The Jaffe Briefing - March 5, 2019
PERTH AMBOY - You'd expect any freshman legislator to quietly sit in the back of the room, listen intently and perhaps co-sponsor a bill or two. But Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez - who joined the Assembly last year to serve the 19thLegislative District, appears to be anywhere and everywhere. She serves on four committees, one in which she is vice chair. And she is already prime sponsor on a bill that is now law, requiring three-point lap and shoulder safety belts on school buses. The assemblywoman, squarely focused on social issues, stopped by for a chat, in the latest episode of the Jaffe Podcast.
TRENTON - Tax. Tax. Tax. That'll be on everyone's mind at 2 p.m. today, when Gov. Phil Murphy delivers a budget message with plans to introduce, yet again, a special tax for those earning $1 million or more. Such a move could rake in $447 million a year, Politico reports. So, for all the rich people who have yet to pack up their Range Rovers and flee the state, they'll be asking this question: Is living in New Jersey really worth all this expense? Senate President Steve Sweeney may become their best friend in all this; he says the solution to the ongoing budget crunch is not more taxes. "That's all I'm saying. And I've said that over and over," Sweeney said. As we careen toward yet another budget season clash, what's the alternative?
NEWARK - NJ Spotlight became its own newsmaker last night, joining in an event at NJPAC for the who's who in Jersey journalism. The grand announcement? The news site, a fledgling, scrappy start-up just nine years ago, has been acquired by WNET, the flagship PBS affiliate and owner of NJTV and THIRTEEN public TV stations. NJ Spotlight, retaining its own brand, will become the official partner of NJTV News, allowing the site to tell more stories, in new and creative ways. Among such dignitaries as former Gov. Tom Kean, NJ Spotlightcelebrated its next chapter in quality, non-profit journalism. Read all about it here.
ATLANTIC CITY - Sleeping in shipping containers used to be reserved for vagrants, stowaways and your other classic bums. But, quite soon, anybody can pay for this unusual pleasure. An added bonus: a short walk to the beach on New York Avenue. Developer Pat Fasano just got approvals from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority to stack 40 multi-colored steel shipping containers into a unique 10-room hotel with an outdoor courtyard for live entertainment. Fasano says it should be an "eye-popping" attraction, telling the Press of Atlantic City that building a shipping container hotel "isn't cheaper. It's hip... we're going for (something) visual." We assume there's running water.
TRENTON - Amazing that any city business gets done in our state's capital between all the wild accusations, name-calling and litigation. The very latest: North Ward Councilwoman Marge Caldwell-Wilson is hiring lawyers to smack down West Ward Councilwoman Robin Vaughn for posting allegedly libelous remarks on social media. The Trentonian says Vaughn is so outspoken and apparently ruffled so many feathers that her council colleagues dub her "Radioactive Robin." And, they want to censure her for publicly "disrespecting" them and "badgering" city workers. Vaughn remains unflappable, telling the eager tabloid: "My relationship is with my constituents. All my constituents are very happy with me."
TOMS RIVER - A couple living across from an elementary schoolapparently never noticed all the "Drug Free School Zone" signs. They've been busted with a half-pound of marijuana and 48 bricks of heroin, in their odd location for a suburban drug den. Toms River cops had been trying to figure out the local source for the heroin hitting the streets, with leads bringing them to an apartment across from Walnut Street Elementary School, home to 800 students. Charges include intent to sell drugs on school property. What?? Assume there is plenty more to this story.
IN THE MEDIA
NEWARK - Here's a plug for TAPInto's newest columnist, Mark Di Ionno, who will be signing his new novel, Gods of Wood & Stone, at the Rutgers-Newark Barnes and Noble in the Hahne's Building on Halsey Street at 6 p.m. tonight. As a Star-Ledger columnist through 2018, Di Ionno was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in news commentary and six-time winner of the New Jersey Press Association award for best column writing. A Jersey guy with a great Jersey voice, he is the author of five books, to date. So, stop by, say "hi," and, hey, why not buy a book?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK - In our latest edition of "Why the heck would anyone serve in Congress?," we tell the story of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explaining to the New York Post why she dared get a ride home Sunday night in a "gas-guzzling, for-hire minivan." Having to actually respond to such a dumb allegation, the rookie congresswoman explained that the minivan wasn't for-hire. In fact, her aunt owns it, she claimed. Moreover, Ocasio-Cortez overshared that if reporters "saw how many goldfish snacks were in this thing, they'd say I was killing the ocean too." The Postnoted the controversial vehicle was, in fact, a white Chrysler Town & Country - which averages just 17 mpg in the city. Again, we ask: Why would anyone endure such over-scrutiny to serve in Washington?
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1913 that the U.S. Department of Labor was created. It was a great way to create jobs - especially for this federal department, now with 17,450 personnel and a $105 billion budget.
WORD OF THE DAY
Vox populi - [VOKS POP-yə-lye] - noun
Definition: Popular sentiment
Example: Will the governor's budget message today jive with the vox populi in New Jersey?
WIT OF THE DAY
"I came from a real tough neighborhood. Once a guy pulled a knife on me. I knew he wasn't a professional, the knife had butter on it." - Rodney Dangerfield
WEATHER IN A WORD
Shiny
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
