Christie, convicted ex-aides should be forced to guard GWB

In this photo from Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images, the label R13 showed a cheeky dress during New York Fashion Week in September, when Donald J. Trump was the GOP presidential nominee. What would the label say on a dress for Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration? How about, "We're f----d"?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's Page 1 expose in The Record suggests Governor Christie and three convicted former aides should be forced to guard the George Washington Bridge, and relieve themselves in empty water bottles.

The former associates -- David Wildstein, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni -- were convicted in federal court of conspiring to close access lanes, triggering gridlock in Fort Lee on five mornings in September 2013.

The politically inspired Bridgegate scandal also put the kibosh on Christie's White House bid and a major post in the Trump administration.

The GOP thug, who knew about the lane closures as they were happening, was convicted in court of public opinion.

"One guard was almost hit by a suicide jumper falling from 200 feet above," Staff Writer Paul Berger says in the lead paragraph of a story on the harsh working conditions facing bridge security guards (1A, 8a and 9a).

So, community service as unarmed and unpaid security guards at the GWB would be fit punishment for Christie and the trio of former associates who triggered the lane closures.

In view of the governor's prodigious appetite for beer and pizza, he'd need a bucket or something larger in which to relieve himself.

More Christie

If Saturday's front page didn't give you enough of a political perspective on Christie's future, Columnist Charles Stile is back today with another column that will bore you to tears (1A).

Then, brace yourself for yet another column on Christie, this one by Mike Kelly, who goes on and on about "the rust of his battered political career" (Opinion front).

Local news?

Stories about a small number of the 90 or so towns in the circulation area appear in today's Local section (1L to 8L).

Wayne, Hawthorne (two stories), Montclair, West Milford, Ridgewood and Ringwood are represented, but not the three biggest communities in Bergen County -- Hackensack, Teaneck and Englewood.

John Cichowski's Road Warrior column on "misleading road signs" is probably the 20th he's written on the same subject since taking over the beat in late 2003 (1L).

The best read in the section is Jay Levin's obituary of Michael Smith, 53, of Waldwick, a quadriplegic who spent 35 years in a wheelchair working on behalf of the disabled (1L and 7L).

All in all, today's paper is just another thin Sunday edition from the payroll-slashing folks at Gannett.

When the shouting is all over, readers will fight over scraps

Around 10:30 this morning, a steady stream of voters entered and left the polling place at the Fairmount School in Hackensack, above and below. Long waits were reported elsewhere, including at the middle school in Teaneck and in Jersey City.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The presidential election and the Bridgegate trial have been godsends to The Record's editors, allowing them to fill gaping holes in the paper.

When those distractions are over, Bergen County readers will once again face the reality of a thin local-news section, where many of the stories are about Paterson and other Passaic County communities.

And in a week, the Gannett Co. is expected to let go more than 200 employees at North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record, Herald News, 50 weekly papers and NorthJersey.com.

The New Jersey/Nation page today is mostly devoted to more of Governor Christie's lame denials of any role in or knowledge of the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures (A-3).

The other New Jersey news on that page is hardly news: 

After two of his former aides were found guilty in the Bridgegate scandal on Friday, Christie's approval rating in the state hit a record low, falling to 20 percent in a Rutgers-Eagleton Survey released Monday.

Local news?

Readers in Hackensack, Teaneck, Englewood and many other towns won't find any municipal news in Local today.

On L-6, a photo caption says Robert Popp is "laying flowers on the Route 46 bridge between Little Ferry and Ridgefield Park, where his sister was run down in 1969."

But the column with the photo contradicts the caption, and also contradicts itself:

Staff Writer John Cichowski, aka Road Warrior, reports Popp has visited the bridge 47 times and "without fail" ... "lays a spray of flowers ... on the span ... where his 15-year-old sister, Gloria, was run down and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Nov. 7, 1969," when no guardrails protected pedestrians using the sidewalk (L-1).

Popp didn't place the bouquet on the sidewalk, the demented Cichowski says much later. He "tossed this one" into the Hackensack River (L-6).

A story about a West Milford volunteer firefighter said the 79-year-old man died in a fall off of a ladder on Sunday, suggesting the news dispatch was brought to Woodland Park on foot (L-3).

Ung leaving

According to the Boozy Burbs website, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung's last celebration of gluttony will run this Friday.

"According to Ung, she did not reapply for her position as part of the shakeup brought on by Gannett's purchase of The Record this year."

Ung has been "covering food and dining for 9 years," according to the website, although to many readers it seems much, much longer.

Reporter admits error, columnist struggles for relevance

This morning, an FBI spokesman in Newark said agents executed court-authorized search warrants at 248 Fairmount Ave. in Hackensack on Tuesday as part of "an ongoing investigation." He wouldn't say if any arrests were made.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Bridgegate trial reporter Dustin Racioppi finally corrects his story from last Thursday, when he reported the judge instructed jurors on the law at a closed meeting with lawyers the day before.

In The Record today, Racioppi now acknowledges the judge instructed the jury on the law and read the charges "before it broke for deliberation[s]" on Monday.

The reporter also says that on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark "sided with the prosecution in removing language" that the George Washington Bridge lane closures in 2013 were designed to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Governor Christie's reelection.

Jurors had sent out a note asking whether the defendants can be found guilty of conspiracy "without the act being intentionally punitive toward Mayor Sokolich."

Racioppi's error on jury instructions was compounded when it was picked up by both Paul Berger, the other reporter covering the trial, and Carl Golden, a Sunday columnist.

And in his own column, Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin reported incorrectly the trial is taking place at the federal courthouse in Trenton.

Incoherent columnist

Staff Writer John Cichowski, The Record's sorry excuse for a commuting columnist, continues to struggle for relevance.

Today, the so-called Road Warrior links "getting a commuter to divulge his favorite shortcut" to "getting a presidential candidate to talk about the contents of her email server" (L-1).

The cheap shot at Democrat Hillary Clinton isn't lost on readers, who question what the presidential race has to do with anything in his column.

On Sunday's Local front, a desperate Cichowski linked Halloween's "annual parade of witches, ghosts and goblins" to the "ghoulish bit of news" about a nationwide study on "the habits of  of young people as they cross streets in school zones."

Jeurys who?

About a third of today's front page is wasted on a news story and column about a pro baseball player who was arrested at his Fort Lee home "in connection with an alleged domestic assault" (A-1).

The column by Bob Klapisch begins:

"It was about 11 a.m. on Tuesday when I spoke to a high-ranking Mets official with the unfortunate news of Jeurys Familia's arrest in Fort Lee."

Does Klapisch mean "about" the news of the athlete's arrest?

This isn't inside baseball; this is inside the mind of a burned-out sports columnist.

Older readers are begging for an 'age-friendly' newspaper

A woman catching the spirit at a free concert Friday night in Hackensack's Atlantic Street Park, where a Colombian band played salsa and cumbia tunes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The predominantly older readers of The Record rarely see a story about themselves like the one that led Saturday's paper.

Staff Writer Colleen Diskin, who spends most of her time writing about the institutionalized elderly, reported that five Bergen County towns "are on a mission" to become places where residents "can grow old" (A-1 on Saturday).

The headline:

"Towns map an 'age-friendly' future"

Isn't that rich? The Record has never seemed interested in becoming an "age-friendly" newspaper.

Road Warrior John Cichowski consistently ignores the challenges facing older drivers -- his peers -- but writes column after column about teenagers.

(On Saturday' front page, Cichowski wrote about one of the most pressing issues facing older drivers -- tinted windows in cars -- and today on L-1, he goes on and on about license-renewal lines at the Motor Vehicle Commission.)

The No. 1 killer in the United States, heart disease, and dementia have consistently been ignored in favor of covering autism.

Editor Deirdre Sykes also ignores the biggest reason residents leave New Jersey -- a highly inefficient home-rule system of government supported by increasingly higher property taxes.

And The Record's editorial board has never urged towns to consolidate and lower costs by sharing services or to replace do-nothing police chiefs with police directors who are paid less.

Superficial story

In her superficial Saturday story, Diskin mentions high taxes in passing, suggesting more seniors "could cope ... by moving in together, sharing costs, rides and lives."

Then, on the continuation page, Diskin says Micki Shalan, 82, of Teaneck has used her home, her only asset, "to make ends meet, taking out a reverse mortgage and renting out a room to a number of different tenants over the past few years" (Saturday's A-6).

That's pathetic. A reverse mortgage means the poor woman will lose her home upon her death, and won't be able to pass it on to survivors.

Is that the best Teaneck and the other towns can do? 

The best solution isn't to force seniors into the sharing economy, but to make fundamental changes that will lower taxes and retain residents.

Today's front page

Except for photos from the Rio Olympics and several news briefs, Page 1 today is filled with politics:

The lead story is a deadly dull discussion of "Rule 3" at the Port Authority -- the patronage mill that keeps on giving to Governor Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who have vetoed reforms.

Record Columnist Charles Stile delivers yet another boring exploration of Senate President Stephen Sweeney positioning himself for the 2017 gubernatorial election.

And Columnist Mike Kelly seems to be the last journalist to report wacko racist Donald J. Trump has shot himself in the foot so often lately supporters are abandoning his GOP presidential campaign.

A second major article on Trump's racist supporters appears on A-4.

More Trump news

If you think Kelly said all he wanted about Trump on A-1, you're mistaken.

His second column appears on the Opinion front, predicting Tump's defeat on Nov. 8 and how that will affect Governor Christie, the head of the businessman's transition team (O-1).

Affordable housing

The Real Estate front today carries an upbeat story on the affordable housing that replaced Paterson's notorious Alexander Hamilton projects (R-1).

You haven't seen a similar story about a town in Bergen County, because many have fought units for low- and moderate-income residents, fearing an influx of minorities.

Christie's war against mass transit, columnist without balls

A view of the Hackensack River from the parking lot behind the White Manna on River Street in Hackensack

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Page 1 of The Record today and Saturday detail the sad state of roads, bridges and public transit, but the editors refuse to point their fingers at Governor Christie.

Since 2010, the GOP bully pulled the plug on the original Hudson River tunnels; threatened repeatedly to veto a modest hike in the gas tax to fund road repairs and rail improvements; and did nothing to force the Port Authority to add bus-only lanes into the Lincoln Tunnel.

Today, readers have to plow through paragraph after paragraph in a long, tedious story before Staff Writer Paul Berger comes clean on A-9.

That's when he reports the "$1.8 million in Port Authority funds" he mentions in the lead paragraph on A-1 was mass-transit money left over from the first Hudson River rail-tunnels project (A-1).

Berger doesn't even mention other tunnel-project money Christie misappropriated from NJ Transit before he started cutting millions in state subsidies, forcing the mass-transit agency to raise fares and cut service.

Why 'ambitious'?

On Saturday's A-1, why did Staff Writer Christopher Maag call a fuel-tax plan to raise $20 billion over 10 years "ambitious"?

You'd expect that description from Christie, whose threats to veto any gas-tax increase forced legislative leaders to include a phase-out of the state's estate tax and deductions on some charitable contributions.

New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund is expected to run out of money by the end of the month.

Maag reports the proposals "could increase the cost of gasoline by 23 cents a gallon ... still less than the amount charged by neighboring states, including New York and Pennsylvania."

Saturday's paper included three sections of advertising from car dealers, so The Record's editors likely have been ordered not to report higher gas prices would be good for the environment, if people drove less, bought fewer SUVs and pickup trucks, and turned to hybrids and all-electric cars instead.

Local news?

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to betray older drivers like himself with yet another column on cellphone-addicted teens (L-1).

In the 12-plus years he's been writing his column, hundreds of seniors have mistaken the gas pedal for the brake pedal, often with fatal consequences.

Cichowski's reaction has been to urge older people to give up driving, and take one of the few ride services available. 

'Me, me, me'

Why does Mike Kelly's Opinion front column on Donald Trump and "labels" begin with the veteran reporter screaming, "Me, me, me"?

"Some years ago, I knocked on the front door ... where Al Sharpton was living," Kelly says in a first paragraph guaranteed to put the reader to sleep (O-1).

"Some years ago"? That was more than 25 years ago, when a white Teaneck police officer shot and killed a black teenager.

When Kelly eventually gets to the billionaire racist demeaning the judge hearing the fraud case against Trump University as "Mexican," all the columnist can manage is to call it "deplorable" (O-4).

Where are Kelly's balls?

He then goes on to declare "this presidential sweepstakes has become another journey into America's racial divisions," and in the process, offends supporters of Hillary Clinton.

The columnist describes "Trump's smarmy decision to reach out to white, working-class voters and ... Clinton's equally smarmy courting of African-Americans" (O-4).

Ali's battles against racism, war deserve a banner headline

Appropriately, the family that owned Harley's Irish Pub on River Street in Hackensack, above and below, chose Friday the 13th last November to close after 37 years in business. The pub was the scene of many boozy going-away parties before The Record newsroom moved out of the city in 2009. MyBergen.com published a tribute to Harley's.

On Saturday, worked continued to replace the pub building at 366 River St. with the second location of Chicken Supreme, a fast-food restaurant in Paterson.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

One glance at The Record's front page today shows how the once-great local newspaper continues to allow advertising revenue to shape news coverage.

The legacy of Muhammad Ali -- who spent most of his life fighting racism and an unjust war in Vietnam -- is denied a banner headline to make room for another piece on the greedy real estate industry (A-1).

Starting a highly promotional Sunday Real Estate section to boost advertising revenue, and folding the award-winning Food section, were among Publisher Stephen A. Borg's major moves when he took over a decade ago.

Editor Deirdre Sykes wasted more space on A-1 today by running an awful Tara Sullivan column on Ali's "magnificent boxing form."

You'll have to turn to an inside page to see President Obama's tribute:

"Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it" (A-8).

House Warrior

Readers wondered whether Staff Writer John Cichowski -- the so-called Road Warrior commuting columnist -- was offered a real estate commission in return for two front-page pieces last week that tried to sell a house without a driveway in Midland Park, where overnight parking supposedly is "banned."

Sykes and six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton didn't bother publishing an A-2 correction after Cichowski screwed-up and inflated the size of the property on Friday to 12,000 square feet from Tuesday's 3,000 square feet.

Today, Cichowski devotes his entire column to an incorrect street sign and other trivia (L-1).

Two of the many vacant storefronts on Palisade Avenue in Englewood once housed a Wendy's fast-food restaurant and Victoria's Secret. The Record has largely ignored the struggles of downtown merchants in favor of heavy coverage of shopping centers that advertise in the Woodland Park daily.

Downtown news? 

For many years, the business editors have directed the paper's retailing reporter to devote her time exclusively to covering North Jersey malls and luxury stores, which are among the biggest advertisers.

Today, the Business front carries a rare story on Main Street in downtown Hackensack, where a half-dozen wireless stores are competing for customers (B-1).

Staff Writer Joan Verdon describes Hackensack's Main Street as a "downtown retail street with strong traffic, from cars and pedestrians."

Really? The street has struggled since the publisher of the Woodland Park daily closed the landmark building at 150 River St. nearly seven years ago, and pulled out more than a thousand employees.

Governor Christie

In Opinion today, readers find an idiotic Mike Kelly column on the killing of that zoo gorilla in Ohio (O-1).

Has Kelly really run out of ideas for his New Jersey column?

Readers find the strongest disapproval of Governor Christie -- New Jersey's worst governor ever -- in Margulies' Sunday cartoon (O-2), not in opinion columns or editorials.

That's a sad commentary on the paper's Editorial Board, the only one attached to a major New Jersey daily that didn't call for Christie's resignation after the GOP bully endorsed racist Donald Trump.

To sell house without driveway, reporter exaggerates its size

Paterson's South Paterson neighborhood of Middle Eastern restaurants, bakeries and coffee houses continues to show signs of renewal, including a mobile telephone store and a three-story commercial building under construction at Main and Gould streets. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A Page 1 story in The Record today raises troubling questions about an error-prone reporter who has blurred the lines between journalism and real estate promotion.

And in Local, the Woodland Park daily reports for the first time that a Hackensack University Medical Center doctor played a key role in landing a Fox News interview with the mother of the first New Jersey-born baby affected by the Zika virus.

After the interview was aired and The Record's reckless editors published a Page 1 photo of the deformed baby, the woman is asking for privacy (L-2).

Property grows

In today's follow-up to his first front-page column, error-prone reporter John Cichowski grossly inflates the size of a Midland Park property that has proven to be a hard sell, because it has no driveway and overnight parking is supposedly "banned."

On A-8 today, Cichowski, also known as the Road Warrior, reports town officials "appeared unmoved when [owner Ken] Klabouch noted his 12,000-square-foot property was the only lot in the borough too small to accommodate a driveway" (italics added).

That's four times the size Chichowski cited in his original column on Tuesday, when he reported Klabouch's lot "measures slightly less than 3,000 feet."

The house itself is "1,200 square feet," he said on Tuesday.

Six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton completely missed today's wild exaggeration, as did all of the news, layout and copy editors under her supervision.

The embarrassing "12,000-square-foot" screw-up also appears on North Jersey.com, The Record's Web site.

Provide plate number

More troubling is that Cichowski has ignored the custom and practice in most towns, where residents and renters can call police with the license-plate number of a guest, and get permission for overnight street parking.

I called Midland Park police on Wednesday and confirmed this also is the practice in the borough -- for guests as well as homeowners who park on the street overnight.

Zika baby

On L-2 today, The Record reports Dr. Manny Alvarez played a pivotal role in landing an interview at the bedside of a Honduran woman who contracted the Zika virus and gave birth to a deformed girl on Wednesday at Hackensack University Medical Center.

But for the first time, Staff Writer Lindy Washburn reports the woman is Alvarez' patient. 

The doctor is "chairman of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive health" at the medical center, as well as "senior managing editor" at Fox Health News.

In today's story, Editor Deirdre Sykes appears to justify why The Record invaded the unnamed baby's privacy by publishing her photo on Thursday's front page.

"Labeled an 'exclusive,' it [the Fox News interview] included a video of the baby in a hospital bassinet" (L-2).

Heart-attack food

Readers are wondering why Elisa Ung's review of American Cut Bar and Grill is far more subdued than two elaborately promotional articles The Record published in the months before the expensive steakhouse opened in Englewood Cliffs.

Today, Ung says the service reminds her of  "a family chain," not "a fine-dining restaurant" (BL-14).

She gives the steakhouse -- which advertises in Friday's Better Living tabloid -- 2.5 stars out of a possible 4 stars.

Photos with her review show only heart-attack inducing food -- a steak burger, biscuits with cream cheese, hanger steak and a sundae -- but none of the fish and salads promised "for the ladies" by the celebrity chef owner in a December interview with Food Editor Esther Davidowitz.

Ung sampled the "prime dry-aged porterhouse for two" ($115), but doesn't tell readers whether the beef was naturally raised on grass.

"Prime" only tells readers its the fattiest cut of beef among USDA grades: Prime, Choice and Select.

After noting entrees cost up to $54, Ung says American Cut isn't appropriate for "anyone on a budget."

She must think her readers are dolts.

Readers question Page 1 column on house without driveway

Posters in the "My County Poster Contest" were on display today in the lobby of the Bergen County Administration Building in Hackensack, above and below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You've seen those houses -- on the edge of Route 17 or next to railroad tracks -- and wondered why would anyone buy and live in them.

The same question could be asked of Ken Klabouch, who lives in a house with no driveway and has to jump through many hoops to comply with Midland Park's ban on overnight parking, The Record reports today.

Is it any surprise Klabouch can't sell the place (A-1)?

Surely, I'm not the only reader questioning why Staff Writer John Cichowski thinks this real estate story has anything to do with his responsibilities as a commuting columnist.

Cichowski took over the Road Warrior column more than a dozen years ago, and quickly turned his back on bus and rail commuters, and drivers who faced mounting congestion at the Hudson River crossings.

Instead, he specialized in reporting on waiting times at the MVC, potholes, teen drivers and highway lighting, and wrote column after column quoting state police statistics on fatal accidents -- though he rarely transposed the data accurately.

How far is Klabouch's house from an NJ Transit bus stop, does Midland Park have rail service and could the place be ideal for a young couple who want to reduce their carbon footprint?

The clueless Cichowski doesn't say.

Memorial Day

Staff Writer Paul Berger did a fine job covering the Memorial Day ceremony at the monument to war dead in Englewood on Monday (L-1).

He ignored the speeches, and focused on Olga Mosciaro, 88, who has organized the parade "since the days she was a secretary in the city's Police Department detective bureau 30 years ago."

Berger's readable story noted the woman's white hat "barely poked above the lectern."

Korean drivers

The gee-whiz photo on L-2 today only adds to the poor opinion of Korean-American drivers held by many people.

The caption notes the large "SUV wound up on top of another vehicle ... when a parishioner at the Korean Presbyterian Church of the Palisades in Old Tappan lost control of the vehicle." 

What does "lost control" mean? Was the driver elderly, and did he or she mistake the gas pedal for the brake pedal -- a common problem among seniors, whether they are Korean or not? 

The Record's editors made no effort to find out, and in the process smeared the reputation of Korean drivers.

Monday's paper

Page 1 on Monday reported that eight residents of Midland Park -- a 1.5-mile-square borough with about 8,000 residents in the 1960s -- were killed in three years of the Vietnam War.

The story was by Staff Writer Todd South, a Marine veteran of Afghanistan.

As I read the story, I wondered whether this was the first time The Record had reported the heavy toll.

Nothing on the front page indicated the moving story was anything but the result of great reporting, but when readers turned to the continuation page, they finally saw the truth.

The story was based on the work of another Marine veteran, Paul Chepurko, a Hawthorne resident who self-published a book on the eight soldiers from Midland Park, "Small Town-Big Sacrifice II" (Monday's A-6).

Was the story deliberately written or edited to leave mention of Chepurko to the continuation page?

Even if cleared in Bridgegate, Christie still is biggest loser

This front page ran in the Daily News in January 2014, and proved prophetic. The News, Star-Ledger and other newspapers have covered Governor Christie and his administration far more honestly than The Record of Woodland Park.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Since Governor Christie took office in early 2010, New Jersey has become a laughing stock.

And a couple of months ago, Christie's endorsement of fellow Muslim-hater Donald Trump for the GOP presidential nomination prompted the editorial boards of seven major New Jersey dailies to call for his resignation.

"He has answered every crisis with neglect during his disastrous second term," The Star-Ledger noted on March 3, calling on him to leave office for "New Jersey's sake."

The state's biggest newspaper listed the state's fiscal crisis as second worst in the nation, including Atlantic City on the brink of bankruptcy, a mass-transit system in disrepair and an infrastructure fund fast running out of money.

The Woodland Park daily was the only major New Jersey paper that continued to give Christie the benefit of the doubt, filling its column recently with upbeat assessments of his selection as Trump's transition chief -- in the unlikely event the billionaire racist is elected in November.

"Make America Hate Again" is one critic's take on Trump's message.

By his side

Today and Thursday, The Record ran self-serving statements from Christie that all but absolved him in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal less than two months before he was elected to a second term in 2013.

The Record has done exhaustive reporting on the scandal, and now takes credit for leading other media companies in getting federal prosecutors to release a list of "unindicted co-conspirators" that was kept secret after Christie's close aide and crony were charged with conspiracy.

Two of three access lanes to GWB upper-level tool booths were closed in the week of Sept. 9, 2013, as political retribution against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, supposedly for not supporting the governor's reelection campaign.

A second list "is expected to offer the broadest portrait yet of who knew about the conspiracy but did not report it" (A-1).

Worst governor ever

Whether one or both lists are released today and whether Christie is on them is irrelevant in view of his mean-spirited rule of New Jersey, and his war on the middle and working classes.

For a hands-on governor to claim he didn't know what his closest aides and cronies were doing is preposterous, and he long ago was convicted in the court of public opinion.

No matter what happens in Bridgegate, Christie's reign has been disastrous for the state and its residents.

He is the biggest loser, and we are the victims of his personal ambition.

Today's paper

I've seen some terrific headlines in The Record recently, but the one over the GWB scandal today is just ridiculous:

"Seeking
clarity in
political
morass"

Readers have no clue from the main or sub-headline what "political morass" the headline writer is referring to, and it could very well be the deadlock in Congress or the State House.

Of course, a big problem is the huge story on GWB repairs that is displayed next to the scandal story, even though the project doesn't get under way until next year (A-1).

Infrastructure stories such as this are a poor choice for Page 1, but Editor Deirdre Sykes is desperate, because she can't inspire her transportation reporters -- Paul Berger, Christopher Maag and John Cichowski -- to cover the actual commuting crisis in North Jersey.

Rare victory

Another Page 1 story today marks a rare victory over the Christie administration's poor environmental policies (A-1).

The state is dropping plans to "bring large-scale development to Liberty State Park" in Jersey City.

Hackensack police Lt. James Prise, second from right, at the March 8 ceremony in City Council Chambers with his wife and children.

Hackensack news?

Staff Writer John Seasly has done a poor job of covering Hackensack, but he has been all over the embarrassing public ceremony in March to recognize the promotion of the city's first black police lieutenant to captain, another first for an African-American.

Less than a month later, Lt. James Prise was returned to his original rank after he learned he had failed part of his state civil service exam.

Now, Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis, who also is black, issued a public apology and said Prise "did not deserve to suffer this indignity" (L-1).

Today, Seasly reports her statement "angered the mayor and deputy mayor, who accused her of political maneuvering and of going against the lieutenant's wishes."

Poor coverage

Seasly disappointed Hackensack residents by not covering the issues in the April 19 school election or the Zisa family's attempted political comeback by backing three of the nine candidates.

The election deserved attention, because only about 1,300 of 20,000 registered voters usually cast ballots.

This year, only 895 of them approved a $79 million tax levy to support the $104 million school spending plan, bigger than the city's own budget.

School taxes make up 44% of the total bill in Hackensack.

Voter apathy, apparent in Hackensack's local elections, can be traced to The Record's irresponsibly poor coverage of the city it once called home.

Repeated errors make a mockery of younger Borg's motto

The Record's Local section this past Saturday ran a photo of the old Bergen County Jail, above, but the caption said: "An iron worker working to secure a beam at the construction site of the Bergen County Justice Center next to the jail in Hackensack on Friday." The photo, cropped to show only the top of the beam and the jail's turrets and parapets, confused readers who have watched the slow construction of the Justice Center, below.

Is the beam shown in Saturday's L-3 photo part of a pedestrian bridge that will connect the new building to the Bergen County Courthouse? The Record's caption didn't say. Another photo caption, on Saturday's L-2, described a BMW as a Toyota. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's right there under the masthead on Page 1 of The Record every day:

"NORTH JERSEY'S TRUSTED SOURCE"

Publisher Stephen A. Borg, who took over from his father nearly a decade ago, made a marketing decision to replace The Record's original motto:

"FRIEND OF THE PEOPLE IT SERVES"

Borg followed with several big, money-saving decisions that resulted in less local coverage -- especially of Hackensack -- and a rising number of errors, which has eroded North Jersey readers' trust in the Woodland Park daily.

Monday's paper carried a story on a nationwide poll that found:

"Trust in the news media is being eroded by perceptions of inaccuracy and bias .... Nearly 90 percent of Americans say it is extremely or very important that the media get their facts correct." 

Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy

Literally hundreds -- if not thousands -- of errors have appeared in the Road Warrior column since the "trusted source" motto was adopted, and few of them have been corrected by six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton or Editor Deirdre Sykes.

Sykes handpicked Staff Writer John Cichowski to write the column starting in September 2003. 

In recent years, corrections of hundreds of editing and reporting errors by others have appeared regularly on A-2, but The Record rarely corrects an error unless someone calls to complain.

The message drummed into journalism students is "accuracy, accuracy, accuracy," especially when it comes to spelling names.

A perfect example is a story in the local-news section today by Staff Writer John Seasly, who covered the Hackensack City Council on Monday night:

The reporter quoted a resident, and made sure to describe him as someone "who regularly attends the meetings," but misspelled his last name.

Richard L. Cerbo, whose father was a former Hackensack mayor, is the one who called for a tax cut in comments before the council approved a 2016-17 budget of $100.4 million.

Seasly wrote, "Rich Serbo" (L-3).

The entrance to Hackensack's main recreation center, the M&M Building on Holt Street, where voters cast ballots on Tuesday in the city's Board of Education election. I saw three voters ask for someone who spoke Spanish, but none of the 10 or so poll workers did. One poll worker barked in English, "Just go in there [the voting booth] and vote." Poll workers are paid $200 for the day. Most are seniors who have nothing better to do with their time than sit on their asses all day as their contribution to democracy.

School election

In addition to outright errors like misspelling someone's name, the errors of omission erode readers' trust in The Record.

At Monday night's council meeting, Seasly was asked why he didn't do a story on the Hackensack school election, especially the issues involved and the attempted political comeback by the Zisa family, which backed three of the nine candidates.

The reporter said a story was scheduled to appear on Tuesday, the day of the election, but none did.

Today, The Record's coverage of the results in 10 towns devotes the least space to Hackensack, even though the city has the most students and the biggest school budget, not to mention the most candidates.

Voter apathy

Of course, the story Seasly missed is that voter apathy and the status quo ruled the day, with only 795 of about 20,000 registered voters approving the $104 million Hackensack school budget.

A total of only 1,293 residents voted on the $79 million tax levy, which supports an overall school budget that is higher than the municipal budget.

Mail-in ballots weren't counted Tuesday night, but unofficial results show that:

Two Zisa-backed candidates, incumbent Timothy J. Hoffman and former trustee Modesto Romero, were elected along with incumbent Lara L. Rodriguez, who was on another slate (with only 727, 604 and 711 votes, respectively).

(I reported the affiliation of the candidates incorrectly when this was first posted. The Record reported Rodriguez's vote total incorrectly in Wednesday's paper.)

Seasly never reported that school taxes represent nearly half of the total property tax bill or that the ballot was confusing, with candidates' names appearing randomly without numbers or such identification as "Citizens for Better Schools" or "Team Hackensack."

Today's paper

Even though Borg and Sykes continue to ignore Hackensack, they are doing a bang-up job of publicizing medical miracles at Hackensack University Medical Center (A-1).

Borg's older sister, Vice President/General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg, once served as an HUMC board member.

The sprawling medical center calls itself a non-profit, and as a result saves about $10 million a year in property taxes.