The Jaffe Briefing - October 17, 2017
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
NEWARK - The stars keep coming. Phil Murphy is calling in plenty of favors as a leading Democratic fundraiser, as all the stars of the Democratic Party are steadily streaming into New Jersey to stump for him as governor. There was Joe Biden. There was Al Gore. And now, TAPInto Newark reports, that Barack Obama will be at the Robert Treat Hotel on Thursday afternoon. It is invitation-only, of course, so please bring your wallet. Next up: Hillary Clinton on Sunday in Harrison.
CLIFFSIDE PARK - It began with a teacher demanding a student "Speak American!" And now school officials want to suspend dozens of students who walked out of Cliffside Park High School yesterday to protest the teacher, arguing freedom of expression. The Bergen Record has a 27-second clipof the teacher yelling at a student, saying "Men and women are fighting. They are not fighting for your right to speak Spanish. They are fighting for your right to speak American." Kids yesterday were outside the school, waving flags from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Brazil. Strong suggestion to school officials considering discipline: Let this one go.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - And, speaking of tolerance, state election officials are recognizing the changing face of New Jersey. The Philadelphia Inquirer notes there are around 200,000 Asian Americans who are not voting because they have a difficult time with the English language. To get these voters in the fold, the state will now be publishing candidate statements and public questions on its website in Gujarati and Korean, in addition to Spanish and English. That's a huge tip-off for savvy politicians, willing to recognize there's a huge voting bloc out there for anyone willing to make the effort to communicate.
ON THE ROAD - So, you pick up your brand-new car from the dealer. Congrats! But then you wonder why a cop is pulling you over and slapping you with a $100 fine. Huh? In yet another "only in New Jersey scenario," NJ 101.5notes a license plate frame can't get in the way of any markings on a license plate. So, those dealer frames - in which they proudly promote themselves on your vehicle for gobs of free advertising wherever you go - can get you a ticket if the plastic covers "Garden State" or "New Jersey."
NEWARK - Seven billion dollars. Let's repeat that. Seven billion dollars. That is the windfall Gov. Chris Christie is waving at Amazon if it selects Newark as the location for an East Coast headquarters. TAPInto Newark reports the governor is offering the tax breaks - the second largest in U.S. history - with the buy-in of Mayor Ras Baraka, who would hand Amazon a property tax abatement and breaks on the city's much-despised payroll tax. State and city officials call this a game-changer. Let's see if Amazon is as equally impressed.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
YELLVILLE, Ark. - It is unclear if any specific law was broken, but the feds think something just doesn't seem right when you drop live turkeys out of a plane at a festival. And so the Federal Aviation Administration is now looking into the "Yellville Turkey Trot" in northern Arkansas, when a low-flying pilot heaved some turkeys out the window on Saturday. Local animal rights activists are appalled over the annual tradition since the 1960s, alleging the pilot is terrorizing birds for the crowd's amusement. It's outrageously abusive! What's next? Throwing turkeys in the oven and eating them?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
WORD OF THE DAY
Euphony - [YOO-fuh-nee] - noun
Definition: A pleasing or sweet sound; especially the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear
Example: We look forward to the euphony of the gubernatorial candidates in tonight's debate.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Sun