PINO ACQUITTED

 In a closely watched (not by us), hard fought, opinion generating case, Jorge Pino was acquitted after a two hour deliberation on Monday of the boating manslaughter he was charged with. 

Not every accident is a crime, even when tragic, as this one was, where a beautiful, bright, and promising young woman lost her life. 

But the tragic episode was an accident, not a crime, and that is what a jury found. 

One word of caution- we will NOT post nasty, character attacks on anyone. So if you want to waste your time writing such missives, have at it. No one will read it. 

Thoughtful comments will be posted. 

HR

JUNETEENTH 2026

 Pino closings Monday. Maybe we will watch. Maybe not. 

Our 2021 Juneteenth post admitted our ignorance. We knew little or nothing about the day and its meaning.  We become stronger when we own our failings. 

We did not know and do not know what it means to be the descendants of slaves.  What it means to be immediately judged when you walk into a room because of the color of your skin instead of the content of your character. 

But we learned about what people who would become our brothers and sisters others felt and experienced. 

And you know what we decided? That diversity, equity, and inclusion is a good idea, not a bad one. That when President Lincoln formed a cabinet of a "team of rivals" he was endorsing the idea that accepting and respecting our differences makes us stronger.  Listening to others and honoring their lives is a good thing, not a bad thing. 

That when President John Kennedy said during his commencement address to the American University in Washington DC in 1963 that "Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we all are mortal" he was eloquently explaining that our humanness envelopes our petty differences. 

There are many holidays we do not partake in. Christmas. Ramadan. St. Crispins Day. The list goes on and on. But we respect those who do celebrate those days. We have been to midnight mass, invited by friends. We have broken bread on El ad-Fitr with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and of course we read Henry V on October 25 for the poetic summary of the closeness of those sharing an ideal worth dying for. 

So to our brothers and sisters who celebrate June 19 with friends and family and gather to remember, and to enjoy traditional dishes, we thank you for including us in your celebrations and allowing our journey from ignorance to understanding to continue. 

And (being Rumpole) we could not resist in leaving you with these words spoken before the Battle of Agincourt: 

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. 

DAY SEVEN PINO TRIAL

 On Day Seven of the Pino trial no one rested (biblical pun...think about it). The State rested on day six and the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal. 

The trial began today with Judge Tinkler-Mendez "respectfully" denying the motions for judgment of acquittal. 

Why the adjective "respectfully?"   We all make motions all the time. Some better than others. Some a closer call than others. Respectfully means nothing. A careful consideration (which we are not implying did not occur here) is what we are after. 

Anyway, the trial moves on. The defense is calling an investigator as their first witness. We are writing a brief and went to find a fav game show and stumbled upon the broadcast of the trial, so we will watch it for a bit. 

Current testimony appears to be something about how time and tide wait for no man. 

Coming Next: What happens at the intersection of the NY Times Florida correspondent and the REGJB? An article about .....(three guesses....hint- he authors a constitutional calendar and enjoys a legal  quip in iambic pentameter)

MOMENTS

There are moments that transcend time; they unfold and then live forever in the collective memory in the people of the place. 

May 8, 1970 was such a day, when Willis Reed, the center and heart of the first Knicks team to win a championship limped on to the court in game seven at Madison Square Garden and scored the first four points. From our black and white TV, picking up the game on the rabbit ears antenna, we could hear the Garden explode, creating echoes that we can still hear if we listen closely when we catch a Knicks game in NYC. 

This week was another moment that transcended time. From OG Anunoby soaring above everyone in the final seconds to tip in the game 4 winner, to The Captain Jalen Brunson lighting up every fourth quarter, taking over the game, and bringing the first basketball championship to NYC in 53 years, a moment his father- a former Knicks player and now coach whispered to him about doing as his son signed with the Knicks.  

Every borough, if not almost every street corner erupted in the kind of delirious and resplendent joy that only a fan can understand. 

 

They watched from Central Park, inside the Garden, from streets blocked off in Harlem and Bushwick and The Village, and around bodegas. Quintessential New Yorkers celebrating a unique moment in time.  

 And then there is this. 

The Knicks second championship banner hanging in the Garden celebrates the 1973 championship team led by Earl The Pearl Monroe, whose nickname barely captures the poetic way he led his team as a magical point guard- magical before there was a player named Magic. 

There are three banners (and soon to be fourth) hanging in the Garden. The 1970 Championship Banner; the 1973 Championship Banner and a third banner next to the 1973 Banner honoring their great Coach Red Holzman, who coached the team to their first two championships. The Holzman banner celebrates his 613 wins. 

The Knicks won their third championship on June 13, or as it is written 6/13. 

Thank you Coach Holzman. Still showing his team the way. 

KNICKS IN FIVE

MONDAY JUNE 8 NEWS AND NOTES

 We have some good news. See below. 

The Pino trial began today, and we heard it was broadcast live on television. We did not watch it, but overheard someone say that the defendant was sobbing so badly at one point during his counsel Scott  Howard Srebnick's  (tomato- tomahto?) opening that Judge Tinkler-Mendez stopped the trial.  Never a good sign. 

Once we had a jury come back in less than thirty minutes and our client started taking off his belt and watch and handing it to his wife. We walked over and snarled "put your f'ing belt back on. You ain't going nowhere." And he all he did was go home that night. It's a hard enough job. Client's need to have a little faith in their counsel. 

Laura Adams leads the prosecution and she's as good as it gets. 

GUESS WHO IS BACK? 

He's like a bad penny that keeps turning up. 

Everyone's favourite Miami crime reporter extraordinaire- David Ovalle- is back as the failing NY Times Florida Correspondent. 

Florida needs a reporter devoted full time to a national newspaper. We lead the country in weirdness. It's not like the NY Times has a New Mexico reporter, or a South Dakota reporter. 

Here is part of the Times news release announcing David's position: 

For years, many of the wildest and most memorable stories coming out of Florida bore the same byline: David Ovalle. 

Covering crime and criminal justice for The Miami Herald, David wrote about a murder rooted in Miami’s niche world of pigeon racing. A businessman who used $2.1 million in pandemic loans to buy “the peak Miami status symbols,” including a Lamborghini. The brazen theft from a warehouse of thousands of pairs of the body-shaping undergarments known as fajas – think Spanx, but Spanish.

In his more recent job at The Washington Post, David spent three years covering addiction, illegal drugs and public health policy. Steve Smith, his editor for most of that time and now a deputy on Metro, says: “David reports with intensity and empathy. He writes with precision and elan. He can spot a great story — and a charlatan — a mile away. And his talents as a writer and a reporter are eclipsed only by his decency and caring as a colleague.”... He owned the crime and courts beat thanks to deep sources that he built in police departments and courthouses. He wrote about police shootings and alleged misconduct; the Parkland school massacre, and complex legal cases involving the Stand Your Ground defense and the death penalty.

We’re pleased he’s joining the National desk as Florida correspondent.

Just who were they speaking of about Ovalle's "deep sources"? We'll never tell. 

SURPREME COURT AND MARKET WATCH

 We trimmed our nails, emptied the dishwasher, put out the recycling, answered some emails from aggrieved prosecutors, so with not much else to do we are watching the Supreme Court for decisions. Birthright citizenship, the security of fed member Lisa Cook, and whether the founders really meant to have the fourth amendment enforced or if it was just a gentle reminder, are some of the pending opinions we are waiting for. 

Market wise let us tell you how to handle Broadcom. It went parabolic (which is good and which we told you to buy before it did); the conference call Wednesday was just fine, but people are nit-piking, so the stock is taking a hit, which means we are a buyer ....tomorrow. Let it come in a bit more and settle, and then scoop up shares. 

Google/Alphabet is issuing stock to raise a war chest to defend Gemini AI against the Space X and Anthropic IPOS. So what does this mean? There's going to be a few hundred billion in cash to spent on Cap-X over the next few years as the AI data center build out shifts into high gear. FYI Space X is Elon Musk's space AND AI company. It is not just rockets. 

If you don't want to be on the front lines of the AI wars, then be like the shop-owners Grasshopper who sold the pik-axes and shovels to the 49er gold rush miners- and buy the stocks that Google, Anthropic, and SpaceX will be spending their billions with. On our list? Nivida anytime it's under 210, and Applied Materials in the 480s- which is today BTW. Fliers include the optical networkers like Credo- but you need a strong stomach to endure the 20-40 daily price swings. A more stable play is Dominion Energy (D) because those data centers, like the Family Courthouse, are going to need power. 

You want one really speculative fun one? Check out FJet- and play around. It's a Space X, military, drone defense, kinda play. Very very speculative but it just might pay for that second home in the Carolinas if you pick up a few thousand shares and it hits. 

Remember- invest as much as you can- you can always make more money. 

And yeah, one of the three above mentioned pending Supreme Court decisions is farcical.    

KNICKS IN SIX AND OTHER THINGS

 The NBA finals start tonight. Our team- the Knicks face off against the current best player in the NBA and one who is going to re-write the NBA record books- Victor Wembanyama: The 7'4 Shaolin Monk trained, Washington Square Park-chess-playing-center who can bring the ball up the court like he's 6'2 and stop and pop the three. We have seen Bill Russell, Wilt, Kareem, Hakeem, and others, and we have never seen a player like Webby. 

Webby at a Shaolin Temple

But the Knicks have our heart. They always have since we sat and watched (on a black and white TV) Willis Reed a/k/a The Captain limp out for game seven at the Garden (after being benched in LA in game five after injuring his knee and missing game 6) in May 1970, score the first two baskets and lead his team and a crazed Garden to the Knicks first championship. Reed's entrance and performance in game 7 may just be the most heroic moment in sports we have ever witnessed (even surpassing Lebron getting out of a limo in front of the Miami Arena).  When Earl the Pearl Monroe dazzled the league and got them another in 73, it was just the cherry🌸 on the Sundae. More would surely follow... 

And yet here we are more than 50 years later waiting for our 3rd. And during that time (Heat "fans" take note) the Garden was packed. Every game, every year. NY has fans, not front running phonies. 

Take a read of Spike Lee's failing NY Times OP ED today and get a glimmer of what this team means to the City. 

What else is going on? 

The Straits of Hormuz, like the first-floor cafeteria at REGJB remains closed cerrado.  You might catch us one last time in June on the 7th floor sneaking our fav REGJB morning snack- corned beef hash, grits, cuban toast, and a cafecito- not healthy- but indulgent and satisfying. 

Every day it seems we see a headline like "Supreme Court clears way for state to ban voters of color". 

Have you followed the CBS 60 Minutes Scott Pelley drama? He basically told the new head honcho of 60 Minutes to F off in a show meeting, and got fired Tuesday as a result. Here's a good read on the tea including the "you're fired" letter. 

Count us on Team Scott. 

Failing NY Times readers voted Bruce Sprinsteen the third best living song writer of all time in the Times review of the top 100. Dylan was first - can't argue with that; Paul Simon second- the Boss should be above him. You-know-who-Swift barely squeaked into the top ten (7), The article is here.

Have you followed our advice and made a small fortune in the market? It has been running crazy and did you see what Jensen (Nvidia) did for Marvel yesterday? Unbelievable for a stock we started acquiring at 25 a few years ago. 

Knicks in Six.