The Jaffe Briefing - February 10, 2022

TRENTON – Segregation in New Jersey schools isn’t going away anytime soon, despite an ongoing, four-year-old lawsuit that would force state officials to finally address this festering issue. So as lawyers file all the necessary paperwork, and not much else happens, there is a proposed bill in the state Senate, creating the “Division of School Desegregation” in the state Education Department, Chalkbeat reports. This proposed division would focus on all the glaring racial and socioeconomic issues, as well as student outcomes. The plan is to create integration – ripping through the entire construct of New Jersey. It focuses on the haves and have-nots, and tackling why – in 2022 – Black students still attend separate and unequal schools. Yes, this is all very uncomfortable. And it’s not going away.

STATEWIDE – So, by March 7, kids can finally sit in their classrooms without masks, breathing free. But, as NJ.com notes, the feds still want the exact same kids to wear masks on school buses. Does that make sense? Of course, not. But the state will still follow federal direction, trying to keep the mandate in place for the ride to and from school, as students wonder what the heck is happening. Could there be special COVID germs on school buses? There’s nothing like glaring inconsistency to ruin a child’s view of government from the earliest of ages. There’s always been that comforting assumption that someone, somewhere, is in charge of all this, and acting with both logic and purposefulness. Not anymore.

TRENTON – New Jersey is in debt, but, hey, not as much debt! That’s the quick summary from the state treasury, able to knock $2.2 billion off the balance sheet. That saves taxpayers around $600 million, always nice. But, NJ.com, reports there’s still plenty of whopping debt – totaling $36 billion or so-- as the interest charges continue to churn. Meanwhile, Republicans remain ticked that Gov. Phil Murphy took on $4 billion in emergency loans during the height of the pandemic, which is all now part of the heaping pile in need to pay back. But that didn’t seem to be a large sticking point during the November election, as debt payments just don’t titillate the voters as much as one would expect.

BRIEFING BREATHER

In Tokyo, some dogs wear toupees.

HACKENSACK – When you think of precious historical structures that need to be saved, does a department store come to mind? Of course not.  But city officials believe a Sears is a valuable piece of local lore and want the 90-year-old structure on Main Street to be saved. Developers have been ripping out the old over the past few years, as gentrification has come to Hackensack. Developers are not as enamored about this Sears, the Record reports, filing lawsuits that challenge requirements to salvage the building’s face and “iconic” tower. The property owner that acquired all the old Sears buildings in 2019, says the city “downzoned” the site and limited what could be done. City architects argue the Sears provides some character and soul and, thus, should be preserved. Is the Sears a historical artifact? Heck no. But it is pretty cool. And when it is gone, it is gone.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

ST. ALBANS, ENGLAND – Imagine walking into your local pub, securing your favorite stool and then enjoying a drink. Just like your ancestors did around the year 793. We’re talking about the Ye Old Fighting Cocks pub, considered the oldest bar in England. It has somehow survived world wars, famine, bubonic plague and the political swings of crazy conquerors from one century to another. But, alas, COVID was simply too much, and the pub may be closing its well-worn, wooden doors. Owners are desperate to find another operator, after the former barkeep says all the government health mandates made it impossible to keep the suds flowing. The business plan of the Ye Old Fighting Cocks pub doesn’t exactly include social distancing and masks, and let’s just say that plenty of building renovations are required. But with such a rich history and designation in the Guinness World Records, someone will want to make a go of it. As long as it doesn’t become a Bennigan’s.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

A story that never gets old: This day, in 2006, Vice President Dick Cheney shoots a friend in the face during a hunting accident. (Harry Whittington, 78, is the first person to have been shot by a sitting vice president since Alexander Hamilton.)

WORD OF THE DAY

Ragamuffin – [RAG-uh-muf-in] – noun

Definition: A ragged, often-disreputable person

Example: My club is full of festive ragamuffins.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke."

-Will Rogers

BIDEN BLURB

“The standard of judgment is no longer results but the flickering image of seriousness, skillfully crafted to squeeze into 30 seconds on the nightly news. In this world, emotion has become suspect - the accepted style is smooth, antiseptic and passionless.”

- Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Beauty