The Jaffe Briefing - January 25, 2022

STATEWIDE – It’s the lingering lawsuit that could completely change New Jersey. For the past four years, there’s been a simmering complaint about New Jersey’s long history of racial segregation in schools and communities. Despite all the bumps and delays in this case that some wish would go away, NJ Spotlight reports that arguments before a Superior Court judge in Mercer County are set for March 3. This lawsuit – filed by the Latino Action Network and NJ NAACP – drills directly into the structure of New Jersey and a very inconvenient truth. New Jersey is one of the most segregated states in the country when it comes to school enrollment. NJ Spotlight notes, for example, that close to half of Black and Hispanic students over the last four years attended schools where the enrollment was 90% or more Black and Hispanic. It’s painfully obvious: Just stroll through school hallways in Newark and then Millburn. The nagging question: Should this be rectified? How? And at what cost?

HOBOKEN – So, what will $241 million buy you? In Hoboken, that would be a gleaming new high school with every amenity possible. But the big question today is if voters will go for this grandiose plan, with a rooftop football field, an ice rink, an indoor swimming pool, two gyms and a professional-grade theater. We are talking the most expensive high school ever built in Hudson County, if voters are willing to swallow a plan that will jack their property taxes by hundreds of dollars for the next couple of decades. Have school officials overreached here? City leaders are split on this massive undertaking, and parents who send their kids to charter schools are not interested. But hear this: Any dollar invested in Hoboken just seems to double. Such an amazing amenity would just put more fuel on an explosive real estate market.

GALLOWAY — Step aside Vermont! “Jersey pure” maple syrup is the real deal. That’s the ambitious plan at Stockton University, where students are now tapping sap from 400 red maple trees on their campus to make homegrown syrup. Using a second $500,000 federal Agriculture Department grant, the Press of Atlantic City says Stockton’s environmental scientists hope to build a new South Jersey industry that puts locally-sourced syrup on our breakfast tables. Two-miles of tubing now connects campus maples, feeding a “sugar house” where that sweet, glorious goo gets slow-boiled into a tasty, Jersey-style syrup. Stockton’s grant is also paying nearby property owners to tap sap from their own maples for this project. New England states and Canada have long cornered the market. So, creating a Garden State syrup industry could be a sticky wicket, but could be the ideal topping for our next diner pancake.

BRIEFING BREATHER

People are more creative in the shower.

TRENTON – At first, it was strongly recommended that everyone get the vaccine. Then, it was urged. Last week, it was downright demanded for healthcare workers. And now, Gov. Phil Murphy is ratcheting up the words even further, now saying it is “selfish” for people to refuse the vaccine, NJ.com reports. And those who flatly reject the vaccine are “shirking our collective responsibility.” And Murphy is adding in some more stuff, too, saying the refusal is “akin to drunk driving. You’re not only putting yourself at risk, you’re putting other people at risk,” he says. Unclear if the new words and phrases will force people to wake up, as those who refuse are entrenched at this point. But it all makes for interesting news copy.

TRENTON – Phil Murphy: Hard Ass. That’s right. He is the first governor since the 1990s to issue zero pardons during his first four years in office. No comment from his office about that interesting little stat, New Jersey Monitorreports. But offering clemency doesn’t really seem to be a big thing for New Jersey governors, with just 105 pardons and commutations granted since Gov. Christie Whitman was elected in 1994. And for all the Jersey trivia people out there, the last governor to issue no pardons? Go back to the days of McGreevey.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

PLEASANTON, Calif. — Lose a pig? Well, the Pleasanton police picked him up for you, and they now have plenty of questions. The piglet was found wandering the East Bay suburb on Thursday, the department said in social media posts. Police are wondering if this little piggie went to market, while another little piggie stayed home. And perhaps this little piggie had roast beef. But, enough guessing. The piglet had no ID, so he quickly was named “Bacon” and then turned over to Alameda County’s East County Animal Shelter. Bacon is now resting comfortably, among all the dogs and cats. Phone lines remain open; there’s still time to bring home the Bacon.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

Wildwood landed its very own TV channel on this day in 1966, as WMGM-TV has its first broadcast as WCMC. (The station is now part of the True Crime Network, specializing in police investigations and forensic science documentaries.)

WORD OF THE DAY

Intemperate – [in-TEM-puh-rut] – adjective

Definition:  Having or showing a lack of emotional calmness or control.

Example: Forgive my intemperate rant against this little piggie.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Capitalism has defeated communism. It is now well on its way to defeating democracy.” 

- David Korten

BIDEN BLURB

“Look, I’m a capitalist. But capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it’s exploitation.”

- Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Mild!