Politico has an interesting story on the chief impediment to Phil Murphy’s agenda in the New Jersey legislature. Namely, the head of his own party there, Steve Sweeney.
I love that Sweeney is always referred to as “working-class” even though because his father was the president and business manager of a big powerful union and an elected official for 41 years.
Murphy’s dad never graduated high school, but that’s America for you. Bust your ass to get to Harvard and it’s “Hasty Pudding!” the rest of your career.
Elsewhere in politics, the blogger formerly known as Wally Edge has a headline straight out of the Roger Stone dirty-tricks playbook.
Chris Brown wrote to Phil Murphy asking for Atlantic County to get its 13.5% share of the PILOT moneys the AC casinos throw off. So wait, the suburbs need the city to pay more taxes. Is that the story we’re going with?
Fifty years ago Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the day after making a speech in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, two of whom had been killed in the back of a garbage truck a few months earlier. Erin Serpico has a moving account of the service at the Second Baptist Church yesterday in remembrance.
Lastly, what to do with a dead mall: Turn it into a town center! What if that doesn’t work either?
For more news from across your region, read onward:
Will legal weed make Asbury Park the next Denver?–ASBURY PARK — As more and more towns say no to legalized marijuana, is Asbury Park poised to become the legal weed capital of New Jersey? It could turn out that way. www.app.com
MURPHY SETS NEW DIRECTION FOR TACKLING OPIOID EPIDEMIC–New funding for community-based providers who can treat outpatients with addictions while these individuals continue with work, school, or family life. More housing and job training for New Jersey residents with — or without — drug dependencies. And better data and real-time analysis of the state’s investments to address these concerns. www.njspotlight.com
DEMOCRATIC HEAVY HITTERS READY TO REVISE MURPHY’S BUDGET PLAN–State Democratic lawmakers are sending clear signals they are ready to rewrite major sections of newly installed Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed budget, particularly in the areas of taxes and K-12 education funding. www.njspotlight.com