The Jaffe Briefing - January 8, 2019

TRENTON - Hint: Always go for state money. But, this cash-strapped city didn't bother to apply for its fair share of the state DEP's latest recycling grants, missing out on $30,000 or more. Trenton is the largest of nine New Jersey towns not getting tonnage grants from the state's $14.3 million pot. The Trentonian says former Mayor Eric Jackson's administration also failed to apply for a few years. A spokesman for Mayor Reed Gusciora says city officials did not think Trenton was eligible for the grant because it pays Mercer County nearly $1 million to collect its recyclables. Oops. Not so, says the state. Hint #2: Always read the fine print buried on page 37 of the grant application.

 

ON THE WATER - It's no hyperbole to say New Jersey is drowning in plastic. A new study from a watershed watchdog reveals that micro-plastic pollution has been found along a 23-mile stretch of the headwaters of the Raritan River. The nearly invisible plastic particles were found in higher concentrations downstream of wastewater treatment plants, but were present at all 10 sampling sites, NJ Spotlightreports. Plastic pollution poses a risk to freshwater marine life and drinking water. This report will undoubtedly add some urgency to the state's push to ban single-use plastic bags. Why? The Raritan River Basin provides drinking water to 1.5 million people in New Jersey.  Read more in NJ Spotlight. 

 

STATEWIDE - If you are one of those super-proactive people who quickly file your taxes, and get yourself a tidy refund, think again. With this ongoing federal shutdown, the IRS is only working with 12.5 percent of its workforce. We're talking just 9,946 workers, out of a workforce of 80,000 employees, who are tasked with processing returns, ignoring ringing phones and cashing payments on behalf of a nation with 325 million people. Trust us; none of these workers will be wasting time processing your refund.  This is a mess. Remember the massive changes to the federal tax system enacted last year? And imagine all those taxpayer questions now being left unanswered during the agency's busiest time of the year? It all doesn't really matter, a deflated IRS notes. Yet tax day remains April 15.

SUSSEX - Bad bus driving is an age-old tradition in the New Jersey schools, with a steady stream of stories about drivers forgetting kids, dropping them at the wrong school, getting hopelessly lost in a cul-de-sac or hitting the bottle before going on routes. Of course, all these incidents, when discovered, receive some well-deserved news coverage. And that's why NJ.com is all over the story of a contracted driver for High Point Regional High School caught on camera having a video phone chat while driving a lone student on Thursday. That student caught the driver on a 90-second video, which quickly got to authorities, who then quickly got to the driver, who was barred from future rides.