Editions are as dreary as days without sun

Hackensack is offering a 30-year tax break to attract a West New York apartment developer who promises to build 222 units over a parking garage on land at 86-94 State St. and 31 Warren St., above and below, with completion scheduled for 2015. Tenants will be able to hop on a Manhattan-bound bus across the street or file for unemployment in the beige-colored building, above right.

 

Everything about Governor Christie is so big it's a miracle he can still get his foot into his mouth, as he did at a Paterson church on Tuesday.

But why did Editor Marty Gottlieb put the story on Page A-3 of Friday's paper, instead of out front, where readers were hit with more about Superstorm Sandy and Pope Francis for the second day in a row?

The pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church has asked the GOP bully to apologize for referring to Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver as "an African-American female speaker of the Assembly who represents ... East Orange and Orange, where there are failing schools all over."

No surprise. One of the first things Christie did in 2010 was dismiss John E. Wallace Jr., the state Supreme Court's only African-American member.

Friday's paper is dreary from Page 1 to the classifieds.

Out of focus

Staff Photographer Tariq Zehawi appears to be losing his chops after chasing so many ambulances and capturing so many rollover accidents for head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza.

What's duller than his A-1 photo on Friday at Ridgewood High, with its blurry images of students' backs and a bunch of parked cars in front of a brick wall with the hard-to-read name of the school? 

Out of gas 

Instead of just listing gasoline stations that charge the same for cash or credit -- such as the Shell station on Cedar Lane in Teaneck -- Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to froth at the mouth over credit-card surcharges (L-1).

Out of excuses

On L-3, Hackensack reporter Hannan Adely reports Councilman John Labrosse has belatedly raised an objection to the city's plan to pay $500,000 in legal bills for two police officers, even though he voted to approve the deal.

City Attorney Joseph C. Zisa Jr. told Eye on The Record he is recommending the city pay the bills, and won't ask a judge to rule on how reasonable the fees are.

Labrosse, who is seeking another term in the May 14 election, changed his mind after candidate Victor E. Sasson noted the councilman's own campaign literature is silent on what he has accomplished in the past four years.

The Record's editors still haven't published a story about Sasson's independent candidacy, but did do stories about the Labrosse slate and another organized group in the Hackensack contest in late January and early February.

Out of local news

How long have North Jersey Media Group and The Record been promoting "The Big Book Drive" for Paterson children (L-1)?

Could this be the Borg family's way of distracting readers from the precipitous decline in local news in the past 10 years?

Why is Better Living defending smokers "frustrated" by outdoor bans on their filthy habit (BL-1)?

Even when non-smokers aren't choking on cigarette smoke they still have to live with the disgusting nicotine stench from smokers' clothing and drivers who toss lit butts out of their cars.