Black heroin users don't concern prosecutor

This sign is planted on Hackensack's Passaic Street, near Summit Avenue, where a bus and another vehicle collided on Thursday. The lack of turn lanes on Passaic creates a traffic bottleneck during the morning and afternoon rush hours.

In running 88 photos of heroin-possession suspects today, the top editors of The Record -- all of whom are white -- overlooked one thing.

Apparently, no photos of black heroin users are shown on Page A-6, meaning Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli, like the editors, couldn't care less about them.

That's no surprise, given Molinelli's refusal to release information in the fatal police shootings of two African-Americans, Rickey McFadden of Leonia  and Malik Williams of Garfield.

Molinelli must be the first public official to file harassment charges against a citizen -- a man who called him and demanded information about the Williams shooting.  

Tabloid news 

But let's get back to today's sensational, tabloid-like front page from ex-New York Timesman Marty Gottlieb, editor of The Record since late January 2012.

"Suburbia's deadly secret" is the big, black headline over the Page 1 report on the "rising death toll" among suburbanites who use heroin, which many buy from evil black drug dealers in Paterson.

"Since the beginning of 2011, heroin has claimed at least 50 lives in Bergen County," according to the fourth paragraph.

Fifty? Haven't as many people died in traffic accidents or got run down by speeders and stop-sign runners?

Isn't the lack of traffic-law enforcement really "suburbia's deadly secret"? 

You can't tell from Road Warrior John Cichowski, who today offers another in a series of columns on tree trimming and tree clearing in Sandy's wake (L-1).

Editors loves GOP

More bias is evident on the front page in the Political Stile column, which suggests Chris Christie is "the nation's most popular governor -- and certainly among its most visible."

Yes, that last part is true: Christie is visible from the Moon. 

Gottlieb keeps on putting the Charles Stile column on Page 1, even though he knows readers are sick and tired of all the "politics" the media inject into election coverage, instead of focusing on issues.

But issues bore editors and reporters -- from municipal reporters to all the swells in the Trenton State House press corps.

At least the second slanted article about the  gubernatorial election appears on the front of the "Opinion" section:  

Ex-Republican flunky Carl Golden's assessment of Democratic candidate Barbara Buono.

The headline, "An uphill battle," describes Buono's chances with New Jersey media, all of which seem to be in love with Christie, hero of the 1 percent. (O-1).

Dissing Hackensack

In Local, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, could barely manage to fill 3-plus pages of local news, and still needed the photo of a minor car engine-compartment fire (L-3).

In Better Living, food coverage is missing, but there are 2 pages of ads for Mother's Day Dining (BL-6 and BL-7).

Reader exposes flaws

A concerned reader has sent yet another e-mail to management, highlighting errors in the May 1 Road Warrior column, which John Cichowski seems to write off the top of his head: 

"Why doesn't The Record management baby-sit every Road Warrior column to prevent his hazardous and mistake-riddled reporting?

"Why are readers subjected, as they were in his May 1 column, to Road Warrior's mistaken, misleading analysis, and reporting on fatalities, injuries, and need for police at road work zones?

"In response to a reader's question, he indicated it will be acceptable for bicyclists to use the Pulaski Skyway after construction is completed, just like they could before construction started.  How incompetent and deadly do the Road Warrior answers have tobe before there is a retraction of another answer that is NOT based on any facts?  Bicyclists were banned prior to construction and will be banned afterwards since it is unsafe.

"The Road Warrior devotes most of his column to providing irrelevant statistics in addressing similar readers' questions:

"'Why must police baby-sit construction and utility roadside jobs for safety since it also adds considerable cost to a project that is passed along to consumers and taxpayers?'

"Road Warrior NEVER makes any substantiated correlation between the use of full-time police babysitters at road work zones and prevention of fatalities and injuries.

"Road Warrior doesn't seem to realize NJ's Move Over Law is still in effect if there are construction safety flashing lights. There is NO need for flashing lights from a police car."

For the full text, see the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers: 

Arrest the Road Warrior and throw away the key