The Jaffe Briefing - October 6, 2021

LAWRENCEVILLE – So the lieutenant governor’s debate isn’t exactly must-see tv, especially since most people don’t know that New Jersey has a lieutenant governor or what that person actually does for a living. But Rider University very happily hosted Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver and her GOP challenger, former Sen. Diane Allen last night. These two political veterans talked about plenty of stuff, like guns, taxes, abortions, vaccinations, drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants and Gov. Phil Murphy’s record on women. We didn’t watch the show, so this is all according to NJ.com, which also reported the debate was congenial, there were no personal jabs and no one even raised their voice, while the crowd remained respectfully silent, as both candidates sat, not stood. Not a particularly interesting show, but at least it gave both sides a bit of class as the big guys bludgeon each other.

STATEWIDE – Are our school children going to be required to be vaccinated? It appears not, for the moment. Murphy was asked the question, following an announcement from California that requires its students to be vaccinated against COVID to attend in-person classes. Murphy’s response? “I don’t anticipate we are gonna need to do that. But it’s an option, I think, we leave it on the table….We may see some bumps, but we think this is the right package in place.” Our attempt at translation: New Jersey will not mandate vaccines, currently. But if the pandemic ratchets up this winter, a mandate could happen.”

NEWARK – Details remain super sketchy. But the Brick City is preparing for a visit from Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday to discuss COVID vaccination and hype President Biden’s spending plan, which includes aid for people to afford child care. Under the plan, federal funds would be used for free pre-K for 3 and 4-year-olds, increase salaries for child care workers and lower costs to parents. The veep is also set to visit Montclair in her travels, and let’s just assume there’s also a fundraiser or two for the Dems.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Froot Loops are all the same flavor.

NEWARK – Say goodbye to Bradley Hall on the Rutgers campus. The building, named in honor of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a 1836 graduate of Rutgers College, will soon go nameless, as the Board of Governors is voting today to strip the judge’s name off this institutional-looking building on Warren Street. And why? Bradley wrote the 8-1 decision in 1883 that overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1875, thus excluding Black people from inns and trains, and made their life even harder for generations to come. Unclear where all of this name changing will end. Case in point: The Livingston campus in Piscataway is named after a slave trafficker while Rutgers, as a whole, honors a slave owner.

TRENTON — If kicking a guy when he’s down is your thing, maybe you’ll get a kick out of hearing Mayor Reed Gusciora is in for a bruising tomorrow. That’s when the City Council holds a “no-confidence” vote, a prelude to recalling Gusciora from office. The Trentionian says his nagging nemesis, Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, is engineering this effort. She recently called for Gusciora to quit for failing to control Trenton’s gun violence. Vaughn is ginning up her assault, emboldened after Gusciora’s administration got whacked with a ‘whistleblower’ lawsuit, then with subpoenas for a state probe into allegedly corrupt procurement practices. As for Gusciora, he says: “I’m a big believer in letting the chips fall where they may.” But, sometimes those chips can fall on you.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

JERUSALEM – It's the throne of kings. Israeli archaeologists have found a rare ancient loo in Jerusalem dating back more than 2,700 years, when private bathrooms were an extreme luxury in the holy city. The Israeli Antiquities Authority was flushed with excitement at finding this smooth, carved limestone toilet in the outhouse of a sprawling mansion overlooking what's now the Old City. It was designed for some comfortable sitting, with a deep septic tank dug underneath, filled with animal bones that can help shed light on the diet at the time. And perhaps, buried nearby, there's a stone tablet or two for some quality reading, y’know, to pass the time.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 2014 that Olympic great Michael Phelps is suspended for six months from USA Swimming for drunken driving, following a night of boozing at a Baltimore casino.

WORD OF THE DAY

Loll – [LAHL] – verb

Definition: To act or move in a relaxed or lazy manner.

Example: On Sundays, my singular goal is to loll around in sweats and zone out to NFL Red Zone.

WIT OF THE DAY

“If America runs on Dunkin', do I detect a slight limp?” 

― Josh Stern

BIDEN BLURB

“In Delaware, the largest growth of population is Indian Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7/11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking.”

– Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Mild