The Jaffe Briefing - March 9, 2021

STATEWIDE – You’re fully vaccinated, but you are still fretting. Should you still be wearing a mask? The Centers for Disease Control issued new, welcoming guidance which should make you smile (unmasked). People who are lucky enough to be fully vaccinated can hang with others indoors without masks, and even mingle with a small group of others who are deemed low risk for getting severely ill. The feds say the new guidance shows “we are starting to turn the corner.” As more and more New Jerseyans get vaccinated every day, could there be some, gasp, ….normalcy?

STATEWIDE – As we begin to peak out the curtains and imagine glorious post-pandemic lives, policy makers are trying to figure how to catch up for what’s been lost. Yeah, there’s nothing that can be done about the lost funerals, proms, graduations, weddings and other signature in-person moments. But school officials really need to address the cavernous gap in learning, with state data showing that one out of three students will require “strong support” academically to get back on pace, NJ.com reports. Some school leaders are talking about summer school, as federal COVID funds can be used for classes and tutoring. Others would rather give these kids a fun-filled summer and figure it all out in the fall. But everyone agrees: A boost is obviously needed.

TRENTON – The big sticking point in the freshly-signed weed bill is the odd language that stipulates that cops shouldn’t tell parents when they bust juveniles for carrying joints. It never seemed to make sense, as any negative interaction between law enforcement and our little cherubs should at least warrant a heads-up phone call. NJ.com reports that state lawmakers are now pushing for the law to be tinkered, and Gov. Phil Murphy is on board, saying “that’s a step in the right direction.” The momentum would ultimately require parents to be notified the first time their kids are caught with pot or booze, rather than just the weak verbal warning the law currently requires.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Bees can detect bombs.

TRENTON – For small businesses that have somehow survived the pandemic, there’s now a rush of effort from the State House to help keep the lights on. There’s now a dizzying, 10-bill package working through the state Legislature, NJ 101.5 reports. The big thinking: If the state can keep small businesses intact, they will continue to funnel taxes into state coffers in the coming year. The most significant move would be a 1% tax break for corporations that subcontract work to small businesses, as well as a bunch of other tax breaks and exemptions to encourage building improvements and COVID resiliency, as well as $100 million or so in federal grants. All good, if magically these supports could be used exclusively for businesses that really need them, as opposed to others eager to pad profits.

ATLANTIC CITY – is our gaming resort on the brink of a rebirth? That is a sentence that could have been written at pretty much any point over the past 60 years or so. But, this morning, the same-old sentence is relevant, again, because of a Stockton University study, showing 70% of the people polled have plans to return to the beleaguered gaming resort at some point in the next six months. Researchers said the casinos have done a good job with safety precautions and, as the tourism numbers increase, they will need to stay vigilant. But AC will not gain full steam until all the conference business streams back, hopefully in the fall.

STATEWIDE – 60 degrees today? So, let’s quietly forget for the moment what it cost for all that snow removal during this brutal winter. Well, we can’t. The total figure was $120 million for all the state roadways, NJ Spotlight reports, which is almost three times the amount spent for the 2019-20 winter. It remains unclear how much was also spent for extra county and municipal plow crews. Silver lining: emergency snow removal serves as a great job generator during a pandemic.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

DAYTONA BEACH, FL. – It was a business trip that went wrong for the Times Square Naked Cowboy, hoping to panhandle to plenty of drunken spring breakers. The cowboy – known internationally as the guy who plays a guitar in his boxer briefs in the middle of Times Square – was performing during Bike Week in Daytona Beach this weekend. Cops charged him with “aggressive panhandling” as he set up shop too close to the front door of a commercially zoned property, as he traded photos for donations. He spent Saturday night at Volusia County Jail, where the inmates just love guys dressed only in white underwear and multi-color straw hats.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Big news at the White House on this day in 1988, when President Reagan presides over a ceremony to officially unveil the Knut Rockne stamp.

WORD OF THE DAY

Lour – [lour] – verb

Definition: To look angry or sullen; to frown

Example: You should’ve seen the lour my son gave me when I ate the last Oreo.

WIT OF THE DAY

“I'm a big supporter of the Second Amendment. But I think I have a First Amendment right not to be shot.”

- Michael Nutter

BIDEN BLURB

“I guarantee you Barack Obama ain't taking my shotguns, so don't buy that malarkey. If he tries to fool with my Beretta, he's got a problem.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Spring!