Readers scold uninsured couple

An incorrect headline on L-6 today says a red-light camera has been installed in Englewood, above. But the story clearly says it's in a neighboring town.

Seven letters to the editor of The Record today criticize the uninsured couple who are getting free  care at Hackensack University Medical Center after they were seriously injured during a vacation in the Bahamas.


No one suggests we would be better off, if Michael Gallinella and Diandra Barreto had been killed in the accident.


But the letters from Glen Rock, Washington Township, River Edge, West Milford, Lincoln Park, Franklin Lakes and Mahwah show readers have a good grasp of how we all pay to care for injured or sick people who can't afford or refuse to buy health insurance (A-11).


All of the letters were reacting to news stories or an editorial about the couple, who said they were injured when their scooter hit a pothole and crashed.


Has anyone asked how a couple from North Jersey -- a region with some of the poorest roads in the nation -- ran into a pothole in the first place?


The editorial, on April 3, mentioned the debate over the national health care law and said health insurance for everyone is a worthy goal, but went out if its way not to criticize the couple.


Hit-and-run solved


On Page 1 today, Staff Writer Nick Clunn did a good job reporting how detectives painstakingly tracked down a driver who allegedly killed two people with his SUV on March 17 in Clifton, then fled, leaving behind only fragments from the vehicle.


There is a photo and detailed graphic with the story.


But head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes or one of her minions somehow forgot to tell readers whether the suspect, Jason Askew, may now face vehicular homicide or other serious charges.


Flack returns


Staff Writer Michael Kelly apparently has returned from Israel after writing long stories on Governor Christie's Mideast trip, sounding more like the GOP bully's political spin doctor than a journalist (A-1).


On the front of Local, readers can be excused for being underwhelmed by the first trip of AirMed1, a medically equipped helicopter staffed and funded by the medical center in Hackensack (L-1).


Picking up a woman who remained conscious after she was blown off her bicycle by a gust of wind in West Milford seems like a huge waste of fuel, not to mention the impact on the environment.


Drunk hits pole


The only Hackensack news in Local -- Sykes pride and joy -- is a brief on a drunk who hit a utility pole in the middle of the night.


Given all the damaged utility pole photos Sykes has used as filler, I am surprised to see none with the L-2 story.


Readers won't even find a story on the criminal trial of suspended Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa.


Another great paper


On L-6, a story on a red-light camera in Englewood Cliffs carries a headline misidentifying the town as "Englewood."


Today's paper is another great job by Sykes, Editor Marty Gottlieb and Liz Houlton, the error-prone production editor who runs the news copy desk.