More Obama bashing on Page 1

The YMCA on Main Street in Hackensack. After prospering for more than 110 years, The Record left the city and scattered its operations to other parts of North Jersey.

You never know when The Record's editors will use a front-page story to take a swipe at President Obama, burying the truth inside, where only the most persistent readers go.

Today's splashy Page 1 takeout on Garfield hangs a possible delay in cleaning up neighborhood pollution dating to 1983 on Obama's "plan to cut $37 million from the Superfund program" (second paragraph).

Taxing readers

Deep inside, only the hardiest readers learn taxes on chemical and oil companies to fund cleanups like the one in Garfield expired in 1995, "when Congress refused to reauthorize it despite the urging of President Clinton."

"President George W. Bush did not support reauthorizing the tax," The Record reports, and last year, a bill to revive the Polluter Pays Restoration Act went nowhere in Congress.

Just smell the manure

On the front of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section, the big news is harness racing.

But L-1 also carries the first story on Englewood's struggling downtown in many years (L-1).

The Record virtually abandoned coverage of downtowns in Teaneck, Englewood and other diverse communities after North Jersey Media Group pulled up its roots in Hackensack -- delivering a royal F.U. to Main Street. 

Why stop now?

Thankfully, most drivers have to go to the MVC only every four years or so, but that didn't stop Road Warrior John Cichowski from writing his 107th column on the dysfunctional agency (L-1).

The letters "MVC" in the headline instantly put to sleep readers looking for genuine news on commuting in one of the most congested regions of the nation.

Fooling consumers

The Record's Business section is so intent on promoting mattress companies, clothing chains, real estate agents and even sellers of business jets that its lone consumer columnist is a welcome relief.

But in today's piece on poor service, Your Money's Worth Columnist Kevin DeMarrais really lets down readers by not naming an airline or a "popular seafood restaurant in Maine" that simply don't care about customers' bad experiences (B-1).

Heart attack on a plate

On the front of Better Living, Food Editor Susan Leigh Sherrill's homage to Julia Child ignores the late great TV chef's heavy reliance on butter and cream -- two ingredients shunned by anyone who wants to eat healthy today.

Shell-shocked

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung's entire Sunday column discusses pasture-raised eggs available at only three small markets in northern Bergen County (BL-1).

But where is the list of restaurants that serve naturally raised eggs? 

It's a sad commentary on Ung's Corner Table column, if readers can't get that information from the restaurant reviewer.