The Jaffe Briefing - June 28, 2021
SOUTH ORANGE – It’s suddenly “satanic” to air alternative rock on Seton Hall University’s student-run radio station. WSOU 89.5-FM’s alternative music format began in the 1970s, starting with punk, grunge and, later on, some great heavy metal. But now there is a quiet riot among members of a Virginia-based ultra-right Catholic group, hurling fire and brimstone at the Catholic university-owned station, calling its playlist “blasphemous, openly satanic, promote(s) sacrilege, the murder and mutilation of women and children, and the slaughter of Christians.” Wow! The group recently held a rally at Newark’s Sacred Heart Basilica Cathedral, demanding Cardinal Joseph Tobin silence the station. Seton Hall has insisted the station air daily Mass and a Catholic talk show – all of which should be a big hit among traditional WSOU listeners. As for shutting down the station? Critics may not have a prayer.
TRENTON – Remember that “millionaire’s tax” that was passed last year? Recall how it was Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to play Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor? Well, it’s time to shower the hungry masses with cash. There are 760,000 middle class families who will be getting “rebates” of up to $500, as part of the deal in which people who earn more than $1 million a year have been coughing up more tax. Some nice timing, as the checks will be flying just in time for voters to cast ballots for Murphy and all 120 members of the state Legislature, all of whom are up for election in November, the Record reports. Expect a check if you have at least one kid, paid at least one buck in state income tax last year and earn less than $150,000 a year (married) or $75,000 individually. When the check arrives, make sure to thank your local millionaire.
PARAMUS – During the many long months of the pandemic, with everyone stuck at home, people were suddenly interested in public meetings on Zoom. The Paramus schools tell the Record that barely anyone attended its in-person board meetings, but the governing body found an engaged audience of people stuck at home, wondering what the heck was going on with public education. Now that we are moving beyond this pandemic, do Zoom calls have a future in public meetings to better reach the public? Some good government folks are calling for a permanent hybrid situation, in which you are invited to trudge to town hall or conveniently watch at home, without worries of childcare or having to find your left shoe. And perhaps is it another way to encourage media coverage, as reporters can “cover” the meeting from anywhere. All would agree: All efforts should be made to engage and inform the public, in whatever way it chooses.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Most toilets flush in E flat.
LONG BRANCH – Worried there will be another pop-up party leading to mayhem and a massive police response, the city is now postponing its popular fireworks display at Pier Village. Town leaders are treading cautiously these days, after a big beach bash with 1,000 revelers was promoted on social media earlier this month, making the broadcast news reports in at least three states. City officials, along with Monmouth County and state officials, caught wind of another one of these possible pop-up TikTok events for July 3. This social media stuff will get very old very quickly for the merchants trying to earn a living, as well as families who just want to see some fireworks in Long Branch, as they usually do.
TINTON FALLS – Out with the old; in with the young? That could end up being the campaign slogan Michael Miles, 43, uses to deny 97-year-old Mayor Vito Perillo a second, four-year term. Perillo is New Jersey’s – and possibly America’s – oldest mayor. The spry Democrat, who has reined-in borough spending with some good, old-fashioned, Depression-era belt tightening, hopes to win re-election in the non-partisan Nov. 9 election. Now, New Jersey Globe reports that Miles – a beverage industry sales rep with no political experience – says local residents and business owners drafted him to run, wanting “leadership, accountability and open communications” from borough hall. What a pesky whippersnapper.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
MONOWI, Neb. – The local mayor has a great job: She is always re-elected and no one complains. The reason is because Elsie Eiler, 87, is the only resident of the entire town. Monowi used to have double the population, but then the mayor’s husband died in 2004 and that was about it. So, now the mayor is in charge of everything, which comprises three streetlights, the bar that she runs (with a municipal liquor license she gave to herself) as well as a local library that her husband used to run. On Friday, there was a big celebration, KTIV reports, marking the mayor’s 50 years as proprietor of the Monowi Tavern. Because no one else lives there, the sheriffs of Knox and Boyd counties stopped by the bar and cooked up some burgers. There was also birthday cake, of course, apparently, as townsfolk will be talking about this celebration for a while.
(Editor’s Note: This Nebraska story was reported by Brett Mayerson of Scotch Plains, N.J.)
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1982 that Prince Charles and Lady Diana name their first child “William.” The royals aren’t much for last names, but Google is assuming it’s “Mountbatten-Windsor.”
WORD OF THE DAY
Desiccate – [DESS-ih-kayt] – verb
Definition: To dry out
Example: I put my swim towels in this strong sun, causing them to immediately desiccate.
WIT OF THE DAY
“The task of the government is not only to pour honey into a cup, but sometimes to give bitter medicine.”
-Vladimir Putin
BIDEN BLURB
“Foreign policy is like human relations, only people know less about each other.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Sticky