Speed camera would have saved Waldwick officer

Speeding is a problem all over North Jersey, but not on Passaic Street and Summit Avenue in Hackensack, above, where traffic doesn't move even when the light is green. With no turn lanes on Passaic, drivers must cool their heels behind others waiting for a break in oncoming traffic.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record and other media love to write about conflict, such as the so-called debate over speed cameras that would prevent putting police officers like Christopher Goodell in harm's way.

Early Thursday, Goodell, 32, was on radar patrol in an unmarked Waldwick cruiser parked on the side of Route 17 south, a speeding and drunken-driving checkpoint he had manned many times before with much success.

Then, a tractor-trailer driven by Ryon Cumberbatch "crossed the shoulder and didn't try to stop in any way" before smashing into the cruiser and killing the officer, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli says.

Speeding truck?

Molinelli hasn't said whether the trucker was speeding. He is charged with second-degree vehicular homicide.

And The Record has made no attempt to find out from other sources if the radar device Goodell was using registered the vehicle's speed or if a device in the Freightliner 18-wheeler itself measured its speed before the crash.

Cumberbatch worked for J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc., which the paper describes as "an international trucking company" based in Lowell, Ark., with four fatal New Jersey crashes in 2011 and 2012.

Stupid editorial

Today, an editorial notes Waldwick's "radar patrol fatality" raises questions (A-13).

The writer appears to be measuring his or her words, seemingly afraid of stating flatly that a speed camera would have saved the life of a cop who survived the Iraq war only to die in a meaningless way on the side of a suburban highway.

Deep in the editorial, the unidentified writer raises a "third, though relative question [that] concerns the effectiveness of traffic cameras, and whether they might be a safer alternative to having law enforcement officers sit on the shoulder of a road, especially a well-traveled one notorious for speeders, like the area where Goodell was struck."

No study needed

If this kind of wishy-washy editorial writing isn't enough, the writer goes on to say the "issue of traffic cameras is one that should be discussed, community to community, and will no doubt vary depending on developing traffic patterns and a particular town's relative manpower."

What B.S.

The Woodland Park daily should urge Molinelli, the prosecutor, to use some of the money confiscated from criminals or fines from drivers convicted of driving drunk or speeding to purchase speed cameras for towns such was Waldwick that have to expose officers to the dangers of such patrols.

Page 1

The front-page today is two-dimensional: international crises (Gaza and Ukraine), and communities mourning dead police officers (Jersey City and Waldwick).

Columnist Mike Kelly is still using a dated, unflattering thumbnail photo complete with shit-eating grin (A-1).

If that doesn't stop you, be sure to read all the way through his overlong column on how the execution of Jersey City Police Officer Melvin Santiago reveals the "dilemma" of a city divided "between rich and poor" (A-6).

Food follies

On the Better Living cover, Staff Writer Sachi Fujimori falls into a trap when she asks in her lead paragraph on grilling:

"Who doesn't love a juicy burger with hatched grill marks or Jersey corn on the cob lightly buttered and sweetly charred?"

The answer: Tens of thousands of readers watching their cholesterol and intake of harmful animal antibiotics, and others who don't eat meat. 

(201) magazine

Being white and wealthy is good, (201) magazine tells us on nearly every page.

The cover of the July 2014 issue shows Demarest's Nicole Dickstein, who is celebrated for her "breezy bohemian style," presumably a reference to her being barefoot in the photo.

But if you bother to read the text inside, with photos of Dickstein and the many products she endorses, you find out she is a "self-proclaimed shoe addict" who would "like to live in heels" (Pages 78-79).

Hippie v. sexy

A pop-out quote on Page 78 notes: 

"I have an inner debate of being a hippie and wearing boho-style clothing versus wanting to dress modern with a sexy twist."

Sloppy editing

Another feature reports on the success of backup singer Cindy Mizelle, who was born in Englewood, one of the few African-Americans in the issue (Pages 56-58).

Did anyone edit the story, which is filled with problems?

For readers who can't do the arithmetic, the writer notes Mizelle has had a "flourishing decades-long professional career since the 1980s."

Opera legend Luciano Pavarotti is identified as one of the "musicians" her longtime colleague worked with.

"Strong work ethic" comes out "strong worth ethic," and the words "home home" appear in a photo caption.

Ridgewood News

A feature on the Ridgewood News, another North Jersey Media Group publication, shows front pages from 1892 to 1970, but two of them read:

"The Weekly Ridgewood Herald (1900) and Ridgewood Herald-News (1964), though I didn't see any mention in the text of the Herald name (Pages 60-63).

If you want a good laugh, read the awkwardly written "review" of Pier 115 Bar & Grill in Edgewater by Ryan Greene, who was dining editor/editorial assistant until June (Page 111).