Did I miss the part on property taxes?

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Did you know Governor Christie made 88 campaign promises, as reported today all over the front page of The Record of Woodland Park? Only 12 of them -- about one-seventh -- are addressed in a story on how well he has kept those pledges, but I don't see anything about his promise to cut property taxes. He did promise to cut that levy, didn't he?


This is one thin Sunday paper. After I shuffled through the sections and recycled those of little or no interest to me, I was left with the main news section and Local, a total of 18 pages. Travel was a throwaway. The Business front featured perks for workers at small companies in New Jersey, without betraying how poorly employees are treated at North Jersey Media Group, owner of The Record and Herald News, and many weekly newspapers.

Under the leadership of Publisher Stephen A. Borg and big sister Jennifer A. Borg, who is NJMG vice president and general counsel, the popular Food section has been folded, dozens of veteran workers have been shown the door, salaries and severance have been cut, newsroom productivity has plummeted, retirees have faced benefit cuts and highly profitable commercial printing has been jettisoned (leading to the layoff of 55 press workers).

Local has no news from Hackensack, Teaneck and Englewood or a bunch of other towns, but there is a roundup leading the section on residents' anxiety over property tax hikes this year and next. Gee, how come there was no refer from the A-1 Christie story, the one that omits any mention of his promise to cut those taxes? 


At least the roundup story finally tells me and other Hackensack readers we will be paying "around 7 percent" more in property taxes, double the projected hike in Englewood. Staff Writer Monsy Alvarado, who is assigned to Hackensack, hasn't written a word about the city budget or tax hike, under orders from head Assignment Editor Deirdre "Mother Hen" Sykes, whose grand plan for local news is not to cover it.


Also on L-1, Road Warrior John Cichowski apparently comes out against vision and road tests for older drivers, based on statistics showing drivers over 65 rank last among those killed in crashes from 2004 to 2008. Ah, but where are the statistics on how many people older drivers kill? 

Did he leave them out, because they would have weakened his argument? On the continuation page, there is a photo and story about an 89-year-old driver who plowed into a vacant storefront while trying to parallel park.


You can find a far more reasoned approach to the issue on Cliffview Pilot.com, where former Breaking News Editor Jerry DeMarco urges testing of drivers 65 and over:


Test elderly drivers before someone is killed

(Photo: Hackensack River as seen from Teaneck.)