The Jaffe Briefing - March 4, 2022

TRENTON – It seems like the lawsuit of our time: Finally forcing an end to school segregation in New Jersey. The new state attorney general, in the lousy position of defending the status quo, says New Jersey should not be forced to increase the number of white, Black and Latino students who share classrooms. Why, he argues? Because all this entrenched segregation is really, really hard to fix. It’s all about this age-old law that forces students to attend their local schools, wherever they live, no matter how dumpy or ineffective those schools may be. The lawsuit points to this glaring fact: a quarter-million Black and Latino students — nearly half of all Black and Latino students in New Jersey — attend schools that are more than 90 percent non-white. Politico reports it is now up to state Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy in Mercer County to figure out next steps. No matter his decision, it will be appealed by someone. Yet, alas, a written decision is still coming “in due course.”

TRENTON – As any freedom-loving person is hating Vladimir Putin at the moment, Gov. Phil Murphy wants to turn some screws, as well. That’s why he wants a full review of where New Jersey spends its money and to make sure none of it is helping the Russian government in any way. It is all about boycotting products from Russia and Belarus and cutting any ties that connect to Putin in any way. All sounds good, of course, as long as the target is this crazy oligarch and not innocent people who just have the unfortunate luck of attempting to make a living in Russia to feed their families. There’s that careful line of only hurting those who deserve it.

TRENTON – Hey governor: Reopen the state’s unemployment offices. That’s the very clear message from the State Senate, voting unanimously to focus on getting benefits to people who need them. Politico reports the Democratic-controlled Senate is giving a little smack to the Democratic governor, as there is still unbelievably a backlog of jobless claims and state offices remain closed for in-person access since the early days of the pandemic. As the Covid briefings are ending, and mask mandates are being lifted in schools, why is there still a padlock on the local unemployment office? Meanwhile, the state announced it will begin offering limited, in-person unemployment assistance on March 28 at a dozen designated One-Stop Career Centers. What a very odd coincidence.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Boanthropy: thinking you are a cow and trying to live your life as one

TRENTON – Many are drowning in property taxes, on top of all the other expenses of living in New Jersey. That’s not new. But here’s something new: Gov. Phil Murphy is making headlines by offering up some relief for many, with what is called the “ANCHOR Property Tax Relief Program.” This plan would replace and expand the longstanding Homestead Benefit, giving an average $700 rebate next fiscal year to homeowners earning up to $250,000. The plan is to increase those rebates to an average of $1,150 by fiscal year 2025, taking advantage of the current rosy budget. Of course, any rebate is a great rebate, as the pessimists still call for the entire tax system to be overhauled for a permanent solution.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

SEATTLE – OK, if you never saw the iconic sports movie “Slap Shot,” just move on to “This Day in History.” But if you loved that iconic 1977 flick with Paul Newman, get this: the guy who played the organ has just landed a gig playing for the Seattle Kraken. His name is Rod Masters and he sent an email to the NHL team, offering his musical talents as the first-ever organist to play for the Kraken – 45 years after he made his big splash on the big screen. He was famously plunked in the head by a wayward puck and abruptly asked by Newman’s character Reggie Dunlop to never ever play “Lady of Spain” again. (See, you needed to see the movie for this to make sense.)

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 2011 that the feds estimated they could save $5.5 billion in 30 years if they replace paper money with coins.

WORD OF THE DAY

Slough – [SLUFF] – verb

Definition: To cast something off or to become shed or cast off

Example: I use a lovely loofah scrub to slough off my dead skin cells.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Sometimes it is necessary to be lonely in order to prove that you are right.”

-Vladimir Putin 

BIDEN BLURB

“Along with 27 members of the European Union, including France, Germany, Italy, as well as countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and many others — even Switzerland — we are inflicting pain on Russia and supporting the people of Ukraine. Putin is now isolated from the world more than he has ever been.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Clear