The Jaffe Briefing - February 4, 2022

WEST DEPTFORD – Back when we were kids, we would eat whatever food was shoveled in the high school cafeteria and we would be grateful. But for kids today armed with mom’s credit card, it’s a different story. With DoorDash, kids in some school districts can get delivered whatever glorious meal they want, creating a huge chasm between the haves and have-nots. At least some school officials are creating parameters for safety. In West Deptford, for example, DoorDash drivers are now required to go through the front office, NJ.com reports, rather than just running over to one of the cafeteria doors, where the students are hungrily awaiting to let them in. Some parents were initially concerned about this new rule, as it appears school officials were cracking down on privilege, but it seems to have worked out – at least for the kids who can afford an alternative.

TRENTON – The contractor who rolls up to your house in a 1990-era truck, 90 minutes late and demanding 90% up front, may soon need to change his questionable business practices. The state is considering a law that would force these home improvement “experts” to get some formal training and pass an exam before they demolish your walls and then vanish to take on three other half-assed jobs. Currently, NJ.com notes, there is no licensure needed for the state’s contractors, likely why anyone with a hammer and a buddy’s business card can pick up a job, as long as they claim they are insured. Any weary and wary homeowner should support this bill, finally creating the “New Jersey State Board of Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractors,” bringing much-needed professionalism to this ethically-challenged industry.

TRENTON – During this pandemic, which has schools struggling to find teachers and students facing a 'learning loss,' the bar is being raised for the Class of 2023 to earn their high school diplomas. The state education board just increased the requirements for current high school juniors, mandating higher minimum scores on a proficiency test. This is all not sitting well with the NJEA, saying this all lacks common sense, and could prompt more than half the test-takers to fail the math section, NJ.com reports. State officials explain that many graduates go on to community college where they need to start with basic remedial classes. Time to set higher expectations, they argue. But should we further squeeze high school teachers, many teetering on a last nerve and asking if anyone has a working pen to sign retirement papers?

BRIEFING BREATHER

35% of people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

NEW BRUNSWICK – After some backwater Tennessee school district banned a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel about the Holocaust because of “inappropriate language” and other shockingly wrong reasoning around the spittoon, educated people are now emphasizing the importance of the book, “Maus.” The Rutgers Hillel, for one, will be providing a virtual workshop on March 3 to help middle and high school teachers learn how to best teach about the book, the story of author Art Spiegelman's father's experiences in the Holocaust. Kudos to the RU Hillel for using the awful decision of an ill-informed school board as a springboard to enlighten others about a time in history that many are attempting to rewrite.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

MIAMI – Sure, we all have our problems. For Miami, it is peacocks. Miami-Dade leaders are now loosening a 20-year-old law that protects peacocks, giving local cities some latitude in how to deal with them in neighborhoods where they are unwanted. The Miami Herald says these birds can be aggressive – especially during mating season – when they are regularly seen in Coral Gables, South Beach and other high tourist areas, laying eggs, building nests and pecking at all the Ferraris. Sure, some Miami residents enjoy these colorful birds. But most are tired of them crapping all over, making lots of noise or roosting on the house. County officials note the birds may now be moved out to rural areas, but, still, it is against the law to shoot them.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1998 that Bill Gates got a pie to the face when he visited Brussels. Yum, blueberry!

WORD OF THE DAY

Prepossessing – [pree-puh-ZESS-ing] – adjective

Definition: Attractive, creating a favorable impression

Example: I am much more prepossessing when I ask for my first beer, as opposed to my third.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.“

-Ronald Reagan

BIDEN BLURB

“For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: 'I've got mine, so why don't you get yours' and 'What's in it for me?'”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Changing