‘Passing the Trash’
Adam Clark and Jessica Remo at NJ.com have a great story on school teachers in New Jersey accused of sexual misconduct–as in, against their own students–and how they keep getting jobs even though: are you kidding me?
“It’s called ‘passing the trash,'” Clark and Remo report, “a reckless cycle enabled by school administrators who fear litigation and shy away from controversy.” It echoes the situation with the Catholic Church or the Boy Scouts.
This is Our Country
“About half” the high school students in the Vineland school district didn’t show up for class last week after graffiti in a bathroom threatened mass violence, Claire Lowe at the Press of AC reports. School officials and Vineland police took reasonable measures, according to the story, and the threat was deemed not credible, but fear spread on social media. And can you really blame people? Terrible things happen all the time and there’s apparently nothing we can do about it. That’s about 1,000 kids who didn’t go to classes.
When they Cut your Pension, You Can Go into Private Practice
Awesome Amy Rosenberg reports the state will continue to use private eyes to spy on Atlantic City firefighters who call out sick. Indeed the spokesperson for the Department of Community Affairs said the “use of outside investigators” was “working” because Atlantic City’s bravest abuse their sick time and the department was not stopping them. The spokesperson did name specific incidents or people citing “privacy considerations” meaning they’re just throwing shade at a couple hundred people. Anyway, the point is not that cops and firemen don’t call out sick. The point is everyone does. And nothing’s “working” and your guys bill $400 an hour, is what you want to say.
By the way, have you noticed you can say whatever you want about our Brave Men and Women in Uniform if you frame it as you’re Lookin’ out for the Taxpayer? Frame it the other way, and all hell breaks loose. What’s that about?
Elsewhere in Jobs Creators
“At least four proposals” to expand corporate subsidies moved through the state Assembly Appropriations Committee yesterday, Politco’s Katherine Landergan reports and points out that if the bills move fast enough, they could pass in time for our historically unpopular lame-duck governor (Chris Christie) to sign them. On the other hand Phil Murphy (he worked for Goldman Sachs) “spent much of his campaign criticizing Christie for showering large corporations with tax breaks.” Hurry up little bills! You can do it!
Do corporate subsidies actually do what proponents say they do–create jobs or help small businesses or whatever? My guess is they create jobs at NYU, where New Jersey executives send their kids to school ($70K a year).
Elsewhere in Redistribution
Declan Carney says cutting his taxes won’t “create the growth and jobs we need,” in this informative op-ed in the Star-Ledger. Carney’s a “serial entrepreneur” and founded a tech company that’s a mashup of two words that sound like “innovation” and “place to get cheeseburger” (“Pubvantage”) so he should know. I liked this essay, but it uses the word “agree” six times. As in “we can all agree” etc.
Silly Declan, haven’t you learned? There are no agreed-upon facts anymore!
Surely, There are Rules
This story is unbelievable, and I can’t begin to summarize it, but imagine someone bought the cemetery where your ancestors were buried, then decided to have a “Halloween fundraiser” that included a “seance and a buried-alive experience.” What could go wrong?
Middle Township Gazette reporter David Benson, we salute you.
Tax Bill
Slate has a piece on housing markets that would get “hammered” buy the GOP tax bill. “Tough break, New Jersey,” is the lede sentence. (Hat tip to Jim Kennedy).
“Why do some N.J. lawmakers want to increase prison terms for heroin possession?” For that and more stories from around your community, scratch and sniff our informative Route 40 Roundup:
Why do some N.J. lawmakers want to increase prison terms for heroin possession?–In an era of growing tolerance toward people struggling with drug addiction, four New Jersey lawmakers want to impose tougher penalties on those caught with heroin or fentanyl, a powerful opioid. whyy.org
LEGAL BID TO STOP $200M STATE BONDS FOR CONTROVERSIAL TRENTON CONSTRUCTION–A group of Trenton residents that includes a top city official, a sitting state lawmaker and the city’s former mayor is suing Gov. Chris Christie’s administration in a bid to block the state from issuing more than $200 million in new debt to finance the construction of government office buildings in Trenton. www.njspotlight.com
Sherrill Scores Endorsement From Four Democratic County Chairs–Congressional Candidate Mikie Sherrill on Monday received the endorsement of Democratic Party chairs from the four counties that make up New Jersey’s 11th congressional district: Morris, Essex, Sussex and Passaic. observer.com
Vandal Damages Menorahs in Margate–As the celebration of Hanukkah continues, police are trying to find the vandal who damaged three menorahs in an Atlantic County community. www.nbcphiladelphia.com