The Jaffe Briefing - April 9, 2019
TRENTON - He's baaack. Former Gov. Chris Christie is vowing to share more of his unsolicited opinions about the current governor, after 15 months of relative silence and a book tour. This is exactly what New Jersey needs: another former politician eager for one more glorious headline. Christie is in The Star-Ledger today, blaming Murphy for being from Massachusetts, blaming Murphy for not being "plain spoken," and claiming he would trounce Murphy in a head-to-head gubernatorial match-up. (Did someone say WrestleMania 36?) In any case, Christie continues to provide a valuable contribution to the public discourse.
JERSEY CITY - It's not easy these days being Gen. Casimir Pulaski. Lauded for saving George Washington's life in the Battle of Brandywine, shot dead in 1779 at age 34, and forever remembered for his sacrifice in the American Revolution through the naming of the Pulaski Skyway in 1932, the general is now back in the news. Researchers at the Smithsonian Institute were sniffing around his unmarked tomb at the Pulaski Monument in Savannah earlier this year, comparing the mitochondrial DNA in his skull with that of his grandniece. The results? It looks like Pulaski may have been a woman, or intersexual. That made for must-see television last night on the Smithsonian Channel, which debuted a documentary called "America's Hidden Stories: The General Was Female?" Next up: Was Gen. Marquis de Lafayette in a secret love triangle with Paul Revere and Thomas Paine?
STATEWIDE - The next scare: Candida auris, a drug-resistant fungus that's causing headaches for hospitals. New Jersey is among the states affected by the benign-sounding, not-so-fun fungus, with 104 confirmed and 22 probable cases by the end of February; only New York and Illinois have had more. It mostly affects people who are already ill and may already be hospitalized with compromised immune systems. One expert explained to NJ Spotlight that people in good health have little to fear from the fungus although they are capable of carrying it, without symptoms, and infecting others with less resistance. One theory about the rise in infections: the chronic overuse of antibiotics. Read about it in NJ Spotlight.
DOWN THE SHORE - It seems unfathomable to write this sentence: Six-and-a-half years after Superstorm Sandy, more than 1,000 families are still not back in their homes. Unbelievable. Luckily, more federal cash is now being earmarked for construction projects, while rental assistance programs are being extended so that residents aren't paying rent and a mortgage concurrently. The feds appear eager to complete these Sandy repairs via "supplemental recovery funds." Perhaps - finally and hopefully - we are coming to the end.
WESTFIELD - Congressman Kean? Hey, that could happen, as media is reporting Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. - a well-known Republican and former U.S. Senate candidate in 2006 - is planning to announce next week that he will be challenging freshman Rep. Tom Malinowski in the 7th district. New Jersey Globe reported that Kean launched an exploratory committee in March and is planning to make the big announcement next week in Clark. It would make for an interesting race. The district was previously Republican, with Leonard Lance in the seat, and could easily flip again with a reasonable Republican who can safely hide from a blistering Trump endorsement.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
RIDGEFIELD, Conn. - How do you quickly dry a wet baseball field? No clue, but assume it is common sense that you don't set it ablaze. Unclear who was the genius who showered the field of dreams with 25 gallons of gasoline on Saturday and then lit the match. Nearly 100 people watched this spectacle, the Hearst Connecticut Media reports, as the crew was trying to get the field ready for the high school team to host neighboring Amity. The hazardous waste removal crew arrived Sunday to begin digging up the contaminated soil, and the spill team will be coming in this week to cart it away. Total cost: more than $50,000.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A toddler has locked his dad out of his iPad: for 47 years. The son entered the wrong passcode one too many times, prompting the device to lock itself and inform the toddler that he can try again in 25-and-a-half million minutes. That's when the kid is 50 years old, and those apps could really, really use an update.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
The next time you botch parallel parking, remember on this day in 1985 that scientists in Hawaii were able to measure the distance between the earth and the moon within one inch.
WORD OF THE DAY
Opusculum - [oh-PUSK-yə-ləm] - noun
Definition: A minor work (as of literature) - usually used in plural
Example: Is this newsletter a collection of opuscula? Uh, sure.
WIT OF THE DAY
"Religion. It's given people hope in a world torn apart by religion." - Jon Stewart
WEATHER IN A WORD
Cooler
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing exclusive
by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
