The Jaffe Briefing - October 4, 2017
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
STATEWIDE - Ever visit a hoity-toity town in New Jersey where everyone is obviously better than you? They snicker at your faded Lee jeans, your vintage Linda Ronstadt tour shirt, your pitiful attempt at a comb-over, your 1990 Ford Escort GT and, basically, your overall appearance and position in life. Then likely you have visited one of the "Ten Snobbiest Places in New Jersey." Some website called Roadsnacks checked out 200 towns in the state, and determined where you would be an absolute laughing stock, a moronic mess, publicly ignored to no end. No. 3 is Mendham. No. 2 is Chatham and - to no surprise to anyone - No. 1 is Princeton. Click here to learn where you are obviously not welcome, you loser.
NEW BRUNSWICK - All the Big Ten universities have well-heeled,deep-pocketed alumni donating to political action committees, ensuring all those politicians at the State House keep their alma mater fat and happy. But, surprisingly, Rutgers has never had its own independent, alumni-fueled PAC. Now, it does, and just in time for election season, TAPInto New Brunswickreports. Alumni announced the formation of the Scarlet PAC, now accepting donations to help ensure state lawmakers remember Rutgers during the next budget season. Visit the Scarlet PAC here.
WESTFIELD - There are countless urban legends in New Jersey. But the spookiest, creepiest, skin-crawling story? Well, that comes from otherwise boring Westfield, according to a national website Thrillist, consumed by the story of "The Watcher." It is a story we all know well, of the mysterious stalker that sends not-so-nice letters to the residents of a million-dollar home on the Boulevard, asking if they have "young blood" and other scary things. Westfield cops have no clue who has been writing the bone-chilling letters and The Watcher may still be watching. How's that for a story, New Jersey Devil?
STATEWIDE - You probably already know this, but it is National Taco Day. And that means Tacos!, Tacos! Tacos! across New Jersey all day. We're talking 50-cent tacos, free chips or drinks, BOGO, people dressing like tacos and $5 taco "gift sets" with souvenir wrappers. At the Chevys Fresh Mex in Linden or Clifton, anyone who can eat a four-pound taco in less than 30 minutes will win free tacos for an entire year, NJ.com reports. Plenty of marketing excitement all over, except Chipotle, which is bowing out of the whole affair. Pretty cheesy.
OLD BRIDGE - On one hand, it was great for the school bus driver to have a smartphone; she could recklessly text her friends as she drove the kiddies. On the other hand, parents also had smartphones, and caught her doing the deed on video. So, this school bus driver has been rightfully suspended "until further notice," and we all get to see why, thanks to smartphones.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
TAUNTON, Mass. - There's "death do you part," but... birth do you part? A couple born on the same day at the same Massachusetts hospital have tied the knot more than two decades later. According to the most-fascinating newspaper on Earth, The Taunton Gazette, Jessica Gomes and Aaron Bairos were married Sept. 9. They've known each other since April 28, 1990, where they were crying and pooping at the same hospital in Taunton, about 40 miles south of Boston. Let's assume it was love at first sight.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1987 that fathers across America reconnected with their daughters, as the NFL used a bunch of replacement players to fill the striking teams on "Scrub Sunday."
WORD OF THE DAY
Apropos: [ap-ruh-POH] - preposition
Definition: With regard to something; concerning
Example: Apropos to nothing, I think Rutgers football will beat the spread against Illinois.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Prettier