The Jaffe Briefing - August 17, 2021
READINGTON – Local residents are in a bit of a fog lately, as an abandoned Walmart on Route 22 is now being used as a full-fledged cannabis cultivation operation. Dozens of residents have complained to town officials about this constant odor of skunk in the neighborhood, as the manufacturer has not yet retrofitted the former mega-store to contain such a strong smell of weed. Town officials were promised by the pot manufacturer – one of the nation’s largest growers – that the operation would be fully contained, NJ.com reports. That’s certainly not the case at the moment as kiddies are saying, “Mommy, why do we live across the street from a pot farm?” And, “Daddy, why are your eyes glazed all the time?” (That may not be related to the grow facility.) Meanwhile, the company is still promising “action” to mitigate the odors.
STATEWIDE – With just 11 weeks until Election Day, assume any serious political candidates are already planning seven-day-a-week campaigning, with the beleaguered staff working around the clock. Expect the Saturday night fundraiser lingers until a boozy 2 a.m., followed by the 8 a.m. planning meeting on Sunday. Yeah, this is brutal work – especially for the staff who has to make it appear seamless with a smile. Well, some of them are rightfully fed up, NJ Globe reports, which is why recently-hired staffers for the New Jersey Democratic State Committee’s coordinated campaign have unionized. They are now demanding more time off, health benefits and decent pay between now and Election Day. It all seems a little unrealistic, as this gig is a short-time burst of work and the campaigns are already gearing up for early voting in October. But the message is certainly received: These workers are not at the 24-hour-a-day whim of candidates eager to share their next bright idea.
STATEWIDE – Our poor, poor poll workers. Election Day is often hours of tremendous boredom, which only get somewhat interesting when voters trickle in to do their civic duty. And now it seems that walk-in traffic is becoming much, much less, as NJ Spotlight reports many more people are opting to just mail in ballots. Yes, the clock is standing still for the half-asleep poll workers, as nearly 27% of voters in the primary cast ballots by mail, compared to just 5% of voters four years ago. Obviously, voters are loving the convenience of voting on their own terms, at their convenience, as opposed to attempting to remember polling hours, polling places and, of course, the actual date of Election Day.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Copper door knobs are self-disinfecting.
RIDGEWOOD — Noise has become a real pickle for the Village Council, deluged with complaints about Pickleball. Neighbors near two sets of public tennis courts can’t stand hearing the persistent “thwack, thwack, thwack” from so many pickleballers. This sport is played with paddles and hard plastic balls that sound particularly loud when hit day and night, every damn day. Neighbors say it makes their backyards unusable and they can’t even open their windows. The Record says netting draped on tennis court fences failed to mute the annoying sounds. The council already limits pickleballing to residents only; it raised user fees; and it no longer lets senior citizens play for free. Now’s the time to take another whack at the noise problems.
SOUTH ORANGE/MAPLEWOOD – Thomas Jefferson: you’ve been cancelled. The local school board has decided to strip the Founding Father’s name from the formerly-named “Jefferson Elementary School” during last night’s school board meeting. The reason? The school “bears the name of an enslaver committed to upholding the institution of slavery." School officials now must work with students to find a new name by June 30 of next year. Ok, but it is still hoped the school district puts some focus on Jefferson’s many accomplishments, balancing the good with the bad, in the context of an era when something as horrific as slavery was, sadly, the societal norm.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ALL OVER – There are more job vacancies in America now than ever before. And that is an amazing statement, as there are 10 million job openings across the country, up from 9.5 million in June. In fact, LinkedIn is reporting a 113% spike in job openings compared to a year ago. And what are job applicants seeking? Money? Promotion? Nope. LinkedIn reports that “flexibility” is the No. 1 interest. Workers want the best arrangement for themselves, be it working remotely and on behalf of a company that realizes that people have actual lives, with children, medical appointments and other distractions that pull them from the business at-hand. Translation: To recruit the best people in a hot labor market, employers now need to create the best “situation,” as opposed to hyping the compensation package.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2011 that a rocket was fired into the compound of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, further underscoring the crazy, ongoing instability of this country.
WORD OF THE DAY
Tousle – [TOW-zul] – verb
Definition: To make untidy, especially someone’s hair
Example: “He'd tousle my hair and say "Son, take a good look around.”
WIT OF THE DAY
“The Iraqi and Afghan wars have not ‘ended.’ Only America's involvement has ‘ended.’ … When a country leaves a war before achieving victory it is not called leaving. It is called defeat. When the decent leave, the indecent win.”
― Dennis Prager
BIDEN BLURB
“The Middle East is hopeful. There's hope there.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Bleh