Christie is no 'Gunfighter'

In Union Beach, 27 small American flags are a makeshift memorial to the first-graders and adults cut down at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

You won't see Governor Christie identified as one of "The Gunfighters" on the cover of the Jan. 28 edition of Time, the same news rag that anointed him as "The Boss" in an airbrushed cover photo in the issue dated Jan. 21.

As The Record reported on Friday, instead of taking decisive steps to end gun violence, the GOP bully named a study team, and called critics of his approach "simpletons."

"It's complicated," Christie says of gun control, presumably the same reason he's done nothing about the obesity epidemic and continues to eat everything in sight.

Peering into the dark

The photo on the front page of The Record on Friday was a dud. Readers couldn't tell if it was intentionally dark or was another production error by Editor Liz Houlton.

The photo caption should have said the photo was taken inside the Colorado theater where 12 died in a shooting rampage in July.

Good Hackensack news

Hackensack readers got some good news on Friday's Local front, the departure of city zoning board attorney Richard Malagiere, who parlayed political connections into more than $1 million in legal fees in recent years.

But some readers are wondering why the story carries the byline of Stephanie Akin, the former Hackensack reporter.

Holding her tongue

Friday's Better Living tab informed readers that Elisa Ung's restaurant reviews "will return this summer."

It's not known whether she is on maternity leave again or just going in for bariatric surgery after consuming hundreds of fattening desserts in the line of doodie.

Friday's lukewarm, 2-star review of Dos Cubanos in Paramus is by Bob Probert, who recommends only one purely Cuban dish, but there is plenty of back story about the chef and the building, a former Fuddruckers.

Mini reviews of other Cuban and Latin restaurants ignore the best choice in Bergen County, Habana Casual Cafe, a BYO on Main Street in Hackensack.

More corrections

In today's paper, the editors publish a second correction of an article that appeared on Page R-1 of last Sunday's Real Estate section.

The first correction told readers the big photo didn't show the building under discussion -- another embarrassing snafu by Houlton's production wizards.

Rothman, unions

A letter to the editor reveals that outgoing Democratic Rep. Steve Rothman sold out to corporate donors and betrayed taxpayers for as little as $1,000 (A-13).

Don't miss the editorial praising unions on the occasion of the death of Ralph Gozio, 103, believed to be the last person with memories of the Paterson silk strikes (A-13).

The Borgs fought tooth and nail against any attempt to unionize workers at the daily paper, and were able to preserve substandard pay, pension benefits and even severance, ensuring bigger profits for the publishing family.

More accident news

Gee-whiz photo coverage of non-fatal automobile accidents returns to the Local section front today, in what apparently is the most important local news gathered by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her minions.

On L-2 today, another story on a fire in a multifamily building in Paterson stops short of reporting who are the owners of all of the ramshackle rental housing in Silk City and how do they get away with exploiting tenants?

Rothman turns defeat into huge paycheck

Steve Rothman of Englewood when he was a  U.S. congressman. His smile is even broader now that he's landed a job with a big law firm. (Wikipedia)

It's bad enough Steve Rothman of Englewood ran from a fight against one of the most conservative members of Congress, and took on fellow Democrat Bill Pascrell Jr. of Paterson.

Lots of Democrats cheered mightily when Pascrell defeated Rothman in the election this past November, and roared with laughter as the latter's 16-year career in Congress ended in disgrace.

Now, Rothman has parlayed all the campaign donations he received from top defense contractors into a job with one of the state's biggest law firms, where he will head a new division that will cater to defense-industry clients (Page 1 of The Record on Friday).

Isn't that cozy?

The newspaper doesn't like reporting on the hourly rates charged by lawyers -- one of the factors that denies people who want to sue their employers access to the courts.

But I'll bet Rothman's hourly rate at Sills Cummis & Gross will be big enough to choke a horse or a litigant. 


The Record's story omits how Rothman moved back to Englewood from Fair Lawn to avoid running against Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage.

Second look

So far, Margulies the cartoonist is the only member of the news or editorial staff to expose how Governor Christie is sweeping all of his policy failures under the rug as part of his "Superstorm Sandy clean-up" (A-10 on Thursday).

This week's cover story on suburban sprawl in the Signature section contains more discussion of mass transit than has appeared in the newspaper in the past decade (Thursday).

Bat, Mac and fat 

In Friday's Better Living section, Staff Writer Elisa Ung devotes half of her restaurant review to the "back story" of Bat Barry's, an "American bistro" in Westwood.

"Bat," it seems, is a nickname used by Bartholomew Barry, just as "Mac" is the nickname of Chairman Malcolm A. Borg.

And I always thought the nickname "Mac" recognized his love of mac and cheese for breakfast.

"Fat" is what Ung must be after sampling at least three of Bat Barry's artery clogging desserts -- among the hundreds she has eaten and often complained about since she took over the restaurant beat more than 5 years ago.   

Today's paper

A story on the Local front today reports Hackensack will maintain a computer database for inspection reports "to make sure no buildings 'fall through the cracks' and that codes are enforced" (L-1).

The Record's investigation found serious violations at two buildings on Johnson Avenue that are owned by politically connected lawyers.  

Those homes aren't the only ones with building violations. 

The house at 177 Euclid Ave. -- especially the front steps -- has been in a state of disrepair for more than 5 years, and the city's Building Department seems powerless.

'Mayhem,' 'chaos' and other fictions

The Record's old headquarters on River Street in Hackensack.

The Record and other media are giving Governor Christie a lot of credit for stepping up and pressing President Obama for aid after Superstorm Sandy devastated the shore and other parts of New Jersey.

This week, he's been all over the front page, blasting House Speaker John Boner and other Republicans for delaying a vote on a $60-billion relief package for the Northeast.

But it looks like property taxes will be going up in many communities anyway (A-1 today and on Friday, and A-10 editorial Friday).

So, will the media now take Christie to task for breaking his original campaign promise to lower taxes, and criticize him for how little he has done to encourage money-saving consolidation or cap the salaries of police chiefs?

Newsroom mayhem

On Friday, readers stared dumfounded at the Page 1 text, graphic and photo package screaming "traffic mayhem" at a "normally quiet corner" in Fairview.

What corner in sleepy Fairveiw isn't "quiet"? 

Do three relatively minor incidents involving a truck "blocking traffic," a rolling car injuring the driver and a four-car fender bender really deserve to be on the front page?

A Fairview police SUV was involved in the accident, but none of the three police officers on the scene could describe what happened.

Waitress gives tip

Luckily, Point Diner waitress Maggie Martin had nothing to do, saw everything and gave extensive information to the reporters and photographer who hyped this story to the max, even selling it to former New York Times veteran Marty Gottlieb, the editor who put this nonsense on A-1. 

Talk about a slow news day, and the substitution of traffic mishaps  and downed utility poles for legitimate municipal news.

Recall last May, when Gottlieb and the local assignment editors, Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza, reported "chaos" and "havoc" in Hackensack after the conviction of former Police Chief Ken Zisa.

But nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Christie hits jackpot

Friday's A-4 reported Christie has already collected $2 million in second-term campaign cash from all those wealthy supporters grateful for hundreds of millions in business tax breaks and continued low income-tax rates on millionaires.

Bullshit pulpit

The cowardly Steve Rothman has a retrospective of his 25 years in elected office on Friday's Opinion page (A-11).

Rothman is the ex-congressman from Fair Lawn who ran from a reelection fight against Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, then lost to Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, in November.

Rothman's selfish bid to prolong his own career ensured another term for Garrett, an arch-conservative.

He mentions he served two terms as mayor of Englewood and helped set it on "its path to renewal."

Tell that to all of the parents whose children are still attending segregated schools in the wealthy community, which counts Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg as a resident. 

An A-11 photo of Rothman posing in front of the Capitol shows him with a Volkswagen. Should he or any Jew be buying a German car?  

Suicide watch

Many pedestrians appear to be suicidal or have a death wish, but Road Warrior John Cichowski doesn't seem to think they should be ticketed for jaywalking (L-1 on Friday).

This stance is in keeping with earlier columns denouncing traffic cameras and quoting all those lead-footed drivers who delight in running red lights, endangering others.

Copping out

A long story about Hackensack's civilian police director, who will be appointed later this month, doesn't say how much he will be paid or whether that will be less than the $200,000-plus Zisa made (L-1 0n Friday).

Another donut-fetching police chief is retiring, this one after 28 years on the Tenafly force (L-3 on Friday).

Police Chief Michael Bruno was paid $189, 361 in 2012, more than Christie made as governor.  

Stir-fried curries

In Friday's Better Living, Staff Writer Elisa Ung brings us her lukewarm, 2-star appraisal of another mediocre restaurant, an Indo-Chinese place in Edgewater called Chinese Mirch.

What does "mirch" mean? I don't think she says.  

Today's paper

Official excuses fill the front-page story on why no police officers in Bergen or Passaic counties carry a Taser or other device that could disable a criminal suspect with an electric charge (A-1).

The story also again mischaracterizes the actions of Malik Williams, 19, of Garfield, who was killed by officers in December 2011.

The second paragraph says he "allegedly rushed" officers with a claw hammer and handsaw, even though the prosecutor said Williams "advanced toward" the cops.

Dogged reporting 

On Sykes' and Sforza's Local front today, a dog who allegedly "saved" a Tenafly home from burning to the ground gets bigger play than the swearing in of the first Korean-American on the Ridgefield Borough Council (L-1). 

That's in keeping with the anti-South Korea policy of Travel Editor Jill Schensul, a dog lover and vegetarian who has never forgiven Koreans for eating dogs in their native country.  

On L-3 today, a caption with a photo showing two stores in Lodi doesn't explain what "smashed into" means, even though there is room for more words.

Neither store appears to be damaged.
 

More momentous local news

Is a successful graduate scheduled to speak at the Dwight Morrow High School commencement? A story in The Record today only addresses the private high school in Englewood.

The Record's editors continue to bombard voters in Hackensack, Teaneck, Fair Lawn and other towns with daily coverage of a Democratic primary election in which those residents have no say.

Editor Marty Gottlieb leads Page 1 today with another rehash of the positions held by the opponents, Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. of Paterson and Steve Rothman, formerly of Fair Lawn.

The Record has endorsed Pascrell. 

Rothman, who moved to Englewood, is the political pussy who ran from a fight with rabidly conservative Rep. Scott Garret after redistricting threw Fair Lawn into the 5th District (A-1).

More politics

And if the A-1 story isn't enough, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy minion, Dan Sforza, lead the Local news section today with a story describing the candidates' "frantic pace" before Tuesday's primary.  

Substituting politics for local news is nothing new at The Record, where the editors ignore how those stories and columns turn off the vast majority of readers.

Gottlieb, Sykes and Sforza -- and their counterparts at other media outlets -- believe that if they portray every election as a horse race, whether true or not, readers will be riveted.

Treating locals like yokels

But that's exactly the opposite of what happens, and local news coverage suffers as a result.

Look at the other local news on L-1 today:

The page is dominated by a photo-text package on a "remarkable rescue" of a Hackensack man who fell asleep and drove his car into water that didn't even cover the roof of his clunker.

Too lazy to leave the office, Road Warrior John Cichowski manufactures another entire column from a single reader's e-mail and a few telephone interviews.

But Cichowski can't find a town in Bergen, Passaic or Morris counties that charges a "municipal response fee" -- the issue he is so incensed about.

Private school rules

In Englewood news, an L-1 story describes a graduate of the private Dwight-Englewood School who "had role in bid Laden search," according to the headline.

Publisher Stephen A. Borg also attended Dwight-Englewood.

This story drives home the message that no graduate of Dwight Morrow High School, the troubled public school in Englewood, ever hit the big time or at least that Sykes and Sforza didn't bother to find out if a successful graduate will be speaking at this year's commencement.

In other momentous Hackensack news, a section of Anderson Street collapsed, but no one was injured. Although there is room to say where this occurred on Anderson Street, the photo caption is missing that information (L-6).

Dining-out dunce

On the Better Living front today, Staff Writer Elisa Ung claims the biggest lesson she has learned from reviewing more than 200 local restaurants for The Record is to "go on a Friday or a Saturday."

That's it?

What about the elephant in the dining room -- the pathetically low wages paid to servers and a tipping system that pits customers against the wait staff, not restaurant owners, who cut corners on food quality and use untrained staff?

I have never seen a word about that in any of Ung's Sunday columns, The Corner Table, including this one (BL-1).

Fish tales

She passes along incorrect information from Anthony Bourdain that fish markets are "closed on Saturday and Sunday," and urges readers not to eat sushi early in the week.

But didn't she get bad sushi on her weekday and weekend visits to Bushido Bar and Restaurant in Cliffside Park, the place she panned in her review just two days ago?

"This is based on nothing scientific," she says of the advice against eating raw fish early in the week, "only the many times off the job when I have been very sorry that I tried to eat raw fish on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday -- generally when other diners aren't around and that fish has been, ur, ripening."

Ripening? Like fruit on a counter? 

I guess Ung missed articles in The New York Times and elsewhere reporting that all raw fish served in the United States must be frozen first to kill parasites.

"Sushi Fresh from the Deep -- the Deep Freeze" is the headline on a piece in The Times, which published it in 2004.

And I guess she hasn't noticed seafood is kept in refrigerated cases at sushi bars. 

So, any "ripening" occurs only if the restaurant mishandles the fish, doesn't store it properly or serves low-quality stuff.

Flashback

I got a kick out of the words "moron," "boring" and "fat crooked ass" in the first paragraph of today's Better Living cover story (BL-1).

They were among the words used by the newsroom staff to describe Sykes, Sforza and many other editors when I was at The Record.

Don't hold your breath for town news

The Local news section today is dominated by a story about war criminal Joseph Kony.

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her tireless minions deliver another fun-filled but ultimately disappointing Local section in The Record today. 

Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Englewood, met with the paper's unnamed Editorial Board, so that guaranteed him the lead position on L-1 -- just above a story about war criminal Joseph Kony.

The Kony story doesn't try to explain how the brutal Ugandan war lord has escaped capture since he was indicted for war crimes in 2005.

There's news for illegal immigrants, too, in the guilty pleas of two clerks who sold black-market driver's licenses (L-1).

Another photo-op

Sykes exploits another elderly driver's accident for a photo-op on L-3, blown up to fill the space of local news her desk failed to generate.

A story that should have been on L-1 is pushed back to L-3 to lessen the embarrassment for the Rev. James F. Reilly, who is in critical condition with burns he suffered in a fire early Saturday.

Reilly apparently fell asleep while smoking in the rectory of a Palisades Park church.

Hackensack news? Check back next year.

Tone deaf

On Page 1, Staff Writer Jim Beckerman reports "it's hard for customers to put their feelings about the closing of Ronnie I's Clifton Music into words."

Judging from the poorly written and edited story, Beckerman also had trouble putting his reporting "into words." 

Beckerman lists doo-wop and rock-and-roll radio shows, but omits WBGO-FM's "Rhythm Revue" and Bob Porter's "Saturday Morning Function."

 

Sports section glorifies unwed father

Image via Wikipedia
On Sunday, freelancer Mark Greenbaum focused on the ages of Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., above, and Steve Rothman, but said the latter is 7 years younger than he is. The Opinion editors completely missed the error.

You've heard of movies that go straight to video. In  my house, The Record's Sports section goes straight to recycling, though I can't avoid all the sports blather that lands on Page 1.


Glancing at today's Sports front, I noticed the missing comma after "Victor" in the main headline, "To Victor go the spoils." 


The headline runs over one of those relentlessly sunny columns about Victor Cruz of the Giants, a Paterson native who has become a role model for children trying to escape poverty.


Cruz caught the only Giants touchdown pass at the Super Bowl on Sunday, and showed with his celebratory salsa moves that he had more rhythm than anyone else on the field. 


On Cruz control


But at the gym this morning, a friend complained that today's column by Staff Writer Art Stapleton never explains why Cruz isn't married to the mother of his infant daughter. 


My friend believes the editors deliberately glossed over that issue.


The majority of readers don't know Cruz from beans, but with today's front page, Editor Martin Gottlieb keeps shoving Giants coverage down their throats, as he likely will do on Wednesday with stories on the parade in Manhattan.


Age discrimination


On A-2, an embarrassing correction shows the editor of a piece on Sunday's Opinion front missed catching a major error by freelance writer Mark Greenbaum on the age of Rep. Steve Rothman, who is 59 years old, not 52. Rothman was born in 1952.


The error also undermines one of Greenbaum's arguments for why Rothman has a political edge over his fellow Democrat in the 9th Congressional District race, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.: 


"Rothman's age bestows on him time to rise, while Pascrell has no shot of chairing a full committee."


Hot-air editor


The paper's intense focus on the Super Bowl has been evident in the past couple of weeks, and readers haven't even had a good Local section to turn to.


The major element on the Local front today is a non-fatal car fire on Route 17 in Rochelle Park. 


After publishing a non-story on possible solar-panel regulation in Hackensack on Monday, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes returns to journalism as usual: no Hackensack news, and no news from many other towns.


Related articles

• Cowardly Rothman is heading for a fall (eyeontherecord.blogspot.com)
• Royal screwing of Hackensack is complete (eyeontherecord.blogspot.com)

A not-so-super scramble for news

Image via Wikipedia
This photo of the Broadway train station in Fair Lawn wasn't taken today, but it probably reflects the large number of hard-partying Giants fans who slept in this morning.

For the Giants, that's a wrap -- literally.


The Record's editors today wrapped a full-page photo of winning Quarterback Eli Manning around the main news section, concealing a second front page with news for the majority of readers who don't know or care who won the Super Bowl on Sunday.


Even if readers watched the game on TV, they certainly have no interest in reading every precious word about what happened from the paper's lame sports writers and columnists.


Once you turn the Manning photo page, you quickly realize the editors scrambled to fill the second Page 1 with North Jersey or New Jersey news, and failed miserably.


Breaking Pittsburgh news


Look at the size of that A-1 photo from Pittsburgh, clearly blown up to fill space. It's hard to believe there was no Occupy Movement news closer to home.


The lead story is a report on the Democrats who are stepping in for cowardly Rep. Steve Rothman, D- Fair Lawn, and preparing to take on and defeat Rep. Scott Garrett, R-Wantage, one of Congress' most conservative members.


The third major element on the page reports on churches that are trying to "shrink the educational achievement gap in their communities" -- a strong local story.


Unlike all the stories on Governor Christie's educational initiatives and his war against public-school teachers, today's story reports churches recognize the pivotal role of parents in their children's success. 


Instant music critic


See A-10 today for Staff Writer Mike Kerwick's 15 paragraphs of mishmash, supposedly a critique of Madonna's halftime show at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.


Kerwick reports Madonna "appeared to slip at one point," but "still possesses a well of vigor at 53." 


Others saw a lot more, including Gloria, my fitness trainer at the gym, who noted that Madonna's knees buckled during her dance routines.


Never mind


For a change, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section has Hackensack news on the front of the section, but the story on possible regulation of solar panels on homes is woefully incomplete.


The story doesn't say how many homeowners plan to install panels nor tell readers that a PSE&G solar-loan program expired on Dec. 31, which is expected to limit future projects. 


At the end of the story, Hackensack Councilwoman Karen Sasso is quoted as saying officials haven't seen "anything that has been a problem yet" with current solar installations.


In other words, "never mind."

Rabbi gives Jews a bad name

Image by dougtone via Flickr
Englewood's schools, including Dwight Morrow High, above, can't afford to lose the $63,000 in annual property taxes paid by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on his East Hill estate.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach of Englewood is a publicity monger and a hypocrite, yet The Record devotes a huge amount of space today to his shameless plan to seek tax-exempt status for his multimillion dollar East Hill mansion.


Boteach bought the estate in 2000, knowing the Libyan Mission to the United Nations was next door. He parlayed that into a million dollars worth of free publicity for himself in 2009, when he protested a planned visit by dictator Moammar Gadhafi.


The Record published five stories over the course of six days in August 2009, many of them featuring Boteach prominently. Later, the Better Living section wrote a glowing review of the rabbi's book on his relationship with Michael Jackson.


In recent years, Boteach withheld property taxes to protest the Libyan Mission's tax-exempt status in Englewood, but now he's proposing to take his own property off the tax rolls. This man gives Jews a bad name.


Editor worships rabbi


The story on Page 1 clearly shows Boteach has interim Editor Douglas Clancy in his pocket. From the size of the headline and the space devoted to his selfish plan, you'd think a major disaster had occurred in North Jersey.


Don't hold your breath for an editorial opposing Boteach's plan and urging the city Planning Board to reject the use of a caretaker's house as a synagogue. Let Boteach take Englewood to court.


Next, Publisher Stephen A. Borg will convert a room in his $3.65 million Tenafly McMansion into a newsroom, declare The Record and Herald News a non-profit and seek his own tax-exempt status.


More poor journalism


Another front-page story raises all the questions surrounding the month-old police shooting of Malik Williams, 19, of Garfield -- and answers none of them.


So, this is just a rewrite of previous stories by the lazy assignment desk under Editor Deirdre Sykes.


Why didn't the reporter talk to the owner of the garage where Williams hid and find out what he or she knows about the "tools" police said the escapee held in his hands as justification for killing him?


Today's story reports Williams was "found behind numerous objects" and "had allegedly armed himself with tools."


Taking on Garret


It's good to see Adam Gussen, the deputy mayor of Teaneck, is among Democrats who are weighing a run against arch-conservative Rep. Scott Garret, the Wantage  Republican who cowed Rep. Steve Rothman, D- Englewood (L-1).


Let's hope Garret will rue the day his district was reconfigured to include Hackensack and most of Teaneck, two of the most diverse communities in North Jersey.


Also on the front of Local, a story on the death of three seniors in a highway accident in Florida doesn't say who was driving nor quote police on what caused their small SUV to go off the road.