The Jaffe Briefing - October 13, 2021
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – The final gubernatorial debate took place last night, and it was a relief to see Gov. Phil Murphy and his challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, squabble over some substantial issues, such as pandemic response, the state budget and mass transit. But both sides brought their own supporters as part of the live studio audience, who hooted, hollered, yelped, booed and basically acted like Section 313 of a Jets game after the latest round of beers. Even the candidates told them to hush up, as the exasperated moderators kept reminding the audience that the more time they waste with partisan disruptions, the less time the candidates can share thoughts during the hour-long debate. The repeated requests didn’t matter, as the frustrated candidates both said “C’mon guys” as part of the closing remarks. So, last night, we learned a little more about the candidates as well as the fact that New Jersey can’t handle handpicked audiences at its political debates.
TRENTON – Luckily, there are news organizations like NJ Spotlight that follow the money. And the latest conclusion? So far, about $2 billion of the $6 billion in federal pandemic aid has been earmarked in New Jersey for targeted reasons, such as financial aid for child care providers and rental help. It may seem far off, but New Jersey is under the gun to obligate the balance of the federal cash by 2024. It’s kind of like Brewster’s Millions – here’s a bunch of cash and spend every nickel of it by the deadline. Gov. Phil Murphy knows all decisions should and will face immense scrutiny, but it is certainly going to be fascinating to watch the state earmark all this overwhelming fortune in a way that can pass as strategic, smart and sensible.
TRENTON – It’s just a part-time job, yes, but you still need to show up. New Jersey Monitor reports that dozens of members of the state Legislature skipped more than 10,000 votes in the current legislation session. In its number-crunching, the news site reported that 12 of the Legislature’s 120 lawmakers failed to vote more than 250 times each, representing almost 40% of the total 10,205 missed votes. On another 1,298 votes, lawmakers refused to support or oppose a bill. Of course, missing votes doesn’t mean a lawmaker is shirking duties, as they must be “personally present” to cast a vote. That means one sick day can equal dozens of missed votes. We could identify individual legislators who missed hundreds of votes, but we don’t know their personal lives and it’s none of our beeswax. But for others who are staying away because they don’t want to deal with Route 1 traffic, or other lame reasons, well, you know who you are.
BRIEFING BREATHER
The Nobel Peace Prize is named after the inventor of dynamite.
KEARNY – Many rail commuters never imagined it would happen. For decades, they have been complaining about the Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River, begging for it to be repaired so they have a fighting chance of getting to work on time. Well, as NJ.com reports, pigs have officially flown. NJ Transit has awarded a $1.55 billion contract to a lucky contractor, who will now build a new bridge, to hopefully open in 2027. An added plus: The new span will allow trains to zip by at 90 mph, while the current, 111-year-old bridge only allows 60 mph speeds. Quite honestly, that seems a bit high for a structure built during the Taft Administration and has chronically broken down. There was a derailment in 1996 when the swing bridge wouldn’t close, fires in 2005 and 2014 and a laundry list of other headaches.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BARNSTABLE, Mass. – Two heads are better than one. Just ask the two-headed diamondback terrapin turtle hatched two weeks ago at the Birdsey Cape Wildlife Center. Staff are fascinated watching this thing, with two heads that operate independently, coming up for air at different times. The shell covers two separate systems feeding both sides of its body. The Cape Cod Times says the big challenge was to name the turtle. Should it be “Frick and Frack'' or “Cheech and Chong” or “Donnie and Marie”? The final decision: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
VAN HORN, TX – Captain Kirk will be going where many have gone before, but it is still fun to report. Yes, it is a great gimmick, courtesy of Amazon. And let’s jump on the bandwagon about the fact William Shatner will finally be going to space this morning, after talking about it since the 1960s when he starred on Star Trek. Shatner will be the oldest person in space, at age 90, as part of the 10-minute trek with a bunch of millionaires, courtesy of Blue Origin, Amazon's private space company. Great to see Shatner live long, as Bezos prospers.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1989 that the Dow dropped 190 points, prompting international shockwaves. The Dow also dropped 117 points Tuesday, just another day in the market.
WORD OF THE DAY
Extricate – [EK-struh-kayt] – verb
Definition: To free or remove someone or something from an entanglement or difficulty
Example: I could not extricate myself from watching last night’s debate.
WIT OF THE DAY
“If at first you don’t succeed, then skydiving definitely isn’t for you.”
– Steven Wright
BIDEN BLURB
“It’s a funny thing to say, but even if I could, I wouldn’t wish away the darkest days of the stutter. That impediment ended up being a godsend for me. Carrying it strengthened me.”
– Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Evolving