The Jaffe Briefing - February 6, 2019

STATEWIDE - Chances are that no inductees in the New Jersey Hall of Fame will be appearing anytime soon on a Jaffe Podcast. Let's just assume the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and Meryl Streep are a bit too busy to yuk it up in our podcast studio. But we did land the second best: the official photographer of the Hall of Fame, to visit with us and even bring a box of heart-shaped, cream-filled donuts. We welcome Gary Gellman to the studio to discuss his 10 great years with the Hall of Fame, his television show on Verizon FiOS 1 News and why, very likely, you've seen him around, as his company celebrates its 30th year covering all things Jersey. Click here to listen.

STATEWIDE - The next time you see some millennials looking all trendy, fresh from brunch, tapping a screen with great importance, and wearing clothes you assume are all the rage, pity them. That's because they are positively screwed, reports The (failing) New York Times. The gaggle of people ages 25 to 34 earned less in 2017 than the same group in 2000. Median net worth has dropped for all people under the age of 55 this century. The (failing) newspaper says there's plenty of corporate greed these days, hoarding cash for shareholders, rather than offering generous salaries. And so this generational wealth gap broadens, as millennials can't afford homes or invest in the stock market. There's also the inconvenient truth of climate change and the Trump tax "cut," of which millennials shoulder the brunt. But, alas, millennials have one cruel, ultimate advantage: Their young age. Older people most certainly will die, as has been the practice. And the money, eventually, has to flow somewhere.

 

TRENTON - To figure out why some schools have chronic absenteeism, lawmakers brought in experts on the subject: students. Eric Bellamy, a senior at a Newark high school, shared he was homeless in 2013 and unpopular at school. "I was so depressed I just stopped going to school," he said at yesterday's hearing. Amaly Garcia, now pursuing a master's in public health at Rutgers-Newark, often had to care for her baby sister while her parents worked long hours. "It was really a challenge for me to get to school." The bottom line? Chronic absenteeism in schools is a - chronic - problem for New Jersey with no quick fix. But after listening to real experts discuss why they are skipping school, lawmakers may figure how to counteract it.  Learn what the expert witnesses had to say in NJ Spotlight. 

 

TRENTON - Senate Democrats are resuscitating a bill to keep Donald Trump's name off the New Jersey ballot in 2020. Unless, that is, the President finally lets everyone take a good, long look at his income tax filings over these many long years of promises. This measure made its way to Gov. Chris Christie's desk in 2017, but he vetoed it, saying it was a "transparent political stunt masquerading as a bill." With Democrat Phil Murphy now as governor, it may have a far better chance of becoming law. The bill, sponsored by Senators Loretta Weinberg, Linda Greenstein, Shirley Turner and Troy Singleton, is again making national news. From the Trump perspective, he has no chance of winning our Blue state. So does he really need to be on the ballot?

 

 

TRENTON - Want a dream job? Just show up and start working. That appears to be the bizarre case with Murphy's campaign and transition official accused of sexual assault.A state oversight panel has beaten its head against the wall for 38 hours, with hearings across seven days, and still has no answer to a very basic question: Who hired Al Alvarez? It appears he said he was hired as chief of staff of the School Development Authority, based on the sign-off of Murphy honchos. But not one of them recalls saying "You are Hired," according to their sworn testimony. And the governor doesn't recall hiring Alvarez for the position, either.

JACKSON - It's easy to applaud a huge, job-boosting project that promises to dedicate profits to fighting multiple sclerosis. That's how Vito Cardinale, the man behind Adventure Crossing USA, tells the Asbury Park Press he hopes to honor his late wife, Linda, who succumbed to multiple sclerosis in 2014. Cardinale's $500 million project just got the OK for eight restaurants and a convenience store/gas station on Route 537, next to the two hotels and domed sports-entertainment complex he's building down the road from Six Flags Great Adventure. Cardinale says this project will be the "economic driver" for an on-site medical research facility to study neurological disorders. Cardinale was the driving force behind the Linda E. Cardinale Multiple Sclerosis Center at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold.