Christie is in denial on the big issues

A luxury complex between two shopping centers in Hackensack will start renting some of its 226 studio to three-bedroom apartments in May. The Avalon development is opposite Continental Plaza, below, once talked about as a new home for The Record after the Borg family abandoned their landmark headquarters at 150 River St. in 2009.

 

Global warming. Reducing gun violence. Taxing millionaires. Expanding mass transit. The obesity epidemic.

How can Governor Christie be so out of step with other leaders on some of the biggest issues facing New Jersey and the nation, and still remain popular with the editors of The Record?

The lead Page 1 story today reports the GOP bully calls "esoteric" whether climate change caused Superstorm Sandy.

But The Record ignores what the governor said at a press conference about his weight, even though it was reported on the TV news last night. 

Christie brushed off a suggestion he should trim down or have bariatric surgery, saying he is 50 and healthy.

No member of the media dared remind him of his hospitalization two summers ago after an asthma attack linked to his tremendous weight, estimated to be 400 pounds and rising.

When he appeared on the David Letterman show on Monday, he seemed uncomfortable sitting down in a chair and pulled out a doughnut to eat. 

The Record reported the Court Street Bridge, shown on Tuesday, is scheduled to re-open at "mid-week" after Sandy related repairs. This alternate access to highways is expected to make the Borgs' 20 acres on River Street more attractive to retailers.

Columnist Mike Kelly is back on A-1 today, complete with a dated photo showing his shit-eating grin. Compare that photo with the one used on North Jersey.com.

Did anybody but the family read Kelly's long-winded, meandering story about a Purple Heart that was awarded on Tuesday, more than 67 years after the death of  sailor from Paterson?  

A correction on A-2 today fixes the misspelling of the name of a Hackensack City Council candidate. 

Lazy editors refuse to do the legwork

Colonist and native agree to build the Court Street Bridge.

Three days ago, The Record gave a state assemblyman a front-page platform to blame President Obama and the poor economy for his financial and legal problems, including charges he wrote $400,000 in bad checks.

Assemblyman Robert Schroeder said he had made a "mistake." 

Gullible editors

Now, it turns out, the Republican assemblyman from Bergen County and his company have been named in at least six federal and state lawsuits trying to recover $1.78 million from "unpaid bills in recent years," according to a Page 1 story today.

How gullible can Editor Marty Gottlieb and head Assignment Deirdre Sykes get? 

They have full-time federal and state courthouse reporters at their beck and call, so why didn't they perform the basic legwork of checking court records on Friday to prevent publishing Saturday's embarrassing story?

Small-minded columnist

Writing off a state Supreme Court decision upholding red decals on the license plates of young drivers (A-1), Road Warrior John Cichowski can't resist a "cute" expression (L-1).

He refers to the decals as "itsy-bitsy red tags," then proceeds to put readers to sleep.

Bridge to nowhere

On Sykes' Local front on Monday, Staff Writer Stephanie Akin does a hell of a reporting and writing job on Hackensack's Court Street Bridge (L-1).

Reopening of the bridge is one of the final pieces needed to transform 20 acres along River Street -- The Record's old headquarters -- into the site of a Walmart.

Hackensack readers can only wish Akin devotes her considerable skills to covering municipal affairs.