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Jul
10
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Whoo! It’s all official: All of New Jersey is 100 percent re-opened today! Enjoy your beaches, your casinos, your lottery numbers, your drivers’ licenses and your, uh, weighing stations, as they will all be open and ready for you New Jersey residents to your exercise your taxpayers’ rights to, I dunno, get a drivers’ license.
Yesterday, crowds packed Jersey parks and beaches, which proves that people don’t realize what they have until it’s gone, I suppose.
Oh, and the courts have also re-opened today, which I’m sure will make everyone on the docket so, so excited. Enjoy!
All New Jersey Services Reopen Today [AP/NBC 10]
New Jersey gets back to work following government shutdown [AP/Philly.com]
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dmac | 11:32 AM | 0 Comments
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Jul
7
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• BREAKING: BARBARO INFECTION TREATED; HORSE NOW ON FOURTH CAST. DETAILS TK. [NBC 10]
• One time, a long, long time ago — okay, 1999 — we saw Gabriel Byrne’s character from End of Days cut a promo for the movie on some wrestling program in character. His character in that film was, of course, Satan. So… it was a little weird. We were reminded of this earlier today when we started speaking in the royal we and read an article in Metro where a Rick Santorum impersonator answered questions in character. “I think the increase in crime is a lack of godlessness in this country and a lack of spirituality and an open embracement of gay love.” You see, this is weird. Prolly not as weird as cutting a promo as Satan, though. [Metro]
• Casinos could open by nightfall. Duh! They can’t just say, “Hey, casino inspectors! Start workin’ and we’ll pay you when we sign the budget.” That would make too much sense. [CBS 3/AP]
• Crime log quickie: “2 juveniles, 9, 10, no addresses given, 7:26 p.m., Mon, retail theft at Electronic Boutique, no value given, released to family members.” Tee hee. Someone got caught trying to steal a video game. [Bucks County Courier Times]
• This story about the ridiculous bus crash on the way back from a field trip gets weirder and weirder with each read. The strangest line is still, though, is the 18-year-old driver saying something like, “[I] used to flip cars over for fun.” [Daily News]
• And, finally, the story of the week: If Pennsylvania had a budget crisis similar to New Jersey, which it doesn’t have, and if it had slots, which it doesn’t have, those hypothetical slots would be shut down. And the King of Mexico would have to be called in to solve the problem. [BCCT]
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dmac | 3:00 PM | 0 Comments
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Jul
7
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Yesterday, the New Jersey democrats finally put aside their problems with New Jersey democrats and passed a budget.
Okay, so nothing has really been decided yet, and the casinos are still closed, but eventually everyone’s going to get to return to work, and all the democrats can hug each other, and it’s all one big happy New Jersey.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the budget and the events leading up to it, including Assembly Republican Budget Officer Joseph Malone, who said this:
“In some ways, the shutdown had the same impact as what happened to the Gulf Coast,” Malone (R., Burlington) said. “We humanly inflicted a catastrophe on people.”
You hear that, Katrina victims? You may have had your entire lives washed away, but we couldn’t play the lottery for a few hours!
Budget stalemate ends [Camden Courier-Post]
Compromise ends N.J. budget standoff [Inquirer]
Yesterday: N.J. Shutdown Forces Gamblers To Waste Even More Money
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dmac | 10:13 AM | 1 Comment
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Jul
6
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As New Jersey enters the second day of its complete shutdown (including casinos!), people are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore.
One of the problems, it seems, is that people are worried: What if today was the day my number was going to come up? Well, never fear, because the lottery is just a short car ride, toll and gas purchase away!
Yes, the Bucks County Courier Times sent a reporter to Bristol and found out just how important the lottery is to some people. By not running a lottery, New Jersey is losing $2.2 million dollars a day, and seemingly some of that cash is blowing over the river and landing in our riverside towns:
Michael and Wanda Haggard of Burlington City were two of the new faces visiting the grill. They bought a handful each of Pennsylvania Lottery Instant Win scratch-off tickets.
“I won $3, but at least that pays for my toll,” Michael said before voicing lengthy criticism of the New Jersey situation.
Well, it’s something, at least.
Pa. lottery beckons N.J. players [Bucks County Courier Times]
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dmac | 9:55 AM | 0 Comments
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Jul
5
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As the New Jersey shutdown crisis intensifies, one important group of New Jersey-ites is feeling the pain: gamblers.
According to the Inquirer, gamblers — and you may want to hold on to your hat here — are angry that they can’t gamble.
Shocking, eh? Tourists are so upset some of them are planning to drive all the way up to Foxwoods in Connecticut in order to toss their money away. Some, though, are staying, because of the possible bonus they’d miss if the legislature resolved the budget crisis:
Diane and Dan Schwarzkopf had drive more than seven hours from Buffalo, N.Y., indulged in a little optimism. “We just can’t believe that they’ve actually closed a casino,” he said. “And we’re just going to sit here and wait and see if it reopens.”
They were somewhat aggravated, however, because she’d taken a day off from work, and now couldn’t get to use a Deal or No Deal coupon that was good only today for a small stake of chips.
You hear that, Corzine? You hear that, Senate? There’s a Deal or No Deal bonus that’s only available day, and you’ve ruined it! For shaaaaaaaame.
What gamblers are saying about the shutdown [Inquirer]
Earlier today: A Tale Told By An Idiot, Or Possibly An Insane Person
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dmac | 1:07 PM | 0 Comments
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Jul
5
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By now you’ve probably heard about the New Jersey budget showdown, which pits democrat-against-democrat, brother-against-sister, governor-against-the-legislature. Since the senate did not pass a budget by the July 1 deadline, Gov. Jon Corzine has ordered a government shutdown, which closes — take a deep breath — casinos, beaches, parks, racetracks, the DMV, state courts, vehicle inspection sites and the lottery.
The shutdown of the lottery is costing the state $2.2 million dollars a day — because if there’s one way to help the state escape its huge deficit, it’s to shut down money-making government services!
In a speech this morning, Corzine said he had no choice to shut down the government, as the state constitution requires such action if no budget is passed by the start of the fiscal year. It’s the old “Don’t blame me, blame the framers of the 1947 state constitution” defense.
This is a state constitution that also includes the line “No idiot or insane person shall enjoy the right of suffrage.”
As such, New Jersey is shuttered for the next few days, or months, or forever, at least until a budget is passed. All together now: If New Jersey closes and nobody except gamblers notice, did it really close?
Today, N.J. shutdown deepens [Inquirer]
New Jersey State Constitution [Wikipedia]
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dmac | 11:26 AM | 1 Comment
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