The Jaffe Briefing - February 1, 2021

TRENTON – Pounded with daily pleas from restaurant and bar owners for some relief, Gov. Phil Murphy is providing some fuzzy hope that he could be expanding indoor dining. A particular thorn is Super Bowl Sunday, in which restaurants are asking why they need to shut their doors at 10 p.m., when the game is still on, and send people home, where they can then cram into houses and apartments to watch the final minutes. How, exactly, is that controlling the spread? Murphy provided some hints on next steps. Feel free to interpret as you will: “We'd like to get more restaurant capacity. I'd love to see even a modest amount of fans, particularly senior families at sporting events, things like that.” And: “We're not there yet, but the numbers, if they keep going in the right direction — I'm hoping.” There you go, restaurant owners: the definitive direction you need to plan ahead.

STATEWIDE – There’s a lot of great journalism to be had, as the state slogs through the lingering pandemic. Stories are boundless, as COVID has sliced through all of our communities and institutions. NJ.com is now spotlighting the plight of school bus drivers and lunch ladies, whose low-paying jobs have become an enormous struggle as schools are shuttered. Bus drivers tell of wage cuts, as their routes and schedules change weekly, while spending more hours each day disinfecting buses. Meanwhile, cafeteria workers have shifted to “grab and go,” while prepping many more meals for children now facing food insecurity, as well as their parents. It’s all accomplished every day, as they fret about contracting the virus. We need to read more stories like this.

STATEWIDE – It’s doubtful you were going to get a COVID vaccine shot today, but state officials want you to know the six mega vaccination sites are closed today, as part of the “state of emergency” in response to talks of 24 inches of snow in some parts of the state. Let’s also just assume the MVC offices are closed and NJ Transit buses and trains aren’t running, but that stuff is no longer news.

BRIEFING BREATHER

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. 

ATLANTIC CITY – When Don Guardian was mayor here, he was a bit of a celebrity. From 2014-17, he was trying to run the city at a time when casinos were dropping like flies and the state took over City Hall, to the disgust of many. Yet, Guardian remained the smiling cheerleader as Rome burned, always ready to welcome convention attendees, shake hands on the boardwalk and cut any ribbon he could find. Now, the bowtie-wearing former mayor, 67, is looking for a triumphant return to politics, announcing a run for Assembly in the 2nd Legislative District as a Republican. It won’t be easy. If he wins the GOP primary, he then faces incumbent Democrats Vince Mazzeo and John Armato. “I am running for the Assembly because frankly I can’t take it anymore,” the former mayor proclaimed this weekend.

SOMERVILLE – A veteran state senator is gettin’ out while the gettin's good, setting the stage for a few eager Democrats to vie for his seat. After 38 years in office, Republican Sen. “Kip” Bateman, 63, is calling it quits, deciding not to seek re-election this fall. InsiderNJ says two Assembly Democrats from Bateman’s 16th District – Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman – hope to move up. Also likely is Hillsborough lawyer Laurie Poppe, who came within 574 votes of defeating Bateman in 2017. The district, mostly in Somerset and Hunterdon counties, was once a GOP stronghold, but it’s turned blue in recent years. Democrats now hold a lead with nearly 22,000 registered voters. So far, no viable Republican replacements are stepping up.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

BERLIN – Call it COVID boredom? Unclear, but a local guy needs a really good explanation as to why two radios were found in his apartment. And they happened to be on the exact same frequency that was used by someone to give fake orders to police helicopters and other aircraft flying above the city. He was busted late last week in the capital’s eastern Koepenick district for impersonating an air traffic controller and for giving “potentially dangerous” instructions over six months, as he steadily learned the lingo. Over.

BAR GRAMMAR

A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was a jaw-dropper of a high school basketball game on this day in 1977, when Hillsdale High School beats Person High School 2-0.

WORD OF THE DAY

Nostrum – [NAHSS-trum] – noun

Definition: A usually questionable remedy or scheme

Example: At the moment, there’s no solid investment advice, like the old nostrum that the percentage of stocks in your portfolio should be equal to 100 minus your age, no matter the current value of GameStop stock.

WIT OF THE DAY

“If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves.” 

-Lane Kirkland

BIDEN BLURB

“Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value.” 

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

White