Christie is a political animal -- with emphasis on 'animal'

On Monday, crews paved 4 blocks of Hackensack's Euclid Avenue, between Prospect Avenue, above, and Main Street, for the first time in decades, according to long-time city residents. An elderly man walking his dog said he feared the work would be reflected in higher property tax bills.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Governor Christie and his clumsy attempts to remake the New Jersey Supreme Court have been a continuing story since he took office in 2010.

But The Record's editors have sounded more and more like they are on the GOP bully's public-relations payroll, rather than working hard to uncover the truth for readers.

Editor Marty Gottlieb leads today's paper with a news story and column about Christie ducking out of a political battle with Democrats and looking forward to the 2016 presidential race (A-1 and A-6).

Court disorder

Of course, one reason Democrats would have opposed tenure for Assistant Justice Helen E. Hoens is that she is just as conservative and mean-spirited as Christie on funding affordable housing and public schools in poor districts.

The second is making Christie pay for his shameful, racially charged decision in 2010 to deny tenure to Justice John E. Wallace Jr., who was the only black member of the high court.

(Today, the news story fails to identify Wallace as African-American, but the Political Stile column does.)

Judge Fuzzy

But a third reason is evident: Christie's past nominees and his current pick -- a native of Santiago, Cuba -- are a bunch of turkeys.

Do we really want a state Supreme Court Justice with "Fuzzy" as his nickname?

Politics define Christie, including his putting his fat face into the Superstorm Sandy TV ads in an election year (A-3), and giving cleanup and other contracts to his wealthy supporters.

Cops and courts

Today's Local section from head Assingment Editor Deirdre Sykes is heavy with police and court stories.

Stories on L-1 and A-1 today raise anew the question of whether police are doing enough to enforce traffic and DWI laws -- a story The Record has been avoiding like the plague.

Page L-1 alone carries two stories and a photo about a chase and crash, a one-car accident that killed 3 and an inconsequential car fire.

The front-page story is about a Clifton woman who was killed in the street by an allegedly drunk driver.

Who wrote this?

A photo on L-2 shows an employee for the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway cleaning up the right of way, but the over line is a puzzling "OFF THE BEATEN TRACK."

There is a lot of wire-service filler in today's paper, including a long story from Chicago about Ford pushing Lincoln dealers to make expensive upgrades in a bid to sell the faltering luxury brand to younger buyers (L-10).

I guess The Record's business editors couldn't find anyone to pick up a phone and get a comment from a local dealer.

On the Better Living cover, Staff Writer Elisa Ung is peddling a vegetable-and-fruit juice that fits eveyone's budget: A 16-ounce jar is $12. 

Second look

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to remain in the dark about when the Summit Avenue exit ramp on Route 17 will reopen -- the subject of his Sunday column and two earlier, though equally clueless, efforts.

The only work left is to activate traffic lights, according to a concerned reader who spoke to a project manager for the state Department of Transportation.

There are so many errors and so much misinformation and missing information in Sunday's column, I'll defer to the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

More incompetent Road Warrior reporting
 
 

Editors continue to sanitize Christie's racism

A minor drama unfolded Wednesday afternoon on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, as captured in my car's driver-side mirror.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The Record's editors and reporters did a great job censoring any mention of race in today's two front-page stories about a state Supreme Court ruling on affordable housing.

A long news story,  an "ANALYSIS" and an editorial carefully omit any mention of minorities, who are the chief beneficiaries of low- and moderate-income housing (A-1,  A-11 and A-18).

Mention of Christie's 2010 dismissal of Associate Justice John E. Wallace Jr. appears twice, but readers aren't told he was the only African-American on the high court.

The Record mimics Christie's spin doctors in portraying the ruling as the work of liberal v. conservative members of the court, as well an attack on home rule.

More elitism

Christie's bid to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing is another in a long line of regressive policies that cater to the overwhelmingly white elite who support him.

This is the kind of dishonest journalism The Record has practiced for many years, especially in the work of such columnists as Road Worrier John Cichowski and Mike Kelly, who thankfully is on leave this month.

An A-3 story on NJ Transit's budget doesn't mention whether the agency will be providing more rush-hour seats for rail and bus riders, who frequently have to stand in the aisles -- a non-issue as far as The Record is concerned.

Law & Order

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section is filled with police and court news (L-1, L-2, L-3 and L-6).

Two Hackensack news stories and a photo appear on L-2 and L-3 today.

A photo of an actor in "Tracers," a movie being filmed in Hackensack, carries a puzzling overline: 

"HITTING THE WALL IN HACKENSACK"

The Better Living cover promotes Due, another overpriced restaurant in Ridgewood, without saying whether entrees costing up to $36 are made with naturally raised meat (BL-1).

Wrong again

In his column on Wednesday, Cichowski provided the wrong number for a bill that would penalize drivers who don't keep right, according to an e-mail from a concerned reader:

"For his July 10 column, the Road Warrior misinforms and confuses his readers about a recently passed New Jersey bill, which he identified with the wrong bill number.

"It would increase fines and surcharges for those who hog the left lanes and don't yield to passing vehicles or don't normally stay to the right, except when passing other vehicles.

"He compounds his mistakes by inferring that NJ commuters and cops should adhere to the requirements of the passed bill, which he failed to mention has several deficiencies.

"It is not NJ law since it has not been signed into law by Governor Christie, who may veto this measure, which has been described as a silly or dumb bill.

"He confuses and mislead readers with his lack of knowledge in response to questions about traffic circles and no-cash tolls on the GWB lower level during overnight hours."

Click on the following link to see the full e-mail to the editors and management on the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

John Cichowski is making readers pay

  

Editions are as dreary as days without sun

Hackensack is offering a 30-year tax break to attract a West New York apartment developer who promises to build 222 units over a parking garage on land at 86-94 State St. and 31 Warren St., above and below, with completion scheduled for 2015. Tenants will be able to hop on a Manhattan-bound bus across the street or file for unemployment in the beige-colored building, above right.

 

Everything about Governor Christie is so big it's a miracle he can still get his foot into his mouth, as he did at a Paterson church on Tuesday.

But why did Editor Marty Gottlieb put the story on Page A-3 of Friday's paper, instead of out front, where readers were hit with more about Superstorm Sandy and Pope Francis for the second day in a row?

The pastor of St. Luke Baptist Church has asked the GOP bully to apologize for referring to Assemblywoman Sheila Oliver as "an African-American female speaker of the Assembly who represents ... East Orange and Orange, where there are failing schools all over."

No surprise. One of the first things Christie did in 2010 was dismiss John E. Wallace Jr., the state Supreme Court's only African-American member.

Friday's paper is dreary from Page 1 to the classifieds.

Out of focus

Staff Photographer Tariq Zehawi appears to be losing his chops after chasing so many ambulances and capturing so many rollover accidents for head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza.

What's duller than his A-1 photo on Friday at Ridgewood High, with its blurry images of students' backs and a bunch of parked cars in front of a brick wall with the hard-to-read name of the school? 

Out of gas 

Instead of just listing gasoline stations that charge the same for cash or credit -- such as the Shell station on Cedar Lane in Teaneck -- Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to froth at the mouth over credit-card surcharges (L-1).

Out of excuses

On L-3, Hackensack reporter Hannan Adely reports Councilman John Labrosse has belatedly raised an objection to the city's plan to pay $500,000 in legal bills for two police officers, even though he voted to approve the deal.

City Attorney Joseph C. Zisa Jr. told Eye on The Record he is recommending the city pay the bills, and won't ask a judge to rule on how reasonable the fees are.

Labrosse, who is seeking another term in the May 14 election, changed his mind after candidate Victor E. Sasson noted the councilman's own campaign literature is silent on what he has accomplished in the past four years.

The Record's editors still haven't published a story about Sasson's independent candidacy, but did do stories about the Labrosse slate and another organized group in the Hackensack contest in late January and early February.

Out of local news

How long have North Jersey Media Group and The Record been promoting "The Big Book Drive" for Paterson children (L-1)?

Could this be the Borg family's way of distracting readers from the precipitous decline in local news in the past 10 years?

Why is Better Living defending smokers "frustrated" by outdoor bans on their filthy habit (BL-1)?

Even when non-smokers aren't choking on cigarette smoke they still have to live with the disgusting nicotine stench from smokers' clothing and drivers who toss lit butts out of their cars.