The Jaffe Briefing - December 14, 2017
|
The Jaffe Briefing will publish its final issue of the year on Friday, returning Tuesday, January 2. Happy 2018 to all!
|
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
TRENTON - A state budget with "honest" numbers? That may soon be coming to New Jersey, as Phil Murphy has vowed to develop budgets based on real numbers, as opposed to financial manipulations as "sleight of hand" that has been the hallmark of Trenton's good ol' budget-crunching. Murphy said budgets would be based "solidly in reality with honest numbers and achievable goals," adding "that's not something we've seen in Trenton in awhile." It's an obvious swipe at the current administration, which has dealt the state 11 credit downgrades and a dead-last ranking among states' ranking in fiscal health. So, are we actually talking an end to the one-shot revenue gimmicks? Likely response from Gov. Chris Christie: "Yeah, good luck with that, Phil."
STATEWIDE - Unclear if this is good news or bad, but New Jersey has more dentists than any other state in the Union. New Jersey also has the second highest number of high school graduates, while 30 percent of us admit to doing absolutely no physical activity. All these fun facts are part of the United Health Foundation's "America's Health Rankings," which reveals New Jersey is the 12th-healthiest state, dropping from ninth last year. Massachusetts came in first, probably because they actually have a winning NFL team. Mississippi ranked last, probably because they have no football team. Just a guess, however.
NEWARK - Frustrated by NJ Transit, with derailed trains, expensive tickets and chronic delays? At least you can rest assured that our favorite commuter line is paying for office space it doesn't use. The Record reports that NJ Transit spent $4.4 million to purchase office space it had been leasing at its Newark headquarters, and another $1.8 million to renovate it. Much of the 34,423 square feet of space has remained vacant as the agency prepares for additional personnel. The typical commuter remains nonplussed, just hoping those switches don't freeze, the train somehow arrives on time and that the passenger in the shared seat stops shouting into his phone.
NEW BRUNSWICK - Doubtful that Rutgers University will be interested in re-enrolling a 21-year-old former student, found to have cost the school up to $10 million by continually attacking its servers and taunting university officials trying to figure it out. TAPInto New Brunswick reports that Paras Jha of Fanwood has admitted to compromising hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices, paralyzing the school's central system over the course of two years. In what this kid may have thought to be uproarious fun, he timed his attacks when fellow students were attempting to take exams or registering for classes. Rutgers officials have no clue what motivated Jha, but he can say - for at least a fleeting moment - that he was the smartest kid at school.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
JUPITER INLET, FL. - First, there were the extensive repairs. Then, a huge price cut. And, finally, an exorcism. And now, Olivia Newton-John has finally been able to sell her mansion. You may recall Rosie O'Donnell was all set to buy it two years ago for $5.5 million. But then a contractor killed himself in one of the bedrooms with his father's gun, the Palm Beach Post reports. Newton-John promptly brought in a Catholic priest to remove the demons, but O'Donnell still backed out, saying "It just didn't feel right." The media then jumped in, calling the house "cursed." Newton-John sank $6.9 million into the property. With all the bad publicity, it finally sold for $5 million.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was on this day in 2014 that pet supply retailer PetSmart was purchased by a private equity firm for $8.7 billion - equivalent to 16 trillion goldfish.
WORD OF THE DAY
Gravamen - [gruh-VAY-mun] - noun
Definition: The material or significant part of a grievance or complaint
Example: My gravamen is that people somehow forget how to drive in New Jersey when two inches of snow fall.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Snow (if you haven't noticed)