The Jaffe Briefing - January 22, 2020
BRIDGEWATER – It’s been 87 years or so since Prohibition was repealed, so Bridgewater officials figure it’s high time to update the municipal laws. And, so, the township council has finally gotten around to repealing one of its own Prohibition-era ordinances that bans local residents from purchasing booze on credit. The Courier News reports this law hasn’t been followed in Bridgewater for generations and there’s been no Prohibition agents lurking in the bushes to arrest someone who dares plunk down a credit card to buy a Bud Light. Town officials have no clue if this law was ever enforced, especially because it doesn’t include any penalty provisions. The council has also repealed a part of the ordinance that blocks the sale of alcoholic beverages to any “mental defective or habitual drunkard.” More good news for us.
TRENTON – One of the year's most under-recognized stories has been the ongoing lawsuit over segregation in New Jersey’s public schools, which could drastically change the fabric of every community in the state. NJ Spotlight reports the state’s public school system is considered the most segregated in the country, largely due to the de facto segregation of housing patterns and laws requiring students to attend schools in their own cities and towns. For instance, NJ Spotlight notes, a quarter of all students attend schools that are either at least 90% white or 90% nonwhite. More than 100 districts are 90% or more nonwhite. The lawsuit is demanding those barriers be torn down, forcing diversity across municipal lines, if people want it or not. The ripple effect would be indescribable. Read the latest here.
WILDWOOD – Like anything involving Donald J. Trump, everything seems to be bigger than reality for his Jan. 28 rally in the Wildwood Convention Center. Take, for example, the claim by Rep. Jeff Van Drew that 100,000 people have so far sought tickets for this Trump-a-palooza. Here’s another unsubstantiated stat: So, far, 30 grassroots groups are planning “mass” protests against the 45th President who has seven of the exact same red ties, six shades of hair and one impeachment proceeding. And even some more numbers: 15,000 people will be issued tickets for a venue that only holds 7,500 people. Expect six local fire departments to descend, with the total number of entities eager to pay for any of this fiasco: Zero.
BRIEFING BREATHER: On all postage stamps issued by the State of Israel, the glue is certified kosher.
TRENTON – A rookie assemblyman may be eating lunch by himself for awhile; his first piece of legislation calls for term limits for this fellow colleagues. Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-Morris), who replaced a fellow Republican who spent 24 years in office, introduced the law just after getting sworn-in, calling for a constitutional amendment to limit Assembly members to 12 years in office — six full terms, Politico reports. Bergen is correct; serving in government should be a temporary gig, not the lifetime career it has become. In any case, expect his senior colleagues to give him one heckuva wedgie in the Assembly restroom.
CAMDEN – New Jersey is in a “friendly feud” with Pennsylvania over Philly cheesesteak. A war-of-words erupted after a post on the Garden State’s popular Twitter site bragged that Philly cheesesteaks made here are better than those made anywhere else. That boastful (and completely accurate) post prompted Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman to fire back. He tells the Patriot-News he “sure as heck isn’t letting New Jersey lay claim” to his favorite iconic onion-and-cheese smothered sandwich. Fetterman is getting support from a host of other twits on Twitter, gleefully trash-talking some of New Jersey’s finest heart-clogging cuisine. Among them is an NYPD cop who has bashed us for “pulling the same stunt” a few years ago when New Jersey insisted our pizza tastes better than anything New York can concoct. Will these people ever learn?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BROOKLYN – Porn would be more meaningful for the deaf if it had subtitles. That’s what a deaf Brooklyn man claims in a new federal lawsuit he’s filed against three internet porn sites. The New York Post says this 45-year-old fellow had a hard time following such videos as “Hot Step-Aunt Babysits Disobedient Nephew” and “Sexy Cop Gets Witness To Talk.” So, he’s says Pornhub, RedTube
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1964 that the world’s largest cheese was unveiled at New York’s World Fair, coming in at 34,591 pounds, courtesy of Wisconsin cheesemakers.
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THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive
by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
