The Jaffe Briefing - June 13, 2022

STATEWIDE – Everything is a reality show these days. And that now includes which states will “win” earlier primary election dates. The Washington Post reports the Democratic National Committee officially voted New York and Nebraska off the island on Saturday, rejecting their applications to be among the first states in the 2024 primary elections. That means there are just 16 contestants (whoops, we mean “states”) still competing for the coveted spot, with all the gobs of advertising revenue and attention from presidential candidates. New Jersey remains in the mix, as the Democrats are no longer allowing the early primary season to be controlled by farmers in Iowa and Birkenstock wearers in New Hampshire. Unclear how New Jersey “wins” this contest, but it will be pitching the Democrats’ “Rules and Bylaws Committee” later this month, with a decision expected in July. There are at least some general metrics: electorate diversity, the state’s competitiveness in the general election and, of course, the ability to run a fair election.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite

TRENTON – Will New Jersey end up with the largest surplus in state history, or provide the largest tax break in state history? Or will it be something in between? We are all going to find out very, very soon, as the calendar is quickly flipping to June 30, the deadline for the fiscal ’23 budget to be adopted. There’s more tax revenue than any could have ever dreamed, $13 billion higher that before the pandemic smacked us. The state is on track to collect $51.4 billion by the end of the month. Some are calling for big-time, voter-friendly tax relief; others say a recession is looming and we can’t just swing open the state treasury to anyone who wants a scoopful of cash. Lets’s see how (or if) Murphy ultimately strikes the balance.

STATEWIDE – There’s no such thing as a free lunch (again.) During the pandemic, any kid in any school district enrolled in the National School Lunch Program could have a free school lunch, no matter family income. As NJ.com reports, this special program is set to expire June 30, after Congress felt there was no more need for this hand-out. But Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who has been focused on anti-hunger initiatives, wants 26,000 more students to be eligible for the state’s free or reduced-cost program at a cost of $19.2 million. A small price to pay for kids not to go hungry and to help end the lunchroom stigma that free food is only for those from the poorest families.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

BOSTON — No more pee in the elevators. That’s the mandate from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, getting super-serious with its new public urination detection sensors. The Boston Herald reports a pilot program is being launched this summer in four downtown elevators.  Here’s how it works: someone takes a whiz; detectors then send out a cleaning crew.  Sensors are being placed on the ceilings of the pee-infused elevators with attached fans, sucking in the air to detect the pungent odor of contained urine. City officials say this is a big deal. Not only does the pee reek during the summer months, it’s rusting out the industrial-grade elevators.

CORRECTION: In Friday’s Jaffe Briefing, we erroneously reported that there are only four words in the English language that end with “dous.” Well, that was a horrendous thing to write.  We received a stupendous and tremendous email from a dedicated reader all the way from Jerusalem, an expatriate New Jerseyan, who sent us 141 words ending with “dous.” He provided us with many, many crazy words like branchiopodous, cynipidous and dolichopodous. Message received, sir.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 2011 that Michelle Bachmann announced her run for President. (Remember her? Most don’t.)

WORD OF THE DAY

Insentient – [/inˈsenSH(ē)ənt] – adjective

Definition: Incapable of feeling or understanding things

Example: My favorite pet rock is insentient, but I still talk to it like a real person

WIT OF THE DAY

“Always write angry letters to your enemies. Never mail them.”

-James Fallows

BIDEN BLURB

“Over the holidays about 97% of packages were delivered on time or with minimal delays.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Sunburn