A good place to stick a link to a news article that one wants to share and for which one has little to nothing to add.
(I’ve stopped my use of “O/T” comments in FP threads because it had become another thing for the neos to crab about. Putting them in diary threads is often less than desirable.)
Would have been a good place for the DT and Mika and Joe spat. That one now appears to be on holiday (after the old Trump/McMahon wrestling video tweet) as rating are up for both (the WWE wrestling lady McMahon was two points more popular in CT and DT), they may be saying, “mission accomplished.”
Today, NJ provides the fun
On Saturday he said the beach house was separate from Island Beach state park and his family would not be using any state services.
Asked if this was fair, Christie said: “Run for governor, and you can have a residence there.”
Maybe not for long if the existence of a summer beach house for the exclusive use by the Governor of NJ is news to NJ residents. Can’t find any history on this beach house. May be an open secret among NJ govt elites and the media, but they appear to have been mum about it. (Unlike Drumthwacket, the NJ governor’s mansion since 1981.)
UPDATE — NJ.com, July 7, 2017 Bye-bye beach house? Guadagno wants to sell Christie’s Island Beach retreat
Blasting Gov. Chris Christie’s summer home as “a private luxury paid for with public money,” a Democratic state lawmaker is proposing legislation to lease out the property, and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is calling for it to be sold outright.
…
“There is no real burning need to have a private beach house,” state Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) said. “Especially in a state as small as ours.”On Friday, Wisniewski, a former Democratic candidate for governor, introduced two pieces of legislation addressing what’s become known as “Beachgate.”
The first bill (A5131) would require the state-owned beach house located at Island Beach State Park to be offered for rent to the general public.
“Run for governor, and you can have a residence there,” Christie said when asked about his use of the facility earlier this week.
…
But Wisniewski’s second bill (A5132) would change that, too. Except for Drumthwacket, it would prohibit the use of “any residential property owned by the state and provided exclusively or primarily for the governor’s use – including the beach house at Island Beach State Park — during a state budget-related government shutdown.”
Privatizing a beach house located within a state park is a terrible idea. However renting it out could easily produce a half a million dollars in gross revenue per year with minimal additional costs to the state.
UPDATE
State parks, beaches to reopen on Independence Day. Interesting that ridicule and public outrage can sometimes work. Bullies do cave when the sand gets kicked into their eyes and kneecap spanners begin to appear.
Observation — I’m thoroughly enjoying all the different directions this thread has taken. Learned some interesting stuff. My heartfelt thanks to all the contributors so far.
