Does any of this really affect me?

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 This post was published originally
on Wednesday, July 21, 2010.

The post for Friday, July 23, 2010, follows this one.

When I freed The Record of Woodland Park from its plastic bag today and opened it, I was hit by this huge element on Page 1, and wondered, What's this all about? There was a big, black headline, tons of text, photos, charts, lists and so forth on A-1 and inside -- but it was a lot of heat and not much light.


When do we get to the part where Governor Christie lowers property taxes, the main plank of his successful campaign for office? What's all of this stuff in the main head about taking "a gamble on gambling overhaul" -- does any of that affect me or tens of thousands of other North Jersey residents?

The  headline's over line heralds "bold ideas." Does this mean the paper is solidly behind the proposal, and couldn't wait for the nicety of saying so in an editorial?

Indeed, is this package of stories so many trial balloons lofted by Christie with the eager, unquestioning help of editors like Frank "Castrato" Scandale and Deirdre "Mother Hen" Sykes, and reporters like John Brennan, who is not exactly the brightest bulb in the newsroom.

The former Hackensack daily once ran "What It Means" boxes with complicated stories. Today's package sorely needed one, especially because of the involvement of Brennan, a former sports writer who loves to talk up his stories and who never learned the line between promotion and journalism.

I plowed through one story on the continuation page (A-10) and learned Atlantic City would get a bigger share of casino revenue than before, which sounds good if that money helps improve neighborhoods outside the casino district. And a chart says a couple of state authorities would be eliminated. I do know a couple of news and copy editors in Woodland Park are worried about the future of the Meadowlands racetrack.


So would my property taxes go down? I don't have a clue. So far, Christie has given a huge tax break to the Borgs and other millionaires, and more tax breaks to wealthy small-business people, all with the unqualified support of Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin. Meanwhile, the Big Guy has screwed just about everyone else -- from mass transit users to seniors. And have you noticed recent stories reporting how Republicans are raising more funds? The rich folks are already paying Christie back.


There isn't much news in the rest of today's paper. NJ Transit received 25,000 complaints about bus drivers in 2008 and 2009, but that isn't enough to get Road Warrior John Cichowski out of the office to speak with the mass-transit commuters he is supposed to be writing about.


Staff Writer Monsy Alvarado has an L-1 follow on the parking-garage collapse in Hackensack, where she is assigned. This fifth day of coverage equals the longest, unbroken string of stories about the city in a few years, during which Alvarado pursued Police Chief Ken Zisa almost exclusively and before that ex-lawman Michael Mordaga.


Inside Local, not one but two overturned vehicle photos and stories take up precious space that should be occupied by municipal news of Englewood, Teaneck, Hackensack and other towns, but I guess there was none. Staff Photographer Tariq Zehawi seems to specialize in this genre. And on the sixth day of oppressive heat and humidity, Sykes says once again that a weather story is beneath her and her staff. 


Mother Hen clucks: "Do you really expect my reporting chicks to leave the office on a day like this? It's too hot for their feathers."

(Photo: Atlantic City in 2007.)

The post for Friday, July 23, 2010, is below.