The Jaffe Briefing - February 3, 2021

STATEWIDE – If it wasn’t for all that front-page news and four-column-wide photos, would we have known it snowed? Perhaps. But now the big question in the New Jersey press corps is how much fell since Monday. The National Weather Service is still gathering data with raw, unapologetic enthusiasm, but it looks like Montague Township in Sussex County may have smashed a record for the most snow in a 24-hour period, at 33.2 inches. The Asbury Park Press reports this would shatter a record from April 1915 in Rutherford, where 32 inches accumulated over that period. No one knew the weather could bring so much nail-biting drama. Perhaps a new revenue stream for Draftkings.

STATEWIDE – New Jersey has a standard curriculum; all school kids must learn certain stuff for state-mandated tests. Yet, while there is this unquestioned uniformity, teachers’ pay widely swings across the state, depending on the school district. NJ.com reports the median teacher salary in New Jersey is $70,815. Yet, in tiny, poor East Newark, that median salary is $44,258. And at rich Northern Valley Regional in Bergen County, that number is $113,869.  Sure, the cost of living is much different, as well as other compelling factors that any school board can argue with aplomb. But it is still amazing these teachers are paid so differently to follow the same basic curriculum.

BRIEFING BREATHER

There are plenty more chickens than people in the world.

(Eat Mor Chickn)

STATEWIDE – Seems there’s nothing you can’t get at a CVS these days. Pick up your Cheerios, a birthday card, photos of grandma and now… life-saving vaccine. Yep, CVS pharmacies across the state are rolling up their sleeves, preparing to begin vaccinating customers next Thursday. The first wave includes 19,900 doses, to be quickly gobbled up by 14 stores. Appointments can be made beginning next Tuesday. While in line, make sure to grab some puppy chow, too.

STATEWIDE – We are all mask-wearing people, so many of us are likely unaware of a new federal law that went into effect on Monday. There’s now an executive order, courtesy of our new president, that calls for masks in all federal buildings, as well as on public transit, airplanes and in the back of cabs. Want to know the specifics? NJ.com sums it up: if it moves, flies or floats, put on the mask.

STATEWIDE – Lights. Camera. Money! Our state’s popularity as a backdrop for movies and TV shows continues to rise, as directors seek “authenticity.” And all this hype may be bringing a big windfall to state coffers this year. CBS uses Garden State locales for shows like, “FBI Most Wanted,” Queen Latifah’s new series “The Equalizer,” and now a new political drama, “Ways & Means.” Other TV series for NBC, Hulu, Showtime, Amazon Prime and more than a dozen movies are filming in photogenic sites from the Ironbound to Cape May. The head of the state Motion Picture & Television Commission tells NJ 101.5 that state revenue from filming this year may top 2019’s $420 million record high, while this activity creates up to 10,000 jobs. Smile New Jersey; America finds us fascinating.

ATLANTIC CITY – The casino industry’s struggles are well-documented and heart breaking, so kudos to the Hard Rock casino. It is getting plenty of positive ink for earmarking $1 million in bonuses to its employee base, to the tune of $250 for hourly workers, $500 for supervisors and $1,000 for managers. Of course, bonuses to these 2,184 workers aren’t exactly a cash windfall, but they are certainly a nice “thank you” during these very dark days. So, we, too, mark the moment.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

SANDUSKY, Ohio – It’s been a bunch of brutal years for the Cleveland Browns – owners of year after year of losing seasons. No one knows that more than one devoted fan, who refused to cut his hair in 2014 until the Browns finally have a winning season, the Port Clinton News-Herald reports. That arrived, finally, this year, with the Browns going a well-earned 12-5. “Sitting in the Dawg Pound, there had been a couple of times where the guys would say, ‘This is the year you’re getting your haircut,’ but it never happened,” the fan said, as a reporter watched him finally get his long locks scissored. His hair went to “Wigs for Kids,” a nonprofit based in Westlake, which makes wigs for children who have lost hair because of medical issues. Thank the Browns for the long-awaited donation.

BAR GRAMMAR

Two quotation marks walk into a “bar.”

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1979 that “YMCA” soars to #2 on the pop singles chart. The cop asks the construction worker: “Why not No. 1”?

WORD OF THE DAY

Gadabout – [GAD-uh-bout] – noun

Definition: A person who goes from place to place in social activity

Example: It sure is tough being a gadabout on Zoom.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Leadership involves finding a parade and getting in front of it.”

-John Naisbitt

BIDEN BLURB

“We'll lead, not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Sledding