Who lied more during nasty campaign, Trump or Conway?

"Puppies for Putin" is from cartoonist Stacey Fairrington. You can see more political cartoons on Cagle.com. I guess the cartoonist thought better of showing President-elect Donald J. Trump and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex W. Tillerson kissing the Russian dictator's ass.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

During the nastiest presidential campaign in memory, the news media rarely challenged Donald J. Trump or GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway as the streets ran red with their lies.

Now, the president-elect has named his former campaign manager as White House counselor, according to a Page 1 story in The Record.

Trenton reporter Salvador Rizzo, whose byline misspells his first name, calls Conway "the first woman to manage a winning campaign" (1A).

The appointment suggests voters are so gullible they will elect the presidential candidate who lies the most, lies about those lies and puts his campaign in the hands of another enormous liar.

Christie and press

After a lull in a war of words, Governor Christie again lashed out at New Jersey newspapers for lobbying against a bill that would cut into their revenue (4A).

"Just another special interest feeding like pigs at the government trough" is how Christie described newspapers on his monthly radio show.

The GOP bully should know all about special interests, as Rizzo reported in a front-page story last Sunday.

"At a time when New Jersey lawmakers are rushing a bill to end what they call 'corporate welfare' for the news media, Gov. Chris Christie's administration this month surpassed $7.4 billion in tax subsides awarded to hand-picked businesses and nonprofits."

Who is right?

Still, isn't Christie on the right side of the issue?

A requirement that towns, banks, law firms and even homeowners facing foreclosure publish notices in newspapers amounts to a subsidy of millions of dollars to publishers who are supposed to remain independent.

The New Jersey Press Association portrayed the proposal to drop that requirement as a "free press issue."

But the legal notices, published in type so small few people read them, are in no stretch of the imagination a public service or a free-speech issue.

Anyway, the bill didn't come up for a vote, but isn't dead, and is expected to be proposed again in the new year. 

So, we can look forward to Christie once again bashing what he calls the "billionaire bosses" at Gannett, the payroll-slashing owner of The Record and six other dailies in New Jersey.

Where to eat

Better Living readers in search of a restaurant review find instead a list of restaurants, bars and even a dinner cruise that will serve "a sumptuous holiday repast" on New Year's Eve (12BL-13BL).

Freelancer Joanna Prisco, who also owns a "pop-up" culinary business, suggests spending up to $280 per person at venues in Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties.

Her reporting sounds more like promotion or advertising. Here are examples:

"Ring in 2017 with style at Esty Street, "stay up late with the fun folks at Chakra," "the sexy, Asiatic restaurant will offer two seatings" and "the same Neapolitan-style pies that put Asbury Park back on the culinary map are being slung at ... Porta."

Gag me with a spoon.

Editors finally focus on crisis in Aleppo, Syrian-Americans

In this map of Aleppo, Syria, published in August by the Carnegie Middle East Center, the Old City is in East Aleppo, right, where fighting to retake rebel-held areas and the humanitarian crisis have reached a crescendo in recent weeks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today, The Record's editors finally discover a local angle for reporting on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Aleppo, Syria.

Staff Writer Hannan Adely interviewed Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah and other Syrian-Americans who have lost touch with friends or relatives or know people who have been killed in the Syrian civil war (1A and 4A).  

This Page 1 story reminds readers of the one Adely wrote in November 2015 -- more than a week after Governor Christie announced that he wanted to bar all Syrian refugees from entering New Jersey.

Why the delay? Syrians have been immigrating to Paterson since the early 1900s.

In his column on Nov. 22, 2015, Staff Writer Mike Kelly called Christie "a crazy uncle" for saying he would not even allow Syrian orphans under the age of 5 into the United States.

His Page 1 column the day before was completely devoid of criticism or condemnation of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

Putin and Trump

Until today, The Record has avoided reporting on the links between President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russia.

A story on 11A today traces Trump's "soft spot for Russia" to his desire to sell his luxury condos to wealthy Russians.

Trump, a major apologist for Vladimir Putin, also has dismissed reports from U.S. intelligence agencies that the Russian dictator tried to influence the outcome of the Nov. 8 election in favor of the New York billionaire.

You need a magnifying glass to read the legal notices in The Record.

Book deal, legal ads

Since Sunday, The Record's news editors and editorial writers have been consumed by what they see as an assault on the right of the press to profit from the publication of legal ads (1A, 8A and 16A).

One question isn't addressed: 

Does anyone actually read those legal notices, which are printed in small type?

Today's front page is dominated once again by a package of legislation that includes Christie's "book bill;" raises for his Cabinet, legislative staffs, judges, county prosecutors and others; and eliminating the long-standing law requiring local governments to publish legal notices -- such as budgets, ordinance changes and contracts.

"Motivation for pushing the bill, and tying it to action on salaries and book deal, said to be revenge by Christie against newspapers for their coverage of his administration," according to The Record.

Local news?

Still, readers of The Record have to ask whether the publication of budgets and ordinances gives the news staff an excuse to ignore important local news, such as the campaign by nine candidates in the April election for three Board of Education seats in Hackensack.

There was no discussion of the issues in The Record or Hackensack Chronicle.

Nor did the daily or weekly paper report any of the details of the proposed $104 million school budget before voters went to the polls to approve or reject it -- even though education accounts for 44% of every homeowner's property tax bill.

Another 'food crawl'

Have "food crawl" articles in Better Living replaced the weekly restaurant review, and is it a budget-cutting move?

Freelancer Shelby Vittek is back today with a "Polish Food Crawl" on 14BL and 15BL, although the out of focus cover photo of pirogis with sour cream doesn't look appetizing at all.
Elisa Ung, the restaurant reviewer who left the paper in November, likely blew $200 to $300 or more on two meals with a friend at every one of the fine-dining restaurants she reviewed.

When Ung was hired more than 9 years ago, The Record allowed the restaurant critic to treat three other people to two dinners at each restaurant.

When The Record introduced the "Informal Dining" reviews Ung did once a month, that cut the paper's expenses.

Now, if the food crawl has replaced all restaurant reviews, the additional savings would be significant. 

To all Democrats: Don't take election of Clinton for granted

Filmmaker Michael Moore (@MMFlint) tweeted five reasons he thinks Republican wacko racist Donald J. Trump will be the next president of the United States.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

"Donald J. Trump is going to win in November," filmmaker Michael Moore predicts.

"This wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full time sociopath is going to be our next president," Moore said in a call to the voting booth that appears on his website, MichaelMoore.com and on Twitter.

One major problem, Moore noted, is that in poor, black and Hispanic neighborhoods, where Democrat Hillary Clinton has widespread support, "everything is being done to literally stop them from casting a ballot ... so in most elections it's hard to get even 50% to turn out to vote."

But in what Moore calls "the last stand of the angry white man," Trump's "crazed fans are going to be up at 5 a.m. on Election Day, kicking ass all day long ...."

Today's paper

To tens of thousands of Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, agnostic and atheistic readers, the retirement of the Newark archbishop is a non-event, so why does the story take up so much precious space on A-1 of The Record today?

Trump has pledged to build a wall on the Mexican border and deport 11 million illegal aliens, so why is Columnist Michael Kelly wasting our time with a Page 1 piece that has readers' eyes rolling:

"Trump a dilemma for many Hispanics"

Kelly's second column appears today on the Opinion section cover (O-1), where he looks ahead to the Sept. 12 trial of Governor Christie's key allies in the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

In the court of public opinion, Christie himself has been found guilty of involvement in the politically motivated traffic jam, but Kelly doesn't seem convinced.

Citing Christie's prosecution of Clinton at the Republican National Convention last week, Kelly fails to remind readers the GOP bully also erased emails, as well as text messages, related to Bridgegate, and "lost" his cellphone for two years, according to reporting by WNYC-FM.

Amateur hour

Don't bother with Better Living's amateurish appraisal of Fort Lee's diverse dining scene or the wildly exaggerated comparison to Manhattan (BL-1).

Staff Writer Elisa Ung has been reviewing North Jersey restaurants and writing about food for about a decade -- yet she still hasn't discovered Hiura, which opened on Main Street about 25 years ago.

Many consider the BYO with fewer than 30 seats the best sushi and Japanese restaurant around.

She also ignores BCD, a Korean restaurant in Fort Lee that serves organic soft-tofu soup and superior side dishes.

Justice delayed is justice denied in slow New Jersey courts

The unmarked entrance to the polling place in Hackensack's Fairmount School, where poll workers far outnumbered voters early this afternoon. In the primary election, Democrats and Republicans chose candidates for president, House of Representative, convention delegates and county offices.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If the federal criminal trial in the George Washington Bridge case actually starts on Sept. 12 in Newark, that will be a few days past the three-year anniversary of the politically motivated lane closures in Fort Lee.

And that's a big "if," because U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman told The Record he didn't think an appeals court ruling on a conspirators list "is going to decide it," suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court may get involved (A-1 and A-6).

Meanwhile, two men who were racing Ferraris in the Meadowlands on May 13, 2012, just pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging them in the death of a Kinnelon man whose motorcycle was hit head-on (L-1).

And to fully realize how slow our court system is just take a look at the timeline in the battle to provide affordable housing since landmark New Jersey Supreme Court rulings in 1975 and 1983 (A-1 and A-6).

Our glacial court system, with layers of possible appeals, enriches lawyers, and often denies justice to plaintiffs and victims.

Today's front page

Editor Deirdre Sykes' front page does little to advance the cause of justice, serving up two long stories on the Mount Laurel rulings and the endless appeals since the Bridgegate indictments (A-1).

Most of the page is taken up by a lame feature on flag football.

Hackensack news?

The first Business page today carries the second story on Hackensack's Main Street in a few days, this one about the closing of a mom-and-pop jewelry store (L-7).

On Page 1, a brief on the closing of Gold Ray Jewelers carries this headline:

"Main Street losing more of its sparkle"

That's rich, coming from a publisher who has never acknowledged how the 2009 closing of North Jersey Media Group and Record headquarters on River Street devastated the city where the Borg family prospered for more than 110 years.

Whose health?

In Better Living today, the YOUR HEALTH feature contains little of interest to the vast majority of readers, who are older or retired (BL-3).

The major piece is about millennials and their suicidal eating habits. 

Two briefs involve the health of children with and without autism.

The Better Living front promotes three recipes with goat cheese -- the kind of full-fat, artery clogging dairy most readers try to avoid like the plague (BL-1).

Hackensack schools chief is out; wacko Trump taps Plump

Karen Lewis, superintendent of Hackensack schools, has been suspended with pay, according to BergenDispatch.com (Photo credit: Schoolword.com)

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record missed another big Hackensack story today -- the suspension with pay of Schools Superintendent Karen Lewis.

On Monday, Paul Nichols of BergenDispatch.com cited "multiple sources" in reporting that Lewis is out despite a 5-year contract that paid her $167,500 a year starting on Dec. 1, 2013.

With bonuses, Lewis was paid more than Governor Christie, who receives $175,000 a year.

Board of Education President Jason Nunnermacker had no comment, but told Nichols "the matter will be appropriately addressed" at tonight's scheduled board meeting in the high school media room.

The suspension comes about three weeks after the April 19 Hackensack school election.

Two incumbents and a former board member were elected to three-year terms, and a tiny minority of registered voters approved a $79 million tax levy to support a total school budget of $104 million.

Trump and Christie

Since Christie took office in early 2010, the GOP bully has transformed New Jersey into a state of emergency.

So, you have to wonder why the editors are making such a big deal over wacko racist Donald Trump picking Christie to head a transition team in the unlikely event the billionaire and presumptive Republican nominee is elected president (A-1).

Satirist Bill Maher referred to the pair as "Trump and Plump."

Trump's election is as much of a long shot as was Christie's bid for the nomination.

Women to bury him

The billionaire racist likely will be buried under the votes of millions of women for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

One thing Trump and Christie have in common is their hatred of Muslims, and both have tapped into the deep-seated racial animosity toward our first black president.

In New Jersey, not only has the governor been waging war against New Jersey's middle and working classes, but his cancellation of the Hudson River rail tunnels has really screwed up mass transit -- as another Page 1 story reports today.

The story on the Gateway Tunnel project carries a dual byline -- Christopher Maag, who covers NJ Transit, and Paul Berger, the Port Authority reporter.

But the first paragraph is overly long, and contains the phrases "environmental permits" and "environmental regulations."

Federal agencies are said to want to "rush through environmental regulations" -- whatever that means.

Local news?

From the looks of the local-news section, there was plenty of room for a story on the Hackensack schools superintendent.

The only other Hackensack news is a huge photo of two vehicles burning on Byrne Street after a power line fell (L-6).

Below that is another filler photo, this one about a stove fire in Paramus.

'Army of hacks'

A brief on Uber drivers forming a new labor organization in New York City to win better treatment and pay refers to them an "army of homemade hacks" (L-9).

Surely, that's an insult, considering that many Uber drivers in the city have years of experience as livery drivers or work for Uber to supplement their income from other driving jobs.

The true hacks are the reporter and editors who handled the story, which is from an unnamed news service.

Better Living

What are readers to make of today's Better Living cover story on grown men racing miniature radio-controlled racing cars in Hackensack (BL-1)?

And why does the piece carry the byline of Maag, a transportation reporter?

On BL-2, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung promotes another spot for Callahan's mystery meat hot dogs.

Columnist Mike Kelly is wrong again on Christie, Obama

At Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, a photo of jazz legend John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was put up in a corner of the lobby where volunteer and paid musicians entertain visitors. The trumpet virtuoso, who lived in Englewood, died in the hospital on Jan. 6, 1993, from pancreatic cancer. A memorial fund in his name covers the care of uninsured jazz musicians without the ability to pay.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Part tedious history lesson, part fiction, another Mike Kelly column on Page 1 of The Record today couldn't be more wrong about Governor Christie and President Obama.

Kelly claims both Christie's State of the State speech and Obama's State of the Union address spoke of where "each man hopes to find himself ... in the future" (A-1).

But the veteran reporter must have missed or ignored what Obama said about the future of the country:

How he hoped for "better politics," including an end to divisive rhetoric and taking money out of the electoral process.

Obama also urged Republicans who control the House and Senate to "do the right thing" for the American people -- hardly a message about his future.

A selfish Christie, on the other hand, has changed his stand on gun control and numerous other issues to appeal to conservative voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other states in his quixotic campaign for the White House.

In a recent column, Kelly also echoed Christie's racially inspired campaign attacks on Obama's leadership.

More numbers

Road Warror John Cichowski, another failed Record columnist, bombards readers with more statistics about bicycle fatalities and other traffic deaths, as he has done so many times in the past (A-1).

And if the past is any guide, many of his numbers and conclusions are flawed.

Cichowski has not only ignored the mission of the column to help commuters, but spends little time reporting on North Jersey's antiquated and poorly lit street and road system, and how they contribute to bicycle, pedestrian and other traffic deaths.

Take a major thoroughfare like Passaic Street in Hackensack, Maywood and Rochelle Park -- a narrow, two-way street with few turn lanes let alone bicycle lanes, and poorly lit crosswalks.

Profile of judge

Property tax payers in Hackensack, Englewood, Teaneck, Ridgewood and other towns welcomed the profile of Vito L. Bianco, a tax court judge who stripped Morristown Medical Center of its tax-exempt status (A-1).

But reporter Abbott Koloff could have gone further and asked the Hackensack city attorney and his counterpart in every North Jersey town with a non-profit hospital why they aren't filing a suit like the Morristown action.

Sloppy editing on Page 1 trips up Koloff.

Koloff wrote the judge stripped the Morristown hospital of its "tax status," when he surely meant "tax-exempt status."

GWB conspirators

The far bigger story about Christie appears on A-3 today -- the attempt by the news media to get the names of officials who prosecutors believe were involved in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, but who weren't charged.

Attorney Bruce Rosen, a onetime reporter at The Record, represents eight media companies, including North Jersey Media Group, publisher of the Woodland Park daily.

"The indictment presents allegations ... of significant abuse of power and violation of the public trust by appointed Port Authority ... and Christie Administration officials," Rosen wrote in his brief (A-3).

Municipal news?

Obama may want to take money out of politics, but The Record can't resist covering challengers to U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, solely on the size of their "war chest." 

What does Democrat Josh Gottheimer of Wyckoff stand for? Readers don't have a clue (L-1).

Today's Local section carries municipal news from Englewood, Rutherford and Teaneck, but nothing from Hackensack.

You'd never know Hackensack is remaking its downtown, selling itself as an important transit hub and trying to keep allies of the Zisa family political dynasty from returning to power.

Food coverage

Wednesday's Better Living cover -- "5 foods to eat more of in 2016" -- is the latest in series of stories on a healthier diet.

Yet, on the next page, clueless freelancer Kate Morgan Jackson of Upper Saddle River included two tablespoons of artery clogging butter in a cream-free Winter Vegetable Soup.

If readers, the majority of whom are older, waited for The Record to tell them which foods are heart- and brain-healthy, they'd be deader than door nails.

Page 1 stories speak volumes about broken government

"Baring Our Soles" is an exhibit at the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack, above and below, sponsored by the Center for Hope and Safety, formerly Shelter Our Sisters, which helps battered women in Bergen County.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You know we are mired in deep doo-doo when James P. Fox has been able to move easily between the public and private sectors without raising any ethical concerns.

Today, a Page 1 story in The Record argues whether Fox, the state's transportation commissioner and former lobbyist for United Airlines, broke the law simply by attending a public meeting where the airline was mentioned (A-1).

Below that on one of the dreariest front pages in weeks from Editor Martin Gottlieb is another story on our broken election system, which is driven by special interest money.

I can see the death of Yogi Berra taking up a big part of Page 1, but why is his funeral and photos of former Yankees out front today and not in Local or Sports?

Local news

Staff Photographer Marko Georgiev's enterprise photo of a flooded parking lot reflecting a cloudy blue sky on L-3 today is what readers want to see more of.

It's far better than all of those shots of rollover and other non-fatal accidents with captions that tell you absolutely nothing about the possible cause, names of those involved and whether any charges were filed.

Still, on most days, local Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza can't seem to put out a local-news section without relying on such photos as well as a heavy dose of police, fire and court news.

Food news

Page BL-2 in the Better Living section today shows you how far The Record has declined in the years since the paper folded an entire section devoted to food; downtown restaurants, shops and caterers; recipes and related news.

Clueless freelancer Kate Morgan Jackson of Upper Saddle River strikes again with another unhealthy recipe, Chicken Francese, which certainly doesn't need three tablespoons of artery clogging butter to taste great (BL-2). 

Sunday edition editor is ignoring local readers once again

Grand Avenue in Hackensack has finally been repaved, but so many other streets in the city have been neglected for decades.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Saturday's front page, Governor Christie's presidential campaign was described as "sluggish" and "struggling."

Yet, The Record today continues to waste precious Page 1 space on how the GOP bully is doing in New Hampshire, ignoring the mess he's made in the Garden State (A-1).

Sadly, a reader serves as the only antidote to the upbeat coverage masterminded by Editor Martin Gottlieb:

"Christie's most recent attacks [on the teachers union] have come in the same week when state schools have once again received national recognition for excellence," Paul White of Ridgewood says in a letter to the editor (O-3).

"This is the same man who lied about his real reasons for cutting money for women's health, who destroyed the proposed ARC tunnel and who accepts 'lavish' gifts from 'friends' while attacking the wages and benefits of public workers."

Today, there are only two other main elements on the front page -- a lead story and a superfluous column about a disgruntled whistle-blower from Fort Lee who fatally shot a security guard before killing himself, and a piece on college tuition insurance (A-1).

Local news?

Bergen County readers find two Passaic County stories dominating the Local front (L-1).

And a Road Warrior column on "confusing signs" on Route 4 is of concern only to those drivers who refuse to buy or use navigation systems (L-1).

Inside Local today, another long Dean's List stands in for municipal news (L-2), and stories from Riverdale and Kinnelon appear on L-3.

I haven't seen any stories about Hackensack lately, meaning the reporter assigned to the city might be on vacation.

Food news

On the Better Living cover, restaurant critic Elisa Ung is back with a column promoting sub shops that use cheap, low-quality, preservative-laden cold cuts -- this only four days after the section praised the variety of crappy lunch meat available at supermarket deli counters (BL-1). 

She notes one of the shops uses "quality bacon from Nueske's," but the smoked-meat company's Web site doesn't claim its products come from animals that have been naturally raised, so readers have to wonder if Ung is trying to deceive them again.

Lazy editors praise lowly cold cuts, hide their real harm

An NJ Transit train passing Euclid Avenue in Hackensack on Tuesday. Today, The Record's front page carries more official jawboning on building new Hudson River rail tunnels to expand service to the city, but there is no telling how many months or years commuters will have to wait for an actual agreement on its financing by the two states and the federal government.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You'll find the biggest laugh line in today's paper on the front page of The Record's Better Living section, where some desperate reporter compares lowly cold cuts at a supermarket deli counter to "Starbucks, and its myriad coffees and lattes."

Not even close.

Nearly all of the cold cuts sold at deli counters come from animals raised on harmful antibiotics, growth hormones and animal by-products, though you won't find even a mention of that in Staff Writer John Petrick's long story (BL-1).

If you're not buying Applegate Farms cold cuts -- which are antibiotic- as well as preservative-free -- you're a lazy consumer who has been feeding your family crap (BL-8).

Petrick apparently was under orders not to alienate all of the supermarkets who rake in big profits from selling cheap lunch meat, because revenue from their advertising fliers props up North Jersey Media Group.

Consumer Reports

In recent years, Consumer Reports has linked the widespread use of human antibiotics to raise chickens and other animals on factory farms to a growing antibiotic resistance among humans.

In fact, the magazine launched a campaign to get Trader Joe's to pledge that the national chain wouldn't sell any meat or poultry raised on antibiotics.

Of course, you haven't seen that reported in The Record, where the chief restaurant critic, Elisa Ung, once referred to Consumer Reports "as the magazine many of us use to buy a washing machine."

More Page 1 B.S.

Today, Editor Martin Gottlieb publishes another long, tedious piece from opinion Columnist Mike Kelly that is completely devoid of any opinions (A-1).

As with so many Kelly columns, readers will find this one on U.S. Sen Robert Menendez indistinguishable from a news story -- except for the outdated, unflattering thumbnail photo of the veteran reporter flashing a shit-eating grin.

The "dual life" of Menendez as "statesman" and "defendant" is just more media bullshit.

The nuclear deal with Iran and the corruption charges against the senior U.S. senator from New Jersey have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

And the federal jury that may be asked to decide his guilt or innocence will do so based on the evidence and the law, not Menendez's record in the Senate.

In fact, President Obama has vowed to veto any bill that tries to kill the Iran deal, so why waste so much valuable space on the front page reporting congressional objections? 

GOP bully

Governor Christie has lost more ground as a Republican presidential candidate -- he's now in 11th place -- so why is the story on the front page today in place of more legitimate state news (A-1)? 

Another Page 1 story carries this headline:

"First step
on path
to a new 
rail tunnel" 

Of course, the "first step" comes nearly five years after Christie killed the last project to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River and expand service to and from the city.

But it is only in the last 18 months or so that the editors, their so-called commuting columnist and other transportation reporters have paid any real attention to North Jersey's long-standing mass transit crisis.

Local news?

A meeting of the Hackensack City Council was scheduled for Tuesday night, but I don't see anything in Local today (L-1 to L-6).

On L-3 today, a story reports a non-fatal fire Monday night on Polify Road in Hackensack displaced six people and that five first-responders were treated.

Today's story describes "a garden apartment complex;" on Tuesday, a brief about the same fire said they were "town houses."

On L-2, businesses are offering discounts during Senior Citizen Appreciation Week in Passaic County.

There is no explanation of why the Allwood Diner, IHOP, Triangle Diner, McDonald's and Amor Cucina are offering free dessert or ice cream to seniors, many of whom are diabetic or simply watching their weight and cholesterol.

With more Christie in N.H. on front page, readers' eyes roll

Waiting for an NJ Transit train to pass in Hackensack. Since Governor Christie took office in early 2010, traffic congestion has worsened, but mass transit has stood still. Yet The Record continues to cover the governor's star-crossed bid for the White House.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie is being counted out as the GOP presidential nominee in 2016 by everyone but The Record of Woodland Park.

Running one Page 1 column after another on how he is doing in Iowa, New Hampshire or some other state with an early primary has alienated North Jersey readers.

Their eyes roll just at the sight of Staff Writer Charles Stile's outdated thumbnail photo (A-1).

Political satirist Bill Maher not only has stopped telling fat jokes about Christie he didn't even mention the GOP bully on Friday night's "Real Time with Bill Maher" when discussing the recent GOP debate.

Local news?

The local-news section is so weak some desperate editor had to run the arrest of two New York State men with 400 bags of heroin on the front today (L-1).

Franklin Lakes seeking an interim trustee also is deemed big news (L-1).

Meanwhile, I can't recall a single story about school board members in Hackensack whose budget has grown to exceed the city's own.

Gee-whiz news

What's the point of a new column by Travel Editor Jill Schensul on the Better Living front (BL-1)?

Today, she lists the most expensive travel destinations in the world. Gee-whiz.

Why not discuss two great cities, Montreal and Toronto, where a strong U.S. dollar means Americans get 20% to 25% off of everything they purchase -- from hotel rooms to concerts to lunches in fine-dining restaurants?

If Schensul's column is supposed to help travelers get the most from their money, the joke is on readers.

From gorging on sweets to advice on cholesterol levels

A Shell station on Summit Avenue and Essex Street in Hackensack is selling a gallon of regular for $2.13.9, if you use a credit card, or 12 cents less than the same gasoline at another Shell station on Cedar Lane in Teaneck. Prices have stopped falling and even cheap, off-brand stations are selling regular for $1.99.9, if you pay cash.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There were too many "mays," "mights" and "maybes" in The Record's major story on cholesterol and heart disease on Wednesday.

The Better Living cover story, promoted on the front page, is typical of the media's flawed focus on health and nutrition, and their tendency to jump all over draft reports (BL-1).

The Woodland Park daily did a disservice to those who read only the Page 1 promotion or headlines, and didn't slog through all of the quotes from doctors.

In the penultimate paragraph, the reporter finally acknowledges "the best advice is the same advice that doctors and nutritionists have been repeating for generations."

"Eat a well-balanced diet heavy on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and ... fats found in ... fish, nuts and olive oil, while limiting red meat, fried foods and sugary desserts" (Wednesday's BL-3). 

So, you don't have to limit your intake of the saturated fat in butter and heavy cream, two ingredients that show up often in recipes recommended by The Record's freelancers?

It doesn't help that The Record's food pages are filled with endless copy promoting pastries, cake and chocolate or that the chief restaurant critic rarely eats a salad, but always leaves room for a huge hunk of meat and dessert.

Christie obsession

Today's front page carries another so-called analysis of Governor Christie's campaign style "while he considers a presidential future for himself" (A-1). 

There is no mention of a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll that 68 percent of New Jersey voters say the GOP bully is putting his personal presidential aspirations ahead of his public state duties (Wednesday's A-3).

This is the second dose of major bad poll news for Christie, and both times the editors kept it off of the front page.

Tuesday's A-3 carried another breathless Melissa Hayes story about Christie, who, on a visit to New Hampshire, discussed what he'd do, "if he were to run and win the presidency."

An "Analysis" of Christie's proposed state budget appeared on Saturday's front page, and Christie columns ran on Sunday's and Monday's A-1.

The media obsession with Christie often is justified by reporting he won a second term in a landslide, but editors never mention the turnout was the lowest of any gubernatorial election in state history.

Voters are apathetic, and sick of all of the Christie-White House coverage, which is turning off more and more of them.

Laughable headline

Today's Better Living cover carries a headline that has readers howling (BL-1):

Versatile chickpea

gains popularity

Chickpeas have been a staple of diets in India, Armenia, Turkey and the Middle East for, what, a hundred years?

But then a food editor scrambling for a story idea discovers them and treats her readers liked imbeciles.