The Jaffe Briefing - June 18, 2021
TRENTON – The big news is that President Biden signed the federal law creating Juneteenth. But since we are hyper-focused on New Jersey to the point of infatuation, what did the state Legislature do? Well, a bill was sponsored last June in the Assembly by Verlina Reynolds Jackson, Jamel Holley and Benjie Wimberly to designate the third Friday in June as Juneteenth in New Jersey. Senate President Steve Sweeney and Sen. Sandra Cunningham led the charge in the Senate, before Gov. Phil Murphy’s signing. Let’s high-five them all, including the many local towns – like Scotch Plains – that have also designated Juneteenth as a municipal holiday.
TRENTON – With less than two weeks to go until the state budget is adopted, it’s becoming downright fascinating to see what New Jersey is going to do with this extra $11 billion or so in revenue. Many state lawmakers have been as tight-lipped as mom on Christmas Eve, as the public is only reading a few morsels about the grand plan. Budget negotiations are behind closed doors, as a billion is thrown here and a billion is thrown there. Of course, we all have our wish lists. Gov. Phil Murphy, grab a pen, as we are now proposing our official plan for you: Throw even more money at the endless pit known as the state pension system; invest in a solid, workable plan to finally straighten out NJ Transit; fix woefully outdated and crumbling public schools; repair ailing bridges and roads, and – as a nice, little aside – finally earmark some funds to repair our precious historical sites that never, ever get the attention they deserve.
STATEWIDE – As we all bid a tearful farewell to the Class of ’21, many can’t help but wonder what New Jersey’s public schools will look like in the fall. Will there be a glorious return to normalcy, with mask-less kids ruling the hallways, the school cafeteria flowing with mystery meat and students packed on school buses? NJ.com talked to some experts, all of whom can’t help but mention all these new strains of the virus that are erupting. Some consensus: Younger students need to be vaccinated, testing should be common, and decisions should be made by federal health experts, not whomever shrieks the loudest at school board meetings. And there also needs to be a healthy dose of compassion to students who were affected by the lingering pandemic and recognize that mask-wearing has been deemed the safe, mandated norm for some time now. Obviously, there’s lots more to unravel as summer rolls on.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Latin America has flowers that look like lips.
TRENTON – The Record is asking some state lawmakers a pesky question: Why didn’t you get the COVID vaccine? An interesting reply from Sen. Mike Testa, a Republican from Cumberland. “I look at it this way,” he said. “I take very good care of myself. I take vitamin D, vitamin C, zinc, multivitamin, fish oil every single day. I do my very best to take care of my immune system, and I’m hoping that my immune system will take care of me.” He also questioned the realness of herd immunity, which mainstream health experts agree will greatly prevent the spread. Um, anyway, the Record reports about half the state Legislature responded to the inquiry, with the large majority saying they were vaccinated or plan to be. The rest ignored the newspaper.
STATEWIDE – It’s Pride Month, and that means there are plenty of those rainbow flags on display to show support for LGBTQ residents. Great. But it is interesting to see who is not flying the flag. Even as New Jersey passed laws requiring LGBTQ education in schools and added a gender X option on driver's licenses, as well as polls that say that most of us support LGBTQ issues, there are some local politicians who refuse to fly the flag at town hall, the Record reports. Municipal leaders in Hasbrouck Heights, for example, don’t have the council votes to raise a Pride flag. Nor does Waldwick, while Wyckoff recently buckled to public pressure. Some perspective here: some town lawyers say flying the rainbow flag could set a precedent that creates a public forum, and compel the town to fly other flags when asked. Whatever. Fly it anyway.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
VANCOUVER – As COVID vaccine is now more available than aspirin – and at no cost – it now seems odd to report on a rich Vancouver couple that flew a private plan to the impoverished Yukon Territory in January to pose as local motel employees to get the vaccine. That vaccine had been designated for vulnerable remote Indigenous residents, and now the couple pleaded guilty to their elaborate fraud. So, let’s name them: Rodney Baker, a casino executive, and his much younger actress wife Ekaterina, who reportedly earned $36 million in stock options last year, the NY Post reports. They were hit with a $2,300 fine, avoiding jail time for their selfish scheme. A lesson was learned as well: The next time they scam poor people in a remote town with just 100 residents, they shouldn’t ask for a ride back to their private plane. It creates suspicion.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
In one of the first big shameless PR gimmicks in professional baseball, the Dodgers announce on this day in 1938 that they are signing Babe Ruth as first base coach for the rest of the season.
WORD OF THE DAY
Calumny – [KAL-um-nee] – noun
Definition: A misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation
Example: How could such a wonderful food as Brussel sprouts be the object of such vile calumnies?
WIT OF THE DAY
“By the time a man gets to be presidential material, he’s been bought 10 times over.”
-Gore Vidal
BIDEN BLURB
“Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It's self-defense. It's patriotism.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Warming