The Jaffe Briefing - May 29, 2019
ASBURY PARK - It wasn't that long ago that the city could best be described as "gritty." Now, the debate is no longer if Asbury Park could gentrify. Rather the focus is on the impact of all these gleaming new buildings, and the BMW-driving sect that is giving Asbury Park a hard look for their multi-million-dollar beach escapes. The issue is reaching its crescendo on the north end of the beach, where a private, walled-off beachfront pool and enclave is about to be approved. There's a big planning board meeting at 6 p.m. tonight. On one side is the developer, who argues Asbury Park is prime for this type of exclusive, members-only development, as part of the city's 2002 redevelopment plan. The other side comprises local activists and members of the city's African-American community, who are watching public access to their beach steadily vanish.
TRENTON - The failed efforts of Trump & Co. to dismantle Obamacare in New Jersey had a direct effect on state leaders, who realized that healthcare was much too important to leave to the feds. The solution is elegant in its simplicity: State lawmakers drafted bills that will establish an insurance exchange, offering everything Obamacare did, completely under the jurisdiction of the Garden State. Their plans include all the things that infuriate Trumpsters: no penalty for preexisting conditions, no requiring women to pay more for insurance, and complete coverage for a full range of birth control options. NJ Spotlight explains how the health care system can actually be compassionate.
UNDERGROUND - In what could be terrific news for Mets fans, there's talk of running the 7 line of the NYC Subway from Flushing, Queens all the way to Secaucus. This project, which would cost way north of $6 billion, would still be much cheaper than the Gateway commuter tunnel that the Trump Administration has senselessly starved for funding. Bloomberg reports that Manhattan-bound commuters (and Mets fans) would just need to reach the Lautenberg transfer station in Secaucus for a new, direct way to access NYC. This plan has been batted around for 50 years or so. No clue if the Port Authority is serious in the latest chatter, but any logical, doable option would be a home run.
FORT LEE - It was six years ago that the lanes on the George Washington Bridge mysteriously shut down, snarling traffic for miles. And, today, somehow, we are still talking about it. This long and winding road of political retribution pretty much ended Gov. Chris Christie's bid for the presidency, and left two of his staffers holding the bag. Now the appeals from Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly are before the U.S. Supreme Court, which scheduled a conference for June 13 and could decide if the high court will hear oral arguments from "Bridgegate" this fall. It's all titillating news for political junkies who have somehow not gotten enough juice out of this over-told story. Perhaps there will be some relief, finally, for Baroni and Kelly, who have already paid a very steep price.
DOWN THE SHORE - Number crunchers at NJ.com have made an interesting discovery: 37% of the property in popular shore towns is owned by those who live in other states. You can bet some parochial, home-spun New Jerseyans would be disgusted to learn that so many glorious beachfront homes are the property of (spit) out-of-staters. Others figure if these people want to drop millions on these homes, spend tens of thousands on property taxes every year and just swing by over the summer to spread their money around, who cares? The water is blue and the money is green.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SALEM, Ore. - Absolutely nothing is being accomplished in the Oregon Legislature, where Republicans are demanding a reading of every word in nearly every piece of state legislation. There's plenty of focus on the granular details of farm loans, motor vehicle taxes and other government minutiae as the minority party uses this stalling tactic to try to gain leverage over the powerful Democrats. The effort has put House reading clerk Lacy Ramirez Gruss in the spotlight as she reads legislation hour after hour, day after day. Lawmakers often chat or work at their desks during the readings, but they applauded after she read a 45-page bill on May 1 for more than two hours without a break. She recovers in the evening by drinking mint tea with honey and has incorporated stretching into her routine. Her personal record? 62 pages in one clip. To date, 85 bills totaling 461 pages have been read since May 1.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1987 that Michael Jackson officially had too much money, making national headlines in his bid to buy the Elephant Man's remains.
WORD OF THE DAY
La-di-da - [LAH-dee-dah] - adjective
Definition: Pretentious or snobbish
Example: Do I look like some la-di-da Oregon legislator?
WIT OF THE DAY
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"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
- Plato
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WEATHER IN A WORD
Wet
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive
by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
