The Jaffe Briefing - May 24, 2022
The Jaffe Briefing is heading to the beach! We will be on break from Wednesday, May 25 through Monday, May 30.
ATLANTIC CITY – Want to own an entire beach block just steps from the water? Yes, this is actually real, as Max Spann is auctioning off 18 separate beach blocks on the northern end of the city through online bidding that continues through Thursday. The city has struggled, and failed, to redevelop these properties over the years, despite the red-hot real estate market at the Jersey shore. You will find the lots across from Brigantine, between the Ocean casino and a large apartment complex known as the Ocean at 101 Boardwalk, the Philadelphia Inquirerreports. A private partnership that owns the land appears to be giving up on its glorious visions, sending all the land to auction for a quickie sale. It all seems an amazing opportunity, as New Jersey is not exactly producing any more waterfront property in resort communities. Of course, the price needs to be right.
NEW BRUNSWICK – Rutgers is out with study results that are of zero surprise to frazzled parents: the state’s rollout of remote learning during the pandemic was “haphazard, under-resourced, inequitably delivered, contributed to student and teacher stress and may exacerbate digital and social inequality.” Again, this is not a shocker. But it was important for RU to conduct interviews with K-12 public school teachers, an important step in attempting to right the ship. Politico reports an important, no-surprise discovery: students in lower-income districts suffered inequities in online teaching and learning compared to others. Federal aid was a big boost, as technology flowed into these schools so kids could access the Internet. But, the report says, “beyond a PDF list of suggestions for online-learning platforms, districts received little guidance from the state on structuring online classes, choosing technology or paying for online service licenses.” No surprise that students are about five months behind in math and four months behind in reading, compared with students prior to the pandemic, the White House says.
BRIEFING BREATHER
A “jiffy” is about one trillionth of a second.
STATEWIDE – Want to know the job with the biggest demand in New Jersey? Doctor? Accountant? A contractor who actually shows up at your house and actually does some degree of quality work? No, the answer is bus driver. Yes, Ralph Kramden is laughing uproariously from that big bus in the sky, as he watches state lawmakers, business owners and school officials fall over themselves to secure drivers for their routes. The Record reports that decision makers are getting creative in their desperation, offering big bonuses, gas card giveaways and even some new state legislation to solve the chronic need. The Holy Grail is to be the possessor of a valid commercial driver’s license. NJ Transit will hand you a $6,000 bonus, as well as a nice salary, health insurance benefits, referral bonuses, a retirement pension and other perks that would make a business major jealous. Yes, it is all quite generous – for those with the deep pockets to woo the limited pool of drivers. And for everyone else? Well, sorry.
STATEWIDE – We all know: with a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good. But Jif – a Smucker product – is now the ugly stepsister of the long-trusted product line. There’s a huge recall because of potential Salmonella contamination. So, chuck out that super-chunk, and then wash and sanitize anything that may have come in contact with the product, like Little Susie, who failed in her attempts to swap for a tuna sandwich at lunch yesterday.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SPOKANE, WA – Many go to college and eventually study beer. Now they can earn a degree in it. Eastern Washington University is partnering with the No-Li Brewhouse of Spokane to create a program for the craft beer industry. Students can actually earn 15 real college-level credits beginning this fall, The Spokane-Review reports, through the official-sounding EWU Department of Wellness & Movement Sciences. There’s actually a solid argument in majoring in beer, as there are more than 64 breweries within 100 miles of Spokane and demand is increasing. Students will gain knowledge of the various types, flavors and ingredients of beer. And perhaps they will learn even more than on a typical Thursday night, as the suds flow.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2014 that Kim Kardashian marries Kanye West about seven months after the birth of their daughter. All are excited that Kim found a lifetime of love, her romantic trysts finally and forever no longer the fodder of supermarket tabloids.
WORD OF THE DAY
Smack – [smak/] – noun
Definition: A horde of moon jellyfish
Example: Oh, smack! I am in the ocean, standing amongst a smack of jellyfish!
WIT OF THE DAY
A Calvin Coolidge press conference at the White House:
Reporter: “Have you anything to say about Prohibition?”
Coolidge: “No.”
Reporter: “Have you anything to say about the World Court?”
Coolidge: “No”
Reporter: “About the farm situation?”
Coolidge: “No.”
Reporter: “Finally, about the forthcoming senatorial campaign?”
Coolidge: “No… And don’t quote me.”
BIDEN BLURB
“The very first president to attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner was Calvin Coolidge in 1924. I had just been elected to the United States Senate. I remember telling him, `Cal, just be yourself. Get up there and speak from the heart. You're going to be great, kid. You're going to do it well.’”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Pleasant