Readers greet GWB headline with healthy skepticism

Solari's on River Street is one of the Hackensack businesses that suffered greatly after The Record and North Jersey Media Group abandoned the city in 2009. I remember an April 2010 lunch there in a nearly empty dining room. Marco Solari, whose grandfather opened the restaurant in 1934, sold the business about two years ago, but retained ownership of the building and land.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Another edition, another bad headline.

The lead, banner headline on the front page of The Record today -- "GWB probe finds no link to Christie" -- has many readers questioning the editors' objectivity.

The text of the story by Staff Writer Shawn Boburg is far more equivocal:

"The report states there is 'no conclusive evidence' as to whether the governor 'was or was not' aware of the lane closures or involved in directing them" (A-1).

That sounds like the state legislative panel probing Bridgegate was unable to answer the question of Christie's role definitively.

Not only does the headline go too far, but a couple of paragraphs later Boburg quotes Christie's million-dollar defense lawyer, who claims "there is not a shred of evidence Governor Christie knew anything" about the Sept. 2013 lane closures in Fort Lee.

You'd expect attorney Randy Mastro to say that, but you'd also expect The Record's reporter to leave such a self-serving statement to the continuation page, and to point out it also goes beyond what the investigative panel said.

Bad reporting

The Record should recall Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson, if he continues to write about Rep. Scott Garrett's campaign fundraising and to ignore the arch-conservative's policies (L-1).

In a Page 1 story before the Nov. 4 election, Jackson boosted the Wantage Republican's reelection effort by omitting any mention of how Garrett initially opposed federal Sandy relief.

Then, the reporter sat on his hands instead of telling readers whether ads attacking challenger Roy Cho of Hackensack had a shred of truth in them.

My beef with Ung

After reading Elisa Ung complain about Roots Steakhouse in Ridgewood, I get the feeling she would gladly eat a turd as long as it was dry aged (BL-18).

To the clueless restaurant reviewer, the ultimate steak "is prime and dry aged," and she complains Roots wet ages its New York strip, "a far less expensive method."

But prime only means the beef is fattier than lower USDA grades; it doesn't have anything to do with how the animal was raised.

So, a restaurant can serve low-quality steaks from animals confined to feeding pens and raised on grain, animal antibiotics and growth hormones to get them to market faster, and Ung would praise the meat as long as it was prime and dry aged. 

Are Roots' steaks organic or grass fed? Readers don't have a clue. 

Is racism behind why the election didn't go Obama's way?

Voters were not exactly lining up on Tuesday at Hackensack's Fairmount Elementary School.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

By almost any measure -- the economy, health care, environment, immigration, and boots on the ground in the Middle East and Afghanistan -- we're doing far better under President Obama than with his Republican predecessor.

Yet, the GOP was able to take control of the U.S. Senate and hold onto the party's majority in the House, ensuring another two years of gridlock until Obama leaves office.

Could the reason be grounded in low voter turnout, and white conservatives who still bristle at any mention of our first black president?

Apathy expected

Political analysts expected a low voter turnout in New Jersey on Election Day, WBGO-FM reported:

"Fairleigh Dickinson political science Prof. Peter Woolley expects fewer than 40 percent of registered voters in the Garden State will go to the polls because he says the state’s 12 congressional races really aren’t competitive.

“'People who are the strongest partisans or people who are the angriest are the ones who will come out. The broad swath of Americans who are not following all the issues closely are simply not going to know why they should turn out.'”

Today, Obama told a reporter turnout was as low as 15% in states where Republicans triumphed.

News judgment?

The Record played the Democratic sweep of Bergen County offices, including the defeat of the Republican executive, on Page 1.

But the report of a seventh term for ultraconservative Rep. Scott Garrett from a congressional district that includes Bergen County, where 70% of the voters live, is buried on L-3.

That fits with the editors basically dismissing Hackensack attorney Roy Cho and earlier Democratic challengers because they were unable to raise as much money as Garrett.

Overplayed, incomprehensible and a huge waste of time

Aggressive police ready to pounce on any driver who doesn't yield to a pedestrian in the many crosswalks are the least of your problems, if you use Cedar Lane in Teaneck as a route to Englewood. The four-lane street through the township's main business district narrows, above, causing conflicts with other motorists, and the many slow, older drivers act as moving road blocks.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Readers who don't choke on the lead paragraph of the overplayed and overwritten turnpike story on Page 1 today are probably scratching their heads, trying to figure out what it says.

Is there something in the newsroom water at The Record or did Editor Marty Gottlieb rewrite Staff Writer Christopher Maag, exposing how out of touch the former Timesman really is (A-1)?

Anyone who has been caught in one of the region's massive traffic jams knows a wider turnpike isn't the "road to the future."

How does the new, 12-lane stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike below Exit 8 show the state remains "confident ... a place still unafraid to etch its belief in a brighter future into the contours of the land"?

A mass-transit corridor down the center of the 35-mile section, not more asphalt, really would have been forward looking.

Too little, too late

Where was Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, when Governor Christie killed the Hudson River rail tunnels in 2010, setting back for at least a decade expanded train travel between New Jersey and New York (A-1)?

The do-nothing six-termer seeking election on Nov. 4 from the 5th Congressional District -- which includes Bergen County -- is facing a formidable challenge from Roy Cho, a Hackensack attorney who has surged in the polls.

In a letter to the editor today, Bruce de Lyon of Dumont notes Garrett ducked debates, adding:

"As long as we allow Garrett to run a dismissive and underground campaign, he will continue to ignore issues crucial to the residents of northern New Jersey" (A-18).

Another Kelly error

Among the many embarrassing corrections published on A-2 this week is the one today trying to fix another Mike Kelly screw-up.

The burned-out columnist "misstated the year of a hazing incident at Holmdel High School" in his boring Page 1 piece last Sunday (A-2).

Desperate editor

A desperate local editor must have written the headline over  today's Road Warrior column -- "A commuter's tale" -- which reports the recollections of a 99-year-old man who took part in the 1931 ceremony opening the George Washington Bridge (L-1).

The rambling piece by Staff Writer John Cichowski has absolutely nothing to do with the ordeal of commuting, and is a colossal waste of readers' time.

Food coverage

Hackensack police should check hospital emergency rooms for two men who allegedly skipped out on a $100 restaurant bill (L-3).

The suspects, who spoke English and Hebrew, ignored Lotus Cafe and the fine-dining restaurants in The Shops at Riverside to rip off Applebee's on Tuesday night, police said.

They likely sought medical help for a huge case of indigestion.

Agita is in store for readers who bother with today's lukewarm, 2-star review of the 14-year-old Martini Grill in Wood-Ridge (BL-18).

Staff Writer Elisa Ung praises "the restaurant's focus on fish," but she chose poorly, "a thick fillet of swordfish flecked by capers and sun-dried tomatoes ($25.95)."

Swordfish contains a large amount of mercury, and isn't recommended for women of child-bearing age.

Editors continue to ignore the issues facing voters

A rare sight at the Lincoln Tunnel: Hardly any waiting at the tollbooths.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With only two weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, readers aren't seeing much coverage of the issues -- what the candidates believe in and what they propose to do to help New Jersey and the region.

Stories about candidates on A-3 and L-1 of The Record today reflect the editors' continuing obsession with politics.

Two other stories, on L-3, do involve a rare discussion of issues.

Bare-bones coverage

The Record's editors and reporters have never liked covering elections.

Years ago, coverage of school board elections was reduced to briefs -- four or five paragraphs -- and only contested elections merited a full-fledged story.

Is it any wonder hardly anyone votes in those elections, despite all of the property taxes that go to run the schools?

Cho v. Garrett

The Record didn't bother covering a candidate forum and debate in Ridgewood on Monday night, when Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, was a no-show.

In an e-mail to supporters, Democratic challenger Roy Cho said, "Scott Garrett has millions in campaign funds from lobbyists and special interests, but our campaign relies on grassroots support from people like you."

Garrett, one of the most conservative members of Congress and a Tea Party idol, is seeking a seventh term from the 5th District, which includes Bergen County.

Idiotic editing

A perfect example of the editors' dislike of elections -- and their contemp for voters -- appeared on the front page of Saturday's paper, in the very first paragraph of a story about a Fort Lee man who sells T-shirts that portray Russia's leader in a positive light.

I can't imagine why any editor would approve this introduction:

"NEW YORK -- Julius Kacinskis does not consider himself political -- he does not even vote."

Since when is voting a political act?

Hey Staff Writer Mary Diduch, if you vote for a candidate who believes in equal pay for women, is that political?

How about if you vote for a president who wants all of us to have health insurance to help reduce the charity care burden on the nation's hospitals?

That's not "political," even if you and the other pea brains at the Woodland Park daily say so.

What Marty believes

If you want to know whether elections are important to Editor Martin Gottlieb, take a look at Page 1 today:

Just above the fold we get the breathless news that Saks Fifth Avenue will be closing its store in The Shops at Riverside in Hackensack (A-1).

This is Gottlieb's way of keeping the focus off of the struggling downtowns of many communities, including Hackensack's.

That's especially egregious, given how the departure of North Jersey Media Group and The Record from 150 River St. sent the city's Main Street into a tailspin.

Local goes tabloid

The biggest local news in the paper today?

It leads L-1 -- the arrest of "a Paterson civic leader and former school board member" after police allegedly saw him leave a motel with a 12-year-old boy.

Why are the editors going easy on Rep. Scott Garrett?

Someone used a shopping cart at Target in Hackensack to "recycle" several items today, including a plastic toilet seat and cover, above.

Not far away was this pair of children's shoes, above and below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Scott Garrett, the conservative Republican seeking a seventh term in Congress, is ducking out of a candidate forum tonight and a debate with his Democratic challenger.

But you wouldn't know that from The Record today.

A rambling column by Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin recalls that in 2008, Garrett "declined to attend a candidate forum at a temple in Bergen County" (A-11).

Doblin says the Wantage Republican "sent a blind Jewish man as his surrogate," because his opponent, Dennis Shulman, was "a blind rabbi."

Can you just imagine who Garrett would send as his surrogate tonight, seeing that his challenger is Hackensack attorney Roy Cho, who is Korean-American.

Doblin makes no mention of tonight's candidate forum at Temple Israel and Jewish Community Center in Ridgewood.

Cho is seeking to unseat Garrett in the 5th Congressional District, which includes Bergen County.

Garrett is a Tea Party favorite for his opposition to just about everything, especially programs that help the middle class.

He initially opposed federal aid for Sandy victims and voted against legislation that would help women, then lied about his stance on both issues in campaign literature.

With Christie in office, we might as well follow H.S. football

A dental and medical building in downtown Closter shares the street with nail, hair and foot-massage salons; several Korean restaurants and a caterer, and a couple of empty storefronts.

More Korean restaurants and businesses can be found in two nearby shopping centers, Closter Commons and Closter Plaza, both of which are badly in need of a makeover.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Editor Martin Gottlieb of The Record is doing his best to distract readers from the Nov. 4 election.

For the fourth day in a row, the focus appears to be on high school football and Ebola, a potential epidemic created by the media (A-1).

One Page 1 headline seems premature:

SAYREVILLE STARTS HEALING PROCESS

With seven high school students facing sex-crimes charges -- "stemming from an act of sexual penetration on one underclassman," The Record reports -- Sayreville's wounds won't be healing anytime soon, especially if the media has anything to do with it (A-4).

Good health news

The front page today also carries some rare positive news about the federal Affordable Care Act, which Governor Christie did his best to derail in New Jersey (A-1).

In fact, with Christie waging war on the middle and working classes, we might as well follow something as inconsequential as high school football.

Readers have given up hope that Gottlieb and The Record will ever realize the mean-spirited Christie is the worst Garden State governor ever.

Against everything

The GOP bully is anti-everything: 

He's against affordable health insurance, expanding mass transit, taxing millionaires, cleaning up the environment, etc., etc., so on and so forth.

Christie seems to spend much of his time lately out of town, raising money for GOP conservatives and stumping for other Republicans.

N.J. and ISIS

Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson explores the New Jersey congressional delegation's stance on ISIS, the militant Islamic group that is trying to take over Iraq and Syria (A-1).

With only three weeks to go before the election, he should be doing a better job contrasting the positions of Roy Choy, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage.

The Tea Party icon is seeking a seventh term of naysaying from the 5th Congressional District.

What kind of reporter is Jackson? A lazy one. 

Why doesn't he or another staffer ask residents of the district -- which includes Fair Lawn, Hackensack and most of Teaneck -- what they think of the job Garrett hasn't done.

Another screw-up

Also on Page 1, the headline on a brief says "$2.7B is pledged to rebuild Gaza."

But when readers turn to the full story on A-6, the amount pledged to Gaza doubles to $5.4 billion.

Here are some other numbers: 

Incompetent Production Editor Liz Houlton gets a six-figure salary to prevent such errors from getting into the paper.

Why not halve her salary?

Fund-raiser report

Today, the front of Local focuses on the charity fund-raiser of the week: Curing diabetes.

But you won't find the paper's food writers checking their blood-sugar levels anytime soon.

They're too busy pushing dessert and other sugary foods as a major source of nutrients. 

The front of Local also carries a photo and story on the installation of a Martin Luther King Jr. statue on the Hackensack campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University (L-1).

On Saturday's Local front, a stand-alone photo of Bergen County's first MLK statue forgot to mention whether the memorial was on the Teaneck or Hackensack campus.

Columnist dismisses challenge to Tea Party puppet

Utility work on River Street in Hackensack, near the mothballed headquarters of North Jersey Media Group and The Record, made driving difficult last week.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Staff Writer Herb Jackson of The Record is a veteran who is assigned to Washington, where he writes the NJ/DC column, which you'll find on Page 1 today.

In recent years, Jackson has mastered the art of slipping a dagger into any Democrat who challenges one of Congress' most conservative members -- and twisting it.

Rep. Scott Garrett, a six-term Wantage Republican whose district now includes liberal Fair Lawn, Hackensack and most of Teaneck, is a puppet of the Tea Party and against just about everything, especially social programs.

Money talks

Today's column reports Garrett and his Democratic challenger, attorney Roy Cho of Hackensack, began running TV ads this month (A-1).

But Jackson is dazzled by Garrett's fund raising, nearly $3.2 million, compared to Cho's expected $900,000, and he's already called the race on that basis alone.

Jackson never mentions Garrett's initial opposition to federal aid for Sandy victims or his desire to delay eligibility for both Social Security and Medicare, starting with people born in 1958 and after.

Cut health care

Nor does he discuss Garrett's plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act -- which has given health insurance to tens of millions who never had it -- and boost defense spending to $699 billion in 2022.

Jackson has so much pull in Washington he couldn't even get an interview with Garrett, who doesn't announce where he is campaigning and hasn't agreed to debate Cho.

What kind of reporter is Jackson when he doesn't even report Garrett's mean-spirited policies and positions, as listed on the congressman's own Web site?

See: I'm Scott Garrett, and I hate people

Crystal balls

Today's Jackson column is long-winded -- typical of The Record's white, middle-age columnists.

So, he saves the knockout punch for the last paragraph after reporting Cho's charge that Garrett is even against federal spending to repair the transportation network relied on by 1 million people in Bergen County alone.

"It's an argument Garrett's challengers have been making since 2002," fortune teller Jackson reports. "And so far, none has come close to succeeding."

The Nov. 4 election will decide representation in the boomerang-shaped 5th District.

Here is a post I wrote in 2012 on how The Record and Jackson treated Adam Gussen, then-Teaneck's deputy mayor, the previous Garrett challenger:

Nobody at The Record knows his name

Hackensack news

On the Local front today, Staff Writer Todd South reports Al Dib, Hackensack's legal analyst and historian, has unearthed information that "averts wrangling" over development of a 4.3-acre parking lot near Forschini Park, as the headline puts it (L-1).

South still hasn't done a follow-up to his story on a group of Democrats who propose to change the form of government and switch to partisan elections in an effort to regain the power they lost in 2013.