Skip to main content

The Jaffe Briefing - May 2, 2022

STATEWIDE – In recent months, police departments have been dealing with an all-time high rate of car thefts. And why? Apparently, some car thieves have been reading up on Attorney General directives and learned that cops were no longer allowed to engage in high-speed chases. As New Jersey turned into “Fast & Furious 10,” with a 37% increase in car thefts compared to this time last year, there has been a demand to revisit the directive. And so now the state says the cops can once again chase these guys down and are even earmarking $10 million for license plate recognition technology. Meanwhile, where’s my car?

STATEWIDE – If you don’t know by now, you’ll no longer be given paper or plastic bags when you shop. The nation’s most progressive bag ban goes into effect on Wednesday, and the Star-Ledger is covering this story from every possible angle. The Sunday paper included a front-page teaser and a full spread about the history of bags, how stores are preparing, why paper bags are included in the ban, how shoppers can comply (by bringing your own reusable bags when you shop) and the lingering debate about the pros and cons of the law. And when you think there’s no possible new angle, today’s front-page story is about how the law affects people in poorer communities and those with disabilities. And despite the gobs of publicity from all over the media, expect many shoppers on Wednesday to say: “Wait, you’re not giving me a bag?” Learn more at BagUpNJ.com.

BRIEFING BREATHER

There are 293 ways to make change for a dollar. 

TRENTON – The talk in Trenton is not the state budget or anything else happening on West State Street. The chatter remains about that oddball five-minute video unearthed late last week, showing the city’s health officer in her underwear, getting a massage in the conference room as other city employees watched. That’s all according to Councilwoman Robin Vaughn, who shared a since-deleted Instagram video with NJ.com of the health officer in bra and panties. And there was the masseuse, whose advertised services include “body sculpting” and “cellulite reduction.” Vaughn is urging the state Attorney General to “act expeditiously” to address this. Here’s hoping he has more important things to do. 

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

STATEWIDE – Breakfast may never be the same. Tropicana is convinced there needs to be yet another alternative amongst the aisles of breakfast foods in the local supermarket. And so – drum roll, please – the company is introducing cereal with orange juice. Yep, Tropicana is hoping we make that crazy leap of swapping milk with orange juice, as we chomp away on “Tropicana Crunch.” “It may not be for everyone,” Tropicana admits, in a press release.  And we will find out Wednesday, when Tropicana Crunch hits the stores just in time for National Orange Juice Day. 

PHOENIX – It’s exhaustive just writing this. An Arizona runner who lost her leg to cancer in 2001 has managed to run 102 marathons in 102 consecutive days, breaking world records. When Jacky Hunt-Broersma ran yet another 26.2 miles on Thursday, it was the 102nd day in a row that she ran the distance of a marathon – with a prosthetic leg. "I was told, 'You can't run because you're an amputee, don't even bother because you need prosthetics and it's complicated,' and things like that. And when someone tells you that, because you suddenly can't do it, you want to do it,” Hunt-Broersma told WBZ-TV.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1997 that Donald Trump and Marla Maples announce their divorce, as America comes to grips with losing its favorite couple.

WORD OF THE DAY

Chuffed – [CHəft] – adjective

Definition: Very pleased

Example: I am quite chuffed with the Giants’ draft picks.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.” 

― Jim Morrison

BIDEN BLURB

“I’ve always had respect for the press, but I can’t say enough about how much respect I have after their reporting in Ukraine. They’re risking their lives every single day to make sure the world hears the truth."

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Damp