Slow poke on the Garden State Parkway

Garden State Parkway traffic during a difficult Friday evening rush hour.

 

Below is a link to a video shot on the Garden State Parkway in March that shows just about every other car passing a driver who sets his cruise control to 60 mph.

This is a follow-up to my discussion on Sunday of how The Record ignores speeding drivers and the apparent lack of enforcement that allows them to drive as fast as they want, terrorize law-abiding motorists and blow through red lights.

In Hackensack, Police Director Mike Mordaga has begun to crack down on moving violations by drivers, and his officers issued a couple of hundred more summonses in March than in the same month of 2012.

Maybe, the Road Warrior will lift his head out of one of those enormous potholes he likes to write about, recognize what Mordaga is doing in Hackensack and find out whether other towns are following suit.

And what about the state police? Why not ask for data to show whether enforcement is way down, as many law-abiding drivers suspect?

Here's is the link to the video:

In the slow lane on the parkway 

Repeated front page elicits big yawns

When is The Record going to give readers news they can use, such as how much cheaper it is to drive the Garden State Parkway than the truck-choked New Jersey Turnpike?

Readers are doing a double-take at the front page of The Record today -- a virtual repeat of Wednesday's -- and trying to stifle loud yawns.

Page 1 brings continued coverage of the divisive rhetoric at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.; more about Governor Christie and a follow up on alleged fakery by Jay Alpert, a Christie crony at the high-flying Port Authority.

Is this the best Editor Marty Gottlieb can do?

Christie's embarrassing failure to lose weight has its parallel in his inability to cut the fat at the bistate transportation agency or control its outrageous toll and fare hikes.

Ruling class

The lead headline about "time to act running out" is correct in one sense: 

You'd better send your donation to President Obama's campaign and make time to vote on Election Day, if you want to thwart another attempt by the white ruling class to take over the White House. 

I caught a few minutes of convention coverage on Wednesday night -- in between watching the playback of a stock-car race in Bristol, Tenn., and "Royal Pains" -- and saw only one black and possibly one Latino face in the audience.

Lord Borg

Another member of the white ruling class is on the front of Local -- Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg.

That photo of a rotund Borg and a second photo of two overweight footballs fans, drinking beer, set a great example for readers who are trying to eat healthy and lose weight.

But if you've ever seen head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her tent dresses, you're not surprised. 

Local crash news

It must have been a rough day in the newsroom finding local news on Wednesday, judging by the filler, gee-whiz photo of an overturned car on L-2.

The big Hackensack news today is the indictment of a city resident -- apparently the only thing that happened at one of the busiest courthouses in the state (L-3).

Another L-3 story comparing traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway fails to note it is far cheaper to drive an equivalent distance on the parkway than on the turnpike, and far more pleasant.

Warm up those E-ZPasses.

Do readers have all the time in the world?

A week after a fatal crash, The Record presents the full story.

The Sunday edition of The Record is perfect -- if you have nothing better to to do than read long, winding stories in excruciating detail.

It took the editors nearly a full week to determine the relationship of a passenger to the driver in a road-rage accident on the Garden State Parkway last Sunday.

And you'll need almost that much time to digest the front-page story, which goes on and on under the big, black headline: 

LIVES COLLIDE

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes or her deputy, Dan Sforza, assigned Staff Writer Shawn Boburg to churn out the pathos, forcing him to neglect his Port Authority beat.

At the bottom of Page 1, readers learn about a major rock slide on the Palisades that occurred on May 12 -- nearly 2 months ago -- then have to plow through a geology lesson.

The lead A-1 story on flood insurance affects about 800 homeowners. Now, that's relevant news for the hundreds of thousands of readers.

Go shopping

Publisher Stephen A. Borg and the Advertising Department thought so much of Editor Marty Gottlieb's front page, it wrapped a Can Can Sale ad from ShopRite around part of A-1.

How many readers threw the paper aside and raced to their nearest ShopRite to take advantage of the first day of the sale?

One man was heard shouting, "It's time to stock up on Adirondack Seltzer!"  

Road worrier

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to neglect his commuting column to bore readers with the hard-luck story of a 63-year-old Hackensack widow who never received her registration renewal in the mail (L-1).

OK. We're appalled. But what does this have to do with inadequate bus and train service, massive rush-hour traffic jams and exorbitant tolls? 

If you're looking for Hackensack news today, Cichowski's column is as close as you'll get.

Loving young people

Most of Sykes' Local front is dominated by another glowing story about a young person with autism. 

Where are the upbeat stories about old people who accomplish great things despite age and infirmity? Now, we read about them only after they die.

Another story on L-1 quotes Teaneck Deputy Mayor Adam Gussen without noting he is the Democratic candidate in the 5th Congressional District race.

Hating old people

On Friday, the Road Warrior column revisited the issue of older drivers and blind spots -- again without mentioning many new cars come with blind-spot warning systems (L-1).

Cichowski seems to have contempt for older drivers, referring to "arthritic groaning and neck cracking,"  and suggesting a driver who can't glance out "the passenger side window from time to time" consider taking a cab or a bus.

When is the last time he did his job by riding a local bus and reporting on the quality of service?