More clueless reporting on latest toll hike, elderly drivers

The New Jersey entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, where tolls went up today for the fifth year in a row, as they did at all of the crossings operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in what The Record suggests was a plot between Governors Christie and Cuomo.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Once again, The Record is portraying New Jersey's bridge and tunnel crowd as powerless to do anything beyond bitching and moaning about the latest toll increase at the GWB and other crossings.

Today's story on the Local front ignores off-peak toll discounts available to drivers of hybrid and other green cars, as well as the biggest break of all, available 24/7 to any motorist -- the Carpool Plan.

Starting today, the peak E-ZPass toll went to $12.50 from $11.75, and the off-peak E-ZPass rate also is up 75 cents, to $9.75 (L-1).

Go green, save green

But owners of more than 40 hybrid, plug-in and all-electric models with a "Green E-ZPass" pay only $7 off-peak, and any driver with an E-ZPass and a total of three people in the car pays only $6.50 at all times.

The Green Pass and Carpool Plans require pre-registration. The Green Pass discount has been available since 2004.

Major error

Staff Writer Marina Villeneuve also includes a major factual error that was overlooked by all of the editors who read her story before publication.

"Starting today," the reporter says, "auto motorists using cash will have to pay $15 to cross, a trip that until recently cost half that" (L-1).

Putting the awkward phrase "auto motorists" aside, the cash toll was never "half" of $15.

It was $8, but that was four years ago, in 2011, not "recently."

And that was when Governors Christie and Cuomo perpetrated the great, annual toll-hike scam to finance construction of a new World Trade Center and other projects.

Elderly drivers

Road Warrior John Cichowski is another reporter who ignores the facts, as readers can see in today's attempt to drum up business for "a low-cost, volunteer ride service ... for the elderly and visually impaired" (L-1).

ITN's North Jersey affiliate in Wyckoff hasn't be able to find enough volunteers so the improvement in "public safety" -- by removing seniors who are visually impaired from behind the wheel -- has been limited.

Cichowski knows from all of the seniors who mistake the gas pedal for the brake pedal that retraining would cut the number of accidents and deaths far more dramatically than a ride service for the elderly.

But in more than a dozen years of writing his column, Cichowski has been too lazy to contact AARP  and similar groups to find out if retraining is available to his peers.

Today's front page

I've rarely seen a Sunday edition with a front page so devoid of useful news for readers in North Jersey.

On the Opinion front, Columnist Mike Kelly doesn't seem willing to denounce lawmakers for taking contributions from the National Rifle Association to block a bill that would stop "terrorists" from buying a gun (O-1 and O-4).

Kelly calls an average of three dozen people killed by guns on any given day "embarrassing." 

And "heartbreaking" is how he describes the lack of "any concrete political action to stop this blood-soaked trend."

I won't bore you with the rest of his column.

Uber screws drivers

The Record's Business section has been anti-worker for decades.

Today's long story on the impact of Uber on the traditional yellow-cab industry continues the trend (B-1).

Staff Writer Richard Newman's focus are the potential losses faced by banks that have issued hundreds of millions of dollars in loans backed by "New York City taxi medallions, which have declined in value from ... $1.3 million two years ago to about $80o,000 today."

Newman doesn't discuss the impact on cabbies nor report on the exploitation of Uber drivers, who supply their own cars and pay for gas, insurance and repairs.

Sinatra overload

I'd much rather hear Frank Sinatra sing and watch him act than plow through three major pieces on him in today's paper (A-1 and BL-1).

Two of them are by Staff Writer Bill Ervolino, whose regular humor column bombs every Sunday.

The only saving grace is that Better Living editors couldn't find room for The Corner Table column from food critic Elisa Ung, who usually promotes celebrity chefs and wealthy restaurant owners or makes excuses for why they don't serve naturally raised food.
   

Editors are in a tizzy, but not over local news

Two bus shelters and an NJ Transit ticket machine are all the services available to commuters who rely on the Anderson Street rail station in Hackensack, above, during the glacial construction of a new building, below. I didn't see any activity behind the fence on Tuesday afternoon, but a man in the bar next door said the site is an active one.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The Record's coverage of local news continues to suffer as Tea Party crackpots hold the media and the country hostage during a partial government shutdown.

The only national park in North Jersey to close in the crisis is the litter-strewn Great Falls in Paterson, so why is so much of the front page today and Tuesday devoted to a brouhaha that hardly affects us?

Today's front page also focuses on Tea Party ire with so-called Obamacare, jammed Web sites and other glitches -- not on the pent up demand of poor schmucks without health insurance or people who can't afford to buy coverage from greedy employers like North Jersey Media Group (A-1).

A lot is missing

The lead story in Local today is so poorly reported and edited that readers who saw TV news video of a road-rage accident on the West Side Highway are shaking their heads in disbelief (L-1).

Video on Channel 2 News on Tuesday night clearly showed a Range Rover accelerating and literally driving over motorcycles and their riders, but The Record reports only that the SUV "rammed several motorcycles."

More errors

Also on L-1 today, addled Staff Writer John Cichowski continues to allow a single moronic reader to dominate the Road Warrior column, and commits several errors in reporting on a special E-ZPass that gives discounts to drivers of hybrid cars (L-6).

Today's minor commuting problem, which Cichowski hypes and exaggerates, is "long, long detours." On Sunday, he hyped to no end a lone reader's complaint about glare from a 47-story high-rise going up in Fort Lee near the George Washington Bridge.

On L-6 today, Cichowski reports only 2,000 motorists have signed up for a Green Pass, the special E-Z Pass that gives toll discounts to drivers "whose cars get good mileage."

That's likely because he has rarely, if ever, mentioned the discounts since they went into effect in 2008.

What an idiot. Only hybrid cars, plug-ins and electrics get the required 45 mpg, but Cichowski doesn't mention that, and he is also wrong on the amount of the discount and where it is available.

With my Green Pass-equipped Prius, I get a toll discount of 10% off peak on the Garden State Parkway, 30% off on the New Jersey Turnpike and I pay only $4.75 off peak at the GWB, other Hudson River crossings and other bridges, such as the Goethals.

Local yokels

Local carries no Teaneck, Hackensack or Englewood news today, as Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza wilts under the demands of his once-cushy job now that his boss, Deirdre Sykes, has been sidelined with a mysterious health problem.

On Tuesday, Sforza managed to scare up three Englewood stories, all from the police blotter (L-2 and L-3), but continued to ignore the struggles of the city's downtown and its notorious traffic congestion, a solution for which has managed to elude the police for years (more turn lanes).

The last big story from Hackensack reported that two bricks had fallen from the facade of a Prospect Avenue high-rise -- as Hackensack reporter Hannan Adely has been asked to cover 9/11 stories and other general assignments.

Dead news

Local today and Tuesday is filled with Law & Order news.

The not guilty plea of former Bergen County Democratic boss Joseph Ferriero could have been covered in a few paragraphs (L-1 on Tuesday).

Ferreiro is a perfect example of why the Democratic Party in Bergen County resembles a fish -- it stinks from the head down --and explains why lifelong Democrats liked me voted for a Republican county executive.

The last two expanded local obituaries I saw ran last Wednesday and last Thursday -- retired Superior Court Judge Harvey Smith, called a preservationist; and Joan Schaefer of Bergenfield, founder of a girls athletic league.

They were worthy subjects, but like many locals whose life stories appear in The Record, they made plenty of headlines when they were alive.

I'm wondering if the editors aren't setting the bar too high, excluding many of our neighbors from special attention when they die. 

Errors, hype and deeply flawed reporting

Trucks, buses and cars crawling down the helix, top, on the way to the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken on Friday morning -- in a scene repeated every weekday. The return trip on Friday afternoon was even slower through packed Manhattan streets.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The Record today and Friday delivered a major error in a story about Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli, an hysterical headline declaring "a commuting disaster" in Fort Lee and flawed reporting on the disastrous Jersey shore fire.

On Friday's A-5, the first paragraph of the Molinelli story reported "the conviction of a mayor from a prominent family on misconduct charges."

But the reference is to the 2012 conviction on misconduct and insurance-fraud charges of former Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa -- who never served as mayor.

No correction appears today.

Another 'disaster'

Commuting by car, bus or train from North Jersey to Manhattan has been a disaster for the better part of a decade, but Road Warrior John Cichowski has had his swelled head up his ass for much of that time.

On Friday's L-1, he declared "a commuting disaster" over the closure of two Fort Lee tollbooths on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge.

What's the big deal? The vast majority of drivers -- who wisely use the truck-free lower level -- weren't affected.

Of course, Cichowski managed to please some of the morons who read his column by printing their names and failing to question why they don't use mass transit. 

The real 'disaster' in the Woodland Park newsroom.

Toll discounts?

Today on L-1, the Road Warrior declares an end to the so-called GWB crisis, but blasts rising tolls, squandering another opportunity to tell readers about discounts.

Today's A-1 report faulting the Port Authority for fast-tracking toll hikes also could have used a box listing E-ZPass discounts for drivers of hybrid cars and anyone with two passengers.

From what I've seen, only a minority of hybrid-car owners know they can get a Port Authority Green Pass -- a special, green E-ZPass -- that gives them off-peak toll discounts at the Hudson River crossings, and on the parkway and turnpike.

Green Pass customers are charged only a $4.75 toll at the bridge or tunnels during off-peak hours.  

Any driver with two passengers who has registered for the Port Authority Carpool Discount Plan (1-888-288-6865) pays only $4.25 at the Hudson River crossings at all hours.

Shore inferno

Today and Friday, Page 1 coverage of the fire that destroyed businesses in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights on Thursday seems incomplete when compared to TV and radio news reports.

Both stories report "the fire apparently started in a Kohr's frozen custard stand," but an employee interviewed by Channel 2 News in New York said she saw smoke coming up through the boardwalk.

New Jersey Public Radio (WNYC-FM) noted the severe limitations of local fire departments in fighting the fire, because no agency has a tracked vehicle capable of attacking the inferno from the beach side.

Many readers just assume the fire was set deliberately to collect insurance.

Governor Christie, who is pinning his bid for a second term largely on Sandy recovery, rushed to the scene and declared on Friday's Page 1:

"I feel like I want to throw up."

Isn't that the way he felt every  time he scarfed down another gargantuan meal before he had weight-loss surgery this year?

Happy birthday!

Local obituary writer Jay Levin continues to explore his fascination with centenarians in a front-page story about Sister Mary Victor Waters, a Tenafly nun who turned 109 today (A-1).

She is referred to as "Sister Victor." Gee whiz.

Levin has neglected one aspect of his beat: Explaining why so many black men die in their 50s.


Say what?

Here are more examples of sloppy editing from head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the copy desk.

The Friday Road Warrior column claims the Port Authority "cut the number of tollbooths from three to one on the big span," but the accompanying photo appears to show four or five open toll lanes.

A huge photo on A-6 today shows a helmeted firefighter looking down at a scorched boardwalk in Seaside Heights, but the caption says he is "scouring the remains of the boardwak businesses."

Is that scouring as in cleaning or did the caption writer mean scouring for clues?

An L-1 story declares that two truck trailers -- "each sporting 128 tires" -- crawled from Wyckoff to a PSE&G substation in Waldwick.

Readers can only assume all of those tires were mounted on wheels.

What the Hackensack reporter missed last night

A homeless man complained about wild dogs to Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iocano, left, and City Council members during the public portion of Tuesday night's meeting.

Hannan Adely, The Record reporter assigned to Hackensack, was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday night, when the City Council approved the first step in the redevelopment of Main Street.

Did she cover the council meeting in Hackensack, Minn., a vacation paradise in the heart of 10,000 lakes?

In answer to questions from a resident, Zisaville City Manager Stephen Lo Iocano said the city budget was supposed to be introduced on Tuesday night, but would be delayed until the next meeting. 

He declined to say whether the property tax rate  would be going up.

The Record's property

Lo Iocano said city officials have had discussions with North Jersey Media Group about what will replace The Record's landmark building on River Street, but he wasn't at liberty to reveal them.

But he said the building has been "decommissioned" and will be torn down. There have long been rumors that a Walmart would go up on about 20 NJMG acres.

Council candidates

Scott Young and other members of Hackensack Citizens for Open Government -- candidates in the May City Council election -- were in the audience, and appeared to be attending their first council meeting.

Before the meeting started, they exchanged information about their favorite sandwich and empanada shops, instead of discussing ordinances and resolutions.

It remains to be seen how "open" this slate of 5 will be. 

They are backed by the same Democratic Party officials who were the power behind Ken Zisa, the former police chief and ex-state assemblyman who was convicted of official misconduct and insurance fraud last May.

In Hackensack, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Labrosse's wife 

During the public portion of the meeting, the wife of Councilman John Labrosse and another woman harangued city officials about astronomical legal bills, but Laborsse remained silent on that issue.

Later, Labrosse, the only incumbent seeking a second term, praised the city's sports teams.

Officials say the city is evaluating new Dodge Charger Pursuit police cars with both V-6 and V-8 engines before deciding which will replace the V-8 powered Ford Crown Victoria, rear.

Padilla payout

The council approved the payment of several accounts, which were listed without details, including $173,329.61 described as "payroll."

The city manager said that is the retirement package for Tomas Padilla, the police captain who served as interim chief after Zisa was suspended without pay.

But it turned out that at the last meeting, the council approved another package of about $240,000, then described as Padilla's package.  

I did see the reporter for the Hackensack Chronicle at the meeting, so residents might eventually learn what took place.

Today's paper

The best story on Page 1 today is the obituary of Muriel Bachant of Bergenfield, the mother of triplets, whose husband was killed during World War II before he met his daughters.

Governor Christie is howling after The Record uncovered nearly $1 million in contributions from North Jersey-based companies to the Christie-boosting Republican Governors Association (A-1).

Gas-guzzling news

Drivers of SUVs and other gas guzzlers are howling about the rising price of gas, while drivers of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles are laughing as they drive past gas stations (A-1).

Hybrid drivers get a second break -- toll discounts with a Green E-ZPass.

Red-eyed columnist

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues his campaign against red-light cameras by slamming extra revenue for towns as "greed."  

He calls lead-footed drivers who blow through red lights "unwilling donors" of that revenue, when he should be condemning them as road menaces who injure and kill law-abiding drivers.

Cichowski and other morons need to recognize that dysfunctional home-rule towns desperately need the revenue from red-light cameras.

I wish there were a dozen red-light cameras in Hackensack -- with the revenue from them dedicated to property tax relief.