Sports devalues Democrats' message

Perfect for shopaholics. Apartments rise on the site of the old Oritani Motor Hotel in Hackensack, where Record newsroom staffers stayed during major storms to ensure publication of the daily newspaper. They are on Hackensack Avenue, between The Shops at Riverside and the Home Depot Shopping Center.

If you need any more evidence of how editors of The Record side with our fat slob of a governor and other Republicans, take a look at today's ridiculous sports column on a front page dominated by the Democratic National Convention.

I looked over last week's front-page coverage of the Republican National Convention and checked the other stories that ran with all the lies from Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and others.

Readers didn't see any similar subliminal messages, as in today's decision by Editor Marty Gottlieb to elevate the Giants to the same level as speeches from first lady Michelle Obama and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who called on the wealthy to pay their fair share.

The vast majority of readers think of the Giants as nuisances whose beer-guzzling fans clog the turnpike before and after every game in East Rutherford.

When they win a championship, they might deserve a photo on Page 1.

But the rest of the time, I wish Gottlieb would put them in their place -- in the Sports section, along with airhead columnists like Tara Sullivan.

Oldest in N.J.?

Also on Page 1 today, the local obituary of Melva Radcliffe, 111 -- believed to be the oldest New Jerseyan -- suggests the Paterson Police Department once did a far better job of fighting street crime, as reported by Staff Writer Jay Levin:

"For the first decade of her teaching career at Paterson's School 13, Miss Cadmus, as she was known then, walked the several miles back and forth from her home on East 37th Street."

More poor editing

Meanwhile, the editing of the Woodland Park daily continues to decline under Production Editor Liz Houlton, known in the industry as the "Queen of Errors."

How did the news copy desk allow Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson to get away with the awkward phrase -- "still-filling Democratic National Convention" -- in the first paragraph of his Page 1 story on Booker?

That's more evidence veteran Jackson is a still-maturing writer, and that the assignment editors who go over stories before they are sent to the copy desk should be fired.

On Tuesday's Local front, the assignment and news copy editors completely overlooked an awkward, repetitive first and second paragraphs in a story on an American flag:

"WESTWOOD -- In mid-August, a package containing an American flag arrived at the municipal building.

"The delivery contained a flag ...."

The second paragraph should have begun, "The flag ...."

Road kill

On today's Local front, Road Warrior John Cichowski's laziness yields another column based on readers' e-mails and a little online research (L-1).

Cichowski continues to dissect the driving experience while ignoring all of the region's commuting problems.

Today's column on how to cope with slow drivers will be followed by others on turning left, turning right, accelerating smoothly and staying in lane.

To critics of the paper's coverage of mass transit, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes points to her lead story today about an alleged drunk who tried to throw two boys onto the tracks in Glen Rock (L-1).

Black and white

Also on L-1, a story about the Englewood City Council fails to tell readers whether 4th Ward Councilman Jack Drakeford, who was African-American, was replaced by another African-American.

There is nothing in the text and no photos of his replacement, Wayne Hamer, or the two who were passed over, Curtis Caviness and Rosemary Tillman-Scott.

Shopping for news

There was no Hackensack news today or Tuesday, not even a report on the new apartments off Hackensack Avenue that are going up between two shopping centers.

On Tuesday, an A-1 blurb and A-6 story on organic food fails to mention that besides being pesticide- and antibiotic-free, naturally raised food is worth the extra money, because it tastes far better than conventional meat and produce.