See how far this paper has fallen

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A Fort Lee bribe scheme in 1974 is front-page news today.

From today's huge front-page play in The Record to Columnist Mike Kelly's overwriting to the wildly exaggerated headline, you'd think Burt Ross was the only honest politician in New Jersey.


Is this headline deserved or even accurate?

N.J. icon moving on 

Of course, we should respect Ross, who turned down a $500,000 bribe offer when he was mayor of Fort Lee and then informed the FBI, but that was 37 years ago, for crying out loud. Is he really an "icon"?


The untold story, which Kelly only hints at, is the incompetency of Fort Lee officials, who in all of that time haven't been able to develop the forlorn expanse of empty land at the center of the bribery scheme.


And while Kelly blames resentful politicians for Ross being unable to win higher office, he completely ignores voter apathy. Finally, is it really Page 1 news that Ross and his wife are moving to Malibu from Englewood to live near their daughters?


Failed columnist


If you want to know how far The Record has fallen in recent years, consider that Kelly is the Woodland Park daily's lead columnist, even though he gives the impression he is just pushing words around.


Look at the writing in today's column: Referring to the California move, Kelly says Ross "faces the consequences of a new decision."


Does Kelly mean earthquakes or the Golden State's horrendous traffic jams, worse than anything we have in the Garden State?


Later, Kelly says the land at the center of the bribe scheme "now seems to be home to more broken concrete slabs than broken dreams." Huh? 


At Ross' Englewood home, Kelly notes, "Cardboard boxes lined a wall in one room. A computer screen blinked in another." This is truly great journalism. Kelly has incredible powers of observation.


Judging from the level of editing, Kelly's column once again put his assignment editor to sleep -- as well as his readers. 


Lifer news


Interim Editor Douglas Clancy and head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes have been around so long, they've worn ruts in the newsroom floor.


So, it's no surprise the biggest news on the front of Sykes' Local section is the swearing in of Gerald Calabrese, 86, for yet another term as mayor of Cliffside Park, where his son, Thomas, is a councilman (L-1).


Of course, there's no discussion in this upbeat account of whether Cliffside or any other town deserves the dubious distinction of having any one official in office for more than 48 years.


Fish stories


In Better Living, the owner of a seafood restaurant apparently duped the writer of the Starters feature on F-1, Joyce Suss.


She quotes Alfred Ianniello of Brigantine Seafood Eatery and Market in Hawthorne as saying he is "promoting sustainable, organic fish" (F-4), but that's impossible, because there are no organic standards for seafood.


Suss also doesn't say whether the salmon he serves is artificially colored farmed fillets or wild-caught, nor does she identify the fish used in the fish and chips or fish tacos.


Since the clueless Suss was assigned to Starters, the feature has been expanded, with more text and more photos, so now this first, non-critical look at new restaurants resembles free advertising.


After praising Food Editor Susan Leigh Sherrill for publishing a healthy recipe for vegetable soup on Wednesday, I actually looked closely at the ingredients, only to discover a full stick of artery clogging butter and a recommended garnish of crumbled bacon.


Sherill continues to show how out of touch she is with readers who take healthy eating seriously, and may be inadvertently contributing to poor eating habits and all the subsequent heart disease.