Historically unpopular former Governor Chris Christie announced he’s putting a book out this winter called Let Me Finish, a brilliant title when you think about it, that cunningly pre-supposes the good people of New Jersey have ever had any real success getting Christie to shut the f*ck up in the first place.
Longstory short: Atlantic City’s own Jitney Guy took to Twitter to ask, innocuously enough, if Atlantic City might get a mention, prompting a response from Christie’s own brother, who is an exec at Ernst & Young, who didn’t like that JG had referred to his Grace the Governor as a “guy.”
“‘The guy’? You mean the 55th Governor of NJ? The Republican who won twice in a blue state? Former US Attorney ? I know those achievements pale to being a Jitney driver but a bit of respect would be nice. Respond all day..done wasting my time.”
It’s amazing they haven’t ridden this faux-populism shtick more directly to the White House.
The Bloustein School at Rutgers released a report on EDA’s tax-incentive and economic development programs, which the valuable NJ Spotlight calls “controversial” noting that $5.4 billion in state tax breaks have been “awarded” (congratulations!) since 2013. On the Twitterbox, Jim Kennedy calls the report a, “sizzling 117 page turner for nerds on the use & misuse of state tax credits. Special Section on Camden’s $1.3b to grab businesses from the surrounding suburbs.”
Print out a copy and take it to the beach.
On Pacific Avenue, the Fox Manor boarding house is being closed. Lynda Cohen has details.
For more feats of journalism from across your region, see below:
Who are the top High School Football players in the area since 2000?–The 2018 high school football season is six weeks away. While fans wait for new memories to be created this season, now is the perfect time to look back at some of the region’s top players. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Atlantic City Council adopts budget with no tax increase–ATLANTIC CITY — Property owners will not see an increase in their municipal property-tax bill for the second consecutive year after City Council unanimously adopted a $225 million budget Wednesday night. www.pressofatlanticcity.com
Murphy official says child welfare fix ‘within reach’ after 15 years and billions spent. Is it?–As the court-supervised overhaul of the child welfare system enters its 15th year, Gov. Phil Murphy Wednesday met privately with the judge and the independent monitor to pledge his support to improve the agency's work with troubled families. www.nj.com
CHANGES SUGGESTED TO MARIJUANA BILL DON’T WILT OPPOSITION–A bill to legalize marijuana in New Jersey has won significant support in Trenton but it has also garnered opposition. A state Assemblyman is offering amendments to the measure, but they don’t appear to be enough to sway the main opponents. www.njspotlight.com
The most rural county in N.J. just got even more rural–The state's county with the most preserved farmland has just added some more. www.nj.com