans to prevent birds and marine life from ingesting balloons. Philly.com says the City Council was warned that Trenton lobbyists for balloon makers may attempt to protest. But we think it will just be a lot of hot air.
STATEWIDE – You may have been a highly regarded cardiologist in your native country. But you are hanging wallpaper in New Jersey. Why? Nicholas Montalto, a national expert on immigrant integration, tells NJ 101.5 that many of the immigrants who used to settle in the Garden State were not well educated. But that’s no longer the case. There’s plenty of “brain waste” among the 20 percent of the state’s population that is foreign-born. Many are trained in science technology, engineering and the health professions. But, to make ends meet, and with language barriers and issues with certifications, they take whatever jobs they can get. Perhaps maximizing this resource should also be part of the current immigration debate.
HAMILTON – In the good ol’ days, we had these crazy contraptions called “typewriters.” No terabytes. No gigabytes. Some didn’t even need electricity and they had odd names like Underwood, Remington and Smith-Corona. Now, township-based Karl Business Machines is proving what’s old can be new, even useful. Owner Rick Dutczak rented a dozen of his IBM Selectric typewriters as props for the new Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures,” and a host of other movies since 2011. Dutczak’s shop, started by his dad in 1976, restores, rents and sells typewriters to customers worldwide. Dutczak tells The Trentonian his machines probably didn’t help the new film earn three Oscar nominations. But they sure helped with the authenticity.
IN THE MEDIA
NEWARK – Living in the city you cover presents many unexpected opportunities for news gathering. Case in point is Mark Bonamo of TAPInto NewarkInc, who happened to be celebrating Mass at Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Saturday, when some alleged nut job shambled up to the alter and punched a Bishop in the face. That led to the news site’s exclusive account of the arrest of this bizarre suspect. And then, with Bonamo’s contacts in the church, he was able to secure video that captured it all on film. See it here.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
EPPING, N.H. – Patrons at a local Burger King got one heckuva Whopper at the drive-thru, as two employees were running a side business selling marijuana. NH1 reports that customers would ask for the “Nasty Boy,” with crispy fries. They were then given the gonja in a separate container, as part of their happy meal. Cops busted the 20-year-old worker and his 19-year-old “supervisor,” following what would appear to be a very simple sting operation.
STATEWIDE – Snap. Snap. Snap. Happy Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day. Snap.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2007 that PC users shook their fists and cursed Bill Gates, as they were then required to figure out a new operating system, Windows Vista.
WORD OF THE DAY
Macerate [MASS-uh-rayt] – verb
Definition: To soften by steeping or soaking so as to separate the parts.
Example: I macerated an olive into my third martini and then attempted to remember the definition of “macerate.”
WEATHER IN A WORD
Brrr