Last front page of '15 is same mix of sensational, political

Post offices in Fort Lee, above, and Maywood have small parking lots for patrons, but the much bigger Hackensack Post Office only offers metered street parking.

Free parking is at a premium in Fort Lee, but postal patrons luck out.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

So many front pages in The Record speculate on the future -- today, the lead stories discuss the guilt or innocence of Bill Cosby, and which GOP candidate will take the Iowa Caucuses.

Yet, the vast majority of readers want the media to do a better job of reporting what happened -- the definition of "news" -- especially in their town, county and state.

Below the fold today, a story on the warmest December in state history recalled the poor job The Record did recently in reporting the anemic sale of all-electric cars in the Garden State.

The emphasis was on their limited range and lack of chargers, not on their zero emissions or how they are perfectly suited to the lifestyle of North Jersey's senior citizens.

Local obits

It's time for another annual roundup by the local obituary writer, Jay Levin (L-1).

Often, the local obit is the only relief from the editors' over-reliance on police news, trials and photos of rollover accidents.

Yet, in 2015 as in previous years, many of these well-written life stories literally were buried in the back pages of Local.

What's coming

If you want a good laugh, take a look at what the Better Living editors are predicting for 2016 in food and culture (BL-1).

The first item ignores that Italian-Americans and other ethnic groups have been eating such small fish as anchovies, sardines, herring and mackerel since the invention of the net.

The last item is another shameless plug for a restaurant that won't open until March from The Record's chief critic, whose lavish dinners are paid for by the newspaper.

Elisa Ung doesn't mention menu prices at American Cut Bar & Grill probably will induce sticker shock in anyone outside of the 1%.