The biggest frauds are perpetrated by Christie, not voters

Even on the best of days, traffic in downtown Englewood moves sluggishly, aggravated by city officials' refusal to install more turn lanes at such major intersections as Palisade Avenue and Dean Street, above. On Tuesday, road and sidewalk work only aggravated the situation.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's reporters and editors continue to do a great job as stenographers -- but fail miserably as journalists -- especially when it comes to Governor Christie's charges of voter fraud.

Today, the sub-headline on Page 1 legitimizes another Christie lie, even though the actual quote doesn't appear until deep on A-6:

"Calls automatic sign-up
a 'cocktail for fraud'" 

Christie and other conservative Republicans aren't really worried about fraud; they suppress voting and count on newspapers like The Record to do a poor job of covering issues, especially in the local elections that determine the size of property tax bills.

Voter apathy is a far bigger problem; in 2013, when Christie was reelected, the turnout was the lowest for any gubernatorial election in New Jersey history.

Lies before truth

Even before reporting that "voter fraud is extremely rare," Staff Writer Dustin Racioppi loads his first paragraphs with charges from Christie and wacko racist Donald J. Trump, the GOP presidential nominee:

"Trump has warned of 'rigged' elections and claimed there could be widespread voter fraud" (A-1).

Today's stories on Christie rejecting a pair of bills that would make it easier to register to vote and on the 10 bills he signed into law don't mention the fate of a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2021 (A-1 and A-7).

Local news?

Good luck finding local news today in a section called "Local" that is filled with police and court news.

The entire Local front reports on child porn arrests, a judge rejecting a builder's suit, crooks who got away while Paterson police were picking up donuts, a widow's complaint against a driver who killed two pedestrians, and probation in a coin theft case.

In fact, every page in the section is filled with similar Law & Order news.

Slams health focus

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung reports an acclaimed new chef, Christopher Albrecht, is emphasizing health, not just duplicating the dishes served before new owners took over at Park & Orchard in East Rutherford (BL-14).

All of his meats are antibiotic and hormone free, and most of the beef he serves is grass-fed, unlike the original restaurant and -- though Ung doesn't dare say it -- unlike all of those incredibly expensive steakhouses she raves about.

She seems to put a lot of store in complaints from "some regulars," and notes the wine list is "much less ambitious."

And, as usual, she goes bananas over three desserts the vast majority of her older readers wouldn't touch out of concern for their cholesterol and sugar intake.

So, there's no explanation for why Albrecht gets only 2.5 stars out of a possible 4.