The Jaffe Briefing - March 28, 2019
ON THE RAILS - You are a commuter. You wait around for your NJ Transit train to finally arrive, and you then pay dearly for a ride into Manhattan, sandwiched between a guy with sneezing fits and a woman who recently bathed in a half-bottle of Jean Nate. Finally, after the daily delays at the tunnel, your train wheezes into Manhattan and finally rests, exhausted, at New York Penn Station. Now, you just need a quick Uber ride and - finally - you can begin your work day by groveling, yet again, for being late. But now there is yet another thing to infuriate you: A plan in Albany to surcharge rides in Manhattan south of 61st Street as part of "congestion pricing." What the hell? New Jersey officials are rightfully irate, saying this is just another toll on the poor New Jersey commuter. "I don't want folks going to New York to pay twice," Gov. Phil Murphy said. "They're already paying enough to get there." Damn, right.
MONROE - A bald eagle was the big winner at a township zoning board meeting, in which an application for 206 residential units and commercial development was unanimously rejected. The developer had wanted to build the complex in an area near a bald eagle's nest. Interest for the meeting soared so high that it prompted township officials to move the meeting to the Monroe Senior Center, where 180 residents packed a contentious meeting Tuesday night. Mayor Gerald Tamburro - determined to keep at least half of the land area in Monroe as open space - led the charge to save that eagle.
NEWARK - There's no question life is hard for young black and Hispanic menin Newark. But how difficult, exactly? The Advocates for Children of New Jersey offers a deep pe into more than 18,000 men of color through statistics and their own words. The big issues are as expected: Violence and a lack of medical care. But there's a silver lining: A number of organizations working in the city to improve leadership and educational opportunities, while trying to prevent violence, among these young men. NJ Spotlight has the story.
PATERSON - Um, can I have $28 million? That's the big ask from Paterson school officials, who arrived yesterday in Trenton, hat in hand. The New York Timesreports an apparent dire situation if the state doesn't hand millions more to one of the poorest districts in the state. School officials vow more than 200 education job cuts, including 150 teachers and 23 vice principals. Class sizes would balloon. Art and music classes would be erased. The budget proposed by the school board in Paterson, the third largest city in New Jersey, also offered a bunch of other staggering cuts. The state-controlled district is already set for a $13.2 million bump in state aid next year, which is lovely, yet $70 million less than it would get if the state fully funded its formula for school aid.
PARK RIDGE - Bilking $7 million from 30 people with phony investment scams is apparently "the family business" for a local couple. A local husband and wife, ages 60 and 58, and their son, 39, of Saddle River, pleaded guilty to using slick Ponzi schemes to defraud neighbors, friends and the elderly. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal tells The Record that this family used their illicit haul to pay for lavish shopping, dining and vacations. They also bought a few luxurious homes and seven pricey sports cars. Authorities also nabbed this family's accountant and lawyer for their roles in this scam. Sentencing is set for June. Hopefully, plenty of the victims will pack the courtroom to show the impact.
PARAMUS - Banjo-playing bears, dancing milk cartons, mooing cows and a barnyard with other animatronics are coming to Paramus Park Mall. Connecticut-based Stew Leonard's starts renovations tomorrow for its first New Jersey food store. The chain is known throughout Connecticut for its locally-sourced groceries, on-site bakeries and gourmet kitchens, as well as its wide array of mooing, singing and dancing critters, NJ.com says. Stew Leonard's replaces the mall's tired Sears and plans to create 350 local jobs. It all sounds like another viable excuse to not take the kids to Disney World.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK - The lawyers seem OK if you sell French fries that aren't from France, but you better be damn sure "potato skins" are made with potatoes. A woman is actually suing TGI Fridays, claiming "Potato Skins" snacks contain potato flakes and potato starch, but no skins, Reuters reports. Potato skins are supposed to be a healthy alternative, the woman argues, noting the Idaho Potato Commission has voiced enthusiastic support for the snack. But TGI Fridays' has misleading packaging, she argues, dismissing it as an "inferior product." Lawyers got revved up after she bought a $1.99 bag of "potato skins" last June at a Bronx convenience store. Next up: Demanding some "buffalo" in buffalo wings.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1988 that Trump Plaza was at the center of the pseudo-sports world, as tens of thousands flocked to Atlantic City for "Wrestlemania IV" and to watch "Macho Man" Savage pin Ted Dibiase.
WORD OF THE DAY
Donnybrook - [DAH-nee-brək] - noun
Definition: A melée or riot
Example: "Hey did you head down to Trump Plaza to see Hulk Hogan smash a chair over that nun, as a gaggle of choir girls put a sleeper hold on Andre the Giant? Wow, what a donnybrook!"
WIT OF THE DAY
"Whenever someone calls me ugly I get super sad and hug them, because I know how tough life is for the visually impaired." - Will Ferrell
WEATHER IN A WORD
Baseball!
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
