TRENTON - Well, a lot of options seem to be on the table, as state lawmakers try to hash out a new state budget by June 30. Politico was at Gov. Phil Murphy's press conference yesterday in Trenton and quickly noticed a prevailing theme. One reporter asked, "Are you going to sign a budget without a millionaire's tax?" "All options are on the table," the governor replied. "Is a government shutdown an option?" asked another. "All options are on the table," Murphy said. Another reporter went a different direction: "Do you have any sort of timeline for action on the budget?" "Well the budget hasn't been passed yet," the governor said. "But you should expect us to have all options on the table." So, there you have it. A lot of options. And a table.
PATERSON - Toss your caps high for 40 students at Paterson's International High School. NJ Spotlight reports they're the school's first "International Baccalaureate" class, students who mastered a rigorous academic program more commonly associated with competitive private schools and toney districts. NJ Spotlight likens it to "Advanced Placement on steroids." Some of the schools to which the Paterson graduates are headed - and with hefty scholarships in tow - are Columbia, Penn, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Seventeen-year-old Aamya Perez is one of those grads. "Patersonians, we're great and like to encourage each other," she said. "People outside may not have faith in us or our abilities, but we're thriving and able to go to higher-up colleges that they may not have thought we were capable of." Aamya sounds darn capable.
LAWRENCE - If you want to truly know who has the best cheesesteak around, talk to the guy who managed to consume more than 275 of them over the past year. That gastronomical accomplishment goes to a Uber driver from Wilmington, Del., determined to be the most knowledgeable expert, worldwide, of the cheesesteak, reports the Bucks County Local News. And his favorite cheesesteak ever? Not in NY. Not in Philly. But at Meatheadz on Route 1 in Lawrence, where he is madly in love with a sandwich called the "Drippin' Steak," in which the sauce seeps to the bottom of the roll, yet magically holds up for the munching.
LINDEN - '86 Mets fans try to be really supportive. After all, Lenny Dykstra had 127 hits that season and even got some votes to be the National League MVP. But then you hear about his latest misadventures, like all-night Dumpster diving over the weekend with a guy named Sprinkles the Clown, trying to find his $80,000 dentures, NJ.com reports. Apparently, Dykstra took out his teeth to eat at a Jersey Mike's in Linden because the bread was too hard. He wrapped his treasured teeth in a napkin and accidentally threw them out. He told Jersey Mike's workers "there was no f---- way I was leaving without my f---- teeth." So, he hit the trash bin for nine hours, finally finding the dentures in the early morning hours of Father's Day, to the relief of Sprinkles. Another home run for the former baseball great.
WAYNE - High school graduates are getting a crash course in real-life labor issues. They'll see it at graduation exercises beginning tomorrow, when teachers won't be volunteering to work. The local teacher's union is not tipping its hand to NJ.com, declining to comment on the specifics of their lack of involvement at five ceremonies. But the union is blaming the administration, because of "ongoing and egregious actions." Surprisingly the issue is not about money, as the current contract runs through 2021. The issue, it seems, is that 23 union members have been suspended for various reasons over the past five years, with the school superintendent citing "student safety." Meanwhile, school officials say all the hoopla will go on as planned, as they slam the union for putting the kids in the middle of whatever this is. The union counters that teachers will still be there to celebrate, just don't expect them to do anything "non-essential" or "non-compensated."
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NATIONWIDE - It's the song that never ends. And now it will be plaguing 100 North American cities this fall, as "Baby Shark Live" goes on tour for a big money grab. You are already desperate to forget the 2015 hit, now with 3 billion views on YouTube. It is the same music over and over, polluting the Internet thanks to some South Korean firm named Pinkfong. Promoters vow this show isn't just kids dancing to Baby Shark over and over, claiming the "plot" will be for Baby Shark to join up with his friend, Pinkfong, to sing and dance such songs as "Five Little Monkeys," "Wheels on the Bus" and "Jungle Boogie." Oh, my. The schedule will be released July 9 for shows beginning in October. If you have little kids, our deepest apologies.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2013 that Tony Soprano, (we mean, James Gandolfini), died of a heart attack in Rome. Known best as New Jersey's favorite crime boss for six terrific seasons, Gandolfini is also remembered today for being a big supporter of his alma mater, Rutgers.
Hey, did anyone catch his first performance, 1987's low-budget "Shock! Shock! Shock!"?
Sundog - [SUN-dawg] - noun
Definition: A parhelion (a bright circular spot on a solar halo)
Example: I listened to "Baby Shark" so many times that I hallucinated and thought I saw a sundog.
WIT OF THE DAY
"You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone."
- John Madden
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WEATHER IN A WORD
Sopping
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive
by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun