Why did the editors wait until now?

Starting Monday, the George Washington Bridge is expected to be gridlocked during the morning commute because of road work on New York's Alexander Hamilton span.

You'll find more information on mass-transit alternatives to commuting by car at the bottom of Page 1 of The Record today than I've seen in at least a decade.

Even the transit-adverse Road Warrior discusses riding a bicycle to the Weehawken ferry (Local front).

Why did it take a major road-repair project less than a mile east of the George Washington Bridge to unleash this relative torrent of advice from the car-loving editors and their so-called transportation writers?

Why did The New York Times and the Daily News publish subway columns for many years, while The Record's editors ignored the quality of train and bus service into Manhattan and around North Jersey? 

More lazy editing

Most of the stories in today's Sunday edition raise more questions than they answer, and poor editing makes it a chore to read them.

The main A-1 element, "Drinking water going to waste," should have told readers in the first paragraph the cost is ultimately passed on to consumers, and not wait until the continuation page (A-6).

The rare appearance of Jean Rimbach's byline on the front page only reminds readers of how she remains one of the least productive members of the staff -- due chiefly to her friendship with head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes.

Her story on multimillionaire developer Fred Daibes reports he was fined $1.6 million for completing several riverfront projects without an EPA permit at his French restaurant in Edgewater (A-6), but readers have to plow through a lot of copy to get there.

Shouldn't the focus be on whether someone who apparently broke environment laws can be entrusted to clean up 11 acres of pollution on the waterfront?

Christie's waistline

There's a huge amount of copy about Governor Christie today -- an A-1 column, a long A-5 story and an Opinion front column -- but no one seems to notice that he is growing fatter by the day, calling into question whether he is fit enough to run New Jersey, let alone run for vice president.

Just look at the unflattering photos of the GOP bully on A-5, O-1 and O-4. 

Kelly errs again

On the Opinion front, The Record's editors continue to allow their reporters to interpret and improvise on the report issued in the fatal police shooting of Malik Williams, 19, of Garfield.

Today, Columnist Mike Kelly claims Williams was shot and killed "after he emerged [from a garage] cursing at pursuing officers and waving a hammer and saw."

Boy, did Kelly screw up again.

Prosecutor John L. Molinelli's long-delayed report on the Dec. 10 shooting said Williams "advanced towards" the two officers, holding a hammer and a saw.

Molinelli said Williams was holding the tools "in an aggressive, threatening manner," but didn't specify what the suspect was actually doing, and the prosecutor never answered questions from reporters.

There is nothing in the June 27 report about Williams "waving" the tools,  just as previous stories were wrong in saying the suspect was "charging" the officers. 

Apples and oranges

On the Better Living front today, an elaborately promotional column on Applebee's compares apples to oranges.

In discussing the chain restaurant's new "seasonal" menu, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung concludes you can find fresher food at a farmer's market.

Ung has spent tens of thousands of The Record's dollars eating out at restaurants all over North Jersey, leaving no dessert untouched.

Surely, she could have named places that do serve fresh, seasonal food as an alternative to the mediocre fare at Applebee's.

So, why didn't she?