It was just a couple of months ago when The Observer’s Lisa Feorenzo was at a pub and grill in Sussex County. The food was great. The atmosphere was fantastic. The people who were there, from fellow patrons to the staff, even better. But then something very bizarre happened. She got into a conversation with one of the owners — and that person, a woman, told her signs would soon be going up on the walls of bars, restaurants and many other locations throughout the state.
What was going to be on the signs was not so much shocking to Feorenzo since she’s seen the gamut of signs (think just a few months ago when those “See Something, Say Something” terrorism signs started appearing on Jersey’s highways.) But to anyone who may not have access to these kinds of signs on a regular basis, or know what they mean, these new one were going to be nothing short of shocking, disturbing really — and they were going to appear with absolutely no explanation (not shocking) from the State of New Jersey.
And that’s where Feorenzo got to work. She wasted very little time and reached right out to the office of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. She got an answer quickly so together, she and I composed a series of questions after we found exact examples of the signs, which were to alert patrons of the dangers, the horrors, of human trafficking.
Frankly, after seeing the signs, she had more questions than answers. And then, finally, after a little longer than a month’s time, Allison Inserro, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin’s public information officer, responded to the questions.