Clinton has 76% chance of winning election, Times reports

HARD-LUCK ROW: A small American flag flies on this row of long-vacant storefronts on Main Street in Hackensack. Gold Ray Jewelers, the only operating business, closed in June, below. Across the street is C.J. Lombardo Co., where Jerry Lombardo also serves as chairman of the Main Street Business Alliance, which has been trying to polish the image of the city's forlorn downtown.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Despite all the bluster from Governor Christie -- who served as Donald J. Trump's attack dog on Tuesday night -- Democrat Hillary Clinton has a 76% chance of winning the November election.

"Our elections model suggests Hillary Clinton is favored to win the presidency, based on the latest state and national polls," The New York Times reports today.

On Tuesday night, wacko racist Trump was formally nominated at the Republican National Convention as the party's presidential candidate, The Record reports on Page 1 today.

Christie called Clinton a "deeply flawed candidate whose use of private email has disqualified her for the presidency" (A-1 and A-8).

But the GOP bully didn't mention his own emails and texts were erased, and his cellphone went missing for about two years in the Bridgegate scandal.

Local news?

Editor Deirdre Sykes again devotes an enormous amount of coverage to the Republican Party's suicide mission in the November presidential election (A-1, A-5, A-7 and A-8) -- much of which will never be read.

Most newsroom workers at the Woodland Park daily haven't seen a raise in years, but Sykes wasted scarce resources to send Columnist Charles Stile to Ohio, where the political reporter proves he is as boring to readers on the road as he is at home (A-7).

If you are looking for local news today, you're out of luck.

The gee-whiz collapse of a crane onto the Tappan Zee Bridge is on A-1 today as Sykes and Road Warrior John Cichowski continue to ignore worsening traffic congestion in North Jersey.

Puppy update

See the front of Local today for the latest update on the puppy mill controversy (L-1).

A feature on the healthy, sustainable food grown on Fresh Roots Farm in Mahwah is welcome (L-1), but readers turning to the Better Living section will find a completely different message.

Jersey blueberries

On BL-4 today, freelancer Shelby Vittek mars the New Jersey blueberry by providing recipes that add artery clogging butter, and cream and ricotta cheeses, as well as cups of sugar, to the glorious fruit.

The headline -- "Birth of the Blues" -- sounds clever, but the blues are all about heartbreak and misery, so the play on words doesn't work here (BL-1).

Unless that's a reference to getting heart disease from a steady diet of sugary Ricotta Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote washed down with a Blueberry Smash Cocktail.

And another feature claims a new Park Ridge restaurant, 103 Prime at Valentino's, has added "more healthful fare," but leaves readers in the dark on whether the pricey restaurant serves grass-fed beef and other naturally raised or grown food (BL-1).