Our next president isn't pictured on the front page today

In Hackensack on Tuesday morning, a man walked his young son across the NJ Transit tracks on Railroad Avenue, a largely residential neighborhood that has lived with passing trains in its front yard for decades. In 2012, a 12-year-old boy walking home from school was killed by a train, but The Record didn't bother asking officials why fences were never put up to protect residents.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie is taking his lies, distortions and mean-spirited policies on the road again in what The Record calls a presidential "campaign trip in all but name" (A-1).

But you can't tell from today's upbeat front-page coverage -- including four A-1 photos of the GOP bully in New Hampshire -- that Christie is damaged goods, a politician who is unlikely to get the nomination, let alone the victory.

And I'll bet there are unhappy workers in dead-end jobs in the Woodland Park newsroom and all around the country who would vote against Christie just to avoid having to wait until they are 64 to retire early.

Today's Page 1 story is written by Melissa Hayes, the reporter assigned to cover Christie, in her usual adoring style, as you can tell immediately from the first paragraph.

Christie's proposals for Social Security and federal health care are called "overhauls," not cuts (A-1).

"Today, one of the most unpopular governors in the country is unveiling what soon will become one of the most unpopular entitlement reform plans," U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, said, according to PolitickerNJ.com.

Bob Menendez

After Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted by a federal grand jury, The Record leapt to his defense, quoting one defense attorney after another claiming his actions on behalf of a Florida eye doctor were inspired by friendship, not bribery.

Today, Dr. Salomon Melgen, 61, the senator's friend, is back on Page 1 after he was indicted for allegedly trying to bilk Medicare of more than $190 million and receiving $105 million (A-1).

In 2012 alone, health officials reported, Melgen billed Medicare $21 million, more than any other doctor in the nation, The New York Times reported.

If anything, Menendez's really poor judgment in calling this man a friend and accepting free travel and Paris hotel rooms from him should be questioned.

More corrections

The news, assignment and copy desks are on a roll, admitting to two more editing screw-ups on A-2 today.

Readers know The Record only acknowledges a few of the many errors that appear in the paper every day now that six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the copy desk, has eliminated all fact checking and limited editing to spell checking.

If you think the A-7 photo of Menendez is unflattering, check out the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center construction photo the news editors are running on A-9 today.

Local news?

Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza continue to rely heavily on Law & Order and court news to fill the thin local-news section, robbing readers of legitimate municipal news (L-1 to L-6).

Four of the six stories on the Local front today distract readers from how poorly many of our towns and school systems are run -- which are among the issues The Record's lazy editors have never been eager to tackle.

Spring surprise

What's the point of running recipes for shad roe with such unhealthy ingredients as butter and bacon that many readers are trying to avoid (BL-1 and BL-4)?