The Jaffe Briefing - March 29, 2019
PRINCETON - Is it New Jersey's very own victory over Communists in China? It could be, as the state is silencing a deal to sell Westminster Choir College to a Chinese company for a cool $40 million. The state is asking Rider University - which owns the choir college - for more information about the deal and why the school is being sold to the Communists in the first place. Tensions have soared higher than a B flat on a piccolo, with a lawsuit claiming the deal violates the 1990 merger of Rider and Westminster and could lead to the choir school's ultimate demise. And then there are two Republican lawmakers saying that devious Communists owning a choir college could bring down America as we know it. Rider still thinks the Chinese deal is best, even with a good, old-fashioned Red Scare. Just make sure to stop, drop and roll.
TRENTON - A St. Louis man's photo of bagels sliced like typical, boring bread has gone viral - and the shockwaves have reached New Jersey. Local residents are stunned, sickened and outraged by this presentation of two boxes of bagels, each sliced vertically into multiple pieces. The state Legislature has been introducing a lot of odd bills lately; maybe it is time for some real legislation to outlaw reckless bagel decimation. We need to end the madness. #SaveTheBagel.
TRENTON - After the Great Recession, former Gov. Chris Christie and the state Legislature ginned up the state's tax incentive programs for economic development, throwing around billions of dollars. What could possibly go wrong? (That's a funny one.) An audit earlier this year found plenty of problems, referred to in polite circles as "loose oversight" by the Economic Development Authority. Gov. Phil Murphy is no fan of these programs, certainly in their current form, and he set up a task force to investigate. NJ Spotlight reports this task force heard testimony yesterday, none more compelling than from a woman who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against her former company whose top executives, she said, lied on an application for a tax break. The company, Jackson Hewitt, issued a statement that it "believes it provided an accurate and comprehensive application." Hey, if any of the billions in incentives were given out in error, will the money be returned to the state? (That's another funny one.) Read other non-answers in today's NJ Spotlight.
STATEWIDE - We all hear plenty about the enormous cost of government in New Jersey. So, in contrast, let's talk a moment about a five-year-old project that has greatly improved Internet access across grades K-12 schools in New Jersey. And why do we care? Because a co-op, through the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey, is more successful than anyone could have expected, recruiting more than 265 school districts and saving them a combined $260 million in group purchasing. The savings is equal to the cost of keeping 500 teachers in New Jersey classrooms each year. The project - reaching 600,000 students in the state - increased average broadband access by 2.5 times and decreased the cost by 88 percent. So, yes, actually, New Jersey can save real money.
ON THE ROAD - Drop that smartphone already! Starting Monday, cops across New Jersey will kick off the state's annual, three-week distracted driving crackdown. The state pvied up $1 million in federal grant money for 207 local police departments to fund extra patrols during the "U Text. U Drive. U Pay." campaign. State officials tell NJ.com that talking and texting are "by far the most alarming distraction." But, motorists can also get slapped with $200-$400 tickets for talking to their passengers, while fiddling with Waze, while applying make-up, while eating a Wawa egg & cheese croissant, or while flipping the Jersey salute all over the Turnpike.
BELVIDERE - The old throwback Crossroads Diner, proudly standing as the "Gateway to the Poconos" since 1956, is up for sale. Okay, that's not too surprising since the Route 46 diner shuttered last July after 63 years of flipped eggs and bottomless coffee. It's up for auction on eBay with a minimum bid of $26,076. Bidders gotta move fast, the eBay auction closes this afternoon. PhillyVoice
says the Campora Dining Car comes with classic counters and stools, booths, some grease, plenty of Formica, and proudly seats 50. Two hitches: Bidders must cough up $6,000 within 24 hours and the remainder within three days. And the big winner must haul it away pronto.
IN THE MEDIA
NEW BRUNSWICK - New Jersey is losing another long-time, quintessential beat reporter who spent 40 years developing sources and knowing more than anyone about the towns he covered. Tom Haydon is retiring, following decades at The Star-Ledger and a stopover at TAPInto New Brunswick.Never one to be in the spotlight, Tom grudgingly offered some thoughts about this big moment: "Even as I'm retiring, there are still residents and parents across the state who will go before town councils and school boards with pleas for help to improve programs, policies and conditions for themselves, their families and their communities....Their story, and so many others, need to be told by the next generation of committed reporters and editors." Read more about Tom here.
Tom Haydon, right, in a 1994 photo at The Star-Ledger. Also pictured (L-R) Gail Jones. Tony Gallotto, Julie Beglin, Jonathan Jaffe, Kathleen Casey and Lenny Melisurgo.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK - Politicians have big egos. But, City Councilman Robert Cornegy Jr., you can say, is even bigger. The Guinness Book of World Records just named Cornegy - who is 6-foot-10 - the world's tallest politician. Right after the 53-year-old got honored at City Hall on Wednesday, the New York Post says other politicians started cutting down his towering achievement. North Dakota's state insurance commissioner, who is nearly 6-foot-11, and the 7-foot-tall mayor of tiny Warrensville Heights, Ohio, both claim the title is rightfully theirs. Cornegy doesn't blame them: "Every kid grows up wanting to be in Guinness." These kids just seemed to a grow a wee bit more.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2012 that VISA and MasterCard say an itty-bitty security breach compromised more than 10 million credit card numbers. But, hey, free super platinum cards for all.
WORD OF THE DAY
Dudgeon - [DUH-jən] - noun
Definition: A foul mood; a huff
Example: I was really in a dudgeon, losing a bid to buy the Crossroads Diner.
WIT OF THE DAY
"All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height." - Casey Stengel
WEATHER IN A WORD
Spotty
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing exclusive by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
