Should Bergenfield police chief make more than Christie?

It's been rough going for local-news readers of The Record since the Borg family abandoned Hackensack in 2009. But local drivers were pleasantly surprised to find a new surface on what was a crudely patched stretch of River Street in front of North Jersey Media Group's old headquarters, above.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's upbeat front-page story on Bergen County's first female municipal police chief raises obvious questions the lazy editors of The Record don't bother addressing.

Staff Writer Nicholas Pugliese waits until deep into the continuation page to mention what is foremost on the minds of Bergenfield taxpayers:

How much will the town pay Capt. Cathy Madalone, who is the Borough Council's choice to succeed former Police Chief Michael Carr (A-6)?

Pugliese not only doesn't tell you how much she will be making, but also omits whether that is more or less than Carr's salary.

Well, it turns out Capt. Madalone is being paid $173,228, including longevity pay -- significantly less than the total of $190,536 Carr received as chief.

If Madalone gets a raise when she becomes chief, is it appropriate that she make more than Governor Christie's $175,000 (and the same question applied to Carr)?

Pugliese also doesn't address whether Bergenfield, which has a large Filipino-American community, has any Filipino officers.

Another question

Given all the problems in North Jersey and the state, is Editor Martin Gottlieb, a New Yorker, just being contemptuous of local concerns by running another silly sports column on what is supposed to be the paper's premier page (A-1)?

In Local today, there is extensive coverage of a hit-and-run that took the life of a Paterson teen on a bicycle (L-1), and a house fire in Passaic city that displaced six families (L-3).

Other Law & Order and court stories appear on L-1, L-3 and L-6.

What is long overdue is for Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza to work with their layout editors and designate a page or a page and a half  in the back of their section for crime, court, and accident news and photos.

Welcome change

In Better Living, for a welcome change, recipes for radicchio salad and shrimp salsa appear on BL-2.