Reporters line up for fat P.R. gigs

A taco al pastor at El Califa Restaurant in Mexico City. You can't rely on The Record to tell you a credible version is available at a year-old Mexican restaurant in Englewood.

When you read The Record stories on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority today (A-3) and the Port Authority on Friday's front page, just remember the long line of reporters and editors who now hold six-figure public relations jobs there and elsewhere.

Look at how gently The Record is treating Governor Christie, who vetoed a proposed law to reform the free-spending, toll-raising bi-state agency while arranging high-paying jobs for his two failed Supreme Court nominees.

Insult to readers

Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, D-Englewood, called the governor's action "an insult to commuters who were hit with record toll hikes last year."

Of course, the comment was buried on the continuation of Friday's Page 1 (A-8).

No editor or reporter -- who are poorly paid relative to the public relations people at big agencies and in state government -- wants to jeopardize his or her chance of getting one of those easy gigs  manipulating compliant media as a prelude to retiring on a fat pension.

On Saturday, the Woodland Park daily called Phillip Kwon, a failed high-court nominee, one of Christie's "loyalists," but there is no mention of whether Kwon donated money to the governor's campaign and if so, how much (A-1).

Christie's 'contacts'

Later in Saturday's story, dozens of campaign donors and former administration officials who got Christie-endorsed jobs at the Port Authority are referred to -- bizarrely -- as "contacts" (A-8).

The paper doesn't mention all of Christie's former assistant U.S. attorneys who now are riding the public gravy train thanks to the GOP bully's own personal pay-to-play system.

On A-3 today, look at the glowing terms used by Christie's mouthpiece to describe the other failed high-court nominee, Bruce Harris, a lawyer who has no courtroom experience:

"Mr. Harris is an exceptional attorney with a remarkable educational and legal background," winks spin-doctor Michael Drewniak.

Harris is being considered for general counsel of the Turnpike Authority. 

Undisclosed salaries

The Record is careful to omit any mention of Kwon's and Harris' future salaries to avoid outraging readers any further than they are.

In head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section, the big Hackensack news today is another lawsuit -- this one filed against a critic by a city official who is "close" to former Police Chief Ken Zisa.

At the behest of Sykes and Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza, Hackensack reporter Stephanie Akin writes almost exclusively about the city's legal problems.

Utility pole news

On Friday, the big Hackensack news was a dump truck knocking down three utility poles -- part of the section's occasional series on felled poles and trees.

Amid paralyzing traffic jams and standing-room only on rush-hour buses and trains, the so-called commuting columnist spun an entire Friday column out of one couple's MVC woes (Road Warrior, L-1).

Half a plate

In food news, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung finally endorses Las Maravillas de Tulcingo 3, the go-to place in Englewood for inexpensive and authentic Mexican fare (BL 16 and 17).

It's a shame her appraisal on Friday didn't mention the restaurant's terrific taco al pastor, made with pork and fresh pineapple, or some of the other dishes I enjoyed with my family last September:

A large guacamole, crunchy with chopped onion ($8); a large bowl of chicken soup, enough for two ($7); shrimp with peppers, onions and melted cheese, served on a large platter with yellow rice and beans ($11); and a whole, farmed tilapia that was deep fried and served with rice, beans and tortillas so we could make our own fish tacos ($13).

Loosely translated, the restaurant's name means "The Wonders of Tulcingo," a town in the state of Puebla from where the owners hail.

I'm not sure why Ung refers to the restaurant as being on "the west side of Englewood's downtown."

Is that her code to readers who might be wary of venturing over the tracks to the ethnic, working-class side of a city known for its high-end boutiques and multimillion-dollar East Hill mansions?

Also, the center food photo with the review is out of focus and appears to have been mislabeled "cactus salad." 

Cancer on the menu?

Today, the Better Living cover celebrates unhealthy chili and hot dogs under the titles of "North Jersey Classics" and "LOCAL EATS."

As far as I know, Rutt's Hutt, Hiram's and the other places serve hot dogs filled with harmful antibiotics and preservatives.

The latter, including nitrates and nitrites, have been linked to cancer.