The Jaffe Briefing - January 3, 2022

TRENTON – All COVID, all the time. How could there possibly be any bigger news to report in this nascent 2022, as schools and workplaces attempt to reopen from winter break? Plenty of people are back at home, facing “remote” this or that, as omicron rips through New Jersey. Even First Lady Tammy Murphy has COVID, after returning from the family vacation to Costa Rica, as the state reported nearly 25,000 confirmed positive cases just yesterday. And, let’s all remember, many more of us are walking around with COVID, but just can’t find an available test or the time to get one. Now, yet again, is the time to get vaccinated and boosted, if you somehow are still living under a rock.

STATEWIDE – No one is more depressed than your local school teacher. He or she is likely back in the classroom this morning, figuring out how to engage all these foggy, post-holiday kids in class, as well as all the many others who will be attempting to log in for some quality “remote” education. COVID cases continue to rise among teachers and students too, as people mingled throughout the holidays, while the state’s four largest school districts have already decided to just go with remote learning for everyone. Many other New Jersey schools are open this morning, with educators rightfully recognizing that students just can’t get a decent education staring at an iPad all day. The result is even more stress on teachers, as retirement has never looked so darn good.

STATEWIDE – With infections about 885% higher, or so, from this time last month, how do we keep students in school? The Record reports about a smart “test and stay” policy in other states, in which students who come in contact with a COVID-positive person can take a rapid test to be permitted into the classroom, rather than being sent home. California and Illinois already have “test and stay” in place, which the feds deem “a valuable tool.” New Jersey health officials say “test and stay” may begin this month, if staffing, training and prep can be put in place. Here’s hoping for a big push that other states have already figured out.

BRIEFING BREATHER

A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first passengers to take a trip in a hot air balloon.

NEWARK – All this COVID; you just want to go elsewhere. But don’t expect to take a flight, as airlines cancelled more than 2,100 flights across the country yesterday. Since Christmas Eve, there have been more than 15,000 cancelled flights, prompting plenty of headaches, rescheduling, crying kids and airport-based alcoholism. The nagging problem: the lack of airport workers and flight crews, who just don’t want to fly the friendly skies with you anymore. At least now we know why Antonio Brown lost his mind in the Jets end zone.

STATEWIDE – It’s not all bad, especially if you own a house in New Jersey. NJ.com has done a terrific job chronicling the state’s real estate boom, reporting a 15% increase in prices in 2021, over the 12% jump in 2020. Some perspective here: housing prices typically grow about 3% a year in recent years. And why has New Jersey become so darn desirable? People keep fleeing the cities, interest rates remain remarkably low, there are gobs of job security, millennials are willing to pay Baby Boomers for their leafy suburban enclaves and the low inventory is prompting some crazy bidding wars. Want to own a single-family house? The median price has ballooned to $435,000; expect one heck of a fixer-upper.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

BROOKLYN, NY – One Jeopardy! contestant was ready for anything, but this: Knowing the name of his governor. Ben Walthall failed to buzz in on the clue. But he did get a do-over last week, joining Gov. Kathy Hochul’s virtual COVID-19 briefing to tell her he now knows who she is. “Here in New York we actually believe in second chances,” Hochul said before introducing him. The clue was read again Friday by a Hochul staff member. This time, Walthall correctly responded, “Who is Kathy Hochul?” Of note: None of the other contestants knew her name, even a Jeopardy juggernaut who won 22 consecutive games.

ALL OVER – RIP, Blackberry. At one point, about a decade ago, the Blackberry was the must-have for anyone addicted to email. This morning, Blackberry is shutting down any remaining text, data and voice service for anyone who still has one of these legacy devices. It is certainly anticlimactic, but Blackberry could just not compete with the iPhone and Apple’s march toward worldwide dominance. The downfall? Blackberry could never figure out the touch screen phenomenon, or how to make their product seem “cool” for anyone other than a 60-year-old accountant.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 2014 that the 300 richest people on the planet showed “only” $3.7 trillion in wealth.

WORD OF THE DAY

Captious – [KAP-shuss] – adjective

Definition: Tending to find fault and raise objections

Example: Don’t be overly captious about my lofty New Year’s Resolutions.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

-Winston Churchill

BIDEN BLURB

“This virus has been tough, but we've been tougher.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Snow?