The Jaffe Briefing - January 19, 2022
TRENTON – So, what will another four years of Gov. Phil Murphy look like? Well, if you ask him, it will be just swell. Apparently, property taxes will be somewhat controlled. (Add huge guffaw here.) And New Jersey will be more affordable for us all, with lower health care premiums and college tuition. His vision, nothing new from what we have already heard, was all part of his inaugural speech yesterday, titled “New Jersey: The Opportunity State,” as the governor was sworn-in for a second term. Plenty of lofty goals, as expected, such as a dream to “build an economy that works for every family.” And he threw out the standard olive branch, to be “the governor for everyone who voted for me and for everyone who did not.” Like the governor or not, we all like New Jersey. So, here’s rousing applause for his grand plan.
TRENTON – There was $34 million on hand to help immigrants and others who couldn’t access COVID relief aid. But the state didn’t spend it by the Dec. 31 deadline, WNYC/Gothamist reports. That means the cash will be redirected for payroll and other expenses related to the pandemic. It seems that only $6 million of a $40 million pot was handed out, to 2,600 lucky applicants. While groups representing immigrants call the move a “slap in the face,” the state is redirecting $10 million from another pot to expand the program through the end of the month. The state says it just didn’t receive enough applications by the deadline, and is now encouraging applicants to apply to the “Excluded New Jerseyans Fund” by the end of January. One must surmise there wasn’t enough community outreach within the right communities, or perhaps the application process was too convoluted for many. Because if there is free money, and people know how to access it, it will be gone.
TRENTON – The governor was a busy guy yesterday. Not only did he take the oath on a Bible that his wife’s great, great grandmother gave to her grandmother on her wedding day, he also signed 123 bills into law. One of those bills now requires the state to record the gender and race of nearly every person appointed to the state’s 1,100 boards, authorities and commissions and a separate one for elected officials, shining a light on state government that has historically been dominated by white men. Let’s assume the governor’s wife’s great, great grandmother would be very proud.
BRIEFING BREATHER
The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.
STATEWIDE – Maintaining the party line is sacrosanct in New Jersey; it’s the whole basis of our political structure. Yet there are all these pesky “good government” folks out there, saying a politician who has the party line on the ballot has an overwhelming advantage. True; that’s how things work here. Yet, a coalition known as “Better Ballots NJ,” wants to eliminate the county line and make the ballots appear like in other states, where all candidates for office are grouped together. WNYC says the well-meaning group is pitching its idea around the state, talking to politicians and party faithful about the need to upend the apple cart. There are 79 signatories, so far, on a petition for change. And, of course, those with power would be crazy to sign. “Better Ballots NJ” has a valid point, sure. But the party line always rings supreme in New Jersey.
EAST RUTHERFORD – You interview for a job. And then your prospective employer sends out an eblast to the world announcing you are interested, as well as your qualifications. Sound weird? An invasion of privacy, or sorts? Well, not if you are the Giants, eager to create some positive news. Every couple of days, there’s another email filled with updates from the team, as they look for a new general manager. There’s even a “General Manager Interview Tracker,” with a list of who was interviewed and who was brought back for a second time. We learn when the interviewee came in, a little bit about their background, their college major, the names of their kids and any other nitty-gritty detail that we, as fans, need to know as part of this strange full disclosure. The “interview tracker” even has a corporate sponsor, Mercedes Benz, as front office interviews have become more of a reality show. We all ponder: Who will next be voted out of the Meadowlands?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The windows are boarded up. The paint has peeled off the shingles. Yet a decaying, 122-year-old Victorian house is widely considered “the worst house on the best block.” You can see where this is going. Yep, the decrepit house leaning on an unstable foundation sold for nearly $2 million, offering the homeowner nothing more than a slice of land in the Noe Valley neighborhood. Social media went wild, with one guy writing “It actually has a parking space. No wonder it sold for almost 2 million!” The house originally was expected to sell at $1.4 million, but then two bidders went neck to neck over the last seven weeks, losing all sanity, before one of them finally took a dose of reality.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Beware of those Somali pirates! That was a lesson learned by a Mongolian bulk carrier sailing off the coast of Oman on this day in 2011.
WORD OF THE DAY
Chary – [ˈCHerē/] - adjective
Definition: Cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something
Example: When my wife is seething at the kids, I am chary to ask for a cheddar egg-white omelet with a side of something fresh-baked.
WIT OF THE DAY
“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
-Mark Twain
BIDEN BLURB
“The attack on our democracy is real. It's no longer just about who gets to vote, it's about who gets to count the vote, and whether your vote counts at all."
- Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
40s