Imagine sick kids wearing hospital gowns to a party

The 5,500-seat auditorium of Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan on Sunday afternoon as ticket holders were being seated for the 2014 Christmas Spectacular starring the high-kicking Rockettes, a huge orchestra, dancing Santa Clauses and much more.

The lobby of Radio City, an art-deco masterpiece that opened on Dec. 27,1932, and was restored in 1999, including the replacement of all seats, carpeting and wallpaper, and the restoration of murals, including "Men Without Women" in the lounge outside the lower-level men's bathroom, below.

After the 90-minute show, we walked less than a block to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center and, frankly, we were underwhelmed. The tree is towering, as usual, but this year, they skimped on the lights. Even the smaller Christmas tree on Main Street in Hackensack makes a bigger splash. Imagine that.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

There are reporters at The Record who don't need editing, others who don't get editing and still others who should have their heads examined.

Veteran Jay Levin, who writes the local obituaries after many years of thankless duty on the night copy desk, is a reporter who doesn't need editing, as two of his pieces in today's Local section show (L-1 and L-6).

Levin is at the top of his game, in stark contrast to Road Warrior John Cichowski, a confused reporter who gets no editing and who has committed hundreds of errors, not to mention all the wrong advice he's given drivers, young and old.

Another veteran, Mike Kelly, also gets no editing, and the result is one long, rambling column after another as he pushes around thousands of words in search of a strong opinion, which the reporter doesn't seem to have.

Party for sick kids

Then, there is Linda Moss, a reporter who covers commercial real estate for The Record, according to her Twitter profile.

On Sunday, Moss was on weekend duty when she was assigned to cover the 30th annual holiday party of the Tomorrow's Children Fund for kids who have been treated at Hackensack University Medical Center for cancer and serious blood disorders.

There was so little real news in Monday's paper that I found myself reading Moss' story on the Local front all the way through.

I was shocked at a sentence on the continuation page (Monday's L-3)

A photo showed two of the cutest children you could imagine posing with Santa Claus at a Hasbrouck Heights hotel where the party was held:

"The girls and boys were dressed up in their nicest attire, not hospital gowns, for the party," Moss reported [italics added].

How many editors and copy editors saw that and allowed "not hospital gowns" to get in the paper? 

Where was Production Editor Liz Houlton, who supervises the news and copy desks and is paid six figures to keep such an inappropriate image out of the paper?

Did the children with cancer and blood disorders once attend the annual holiday party in hospital gowns? Why even mention them?

Covering advertisers

The Record's editors may be insensitive to children with cancer, but they bend over backwards to cover their biggest advertisers, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor, Victoria's Secret and other retailers (Page 1 today and Monday).

The local assignment editors also seem to be ordering more coverage of wealthy communities.

Monday's Local front was dominated by an article and photos about schools districts in Tenafly, Ridgewood and Glen Rock, all of which are reexamining their homework polices.

When is the last time you read a story -- any story -- about Hackensack schools?

Upscale restaurants

The Better Living cover story on Monday recommended eight "great" restaurants, but five of them are expensive.

You have to turn the page to find three that are moderately priced.

The recommendations come from Elisa Ung, the paper's restaurant reviewer, who is lucky enough to have The Record pay for all of those artery clogging steaks and desserts she eats so obsessively.

Maybe she would appreciate value, if she had to pay for some of that food herself.

Today's paper

The Record's coverage of the Affordable Care Act has been largely negative, echoing the complaints of such conservative Republicans as Governor Christie.

Staff Writer Lindy Washburn and her assignment editor also continue to obscure how Christie and Republican governors in 35 other states tried to sabotage what they labeled "Obamacare," a derogatory term The Record and other media love to use.

In more than a year of covering the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act, Washburn and the paper's other medical writers have never actually interviewed the people who applied for health insurance.

Today, The Record's lead story reports that North Jersey residents who bought insurance "came from towns that are rich, poor and middle class, as well as municipalities where a majority vote Republican" (A-1).

Imagine what Record reporters could find out, if they actually interviewed readers and other residents of North Jersey instead of endlessly quoting experts, pollsters and spin doctors, and examining the politics of every issue under the sun.

Red-light cameras

In a letter to the editor, Keith Remland of Lincoln Park says of red-light cameras:

"Their biggest plus is safety" (A-10).

Remland said in a few words what two Road Warrior columns tried to hide from readers as Cichowski foamed at the mouth over "Big Brother," and quoted critics of the $85 fines, which many cash-strapped towns welcome.

Women's news?

Did a male editor lay out L-3 today, hoping to package stories on two different women?

In the bottom right corner, a story about a substitute teacher facing more sex charges appears next to one on Ridgewood's second woman firefighter.

Speeding kills, but please don't disturb the editors

NJ Transit's electric-powered Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, seen here in Jersey City, will be extended to Englewood, but the Neanderthals who rule the wealthy borough of Tenafly have rejected the service, citing their heavy investment in SUVs and luxury vehicles that run on fossil fuel. Stephen A. Borg, publisher of The Record and a Tenafly resident, has lent editorial support to that short-sighted decision.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

With nearly a day to work on a crash that killed a Waldwick cop who was lying in wait to catch speeders, The Record's inept newsroom staff is unable to report today whether the tractor-trailer driver charged in the death was himself speeding.

Today's front-page photo -- showing the demolished police cruiser and the jackknifed truck on the edge of Route 17 -- is worth a thousand words, especially in view of how those words, with details of what caused the accident, are missing (A-1).

Why was the photo supplied by "NBC New York" and not the Woodland Park daily's own staff?

Unanswered questions

To hit Waldwick Police Officer Christopher Goodell's cruiser on the side of Route 17 south and propel the vehicle into a retaining wall, couldn't the paper say with certainty the truck was out of control?

And couldn't anyone find a source in Bergen County's fatal accident unit for an educated guess on how fast trucker Ryon Cumberbatch of Brooklyn was driving before he lost control or fell asleep?

If Goodell was using radar to catch speeders, did the truck's speed register on the device or was it destroyed?

Instead, the paper today runs separate stories about the cop and Iraq war veteran, and the immigrant charged with second-degree vehicular homicide, referring inappropriately to the trucker as "Ryon" at one point.

Speed-camera shy

To rub salt in readers' wounds, Road Warrior John Cichowski rouses himself from his usual stupor to declare in a column on the Local front Goodell "was using radar equipment to control chronic speeding" on Route 17 (L-1).

In more than a decade of writing the so-called commuting column, Cichowski has completely ignored a rise in speeding and aggressive driving amid what many believe is declining enforcement.

Governor Christie has contributed to the problem by not replacing hundreds of state troopers who have retired, leading to fewer anti-speeding patrols on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway.

Speed still kills

More than 13,000 people die every year in crashes involving speed, according to the National Safety Council.

Cichowski also has written a number of shrill columns demonizing red-light cameras, which catch speeders and cut down fatal intersection collisions.

Today's column on speeding cameras quotes the "chief opponent" of red-light cameras, the idiotic National Motorists Association, which argues driving is a right, not a privilege.

Members likely are speed-addicted lead-foots who assert their right to terrorize other drivers by speeding, tailgating and other aggressive behavior.

Did cop die in vain?

Let's hope Goodell didn't die in vain, and New Jersey's fractious law enforcers can get their act together and demand more red-light cameras and the installation of speeding cameras everywhere.

The extra revenue will be welcome, given the mess Christie has made of the New Jersey economy.

And why are a number of homes along Route 17 south completely exposed to traffic, unprotected by guardrails or sound walls, measures that could have protected Goodell, too?

More boring politics

The fatal collision on Page 1 today completely overshadows Christie's appearance in Iowa, in what one of The Record's columnists calls the GOP bully's "unofficial coming-out party for the 2016 presidential race" (A-1).

The Record carried a front-page story on Thursday, reporting on the supposed significance of the Iowa trip. 

Unfortunately, The New York Times story on Christie's trip to Iowa appeared on Wednesday.

How long has The Record been covering a presidential election that is still more than two years away?

Clinton v. Christie?

Former first lady and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton looks radiant in a photo on the Local front today (L-1).

I can't wait for her to declare and beat the crap out of Christie or any other GOP candidate for the White House.

More corrections

The reporting and editing staffs continue to struggle with getting things right, and they seemed to have caught a flu from Cichowski, who likely has set a record for inaccuracies by a single reporter.

Thursday's A-2 had an elaborate correction and a detailed clarification. Today's A-2 carries another correction.

Tuesday's paper had two corrections and Wednesday's single correction was even longer.

Liz Houlton, the six-figure production editor, apparently isn't doing her job. Why is she still employed there?

For carnivores

Non-meat eaters can only hope they'll find vegetarian dishes at Sapphire Thai Food Express in Teaneck (BL-14).

There is no mention of them in Elisa Ung's favorable review today, even though Thai menus usually list many salads, tofu, vegetable and other non-meat dishes.

More bad news for procrastinators, speeders

Sharp stones I assembled and other debris thrown off when potholes aren't repaired can damage tires, above and below. These photos were taken on Euclid Avenue in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

The Record's front page today brings us another tale of woe on how the federal health-care Web site crashed as thousands of procrastinators rushed to meet Monday's enrollment deadline.

The Woodland Park daily continues to hide the role of Governor Christie and conservative governors in 35 other states who refused to set up state Web sites, ensuring failure of the overburdened federal site (A-1).

How many of the people who waited until Monday to enroll for coverage under the Affordable Care Act
believed Republican propaganda about expensive policies? Today's story doesn't say.

Bad caption

The big photo on Page 1 today includes a poorly written caption.

The photo shows "a full waiting room of the Englewood Recreation Center" and as you'd expect in a waiting room, people were "waiting to sign up" for health care, according to the caption.

Waste of space

Why does Editor Marty Gottlieb think Staff Writer Charles Stile has to write a column to interpret Christie's every statement or action, as if readers can't see through the GOP bully's mean-spirited politics?

Today's piece channels Christie's alleged desire to reform the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (A-1).

Commuters don't need separate transportation agencies in each state. They need one agency to run and expand mass transit, and another to operate and maintain the crossings that collect tolls from drivers.

Bad news for speeders

The Local front today delivers bad news for speeders caught by red-light cameras and good news for property taxpayers who are hoping their towns get lots of revenue from violators (L-1).

In an interim report, state transportation officials continue to endorse the use of red-light cameras to cut down on intersection crashes, deaths and injuries.

Without explanation, Road Warrior John Cichowski says the report was given to Christie's office "last spring" and was released on Friday -- a year later (L-1).

New Jersey is years behind New York City, which has had red-light cameras for years and is installing speeding cameras near schools.

More bad writing 

Another badly written photo caption appears on L-1 today under a photo of cars in a Hackensack tow lot.

Staff Writer Hannan Adely reports the city is evicting Polifly Towing for not paying rent on city owned land for more than a decade -- apparently in an arrangement with the Zisa-allied City Council that was thrown out of office last year.

The caption says Polifly Towing has been using a Green Street lot "across the street from their business [italics added]" (L-1). 

Is six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton, who is supposed to catch this and other stupid errors, on vacation again?

Christie, editors oppose direct sales of electric car

On Friday around 4 p.m., this is what rush hour looks like on River Street in Hackensack, where the lack of turn lanes causes even more congestion, frays drivers' nerves, wastes gasoline and aggravates air pollution. Despite a relentless focus on driving, The Record continues to ignore Bergen County's antiquated road system.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie is no fan of Tesla, the maker of revolutionary all-electric sedans whose direct sales in New Jersey are being blocked by car dealers and state bureaucrats.

And that's OK with The Record's editors, whose mistake-filled coverage of the controversy has been pretty routine.

They haven't bothered to take an editorial position on the controversy or get comment from the GOP bully.

Ad revenue is king

That's no surprise, given all the advertising revenue the Woodland Park daily receives from members of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers, a powerful lobbying group.

The editors -- and the wealthy Borg publishing family -- are not about to bite the hand that feeds them. That's why it's called the "journalism business." 

Really, car dealers are hated by just about everyone. Their reputation is even lower than some of the reporters and editors at The Record.

Why pad price?

The Tesla Model S is expensive enough. Why make them pricier by allowing dealers to mark them up and sell them as deceptively as they do ordinary cars?

Today, no editorial on Tesla appears in the paper, but two letters to the editor support the electric-car maker.

One, from the New Jersey Sierra Club, accuses the Christie administration of siding "with 'Big Oil' and the Koch Brothers over innovation and clean technology," and hurting the New Jersey economy and environment (O-3).

A letter from David Brown of Wyckoff says "New Jersey's regulations on car sales seem archaic, especially in today's direct sales environment" (O-3).

"This is one more example why New Jersey ranked 32nd in Forbes Magazine's 2013 Best States for Business survey," Brown writes.

The photo caption with today's letters says the Model S shown costs $91,000, but a story on Saturday reported "Tesla cars sell for about $60,000 each," and a previous story ran two photos of a discontinued Tesla roadster.

Today's paper

What a front page.

Columnist Mike Kelly rehashes the criminal career of murderer Charles Williams, who hid his past until he was arrested a couple of weeks ago in a drug sweep in Hackensack (A-1). 

An "ANALYSIS" breathlessly reports the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey "works under its own set of rules," according to the ho-hum headline (A-1).

A third story -- on belated oversight of the state's dysfunctional electric utilities -- is notable for a rare byline, Staff Writer Jean Rimbach, likely the least productive reporter on the entire staff (A-1).

Cheering speeders

On the Local front, Road Warrior John Cichowski again goes to bat for drivers who run red lights, carefully omitting that most of those caught by cameras are speeders who think nothing of killing or maiming law-abiding motorists (L-1).

Cichowski regurgitates the hysterical argument of critics that red-light cameras are an "invasion of privacy."

Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza needed another non-fatal accident photo to fill out the thin local-news report today.

But the caption doesn't say whether Chinese restaurant syndrome caused by the kitchen's use of MSG triggered the crash into Ridgewood China King (L-2).

Saturday's L-2 also carried a non-fatal accident photo with a caption that provides little information about what caused a Fair Lawn collision.


N.J. nightmare

On Saturday's front page, The Record ran another long story about the American Dream retail-entertainment complex in the Meadowlands without telling readers what they want to know most.

When will that behemoth off the turnpike get a new paint job?

The story reported the site has been idle since 2009, but that Christie has championed the complex as "an engine for economic development."

No wonder New Jersey is in such sad economic shape.

Playing doctor, greedy homeowners, bad journalism

The George Washington Bridge as photographed through a tinted windshield.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Today's Page 1 story about an anesthesiologist who performed spine surgery goes on and on in the tradition of Editor Marty Gottlieb, who brought to The Record his former paper's practice of writing incredibly long stories.

Here, more than two full pages of the paper are devoted to Dr. Richard Kaul and the cases of 11 North Jersey patients he operated on (A-1, A-10 and A-11).

24/7 phone line

Maybe medical writer Lindy Washburn should be exploring whether the 24/7 phone number for getting insurance under the Affordable Care Act (1-800-318-2596) is working better than the federal Web site.

Instead, Gottlieb is running another negative story about President Obama's "legacy" -- this one from McClatchy Newspapers (A-1).

In a couple of years, when tens of millions of uninsured Americans are covered for the first time -- easing the burden of emergency room care on taxpayers -- no one will remember all of these roll-out glitches.

Football greed

If you lose interest in the "pain doctor" story -- as I did after just a few paragraphs and a glance at the continuation pages, wondering what relevance it has to me -- you can shake your head over greedy homeowners who are charging out-of-town football fans as much as $10,000 a night during the Super Toilet Bowl in February.

Let's hope that Bobby Adamo's North Arlington home, which will cost $30,000 for a week, is trashed by the bunch of slobs he will be exploiting (A-1).

Is The Record trying to say there are no municipal regulations that bar renting out your house to people you aren't related to?

And what about the liability homeowners face, if one of the fans consumes too much alcohol at dinner and mows down a neighbor?

And that's it for Page 1 of  the Woodland Park daily. Another disappointing Sunday edition. But there's more.

Despite all of  the errors in Saturday's Record, no corrections appear on A-2 today.

Seeing red

On the Local front today, the Road Warrior column is the latest attempt to demonize red-light cameras (L-1).

Staff Writer John Cichowski, aka The Addled Commuter, doesn't tell readers the cameras are the last line of defense against speeders -- those lead-footed drivers who believe they have a constitutional right to go as fast as they want to and, in the process, maim or kill pedestrians and other drivers.

But driving is a privilege, not a right, and the cameras surely will proliferate amid a dramatic decline in traffic enforcement, bringing towns sorely needed revenue as property taxes continue to climb.

We'll all be safer when hundreds of red-light cameras are in use around North Jersey.

Top of his game

A far better read is Staff Writer Jay Levin's masterful portrayal of Michael Oprihory, a former Elmwood Park police lieutenant who died on Nov. 3 at 89 (L-1).

Read that first paragraph, and ask yourself why the drivel from Cichowski and The Record's other columnists, most of whom can't put together a coherent sentence, get so much better play than Levin's local obituaries.

Word pusher

Wow. Mike Kelly attended President John F. Kennedy's funeral 50 years ago, and here he is today, complete with his dated column photo and shit-eating grin, to bore readers with his recollections (O-1).

Zisa family

An editorial endorses Governor Christie attempt to end payouts for unused sick and vacation time, including the $4.7 million Hackensack had to fork over to public workers in 2010 (O-2).

A photo of the city's famously corrupt former police chief and state assemblyman, Ken "I Am The Law" Zisa, appears with the editorial.

Imagine if the sports-obsessed Record paid as much attention to Hackensack during the many years the Zisa family ran the city and sucked it dry.

From hunger

In Travel, a story about Vancouver's natural splendors ignores its reputation for culinary splendors and dining out, one of the joys of exploring the world (T-1).

And the 2014 Dine Out Guide is mislabeled "a reader's guide," when it should be called an "advertiser's guide."

Dozens of North Jersey restaurants are missing, presumably in retaliation for not advertising in the guide.

Booker's color -- not sports -- shaped who he is

Creative zoning in Hackensack. You can barely fit a dozen gorditas between a Mexican restaurant and a home on East Broadway, above. Churchgoers can have their oil changed while they're praising the Lord, below.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

A young, smiling Cory Booker appears on the front page of The Record today -- a perfect example of America's growing diversity.

What's all this nonsense about Booker being molded by "North Jersey's gridirons"?

I guess Editor Marty Gottlieb doesn't want to shove Booker's color down the throats of the many racists who read The Record.

The Democratic Newark mayor and U.S. Senate candidate stands for all the liberal values rejected by Governor Christie and Booker's opponent, Tea Party crackpot Steve Lonegan.

Booker's real weakness is personal ambition. He should have taken on Christie in the gubernatorial election and sent the GOP bully packing.

Dated photo

Another smile appears on Page 1 today -- the shit-eating grin of Columnist Mike Kelly, whose dated, unflattering photo also appears a second time on the Opinion front (O-1).

Two Kelly columns in one edition. Thousands of readers are smacking their foreheads in disbelief.

When I saw an updated thumbnail photo of staffer Ginny Rohan last week, I thought that meant the editors would be updating photos of Kelly and others.

No such luck.

GOP vetoes

At the bottom of Page 1 today, a story on the liberal use of vetoes by Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan reminds readers of another Republican who loves to veto, Christie.

When are we going to see that story, giving a lie to Christie's portrayal of himself as a great compromiser?

Two of his mean-spirited vetoes killed a hike in the minimum wage and a tax surcharge on millionaires that could have raised an estimated $1 billion.

Law breakers

On the front of Local, Road Warrior John Cichowski again demonizes red-light cameras, calling them "the modern-day equivalent of highway robbery" (L-1).

How irresponsible can Cichowski get?

Of course, The Addled Commuter hides the fact that most red-light violators are speeders, and that speeding is the leading cause of crash deaths and injuries.

Many sane drivers wish there were red-light cameras at every intersection, and can't wait for the authorities to install cameras to catch speeders, tailgaters and other maniacs on the parkway and turnpike, too.

The Borg family might even want to install cameras in the Woodland Park newsroom to catch staffers whose bylines are as rare as a blue moon.

Crappy food corner

Check out The Corner Table column on the front of Better Living today, glorifying a food truck in Englewood that sells low-quality Sabrett beef hot dogs pumped full of harmful antibiotics, growth hormones and preservatives (BL-1).

Staff Writer Elisa Ung is the fine-dining restaurant reviewer, but she could care less about how the food she promotes is raised or grown, and simply can't resist all the junk out there.

Hot dog "entrepreneur" Rosario D'Rivera calls her truck "Rosie's Weenie Wagon," a weird sexual image from a woman.

Ung turns today's column into a profile of D'Rivera, and we even learn she is the sister of Paquito D'Rivera, the great Cuban jazz saxophonist, but the so-called food journalist tells us nothing about the hot dogs.

You say you don't eat meat? Go to hell, Ung says.

Crossing a line

A freelance reporter for AIM Vernon, one of the many weeklies published by North Jersey Media Group, was fired after she spoke up at a Township Council meeting she was covering.

Mary Ellen Vichiconti, 60, ran for council in 2008, 2009 and 2011, according to Editor & Publisher.

Click on the following link to read the entire E&P story:

A Matter of Principles

When I was a reporter at The Record, I recall reading the newspaper's policy barring staffers from running for public office or engaging in politics.

Is that policy still in effect? Does it apply to freelancers?

Why are we letting drivers get away with murder?

The new Hackensack City Council is meeting tonight at 7 on the 3rd Floor of City Hall at Central Avenue and State Street.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The centerpiece on the front page of The Record today is a familiar story -- one I've probably read 100 times in newspapers or seen on TV news:

A car runs down and kills a pedestrian, but the driver tells police he "didn't see" the victim.

He wasn't speeding and didn't break any other traffic laws.

And the police say he didn't appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, so no charges are filed.

Life is worth little 

Look how cheap life is in North Jersey.

Emil Sous -- a North Haledon man whose 17-year-old daughter Michelle was killed in just this way -- is seeking mandatory drug and alcohol tests for all pedestrians and drivers involved in fatal accidents (A-1).

But why stop there?

Why haven't police and prosecutors long ago called on lawmakers to pass a law that would criminalize the actions of a driver who was so negligent that he took a human life?

The Sous family undoubtedly will file a lawsuit against Steven Timpone, 24, the driver of the pickup that killed Michelle in front of their home.

But the damages they win won't bring Timpone and drivers like him to justice. He probably won't even lose his license.

Paper is at fault

I have never seen an editorial in The Record calling for stiffer laws that would, in effect, charge a driver who killed a pedestrian with criminal negligence.

In fact, Staff Writer John Cichowski's Road Warrior column has criticized red-light cameras and other measures intended to catch and penalize speeding drivers.

Through laziness or sheer incompetence, the Road Warrior has championed readers who treat driving like a blood sport. 

Speeding kills

In two recent columns, Cichowski allowed lead-footed drivers to attack and denigrate so-called road hogs, who obey the speed limit.

I guess Cichowski doesn't know or doesn't care that speeding is the cause of most accidents and red-light violations.

Doesn't compute

In today's Local news section, a police brief raised a question that it never answered:

What were two 18-year-olds doing driving a Range Rover, and why did one of them have a $10,000 Rolex watch (L-8)?

Heart healthy

Readers of Better Living are accustomed to reading recipes oozing with butter and heavy cream or sizzling with bacon.

So today's feature story on Gary Oppenheimer of West Milford -- "Hunger Fighter" -- is a welcome relief (BL-1).

Oppenheimer actually served Staff Writer Sachi Fujimori a salad from his own garden. 

What a concept: Healthy food.

 

 

What the Hackensack reporter missed last night

A homeless man complained about wild dogs to Hackensack City Manager Stephen Lo Iocano, left, and City Council members during the public portion of Tuesday night's meeting.

Hannan Adely, The Record reporter assigned to Hackensack, was nowhere to be seen on Tuesday night, when the City Council approved the first step in the redevelopment of Main Street.

Did she cover the council meeting in Hackensack, Minn., a vacation paradise in the heart of 10,000 lakes?

In answer to questions from a resident, Zisaville City Manager Stephen Lo Iocano said the city budget was supposed to be introduced on Tuesday night, but would be delayed until the next meeting. 

He declined to say whether the property tax rate  would be going up.

The Record's property

Lo Iocano said city officials have had discussions with North Jersey Media Group about what will replace The Record's landmark building on River Street, but he wasn't at liberty to reveal them.

But he said the building has been "decommissioned" and will be torn down. There have long been rumors that a Walmart would go up on about 20 NJMG acres.

Council candidates

Scott Young and other members of Hackensack Citizens for Open Government -- candidates in the May City Council election -- were in the audience, and appeared to be attending their first council meeting.

Before the meeting started, they exchanged information about their favorite sandwich and empanada shops, instead of discussing ordinances and resolutions.

It remains to be seen how "open" this slate of 5 will be. 

They are backed by the same Democratic Party officials who were the power behind Ken Zisa, the former police chief and ex-state assemblyman who was convicted of official misconduct and insurance fraud last May.

In Hackensack, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Labrosse's wife 

During the public portion of the meeting, the wife of Councilman John Labrosse and another woman harangued city officials about astronomical legal bills, but Laborsse remained silent on that issue.

Later, Labrosse, the only incumbent seeking a second term, praised the city's sports teams.

Officials say the city is evaluating new Dodge Charger Pursuit police cars with both V-6 and V-8 engines before deciding which will replace the V-8 powered Ford Crown Victoria, rear.

Padilla payout

The council approved the payment of several accounts, which were listed without details, including $173,329.61 described as "payroll."

The city manager said that is the retirement package for Tomas Padilla, the police captain who served as interim chief after Zisa was suspended without pay.

But it turned out that at the last meeting, the council approved another package of about $240,000, then described as Padilla's package.  

I did see the reporter for the Hackensack Chronicle at the meeting, so residents might eventually learn what took place.

Today's paper

The best story on Page 1 today is the obituary of Muriel Bachant of Bergenfield, the mother of triplets, whose husband was killed during World War II before he met his daughters.

Governor Christie is howling after The Record uncovered nearly $1 million in contributions from North Jersey-based companies to the Christie-boosting Republican Governors Association (A-1).

Gas-guzzling news

Drivers of SUVs and other gas guzzlers are howling about the rising price of gas, while drivers of hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles are laughing as they drive past gas stations (A-1).

Hybrid drivers get a second break -- toll discounts with a Green E-ZPass.

Red-eyed columnist

Road Warrior John Cichowski continues his campaign against red-light cameras by slamming extra revenue for towns as "greed."  

He calls lead-footed drivers who blow through red lights "unwilling donors" of that revenue, when he should be condemning them as road menaces who injure and kill law-abiding drivers.

Cichowski and other morons need to recognize that dysfunctional home-rule towns desperately need the revenue from red-light cameras.

I wish there were a dozen red-light cameras in Hackensack -- with the revenue from them dedicated to property tax relief.