The Jaffe Briefing - February 17, 2022
STATEWIDE – There must be some logic beyond our feeble comprehension. Fact 1: New Jersey’s jail guards work in tight quarters, watching over prisoners in cell blocks with little fresh air. Fact 2: There is an international pandemic, with a highly-contagious disease that spreads in close quarters. Fact 3: There are vaccines and boosters that protect people from the aforementioned disease. Fact 4: The state is requiring jail guards to be vaccinated, for their own safety, or be fired. And, yet, despite these four facts, almost half the state’s corrections officers still remain unvaccinated, as the mandated deadline passed yesterday. So, with 43% of 7,280 jail guards ignoring the mandate, to their own peril, what now?
STATEWIDE – There are 513 of them in New Jersey. We’re talking large parcels of abandoned land behind chain-link fences that have been environmentally abused for generations. Beaten until their last gasp of life, these polluted parcels sit empty, unusable, unmaintained, without any purpose, a cancer in the neighborhood. Yet, most of these old industrial properties, in cities like Camden, Newark, Perth Amboy, Paterson, etc. are likely in ideal locations for redevelopment, near rail, highways, water and jobs. State officials are eager to find investors willing to reclaim the brownfields in 12 cities, NJ Spotlight reports, creating a central inventory of available property. The hope is that developers – facing a chronic limitation of buildable land in New Jersey – will swoop in, with the tens of millions of dollars needed to give the land a second life. Here’s the list, hoping your home address is not listed.
PISCATAWAY – Rutgers basketball fans not only experienced some history-making last night – the first time an unranked team defeated four ranked teams in four consecutive games – there was also a glorious return of food and beer served at the RAC. And that included the return of “Popcorn for the People,” which also happens to be featured in today’s Star-Ledger. You can never write enough about this local non-profit, which employs people with autism and developmental disabilities to produce and sell popcorn at RU games and other sporting events. In just six years, Popcorn for the People has grown to 65 employees, despite the pandemic. RU fans welcomed them back last night, plunking down $8 or $9 a bag for a very, very good cause, as they witnessed an incredible win.
BRIEFING BREATHER
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
NOT EAST RUTHERFORD – Everyone loves to bash the Jets ownership; it provides a nice outlet for all the pent-up rage, season after season. So, in a sense of fairness, it only seems right to throw some kudos when something is done right. Of course, there’s still nothing nice to say about the football team, yet the Johnson family did a solid: donating the 800-acre “Hillside Farm,” with sweeping valley views, just outside of Princeton. So, rather than selling the pristine land for another high-end housing development, anchored by strip malls, the 800 acres will connect with another 3,600 other protected acres, creating miles of trails for public enjoyment. Now, with all this bursting generosity, how about buying some decent linebackers?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ORLANDO – It’s a brawl that would make Jerry Springer proud, as two drunken, naked New Jersey sisters beat the heck out of each other during a recent trip to Disney World. The NY Post is reporting on unearthed court papers stemming from the incident last October. The story begins with the sisters, ages 29 and 31, getting so sloshed at an Irish pub that Uber refused to give them a ride. While waiting for a taxi, one sister slurred, “You are a bad mom” and then slapped her. Authorities found the younger sister screaming and crying near Cirque du Soleil, steps from the Watermelon and Mango parking lots. She was stripped down to panties and sandals. As security officers tried to establish order, one sister slapped the other’s face. Then, they both began punching, slapping and pulling each other’s hair. The women were pulled apart. But then – in true Springer fashion – they rushed each other for another round of wild, drunken brawling. Then, it really gets good. The sisters make yet another run at each other, while one slips on the other’s vomit, and then they both fall in the bushes, still punching each other. Then, the younger sister ran a few feet away, taking off her dress, exposing her breasts, before they began fighting, yet again. What sparked all of this? Apparently, one sister does not like the other’s boyfriend. Too unbelievable? Read it all here.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2015 that Walmart announces a salary bump to $9 an hour for 500,000 employees – exceeding the minimum wage by $1.75 – and ensuring all these workers will still be hopelessly broke. (Current minimum wage at Walmart? $12 an hour.)
WORD OF THE DAY
Anodyne – [AN-uh-dyne] – adjective
Definition: Not likely to offend
Example: Another night at home and another night of watching anodyne Disney films.
WIT OF THE DAY
“I love California; I practically grew up in Phoenix.”
-Dan Quayle
BIDEN BLURB
"Be careful - microphones are always hot, and understand that in Washington, D.C., a gaffe is when you tell the truth. So, be careful." - Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
60!