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.

When court news, Dean's List stand in for local reporting

Many Hackensack residents wrote large checks -- more than $4,500 for some homeowners -- to meet Monday's deadline for payment of quarterly property taxes. But the lack of coverage in The Record means they would have to attend Board of Education meetings and question officials themselves on why the school budget is so high and exceeds the city's own budget.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Page 1 of The Record today, the obituary of Ralph Corrado, owner of Rosie's Farmland Diner, is mildly interesting.

But the editors forgot to report that like the diner, the Little Ferry Circle is history. And readers might still be wondering if Ralph was related to the Corrados who own supermarkets in Passaic County.

As for the rest of the front page, Editor Martin Gottlieb's story selection could lull you to sleep like the steady beat of raindrops on my skylight, especially the column on Governor Christie's birth control practices (A-1).

Buried on A-3 today is a story on Christie vetoing 13 bills, including quarterly payments to the troubled state pension system.

And NJ.com reports that as of Monday, Christie had spent nearly 55 percent of the year outside of New Jersey in pursuit of his White House dreams (that's all or part of 121 days).

Local news?

Well, don't turn to the Local section for relief.

Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza are back to their old sleight-of-hand tricks of heavy coverage of criminal court hearings (L-1), and a Dean's List that fills half of a page (L-6).

Other pages carry a total of eight more Law & Order stories, and a photo of a non-fatal two-car collision in Glen Rock.

Although The Record does a fair to middling job of covering the Hackensack City Council, the Woodland Park daily completely ignores the city's school board and increasing education budget, leaving taxpayers twisting in the wind.

In a story on the Port Authority's shuffling of bus gates in midtown Manhattan, the editors forget to tell commuters about several freestanding touch terminals they can use to locate platforms for their New Jersey bound buses (L-1 and L-3).

Healthy recipes

In Monday's Better Living section, three recipes for Jersey Tomatoes were a rare nod to the many readers who are trying to follow a healthy lifestyle (BL-1).

The story carried the byline of Nina Rizzo, a food writer at the Asbury Park Press.

The Record's own writers -- restaurant critic Elisa Ung and Food Editor Esther Davidowitz -- usually sample or promote unhealthy food, including three major articles on the resurrection of Callahan's preservative-laden, deep-fried beef-and-pork hot dogs.

On Christie, Editor Gottlieb's head remains up his a-hole

This morning, Hackensack firefighters and police responded after a transformer exploded, knocking out power to homes on Euclid Avenue and other streets in the city's Fairmount section. Power was restored in about an hour.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's coverage of Governor Christie is more evidence that Editor Martin Gottlieb's New York Times state of mind is wrong for North Jersey readers.

Could today's front-page story be the first time in nearly five years The Record has reported the financial damage from Christie's cancellation of the Hudson River rail tunnels, ending what would have been the biggest expansion of mass transit in decades (A-1)?

And how did Columnist Charles Stile and his editors in Woodland Park miss Christie's serious misstatement of fact at Thursday night's GOP debate on when he was appointed U.S. attorney for New Jersey (Friday's A-1)?

This embarrassing oversight -- whether deliberate or not -- was repaired on Saturday's front page by Melissa Hayes, the reporter assigned to cover Christie and, seemingly, promote his presidential bid:

"Christie twice said during the televised debate Thursday night that he was 'appointed' U.S. attorney on Sept. 10, 2001, the day before the terrorist attacks [on America]," Hayes reported on Saturday, a day late.

"And when [U.S. Sen. Rand] Paul referred to the hug between Christie and President Obama following Superstorm Sandy, Christie retorted that 'the hugs I remember are the hugs that I gave to families who lost their people on Sept. 11.'"

In fact, Christie wasn't "formally nominated until Dec. 7," and didn't take over as U.S. attorney until January 2012 (Saturday's A-6).

2016 election

The Record and other media continue to promote Thursday night's GOP debate as a watershed moment, when, in fact, it will be a mere footnote when the Republicans name a candidate for president in 2016 (A-1).

Two headlines on Saturday's front page tried to minimize Christie's fading campaign while portraying the election against the presumptive Democrat candidate, Hillary Clinton, as a horse race:

"Christie
renews
shaping
of image"

"Why Trump's
vulnerability
should worry 
Democrats"

On A-1 today, Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson claims:

"Christie
performed
according
to plan"

Local news?

Today's thin local-news section includes a story promoting the dying sport of horse racing (L-1).

And Road Warrior John Cichowski presents another column on a woman who bought a house next to Route 17 in Waldwick, "where tractor-trailers barrel through at night" (L-1).

Paterson editorial

An editorial defends the performance of Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale despite the "apparent shooting deaths last year of two young girls -- 12-year-old Genesis Rincon and 14-year-old Nazerah Bugg" (O-2).

The editorial even credits Speziale with a "truce" between street gangs from the 1st and 4th Wards after the drive-by shooting death in April of Paterson basketball star Armoni Sexton, 15. 

Low-quality food

On Friday and Saturday, the Better Living section promoted Callahan's and Kimchi Smoke, two businesses that serve pork, beef and chicken raised on harmful antibiotics, growth hormones and other additives.

On Friday, restaurant critic Elisa Ung used a hard sell in her informal dining review of Callahan's in Norwood:

She called the pricey deep-fried pork-and-beef hot dogs "a must-try," and claimed the grilled chicken sandwich is "a surprise star" (Friday's BL-16).

And Food Editor Esther Davidowitz promoted Robert Cho's "Southern-style" Korean barbecue company (Saturday's BL-1).

Davidowitz says nothing about how the marinated beef or ribs are raised or what separates Cho from most Korean barbecue purveyors, who rely on cheap cuts to maximize profit.

North Jerseyans lining up for crappy hot dogs is A-1 news

More photos of the aftermath of a three-alarm fire that gutted a building at 76 Main St. in Hackensack on Saturday, prompting officials to order its demolition, above and below. Today, The Record corrects the number of apartments on the upper floors, reporting that 34 people in 12 families lived in the same number of apartments (L-3).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Hundreds of people flocked to tiny Norwood and waited on a long line for a dose of nostalgia and indigestion on Sunday at the re-opening of a Callahan's hot dog restaurant.

Why is this on the front page of The Record today?

Staff Writer Minjae Park describes the deep-fried hot dogs as a "greasy bite," but otherwise doesn't discuss whether they are all beef or contain harmful antibiotics, growth hormones or preservatives (A-1).

Owner Dan DiMiglio, whose grandfather, Leonard Castrianni, launched Callahan's at a Fort Lee gas pump in 1950, says "the restaurant is offering an experience, not just food."

He doesn't describe the "experience," but it likely includes heartburn from all those fried hot dogs with chili and cheese or spicy onions and fried potatoes.

From all the publicity DiMiglio has received in The Record since he launched a Callahan's food truck, you'd think Food Editor Esther Davidowitz has a crush on him.

Or maybe he just signed a contract with the Woodland Park daily's advertising department.

Typo, error

On the continuation page, a historical photo of the Fort Lee Callahan's as it looked in the 1950s has a caption with an embarrassing typo, calling the place a "North Jersey hot dot institution (A-6).

The second photo on that page notes some diners in Norwood waited outside nearly two hours "to join the crowded dining room inside Callahan's on Sunday [italics added]."

Dining rooms are almost always "inside" restaurants, but the clueless editor probably meant to write diners "joined the crowd" inside Callahan's.

The Callahan's ad disguised as a news story appears on the same day that Chipotle Mexican Grill became the first national fast-food chain to stop serving food with genetically modified ingredients.

See: Chipotle is now GMO-free

Christie P.R.

Also on Page 1 today, Columnist Herb Jackson joins colleagues at The Record in trying to boost Governor Christie's sagging chances at the GOP presidential nomination in 2016 (A-1).

New Jersey's unemployment rate is the seventh highest in the nation, reports Jackson and a news story on the Business page today (A-8).

Ignoring speeders

In a letter to the editor today, Gerald G. Van Ess of West Milford describes the "crazies" you find driving on Route 23 north during the afternoon rush hour, "speeding, tailgating, cutting off other drivers -- just plain wild and reckless driving" (A-9).

But you find the same type of drivers on the turnpike, parkway and many other New Jersey highways -- a problem Road Warrior John Cichowski has ignored for more than a decade.

It's apparent to everyone except the confused, house-bound columnist that enforcement has declined dramatically.

Goose-meat frank might even be considered 'gourmet'

Up close, the exterior color scheme of the incomplete American Dream entertainment and retail complex in the Meadowlands doesn't look half bad. But the old name, Xanadu, continues to appear on at least one sign, below.

 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you're like me and didn't have a chance to read The Record today and Wednesday, you haven't missed much.

Two days in a row, Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson tries mightily to interest readers in the election pitting U.S. Senator Cory Booker against conservative Republican Jeffrey Who? of Leonia.

Trouble on wheels

Staff Writer John C. Ensslin covers Bergen County government so his knowledge of food presumably is limited.

On Page 1 today, he mentions Callahan's low-quality hot dogs and "gourmet" in the same story about a deal to allow food trucks to serve people in county parks.

Weenie lover

In a Second Helpings blog post today, the fine-dining Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung is beside herself about Rosie's Weenie Wagon setting up in Overpeck Park in Leonia.

Rosie's Sabrett franks are nothing special, just more mystery meat filled with preservatives, but she might want to pursue an agreement with state and county officials to reduce the park's population of geese.

This way, she could serve franks made from goose meat -- surely a lot more "gourmet" than Sabretts' beef hotdogs -- and help keep park sidewalks clear of droppings.

Worst governor

The story on Governor Christie being chosen as a "Father of the Year" makes no mention of when he'll receive an award for being the "Worst Governor of New Jersey" (A-1 and A-3).

Meanwhile, his former chief of staff was scheduled to testify before the legislative panel investigating last September's George Washington Bridge lane closures in Fort Lee (A-1).

Don't hold your breath for any revelations.

Apartment glut

On the Local front today, Hackensack reporter Christopher Maag exaggerates the impact of any delay facing the city in the development of Lot C, which is now a parking lot near Bowler City and the Ice House (L-1).

Lot C is only one piece of property where the city plans to allow apartment development, including nearly 20 acres along River Street owned by North Jersey Media Group.

One luxury complex is already open and another 200-plus apartments are under construction on State Street, a few blocks from City Hall.

Where the city will find room in its schools for children from all those new apartments hasn't been addressed.

 

Road Warrior column should be labeled 'FANTASY'

The Johnson Public Library on Main Street in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There are plenty of news stories on Page 1 and elsewhere in The Record today, but on the Local front you'll find the musings of a madman who has to make it up as he goes along just to fill space.

The Record has been printing Road Warrior columns by Staff Writer John Cichowski based on false premises and false information for years now.

For more than a year, a retired engineer has been sending e-mails to everyone from Vice President Jennifer A. Borg on down with the results of his fact-checking, and posting those e-mails on a Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers.

Few of the hundreds of errors, distortions or omissions detailed in the e-mails have ever been corrected, and the columns are as cockamamie as ever.

Nut on the loose

Today, Cichowski puts himself in the head of a reader who heard about the loose wheel and tire that smashed through the windshield of a bus on Route 17, and wondered "what your chances are of being killed this way" (L-1).

Frankly, I didn't, but did wonder why news stories about the bus passenger who was critically injured by the flying wheel didn't say why it came off a fairly new car, a 2009 Lexus.

Still, Cichowski can't answer the question he poses, and can't find many examples of fatalities "in our own backyard."

Fast-food fatal

He goes all the way back to 1994 to find a high school senior killed by "a 200-pound tire that sailed off a tractor-trailer," but the victim wasn't in a vehicle.

He was walking into a McDonald's in Paramus. Thus, Cichowski inadvertently confirms many readers' belief that fast food can kill you.

(In the column, headlines and photo captions, "tire" is used interchangeably with "wheel," but, of course, he must be referring to a tire mounted on a wheel in nearly all instances.)

The next example of a flying wheel in Paramus didn't kill the driver.

And then Cichowski finds himself citing a fatal accident in Syracuse, N.Y.; and a double fatality all the way out in Indiana.

Lost in the woods

Then, having run out of fatal wheel-tire incidents, Cichowski reports on a smashed window at a car dealership, and a pickup's loose wheel and tire that rolled into the woods in Sussex County.

If it's possible, his column last Sunday on the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan was even worse, because Cichowski left out a crucial piece of information that would have exposed the addled columnist.

Cichowski dashed commuters' hopes that there is any relief in sight for them, if they use the obsolete bus terminal.

But he never mentioned a major, Port Authority funded study that began in mid-2013 to recommend plans for expanding or replacing the crowded terminal.

He also got the age of the bus terminal wrong and in one instance, the number of commuters who use it.

See:

Road Warrior John Cichowski is obsolete 

Hey, Editor Marty Gottlieb.

It's time to start labeling Cichowski's columns "FANTASY," if you are not going to force the turkey to retire.

Another loose nut

None other than Food Editor Esther Davidowitz is the author of a long, promotional story about Callahan's unhealthy hot dogs, now sold from a truck by Daniel DeMiglio, the third generation (Better Living cover).

Here is one editor who needs editing to stop her from cramming so many words and facts into one sentence.

She describes DiMiglio as "the dark-haired, super-energetic, currently Old Tappan, soon-to-be Fort Lee resident, who bided his time working in the NBA's entertainment division ...."

Sounds like a woman north of 60 who has the hots for a guy half her age.