The Jaffe Briefing - February 8, 2022
NEWARK – Last week, the buzz was how former Mayor Sharpe James may be reentering city politics, picking up a petition to run for an at-large council seat. Hizzoner is back in the media this morning, courtesy of TAPInto Newark, reporting how he drove his 2009 Cadillac into another vehicle, a bus shelter and then a pedestrian on Saturday night, sending the 85-year-old former mayor, the other driver and the pedestrian – pinned under the mayor’s sedan – to the hospital. James also is seen backing up his car into a busy intersection, narrowly missing a NJ Transit bus. James tells NJ.com: “I saw no pedestrian and was not aware of hitting any pedestrian.” Hmm. Police are quick to note that James was not drunk and are still trying to figure what went down at Springfield Avenue and Bergen Street. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. But assume one big, bruised ego.
TRENTON – Kids across New Jersey are also paying attention to Executive Orders, with the blissful news that Gov. Phil Murphy is lifting the mask mandate in schools and childcare centers beginning March 7. The governor is noting the “dramatic decline” in the number of COVID cases, following the crazy spike in January. Individual schools could still decide to keep the mask mandate in place, but it will no longer be dictated by Trenton. Probably the best part of this great news is that the state is projecting the infection numbers continuing to decrease throughout the next weeks and months as we move toward warmer weather. Some important perspective: this will be the first time since September 2020 that students and teachers will be allowed in classrooms without masks, breathing freely.
STATEWIDE – And the news keeps getting better, especially for the lucky Irish, with word that a full schedule of St. Patrick’s Day parades will be kicking off next month throughout New Jersey. Many revelers will recall these big parades have been cancelled over the past two years. Now, the governor is saying the festivities can gloriously return but still suggests “you have to use your head.” At a St. Patrick’s Day Parade? Uh, sure.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Honey is the only natural food made without destroying any life.
Uh, c’mon Jaffe Briefing, what about milk?
A cow has to eat grass to produce milk, and the grass is living.
ON THE ELECTION TRAIL – For the many political addicts in New Jersey, salivating for the rematch between former Senate President Steve Sweeney and his surprise replacement, Sen. Ed Durr, it may not happen. NJ.com notes that one of the proposed redistricting maps puts these politicians in different districts. That’s because Sweeney’s hometown of West Deptford would be removed from the 3rd Legislative District, to the great relief of Durr. Of course, this is just one proposal and there is still public comment in the works. But, through redistricting, lightning may strike yet again for Durr, as the rookie senator navigates the take-no-prisoners world of Jersey politics.
STATEWIDE – There are Republicans, as far as the eye can see. It seems as if GOP Congressional hopefuls believe this is the year to steal some seats in New Jersey, with 39 Republicans so far announcing bids to run. New Jersey Monitor offers perspective: In 2020, there were only 20 Republicans seeking a seat in Congress. And in 2018? The number was 22. Why all the big interest now? Because this is the first mid-term election of a new President, when things tend to go against him at the polls. Eyes are squarely upon Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-7), now facing eight Republican challengers, the largest field of any of his colleagues, with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11) in a close second with six potential GOP opponents. The deadline is April 4 for any other GOP hopefuls looking to pile on.
IN THE MEDIA
SAYREVILLE – The state has lost so much local news coverage in the past two decades; new residents have no idea of how robust the media once was, a daily newspaper in every semi-major town. So, many, many local stories have gone untold. But here is one that survived, courtesy of TAPInto Raritan Bay: Four-year-old Justin Tucker called 911 by mistake, prompting a visit from Sayreville police. The boy complained that his toy police car had broken. With his birthday coming this month, Justin had high hopes that the cruiser would be replaced. Sayreville police got the message, promptly returning with a new toy police car, showing, yet again, the role of community policing goes far beyond traffic stops.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The latest menace from the Sunshine State is a guy who left a bar, stole a car and then jumped from it, just as it was about to be hit by a train. The car, on impact, flew into a nearby home, waking slumbering residents who are likely convinced they live too close to a train line and reckless car thieves. The man explained to officers that he stole the car in a “good faith effort” to find his own car after leaving a bar early Saturday in Martin County. Oh, and did we forget that the suspect, after smashing the stolen car into a train, then tried to steal a forklift from a local fruit stand? That didn’t work, so he vandalized the place, before flagging down deputies and shamelessly asking for help to find his lost car. The 38-year-old menace is facing grand theft, criminal mischief and most other charges in the Florida penal code.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1992 that the world’s fastest yodeler – Thomas School – showed his stuff:registering 22 tones in one second.
WORD OF THE DAY
Febrile – [FEB-ryle] – adjective
Definition: feverish
Example: My Super Bowl party always exhales the febrile bustle of a saloon in the wee hours of the morning.
WIT OF THE DAY
“Some foreigners with full bellies and nothing better to do engage in finger-pointing at us. First, China does not export revolution; second, it does not export famine and poverty; and third, it does not mess around with you. So what else is there to say?”
-Xi Jinping
BIDEN BLURB
“This is a guy (Chinese leader Xi Jinping) who doesn’t have a democratic — with a small d — bone is his body. This is a guy who is a thug.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Warming