Zisa-backed school trustees sworn, editors could care less

On the public Hackensack River walkway behind Pep Boys, city of Hackensack garbage cans were brimming on Sunday. An old Costco Wholesale shopping cart and other metal parts were left near a second can, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Hackensack residents won't find a word in The Record today about the swearing in of two school board members backed by the Zisa family -- a curse the city can't seem to shake.

Instead, Editor Deirdre Sykes resorts to another gee-whiz photo and story on Page 1 -- this one about lightning hitting a tree and igniting a Glen Rock house next door to the assistant fire chief (A-1).

All's well that ends well, I guess.

Mordaga leaving

Sykes and Staff Writer John Seasly do have Hackensack news today, but it has nothing to do with the city's failing elementary schools, a ballooning school budget or the attempted political comeback of former four-term Mayor Jack Zisa and brother Ken, the disgraced police chief.

Instead, they lead Local with the expected news that Mike Mordaga, a decorated police officer and detective, is leaving as the city's $150,000-a-year civilian police director after three years in the job (L-1).

Mordaga took over in February 2013, several months after a jury convicted Ken Zisa of insurance fraud and official misconduct charges.

The insurance fraud charge was thrown out by an appeals court, but the former police chief still faces a retrial on the official misconduct charge. 

The city, which has abolished the position of police chief, also has spent more than $8 million defending and settling police officers' lawsuits against Ken Zisa, who also was a Democratic state Assemblyman.

Team Hackensack

The reporter forgets to mention that Jack and Ken Zisa were prominent backers of Team Hackensack, which saw two of its three board candidates sworn in on Tuesday night in the high school media center.

The Zisas even went so far as improperly obtaining the addresses of teachers union members, and sending them letters inviting them to a Team Hackensack barbecue at the home of Anthony C. Zisa, Ken's son, who is a high school teacher.

Francis W. Albolino
 (Credit: Hackensack Board of Education)

24-year veteran

In a broadcast of the Board of Education meeting, board President Jason Nunnermacker praised Francis W. Albolino for 24 years of service as a board member or president and presented him with a plaque.

However, Nunnermacker didn't list a single accomplishment by Albolino, who retired from the volunteer position on Tuesday night.

Truck hits tree

Of course, it's possible that Seasly covered Tuesday night's Hackensack school board reorganization, but that local editors ordered the story held for breaking news -- a garbage truck hitting a tree in Ridgewood (L-3).

Page 1

Sykes continues to run state and national politics on the front page in place of real news, long after readers have gotten sick and tired of reading about the presidential campaign (A-1).

Still, The Record's story doesn't mention Governor Christie again stood behind GOP front-runner Donald Trump's left shoulder as the billionaire racist declared victory in five more primaries on Tuesday (see NJ.com: Chris, Donald and Mary Pat).

The Woodland Park daily is the only major newspaper in the state that failed to call for Christie's resignation after he dropped out of the race in February, and threw his support behind Trump.

Reader: D.C. columnist doesn't know his ass from his elbow

Amid April's gloomy weather, there are sure signs of spring in Hackensack, including colorful blossoms, above, and lawn signs for the April 19 school election, below.

Nine candidates are vying for three seats on the Hackensack Board of Education, which is controlled by the same political machine that ruled the city for decades before a reform slate was elected to the City Council in May 2013. Those reformers are backing Lawrence E. Eisen, Lancelot Powell and Victor E. Sasson in the school election. Residents also have a chance to vote "yes" or "no" on a $104 million budget approved by the board.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A reader of The Record who works in Hackensack had the same reaction I did to today's front-page column from Herb Jackson.

Jackson, the paper's so-called Washington correspondent, claims that if Donald Trump is the Republican Party's presidential nominee in November, he could beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in New Jersey (A-1).

I got this email:

"Victor -- Did you read Herb Jackson's column or piece today about how he thinks that Trump could be competitive in New Jersey?

"Where is this guy coming from?

"He clearly does not know his ass from his elbow about New Jersey. 

"Trump will get destroyed here. 

"In fact, I do not know if in a race with Clinton he would even get a majority of the Republic legislators to vote for him.  

"Jackson knows nothing -- he does not mention the following:

 1.  New Jersey has a sizable Latino vote -- Trump will get crushed there.

2. The black vote is over 10% -- he will get destroyed there.

3.  There is a significant ... Muslim population -- he will get killed there.

4.  He will get killed among suburban women, many of whom are Republicans in Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Union and Monmouth counties.

5.  He will get crushed among single women, many of whom live in Hoboken and the Philly suburbs. In fact, where will he get his votes from?

"Maybe Sussex and Warren counties and perhaps Cape May, but that is about it.

"Any fool can see this."

But not Jackson, so you have to wonder why his drivel about racist Trump is on Page 1.

Columnist taps into racist, anti-Obama rhetoric on economy

Heavy winds on Saturday night brought down a tree, damaging at least three cars parked on American Legion Drive, near Prospect Avenue, in Hackensack, a neighborhood of high-rises and garden apartments.

This afternoon, a police officer told a young couple the tree won't be removed and they won't have access to their damaged car (the silver-colored one in the middle) until PSE&G removes live wires. American Legion Drive was closed for the same reason.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Republican Party appears to be pulling the strings of Staff Writer Mike Kelly, whose Page 1 column in The Record today demonizes President Obama and knocks his record on the economy.

Kelly focuses on "more than 100 people who had recently lost middle-management jobs at New Jersey corporations" who attended "a lecture on how to use social media" (A-1).

Kelly doesn't even mention Obama, the nation's first black president, whose every action has been opposed by the Republican majority in Congress in the greatest display of racial animosity since the end of slavery.

Trump's racism

But the columnist claims deep "social, political and financial tremors" are responsible for "the anti-immigration and protectionist rhetoric of Donald Trump," the Republican front-runner in this year's presidential campaign.

Of course, Trump, Governor Christie and the other GOP clowns clearly have been campaigning against Obama, and distorting the remarkable job he did in bringing the nation back from the recession.

War on middle class

Kelly also doesn't mention Christie or the GOP bully's war on the middle class in New Jersey.

He talks about "wage stagnation," but not Christie's veto of a hike in the minimum wage, or corporations like North Jersey Media Group, owner of The Record, eliminating raises for even the most productive workers.

He talks about "careers upended through downsizing," though not what happened to his newsroom colleagues -- including the food editor and director of photography -- who were shown the door after decades of employment at The Record.

Bad headlines

Today's headline on the Kelly column -- "Is this the end of the American Dream?" -- is especially bad because "American Dream" also is the name of the huge retail-entertainment complex under construction in the Meadowlands.

The words "American Dream" appear in large, bold type above the fold, certain to confuse readers who don't immediately start reading the photo caption or column.

On Friday's front page, a sub-headline struggled to describe the car of a Hackensack man who died the day before in the hospital after a collision with a police cruiser speeding to an emergency:

"Hackensack cruiser
hits unrelated car,
killing the driver"

I didn't know cars could be "related" to each other like humans.

See: Police cruiser pushed victim's car 40 feet

Local news?

North Jersey has so many commuting problems it's a wonder Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to find so many ways to avoid writing about them.

Today, he fills an entire column with horror stories on "roadside trash," employing his trademark exaggeration and hype in an attempt to engage readers or at least prevent them from falling asleep (L-1).

Today's Local front also carries a story on Henry and Mary Shoiket, 97 and 100, respectively -- a rare instance of reporting on seniors who aren't institutionalized or have just died (L-1).

The couple are described as longtime activists, "who have been fixtures at the weekly protests outside the Teaneck Armory for years."

Major error

On the Opinion front today, a caption incorrectly describes the large photo above the fold, and gives a wrong date for the official opening of the new World Trade Center.

The photo shows the interior of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub -- not the "main level of the new World Trade Center."

The date given, March 3, is the official opening date of the transit hub, not the office building.

Also on the O-1 today is a second Kelly column, this one on Atlantic City, that begins, "Once upon another time ...."

Like a fairy tale, this one puts readers to sleep almost immediately.

Syrians upstaged by immigrant haters Trump and Christie

The Daily News predicted in January 2014 that Governor Christie's run for the GOP presidential nomination was doomed, but The Record of Woodland Park stood by his side even after seven other New Jersey newspapers condemned the governor's endorsement of racist Donald Trump and called for his resignation.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Deirdre Sykes, The Record's new editor, is sending horribly mixed messages to readers on Page 1 today.

Readers can only guess why Sykes gives better play to immigrant haters Donald Trump and Governor Christie than to a series of moving interviews with North Jersey Syrians on the fifth anniversary of the civil war in their native land (A-1).

Ban on Syrians

A photo shows front-runner Trump and Christie looking awfully comfortable in ex-slave state North Carolina, where the billionaire businessman's Klan supporters flourish.

Left unsaid, of course, is that Trump wants to bar all Muslims from entering the United States, and Christie sought to ban all Syrian refugees, including children, first from New Jersey and then the rest of the United States. 

In fact, after Christie called for the ban last November, The Record's editors waited a week or so before interviewing law-abiding merchants and other Syrians in Paterson, not far from the Woodland Park newsroom.

Presumably, that was to show readers not all Syrians are terrorists, as Christie seemed to suggest.

Today's editorial on Christie joining the Trump campaign again sounds like it was written by a doddering old man (A-8).

"On March 3," the hemming and hawing concludes,  "he [Christie] said he was fully committed to serving the people of New Jersey.

"There is much evidence to the contrary, governor. Much evidence to the contrary."

That has about as much impact as a wet noodle.

Unions win big?

Staff Writer Christopher Maag continues to give Christie a pass when the governor says NJ Transit fares will have to be raised again to pay for a new contract with rail workers (A-1 and A-10).

Nowhere does the paper's chief transportation reporter mention that Christie's deep cuts in state subsidies forced the state agency to hike fares and cut service last October.

Also, the front-page headline calls the unions "big winners," but only later does Maag report the rail workers haven't had a raise for five freaking years.

Maag doesn't think that's such a big deal because he also has been denied a raise by the Borgs, the wealthy owners of the paper.

Local news?

Three stories from state and federal criminal courts in Hackensack and Newark dominate the local-news section today.

Another story on L-1 reports the Clifton Board of Education is giving Muslim students a day off to observe Eid al-Fitr, the first of two holy days marking a sacred month of fasting.

Former employees of The Record might recall the Borgs refused to give Jewish employees a day off to observe Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism, when fasting also is required.

Christie takes yet another vacation from being our governor

In Monday night's North 1, Group 4 boys basketball final in Hackensack, the Morristown High School Colonials took an early lead, above, but ultimately lost to the Hackensack High School Comets, 67-64.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With NJ Transit rail workers threatening to strike in less than a week, Governor Christie going on vacation reminds me of the old Mose Allison song:

"Your mind is on vacation, but your mouth is working overtime." 

It's bad enough Christie was more interested in running for president than in running New Jersey, where problems of his own making seem only to get worse, not better.

Or that he could care less that rail workers have been without a contract for five years, and doesn't seem interested in granting them modest raises in order to avert a strike set for 12:01 a.m. Monday.

But in covering the labor dispute, The Record of Woodland Park hasn't been able to hide the deep-seated, anti-union bias of the Borg family, owners of North Jersey Media Group's flagship paper.

Christie's last public appearance on Monday before leaving for a vacation isn't on Page 1, as it should be.

After endorsing fellow racist Donald Trump, the GOP bully recently claimed he went "back to work." 

Christie's latest break from governing isn't even mentioned in the headline on A-4.

Union 'demands'

The rail workers unions are asking for an average 2.57% raise over seven years of a new contract, and for their health insurance payments to be capped at 2.5% of their base salaries (A-4).

That doesn't seem to warrant The Record reporting, "Unions have demanded ...." or quoting NJ Transit officials calling the union proposal "excessive."

Nowhere in the strike-threat coverage have you seen The Record report NJ Transit is in financial trouble and had to raise fares because Christie cut millions of dollars in state subsidies to the agency to balance his budget. 

Of course, the Borgs' can hardly be called objective, and the staff seems to have gotten the message, from transportation reporter Christopher Maag to Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin.

The Borgs defeated any attempt to unionize pressmen or other workers, and in the last few years, they have denied raises to even the hardest-working newsroom staffers.


Mind on vacation

Road Warrior John Cichowski, The Record's lazy commuting columnist, would be writing about more training for teen drivers on the same day as coverage of a funeral for a 7-year-old girl killed by a hit-run driver in a crosswalk (L-1).

This week also saw the deaths of two 17-year-old boys, who were mowed down by a speeder's out-of-control car.

Cichowski's last column was about a railroad crossing.

In the more than a dozen years Cichowski has been pretending to be the paper's commuting columnist, he has ignored increased crowding on NJ Transit buses and trains; Christie's and the Port Authority's refusal to expand mass transit; and mounting traffic congestion at the Hudson River crossings.

He's also missed a dramatic decline in speeding enforcement on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

Christie is New Jersey's very own Republican con artist

An NJ Transit train approaching the Anderson Street station in Hackensack on Saturday. Today, The Record's front page is treating a possible March 13 strike of rail workers -- who have been without a contract for more than five years -- as if the end of the world is coming, but ignoring Governor Christie's abysmal lack of leadership in bringing the two sides together.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's Sunday edition is filled with hand-wringing -- over a potential NJ Transit rail strike, and political battles involving the state Supreme Court, gambling, pensions and a fuel tax.

But you won't find the Woodland Park daily's so-called journalists and opinion writers going out on a limb and blasting Governor Christie for more than six years of chaotic rule (A-1 and O-1).

Surely, Christie is the worst governor in state history or, to echo New York Times Op-Ed Columnist Paul Krugman, New Jersey's own Republican con artist.

Yet, readers have to plow through paragraph after paragraph of background, analysis, and hemming and hawing by three columnists -- Charles Stiles, Carl Golden and Mike Kelly -- before finding a shred of outrage at the mess Christie has put all of us in.

Kelly on Christie

Deep on the continuation page, in his eleventh paragraph, Columnist Mike Kelly recalls all the promises Christie has made, and finally slams him with these words:

"He blew it" (O-4).

Still, Kelly's column is weighed down by comparing Christie's expression during a Donald Trump news conference last week to that of Jack McGreevey in 2004, when his son and then-governor announced he is gay and was resigning.

What a bizarre comparison, and so far afield as to have readers questioning Kelly's sanity and homophobia, and asking again why no one edits any of the paper's columnists.

Christie's big con

Since 2010, Christie has been unyielding on running the state without raising taxes of any kind, especially on his millionaire supporters.

But state revenue lagged, and the fiscal conservative soon ran into trouble balancing the state budget:

So, he began grabbing money from mass transit, public pensions, women's health, the environment and other programs to balance his voodoo spending plans.

To get his way with the Democratic majority in the state Legislature, the GOP bully executed more than 500 vetoes, leading voters to approve constitutional amendments on raising the minimum wage and open-space preservation.

Rail strike?

For some reason, a big" transit options" graphic lists not a single NJ Transit bus between North Jersey and the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan (A-6).

The No. 165 from Westwood links Hackensack and Manhattan, and the No. 166 from Cresskill picks up riders in Englewood, Leonia and Palisades Park on the way to the Lincoln Tunnel.

A rail strike would begin next Sunday at midnight.

Anti-union

The Record is so enamored of Christie and so opposed to unions that transportation reporter Christopher Maag actually quotes a so-called expert saying no one will blame the governor for a rail strike.

Indeed, Maag's first paragraph speculates on the impact of a strike on Christie's "political career" (A-7).

Readers speak

Editor Deirdre Sykes has so much contempt for readers she rarely asks her reporters to go out and interview voters on Christie or the unending series of crises the state has faced under his rule.

But unlike the paper's columnists and editorial writers, readers' letters to the editor don't mince words (O-3):

"The rise of Trump can directly be attributed to two main engines -- bigotry and bigotry," Stanley Sanders of Fair Lawn says.

Sanders also notes, "Republicans have sought the downfall of the president [Barack Obama] because of racial reasons."

'Pathetic' Christie

"Who could imagine that Governor Christie could outdo his pathetic quest for the presidency by endorsing Donald Trump," asks Michael Konsevick of Vernon.

"With more than 100,000 commuters facing an NJ Transit strike and disruption of their lives, it is inconceivable that our governor has not been publicly trying to bring the parties together," David Wynn of Livingston writes, adding:

"He is an embarrassment to New Jersey and should resign."

Referring to Christie receiving his full salary, as well as state police protection, during his doomed presidential campaign, David Brook of Hillsborough notes:

"New Jersey has a budget crisis and if the governor can take money from all sorts of programs to plug budget gaps, let's do what is only fair and take away his salary and all benefits and costs to help plug those gaps." 

7 other N.J. newspapers hounded Christie 'back to work'

Light snowfall didn't slow the collection of garbage and recycling in Hackensack today.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie pledged to get "back to work" on New Jersey's most insoluble problems, but you won't find any mention in The Record today of the role played by seven other newspapers that demanded his resignation.

In the first paragraph of a Page 1 news story, Trenton reporter Dustin Racioppi refers vaguely to "demands," and then focuses on an "intense and scathing" online reaction to Christie's endorsement of racist Donald Trump (A-1).

Still, even in his longest press conference in two years, Christie successfully "managed" Racioppi and Record Columnist Charles Stile, who wrote another boring political column on the GOP bully's ties to the "party establishment" (A-4).

Neither Racioppi nor Stile asked whether Christie intends to continue to rule by veto, as he's done more than 500 times since early 2010.

Nor will you find any mention in today's upbeat editorial of Christie's war on the working and middle classes in the state (A-10).

This week, six Gannett-owned newspapers in New Jersey, followed by The Star-Ledger, the state's biggest daily, called on our absentee governor to resign after sacrificing his duties to his personal ambitions on the presidential campaign trail.

The Record of Woodland Park has never mentioned those editorials or its own waffling on Christie's dereliction of duty. 

Rail confusion

Today's lead story on a potential NJ Transit rail strike on March 13 is so poorly edited readers are confronted with contradictory numbers on how many commuters will be affected (A-1).

A graphic just below the headline shows an average of 308,523 one-way weekday rail trips, but next to it, a sub-headline says only 65,000 may be "stranded" by a strike.

In the text, the 65,000 number turns out to be referring only to people who ride trains into Manhattan, ignoring others who take trains within the Garden State.

And the long story by Staff Writer Christopher Maag contains absolutely no information on what the 4,200 rail workers are asking for, preventing readers from judging the merits of the unions' position.

Maag does say rail employees have been working without a contract for five years, more evidence that Christie is an enemy of both mass transit and unions. 

'Lasuni gobi'

On the Better Living cover today, a photo of "lasuni gobi," a dish at Kinara in Tenafly, gives no hint of whether it is meat, poultry or vegetable.

Ditto for the caption on BL-2, and the data box that appears with Elisa Ung's upbeat review of the Indian restaurant on BL-14.

Finally, in the penultimate paragraph of the review itself, readers learn this great looking Chinese-Indian dish is fried florets of cauliflower "in a dark garlic sauce."

The sugar-, butter- and cream-obsessed Ung apparently withheld a third star, because "the dessert menu is full of duds."

Still, how can she rate the place Good to Excellent after calling the samosas the "worst" appetizer and the tandori chicken "flavorless"? 

Star-Ledger, biggest daily paper in N.J., piles on Christie

The Anderson Street Bridge to Teaneck was how many Hackensack residents reached the Cedar Lane business district, Holy Name Hospital and Englewood. On Wednesday, with the bridge closed for repairs, Cedar Lane seemed unusually quiet, suggesting that customers are staying away. Have you seen anything about that in The Record?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

For the past decade, The Record of Woodland Park has emphasized marketing over journalism, as you can see in the paper's front-page motto:

"NORTH JERSEY'S TRUSTED SOURCE"

In fact, under Publisher Stephen A. Borg, The Record has shown time and again that its coverage of Governor Christie cannot be trusted.

Today, the Star-Ledger demanded Christie's final exit, echoing the earlier call of six other newspapers in the state.

An editorial notes the GOP bully "has made it abundantly clear that governing New Jersey is a distant second priority for him, far behind his personal ambitions." 

See: 'Resign for New Jersey's sake'

"His craven endorsement of Donald Trump is only the final blow, the moment when he lost any last shred of credibility," the editorial states.

"His fullsome praise of Trump, after his stinging condemnations only a few weeks ago, is impossible to believe."

NJMG and Borgs

Of course, The Record hasn't joined the other prominent dailies in the state, because Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin continues to hem and haw, and equivocate over Christie's neglect of his duties, his endorsement of Trump and all of the unresolved problems in the Garden State.

Doblin's strings are likely pulled by the Borgs and their powerful North Jersey Media Group. 

To call the editorial page editor a pussy is an insult to women. 

The coverage of Christie by reporters and columnists continues to focus relentlessly on politics, so every story and opinion piece is little more than "Republicans said/Democrats said."

As of June 2015, The Star-Ledger's paid circulation was 213,890 daily and 289,882 on Sunday, largest in the state, according to the New Jersey Press Association.

As of December 2013, The Record's paid circulation was 139,904 daily and 167,278 on Sunday, according to the press organization.  

Today's paper

The front page and the rest of the paper continue to ignore the rising chorus of resignation calls on Christie from other dailies.

A Page 1 story by Dustin Racioppi, a former investigative reporter at the Asbury Park Press, carries this headline:

"Criticism of Christie takes

on a virtual life of its own"

His story doesn't mention any other newspaper, but Racioppi today tweeted to his followers about the Star-Ledger editorial and provided a link to it.

Liberals rejoice

Many readers are rejoicing over another Page 1 story:

"Staring down the prospect of nominating Donald Trump for president, Republicans spiraled into a chaotic, last ditch search Wednesday for a way to save the GOP from hitching its fortunes to an unpredictable celebrity candidate without alienating his  throng of followers" (A-1).

Let's hope we are witnessing the self-destruction of Christie, the racist Republican Party and its radical Tea Party offshoot.

6 N.J. papers -- but not The Record -- call for Christie exit

YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE: It's a good bet the street in Hackensack you're looking for is closed for utility work. Above, First Street and Central Avenue, not far from the high school.

On State Street, construction equipment parked at the curb, above, has eliminated parking spaces used by parents when they pick up their children at the middle school across the street.

On Tuesday afternoon, another lane of State Street was closed. Main Street and many others in Hackensack have been crudely patched --not repaved -- giving drivers a rough ride

Near the Hackensack border, Huyler Street in South Hackensack was closed on Tuesday, forcing drivers heading for the new Costco Wholesale in Teterboro to detour.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Tuesday, the Daily Record of Morristown, Asbury Park Press, Courier Post of Camden and three other New Jersey newspapers called on Governor Christie to resign.

The Record of Woodland Park isn't among them, and today, readers won't find a story on the editorial blasting Christie that appeared in six Gannett-owned dailies.

"The news outlets ... issued a joint editorial on the heels of Christie's surprise endorsement of Republican front-runner Donald Trump and his most recent snub of the state's press corps," NJ.com's Matt Arco reports.

The newspapers blasted Christie's "arrogance" and said they were "fed up" with him, citing Christie's "long neglect of the state to pursue his own selfish agenda." 

And they said they were "disgusted" with his endorsement of Donald Trump" after he spent months on the campaign trail "trashing him" and calling him "unqualified" to be president.

"For the good of the state, it's time for Christie to do his long-neglected constituents a favor and resign as governor," the editorial stated.

"If he refuses, citizens should initiate a recall effort."

Borg family

Readers of The Record can only speculate on what influence the Borg family has on the editorial policy of their flagship paper, and all of the others published by North Jersey Media Group.

Real estate mogul Jon F. Hanson, Christie's chief fund-raiser for his two gubernatorial elections, is a close family friend and a business associate of the Borgs, although The Record has never identified him as such.

Hanson was called the governor's "go-to guy" in a May 2015 profile on NJ.com:

'Chris Christie's go-to guy'

New England

Although The Record didn't report on the six New Jersey newspapers seeking Christie's departure, it gave prominent play to two conservative New England newspapers expressing their regret for supporting the GOP bully.

A brief appears on Page 1, referring readers to the full story on A-3.