6 N.J. papers -- but not The Record -- call for Christie exit

YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE: It's a good bet the street in Hackensack you're looking for is closed for utility work. Above, First Street and Central Avenue, not far from the high school.

On State Street, construction equipment parked at the curb, above, has eliminated parking spaces used by parents when they pick up their children at the middle school across the street.

On Tuesday afternoon, another lane of State Street was closed. Main Street and many others in Hackensack have been crudely patched --not repaved -- giving drivers a rough ride

Near the Hackensack border, Huyler Street in South Hackensack was closed on Tuesday, forcing drivers heading for the new Costco Wholesale in Teterboro to detour.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Tuesday, the Daily Record of Morristown, Asbury Park Press, Courier Post of Camden and three other New Jersey newspapers called on Governor Christie to resign.

The Record of Woodland Park isn't among them, and today, readers won't find a story on the editorial blasting Christie that appeared in six Gannett-owned dailies.

"The news outlets ... issued a joint editorial on the heels of Christie's surprise endorsement of Republican front-runner Donald Trump and his most recent snub of the state's press corps," NJ.com's Matt Arco reports.

The newspapers blasted Christie's "arrogance" and said they were "fed up" with him, citing Christie's "long neglect of the state to pursue his own selfish agenda." 

And they said they were "disgusted" with his endorsement of Donald Trump" after he spent months on the campaign trail "trashing him" and calling him "unqualified" to be president.

"For the good of the state, it's time for Christie to do his long-neglected constituents a favor and resign as governor," the editorial stated.

"If he refuses, citizens should initiate a recall effort."

Borg family

Readers of The Record can only speculate on what influence the Borg family has on the editorial policy of their flagship paper, and all of the others published by North Jersey Media Group.

Real estate mogul Jon F. Hanson, Christie's chief fund-raiser for his two gubernatorial elections, is a close family friend and a business associate of the Borgs, although The Record has never identified him as such.

Hanson was called the governor's "go-to guy" in a May 2015 profile on NJ.com:

'Chris Christie's go-to guy'

New England

Although The Record didn't report on the six New Jersey newspapers seeking Christie's departure, it gave prominent play to two conservative New England newspapers expressing their regret for supporting the GOP bully.

A brief appears on Page 1, referring readers to the full story on A-3.

Christie's own panel says he's failed on pension reform

With many businesses closed and residents off from work, the Jewish New Year effect was evident on Cedar Lane in Teaneck on Thursday afternoon, above. But some employers, including The Record, refuse to give Jewish employees paid time off for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's editors couldn't bring themselves to put the story on Page 1 today, but a panel named by Governor Christie says the GOP bully has failed miserably to reform the public-employee pension system.

And the two Trenton reporters assigned to the story jumped through hoops to soft pedal the criticism from the nine-member panel (A-3).

"The report played down the impact of reforms passed in 2011, which Christie has held up as a model for other states [italics added]," Staff Writers John Reitmeyer and Melissa Hayes say.

Tax hike pushed

The lead paragraph emphasizes the "attention grabbing figures" offered by the panel:

"Every New Jersey household would have to write a $12,000 check just to close the $37 billion gap in pension funding ... and the state would need to double the amount of tax money dedicated for all benefits to 20 percent of the state budget."

To close a "$90 billion drain on future budgets," one of the options is "additional tax revenue" -- such as a surcharge on millionaires -- "something Christie states is not an option," according to the story.

Need money for roads 

Despite mounting evidence Christie's rigidly conservative no-tax policies are wrecking the state economy, The Record's editorial editor refuses to urge the governor to back an increase in the gas tax.

"You aren't going to fix New Jersey roads and bridges without money," is the introduction to an editorial on the state's broken Transportation Trust Fund (A-12).

Besides ignoring the fund also pays for mass-transit improvements, the editorial wimps out on recommending a hike in the gas tax -- apparently out of fear that would alienate the car dealers whose ad revenue has made the Borg publishing family rich.

Big wheel

Is it just a coincidence the last name of Afzal "Bobby" Khan rhymes with "con" (B-1)?

A group of people who owned Porsches, Bentleys and BMWs allege Khan sold their cars on consignment, never paid them and never transferred the titles.

Khan's luxury car dealership, Emporio Motor Group, is on Route 17 in Ramsey.

Terra firma

Today, Staff Writer Elisa Ung gives 2.5 stars to Terra, an Englewood restaurant that opened in May next to bergenPAC, replacing the Grand Cru Wine Bar.

Or, as her poorly edited sentence says, "Terra opened ... in the site of the former Grand Cru Wine Bar [italics added]."

The owners, Ung says, are Steven Sotland, previously a managing partner of Grand Cru, and his wife.

But the review doesn't say whether Stephen and Jennifer Borg still have an interest in Terra, as they once did in Grand Cru.