Editors defend Christie's F.U. to Garfield

The editors continue to make excuses for Governor Christie.

Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin is falling all over himself today, trying to make excuses for Governor Christie, who snubbed Garfield residents at a so-called town meeting on Wednesday.

"The last thing" the mother of Malik Williams needs "is the governor of New Jersey inserting himself in an ongoing criminal investigation" of her 19-year-old son's death at the hands of two police officers, claims today's editorial in The Record (A-13).

"Ongoing criminal investigation"? Who is Doblin kidding? Williams was killed nearly five months ago. That's not an "ongoing" investigation; that's no investigation.

Ex-crime buster

As a former federal prosecutor, Christie could have called for a quick resolution of the grand jury probe into the Dec. 10 shooting. 

But the GOP bully was more interested in flimflamming residents by focusing on how much he allegedly has accomplished since he took office.

The day after Christie's appearance in Garfield, Columnist Mike Kelly's rambling piece included  quotes from the governor's staffers -- in what amounted to an elaborate, bureaucratic justification for the fat bastard's snub of residents.

Sacco of woe

Next to the Garfield editorial today are five letters to the editor about state Sen. and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, who has had his hands around taxpayers' balls for decades.

Sacco's three public jobs, huge salary and perks are fruits of the corrupt home-rule system of local government -- a system the paper has defended for eons. 

The Sacco story also exposes how little The Record's editors care about readers who are being victimized by him and all the other petty potentates in North Jersey.

Law & Order news

The lead story on Page 1 today reports the arrest of a suspect in the March 6, 2011, love-triangle murder of Robert Cantor, 59, of Teaneck.

The story also is notable for the rare byline of Staff Writer Jean Rimbach.

In an odd bit of language, Rimbach reports the Superior Court judge who set bail for the suspect was "sitting in Bergen County."

Law & Order news dominates head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section today, including an L-1 photo of a non-fatal crash in Hackensack.

Help for the abused

Buried on L-7 is another Hackensack photo, this one showing A-list celebrities, including Sean Hepburn Ferrer, the son of Audrey Hepburn, at the Children's House for abused and neglected children named for the late actress.

The photo caption is full of problems typical of the supervision of error-prone Production Editor Liz Houlton.

The caption says the appearance of Ferrer and actress Natalie Portman mark "the anniversary" of the Children's House, but it opened in 2002 at Hackensack University Medical Center -- another fact the caption omits.

And why did Sykes plaster the photo of a school bus-car accident all over L-1 and bury this photo in the back of the section, especially in view of recent stories about teachers and others who have been charged with sexually abusing children?  

Friday's paper

I couldn't find North Jersey news in any of the major stories on Editor Marty Gottlieb's front page on Friday.

But there was plenty of Law & Order news in Sykes' Local section, including continuing coverage of the trial of suspended Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa (L-5).

Road Warrior John Cichowski again relies on readers' e-mails to help him write his column (L-1).

But the real disgrace is not the slobs who are responsible for all that litter. It's the deteriorating condition of streets and highways -- which emphasize every squeak and rattle in your car.

Dine in tonight 

No reader of Middle Eastern background would be caught dead at Mezza in Westwood (Better Living review, Pages 22 and 23).

The lukewarm appraisal from Staff Writer Elisa Ung devotes more space to the executive chef's glob-trotting resume and photographs than to the origin and taste of food.

Tabloid news: Pregnant teen, older lover die

Image via Wikipedia

North Bergen Township Hall, which some residents call a "Sacco of Woe."

Management has long tolerated relationships between older, male editors and young, female newsroom staffers.

So it's no surprise Page 1 today is filled with a poorly reported story on the death of a 42-year-old North Bergen trucker, his 18-year-old girlfriend and their 5-month-old fetus in a highway crash.

Editor Francis Scandale had three reporters working on this sensational tale, but it remains unclear when the couple began dating. 

No one quoted in the story raises an eyebrow at their relationship, even though the man also had a son and the boy's mother stashed in an apartment.  

One-track mind

Not content with an L-3 story on Wednesday, transportation reporter Karen Rouse rehashes the debut of a new NJ Transit locomotive on A-1 today, even though it won't go into service until the end of 2012.

In one of at least three screw-ups by the news copy desk, the headline incorrectly mentions "new rail cars" instead of "new locomotives." 

Hey, Liz Houlton, "choo-choo" would fit.

Meanwhile, Rouse continues to ignore decrepit, decades-old NJ Transit buses still plying local routes.

An NJ Transit ad on A-13 compares the cost of driving and taking the train into the city from Ramsey and Park Ridge. Amid high gas prices, why isn't the Woodland Park daily presenting such money-saving ideas to readers?

The heading on an A-20 editorial about Nicholas Sacco's three public jobs incorrectly calls him "school chief." He's only an assistant superintendent.

Broken Record

An A-1 story Wednesday on "seat licenses" at the New Meadowlands Stadium is followed by yet another tedious piece on L-1 today. Only desperate head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes considers this local news.

Who is the mystery woman who appears next to the defendant in the big photo on L-1 today? The caption doesn't say.

Searching for Monsy

Recently, Hackensack reporter Monsy Alvarado seems to have been filling in for a vacationing police reporter, hence her involvement in today's sensational Page 1 story.

Or maybe she's one of the few staffers who speaks fluent Spanish. In any case, coverage of Hackensack has suffered. But that's no different than when she's not filling in for another reporter.