Every 4 years, nation's news media whip voters into a frenzy

From cartoonist Bill Day.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record continues to ignore the issues at stake in Tuesday's election, joining other news media in declaring a horse race between GOP wacko Donald J. Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

Today's trite Page 1 headline over photos of the nominees declares:

"Fighting to the finish"

So, what will Monday's A-1 headline say?

"Still fighting to the finish"

On Friday night, satirist Bill Maher warned the election of Trump would set into motion a right-wing coup with Chris Christie as attorney general and Rudy Giuliani in charge of the FBI.

For a frightening glimpse of a Dictator Trump's first 100 days in office, see The Washington Post's Dana Milbank, whose column is buried on O-4 in The Record's Opinion section:

"Among things you can expect:

"A trade war with China and Mexico, a restarting of Iran's nuclear program, millions losing their health insurance, the start of mass deportations, a possible military standoff with China in the South China Sea and North Korea, resumption of waterboarding, the use of federal agencies to go after Hillary Clinton and other Trump critics, the spectacle of the commander in chief suing women who have accused him of sexual misconduct ....

"Oh, and the Federal Reserve would be audited and guns would once again be allowed in schools."

Bridgegate verdict

Incredibly repetitious coverage of the Bridgegate scandal continues unabated two days after a federal jury found Governor Christie's former aides, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, guilty of conspiracy and related charges (A-1, A-11, L-1, O-1 and O-2).

The Page 1 story tries hard to keep readers interested in the possibility the verdicts in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures won't stand:

"Defense

lawyers

eager to

appeal"

But anyone who bothers to turn to the continuation page learns appeals aren't filed until after Kelly and Baroni are sentenced, which is set for Feb. 21.

In fact, one expert is quoted as saying "an appeal could be filed by April" (A-11).

So much for "eager" defense attorneys.

Dogs enjoyed the crisp fall air by putting their heads out of the windows of this van, which I spotted in Teaneck on Friday.

Local news?

The Gannett-owned daily is just getting around to printing the names of candidates in local and county elections, but in the majority of contests, reporters and editors never actually covered the campaigns or informed voters about the issues (L-2 and L-3).

Idiotic headline caps repetitious Bridgegate trial coverage

From Blue Jersey.com, where the motto is, "All the news that slips from print."

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In covering the long Bridgegate trial and especially in providing a peak inside the emotional jury deliberations, The Record's reporters deserve an "A" for effort.

But who are the moronic editors responsible for writing and approving today's Page 1 banner headline?

"Time to pay the toll"

Even the over line -- TWO MORE GUILTY IN BRIDGEGATE SCANDAL -- stopped readers who have been following the case for years.

Then, they realized the reference was to former Port Authority executive David Wildstein, the government's star witness, who pleaded guilty to the conspiracy 18 months ago, and testified against defendants Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, who were found guilty on Friday (A-1).

February sentencing

With sentencing set for Feb. 21, followed by appeals that could delay any prison time for up to 2 years, what could today's ridiculous headline possibly be referring to?

Instead of crafting a headline that has readers' eyes rolling, the editors should have assigned a reporter to look into federal sentencing guidelines, and answer a question many are asking:

Does U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton have to send Kelly, 44, a mother of four and Governor Christie's former deputy chief of staff, to prison or can she place her on probation and order her to pay a fine and perform community service?

Today's front page is dominated by a large photo of Kelly "sobbing on the shoulder of her lawyer, Michael Critchley, who promised to appeal her conviction" (A-1).

Missing angle

Despite the incredibly repetitious coverage that began several days before jury selection in September and continues today, one angle that no one at The Record has covered is whether legal fees have bankrupted Kelly and Baroni, and who will bankroll the long appeals process.

On Thursday, WNYC-FM reported the law firm that issued a taxpayer-funded whitewash of Christie's role in the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September 2013 submitted legal bills for nearly every day of the trial -- said to total nearly $1 million.

The report also noted 28 attorneys at the Gibson Dunn & Crutcher law firm contributed to Christie's doomed presidential campaign.

The firm's bills from January 2014, when the scandal broke, through the beginning of October bring the total cost for Gibson Dunn and a digital forensic subcontractor to nearly $11.3 million, the public radio station reported.

When legal fees at the Port Authority, Fort Lee, the state Legislature and for state employees subpoenaed in the matter are included, taxpayers and toll payers are on the hook, so far, for $14.6 million, Matt Katz of WNYC-FM reported.

'Christie's criminals'

Today's editorial -- "Christie's criminals" -- notes four of the governor's top aides "are now guilty of federal crimes" (A-11).

"As a gubernatorial candidate in 2009, Chris Christie promised he would run an ethical administration.... We question how he can continue in elected office. We question how the people of New Jersey can have any faith is his appointees and staff."

Yet, the Woodland Park daily's editorial board remains alone among major New Jersey newspapers by not calling on Christie to resign, as The Star-Ledger and six others did when he endorsed wacko racist Donald J. Trump's White House run in February.

Overfed critic

Who does Staff Writer Elisa Ung, the paper's chief restaurant critic, have in mind when she raves that the banana split tart ($9) served at City Perch, an expensive new restaurant in Fort Lee, "will blow you away"?

"It's dressed up too much here, but dig past the chocolate pearls, sauces and enormous sprinkle cookie on top and you'll find a sublime banana tart atop a Linzer cookie ...," the food archaeologist moans with pleasure.

"Blow you away"? 

"Kill you" might be closer to the truth. 

Ignores readers

After more than a decade of reviewing restaurants for The Record's print edition, this dessert-obsessed reporter on an expense account apparently doesn't realize or simply ignores that most of her readers are older -- much older.

She could care less they are watching their weight, their cholesterol, their blood pressure; and their intake of salt, sugar and artery clogging food.

In her lukewarm review, many of the City Perch dishes she liked contain land mines for her older audience:

Cornbread "gilded" with whipped goat cheese, a kale salad with "crispy bits" of Genoa salami and ricotta, a waffle topped with creme fraiche, a $14 hamburger made from mystery ground beef, and a pizza with three cheese and a fontina bechamel.

Appeals could keep Bridgegate pair out of prison for 2 years

Bridgegate defendants Bridget Anne Kelly, left, and Bill Baroni, both former allies of Governor Christie, were found guilty on all counts today (Credit: Thomas Bryan/Getty Images).

Editor's note: This post has been revised and greatly expanded.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We're nowhere near having heard the last about Bridget Anne Kelly, Bill Baroni, Governor Christie and the infamous George Washington Bridge lane closures in 2013.

After a federal jury in Newark found Kelly and Baroni guilty of all charges this morning, sentencing was set for Feb. 21.

Appeals of the verdicts and sentences are certainties.

That means Christie's former deputy chief of staff, as well as his top executive appointee at the Port Authority, owner and operator of the bridge, may be able to stay out of prison for up to 2 years.

So, David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty and became the government's star witness against Kelly and Baroni, likely will be going to prison before them.

Damning email

Kelly, a divorced mother of four, testified in her own defense, but was never able to explain away the email she sent to Wildstein about a month before he put the lane closures into motion on Sept. 9, 2013, causing five mornings of gridlock:

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

"Got it," replied Wildstein, who was Baroni's deputy at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a notorious patronage mill for the governors of the two states.

What everyone referred to as a "traffic study" was actually a bizarre scheme designed to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for refusing to endorse Christie's re-election in November 2013.

The defendants were each charged with seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud, including misusing the resources of the bi-state transportation agency and violating the rights of the citizens of Fort Lee to travel without restriction.

The most serious charge is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Christie's role

Kelly and other witnesses testified that Christie knew about the lane closures as they were happening, despite his repeated denials.

Wildstein testified that his every official action at the Port Authority was designed to please only "one constituent" -- Christie.

Wildstein also said he told the governor about the scheme at a Sept. 11, 2013, memorial service. Kelly said she received the governor's approval before she sent the "Time for some traffic problems" email.

Unindicted?

The governor was never charged and wasn't called to testify under oath, although he was found guilty in the court of public opinion years ago.

And federal prosecutors never revealed the list of unindicted co-conspirators in the case.

"The lane-closing scandal was the biggest political corruption case in New Jersey in years, riveting a state that has a long history of official malfeasance," The New York Times is reporting.

"It crippled ... Christie's presidential candidacy this year and left him deeply unpopular among his constituents.

In the six-week trial in Newark federal court, "the prosecution and defense both portrayed the Christie administration as a relentlessly political operation in the service of a fiery-tempered and ambitious governor," according to The Times.

"Aides began using government resources to seek political endorsements" in 2010, the year the GOP bully took office, "with an eye to winning not just a broad re-election victory, but also the presidential race six years away."

Today's paper

The guilty verdicts were returned before noon today by federal jurors, who like so many of their predecessors didn't want to come back on Saturday to deliberate.

They started going over the evidence and the judge's instructions on the law that governed the charges on Monday.

The Record's front-page story on the trial today focuses not on the possibility of a verdict, but on Thursday's mistrial motions by hysterical attorneys who saw their defense cases sinking.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan D. Wigenton had ruled the jury could find the defendants guilty of conspiracy even if prosecutors didn't prove the motive was to punish Fort Lee's mayor.

Novice reporters

Sadly, the Gannett-owned Woodland Park daily put coverage of one of the biggest trials in decades in the hands Dustin Racioppi and Paul Berger, reporters who had little, if any, experience covering federal criminal cases.

That resulted in an unusually heavy focus on the two defense teams -- headed by Michael Critchley and Michael Baldassare -- which likely have bankrupted the defendants with their endless motions and delaying tactics.

Now, after the pair are sentenced, those same lawyers will be demanding even more money to bankroll appeals and keep Kelly and Baroni out of prison for as long as possible. 

Meanwhile, readers are questioning why Columnist Mike Kelly wrote such a long, flattering profile about Bridget Kelly during the trial, emphasizing her roots in Ramsey, her Catholicism and her four children.

The Record didn't give Baroni anywhere near the same sympathetic treatment.

Bridgegate trial editors forgot to read U.S. Courts handbook

In summing up the government's case at the Bridgegate trial on Friday, a prosecutor called defendants Bridget Anne Kelly, left, and Bill Baroni "loyal lieutenants" of Governor Christie (Credit: Bryan Thomas/Getty Images).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's flawed coverage of the Bridgegate trial in Newark is lurching toward its conclusion next week, when federal jurors are expected to begin their secret deliberations and deliver a verdict.

In reporting on Friday's closing arguments, the main Page 1 headline today presents the defense case first, and is missing a question mark:

"Political
dupes
or loyal
soldiers"

In fact, a federal prosecutor went first, and spent four hours laying out evidence the defendants "shared an intense commitment to the political success of Governor Christie."

"They saw themselves as his loyal lieutenants who were free to use their government jobs to launch political attacks ...," notably the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September 2013, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes said (A-1).

Defendants Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the governor's former top executive appointee at the Port Authority, "never attempted to separate politics from their jobs in public service," Cortes told the jury.

Defense attorney Michael Baldassare called Baroni's accuser and former subordinate David Wildstein "a serial liar." Kelly's attorney is set to sum up on Monday.

Uncorrected error

In today's Bridgegate trial story, Staff Writer Paul Berger steers clear of a major error on Friday, when The Record reported the judge has already instructed the jury on the law, even though that is the last step before they start their deliberations.

And no correction appears on A-2 today.

The two reporters who have been covering the trial, Berger and Dustin Racioppi, and their editors apparently forgot to read the "Handbook for Trial Jurors Serving in the United States District Courts," which lays out how a federal criminal trial proceeds.

Page 8 notes the judge's instructions or "the charge to the jury" comes after closing arguments, not before.

"The charge ... is much more than a statement of the rules of law. Sometimes it may contain a summary of the facts or some of the facts.

"The judge may point out and may also explain basic facts in dispute, and facts that do not actually matter in the case."

Bad news for Christie

At least three witnesses testified under oath that Christie knew about the lane closures in Fort Lee, despite his repeated denials.

But that's not why he looks so unhappy in a Page 1 photo today from a Seaside Heights bar, where people who are not back in their homes four years after Superstorm Sandy rained on his progress report.

3-star crap

Staff Writer Elisa Ung continues to lose credibility as a restaurant critic with her rave review of the low-quality smoked pork and artery clogging desserts served at an out-of-state restaurant, Fink's BBQ and Cheesesteak Roadhouse (BL-14 on Friday).

Absent any information to the contrary, readers can only assume the worst, that the pork, meat and poultry served there are raised under horrific conditions and pumped full of antibiotics, which are harmful to humans.

Bridgegate trial testimony so far: Christie, Christie, Christie

The cover of today's New York Post sums up testimony by Bridgegate trial star witness David Wildstein, a crony Governor Christie appointed to a powerful position at the Port Authority, owner and operator of the George Washington Bridge.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Despite Governor Christie's denial -- repeated on Tuesday -- the weight of the evidence in the Bridgegate trial places him at the center of the plot to punish the mayor of Fort Lee in September 2013.

Christie wasn't indicted in the George Washington Bridge lane closures -- five mornings of gridlock designed to retaliate against a Democrat who refused to endorse the GOP thug's re-election.

Still, only his sworn testimony before a federal jury would effectively answer the accusations from prosecutors and David Wildstein, described by The Record today "as the admitted mastermind of the plot" (A-1).

Wildstein pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against two Christie allies who are on trial in Newark, but the judge will consider a reduced sentence only if the former Port official tells the truth.

On Tuesday, Wildstein said he and his boss, defendant Bill Baroni -- then deputy executive director of the Port Authority -- looked forward "to telling Christie of the traffic jam and unheeded pleas for help from their target," Mayor Mark Sokolich (A-1 and A-4).

They did so at the 9/11 ceremony on Sept. 11, 2013, as attested to by a photo of the trio that shows Christie laughing.

Two of three local access lanes to the bridge were shut down from Sept. 9, 2013, the first day of school; to Sept. 13, 2013.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes asked Wildstein if he and Baroni were bragging to the governor.

"Yes," Wildstein testified, "... I was pleasing our one constituent. I was happy that he was happy" (A-4).

Other news?

Usually, Staff Photographer Tariq Zehawi's gee-whiz photos of non-fatal accidents end up on L-3 to fill holes in the local-news report.

But today, his Page 1 photo captured the aftermath of a crash of a large SUV that rolled backward, hit a utility pole and pulled down electric wires -- all of this after a woman parked and got out of the vehicle on Van Schaik Lane in Wyckoff, leaving her 2-year-old son inside.

"The mother did not wish to be identified," the photo caption says of the seemingly irresponsible woman.

Clinton won debate

After not committing to either Democrat Hillary Clinton or Republican Donald J. Trump after their first TV debate, an editorial today says Clinton "commanded" the stage (A-8).

"One candidate prepared to talk about the issues, while the other was prepared to talk about himself."

"Hillary Clinton obviously won Monday's debate in a rout," said NYTimes.com Op-Ed Columnist David Leonhardt.

Local news

In a rare story about Hackensack, Staff Writer John Seasly reports that city officials celebrated the start of construction on a new Performing Arts Center (L-1).

Under that is the obituary of J. Herbert Leverette, 87, a Korean War veteran who was elected Hackensack's first black council member in 1965.

Lies by mayor, PA official pale in comparison to Christie's

Solar-operated trash compactors and large recycling containers popped up this week at several locations inside and outside Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's coverage of the Bridgegate trial has deteriorated into describing the political pissing match between the governors of New York and New Jersey.

Defendants Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelley, former allies of Governor Christie, are accused of closing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 to punish Fort Lee's Democratic mayor for not endorsing reelection of the GOP bully that year.

But the charges against them don't include "playing politics."

The nine-count indictment charges them with conspiracy against civil rights, deprivation of civil rights,  wire fraud and other counts.

Today, Page 1 trial coverage is provided by the reporter who covers the Port Authority, which owns and operates the bridge; a Trenton reporter; and Charles Stile, whose political column often tries to burnish Christie's image.

What experience they have covering criminal trials isn't known.

Much of today's coverage focuses on Christie and two prosecution witnesses -- the mayor of Fort Lee, and the executive director of the Port Authority, none of whom are on trial.

Feared Christie

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich testified on Wednesday he lied when he denied in a letter to the editor of The Star-Ledger in November 2013 the lane closures were retaliatory (A-1).

"I was petrified of further retribution [from Christie]," the mayor told the jury.

And Patrick Foye, appointed executive director of the Port Authority by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, admitted that before he ordered the lanes reopened on the fifth day of gridlock he OK'd a press release that said the agency was conducting "a traffic study."

Foye testified Baroni, his deputy, said the  lane closures were "important to Trenton," a veiled reference to Christie.

Christie's lies

Of course, the Christie administration has been one big, elaborate lie since he took office in early 2010.

And when you fast forward to September 2013, Christie also lied about what he knew about the lane closings and when he knew it, according to federal prosecutors.

The prosecution witness we are eager to hear is David Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the Port Authority who has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Baroni and Kelly, who was the governor's deputy chief of staff.

Kelly's email to Wildstein -- "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee" -- set the political payback scheme into motion on Sept. 9, 2013, a Monday and the first day of school.

Columnist who spins Christie's every word can't help now

From New Jersey native Christopher Weyant of The New Yorker magazine.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Even after prosecutors and defense lawyers in the federal Bridgegate trial fingered Governor Christie, The Record tries mightily to put his actions in the best light.

The first paragraph of the Page 1 news story today isn't filled -- as it should be -- with prosecutors' bombshell allegation that Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closings as they were occurring in September 2013, and knew they were retaliation against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee.

Instead, the lead paragraph reports for the umpteenth time in the last three years Christie "has not been charged with a crime or found to have direct knowledge or involvement in the scheme" to to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing the governor's reelection (A-1).

This isn't how a news story on opening statements in court is supposed to be written, though it fits with The Record's history of treating the GOP thug far less harshly than does The Star-Ledger and other dailies in the state.

It also fits with The Record being the only major daily in the state that has refused to call for the governor to resign after endorsing wacko racist Donald J. Trump for president.

Meanwhile, political Columnist Charles Stile, the paper's chief apologist for Christie's mean-spirited policies, is beside himself today over the governor having "no one in the courtroom to defend him" (A-1).

And he goes on and on in that vein for thousands of words.

Also evident is sloppy editing of Stile's second paragraph.

'Ventriloquist doll'

"When David Wildstein spoke, Governor Christie's voice came out and everybody knew it," defense attorney Michael Baldassare told the jury on Monday (A-4).

Evidence will show that Wildstein "looks like a ventriloquist doll sitting on Christopher J. Christie's lap," the lawyer said.

Wildstein, a Christie crony who was deputy executive director of the Port Authority, pleaded guilty and will be the government's star witness against two former Christie associates, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, who are being tried on conspiracy and other charges.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Kelly told Wildstein in an email before upper level access lanes to the PA-owned and operated bridge were closed for five days in September 2013.

A photo on A-4 today shows Christie, Baroni and Wildstein allegedly discussing the lane closings at the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2013, as they were occurring.

Local crime news

The front of today's local-news section is completely devoted to crime and court news, and reaction to the arrest of a Muslim who is charged in the Elizabeth bombings (L-1).

Still, the local editors needed two long wire service obituaries and a large photo of a burning bus on Route 23 in Butler to plug holes in the section (L-6).

Why are editors boosting defense cases of GWB figures?

Two of the three access lanes to the upper-level tollbooths of the George Washington Bridge, above, were closed in September 2013 in what federal prosecutors call a conspiracy to retaliate against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse Governor Christie for reelection.

Christie denied any part in or even knowledge of the scheme, but joked that he personally placed the traffic cones, above, that caused gridlock in the borough for four days.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I'm sure the owners of The Record intended no irony by wrapping today's follow-up coverage of the long-awaited George Washington Bridge indictments in an ad for hearing aids:

"Finally ...
The Clarity
You've Always
Wanted"

Of course, despite a guilty plea and two indictments, we don't know what Governor Christie knew about the lane closures ordered by his key allies in September 2013 and when he knew it (A-1 news stories and O-2 cartoon).

Who besides his wife and children believe Christie's claim that he first learned of the plot four months later, when the media uncovered his aide's infamous email:

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." 

Today, though, the editors inexplicably start building a defense case for former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, who were charged with nine counts of using the bridge to carry out a political vendetta and then covering it up (A-1).

Kelly and Baroni are in very deep doo-doo, likely at the behest of Christie.

Plea deal

Both called David Wildstein a liar after the former Port Authority official pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiring with them to cause the traffic jams, starting on the first day of school.

What else would their defense attorneys say in return for a hefty retainer and the many hundreds of dollars an hour they are being paid? 

How high are attorney Michael Critchley's fees? Poor Kelly, who is unemployed and may lose her house, has launched a Web site to ask the public for help in paying him.

I'm searching today's coverage for details of Wildstein's plea agreement with federal prosecutors and what he will get in return for testifying against Kelly, Baroni, Christie and others (A-1, A-8 and A-9).

Typically, such agreements promise defendants like Wildstein a non-custodial sentence, but only if they testify truthfully.

U.S. attorney

I'm betting U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman isn't relying on a "liar" to make his federal case against the defendants and unidentified "others" he says are involved.

Wildstein -- a high school classmate of Christie's who got a plum Port Authority job from the governor -- claimed as long ago as January 2014 that "evidence exists" that Christie knew of the lane closures as they were happening. 

Wildstein's attorney, Alan Zegas, repeated that claim after the guilty plea on Friday, and the federal trial of Kelly and Baroni couldn't come soon enough.

The scandal that has been dubbed Bridgegate may finally bring down the GOP bully who has his eyes set on the White House, not the Big House.

Horse's asses

Ahmed Zayat is a wealthy industrialist who owns race horses and has homes in Teaneck, New York, London and his native Egypt, according to Wikipedia.

But only newspaper and sports editors, among other horse's asses, could claim the victory of his American Pharoah in the Kentucky Derby "is [a] win for Teaneck," as today's Page 1 photo over line claims.

City Greek

I guess Restaurant Reviewer and Sunday Columnist Elisa Ung should get some credit for writing about a rare restaurant owner who serves antibiotic-free chicken and pork,  grass-fed beef and organic greens.

But you won't be able to sample the Greek fare at Eons unless you schlep to Manhattan's East Side, and with the region's inadequate mass transit, we know what a hassle that is (BL-1).

Add the price of parking to the bill, if you can find a space.

Still, Ung spends so much time promoting restaurants, even in her reviews, she neglects all of the issues facing customers, making you wonder why her column is called The Corner Table.

Shore rentals

Here is more evidence Publisher Stephen A. Borg started the Real Estate section to serve greedy real estate agents, bankers, homeowners and landlords.

Today's upbeat cover story on a "rebound" of summer rentals at the Jersey Shore is bad news for anyone who had hoped to spend a couple of weeks or longer vacationing there.

Did the editors order Staff Writer Nancy Kearney to omit the cost of renting any of the places shown in the glamorous photos to avoid shocking readers?

Pension Plan

Late last month, North Jersey Media Group, owner of The Record, sent out the annual funding notice to participants in the publishing company's pension plan.

Depending on interest rates used, the "funding shortfall" in the 2014 plan year is given as $10,797,148 to $32,662,591.

The "minimum required contribution" is given as $5,113,025 to $8,429,229.

The "funding target attainment percentage" for the 2014 plan year is given as 87.27%, an improvement over the percentages in the 2013 and 2012 plan years. 

Borgs are selling the front page to highest bidders

Nov. 16, 2013: Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Why are shoppers desperate for a bargain and how big retailing chains do on Thanksgiving front page news in The Record today and every year around the holidays?

Does every advertising contract sold by the Borg publishing family include a clause guaranteeing news coverage to Macy's, Target, Walmart and the other retailers whose glossy fliers are keeping the Woodland Park daily afloat?

Mauling the reader

More than a decade ago, The Record created a retail beat, though the reporter wasn't identified as such in her byline.

What has followed are literally millions of words on the opening of new mall stores -- and the abject neglect of so many struggling downtowns --plus such probing journalism as quoting a maker of mattresses as saying his product is the best in all of sleepdom.

The play on words attempted in the Page 1 headline over today's centerpiece falls flat:

Buy, buy holiday

What about all of the pre-Christmas sales that will be chronicled on the front page in less than a month?

The first paragraph also raises the question of when most people eat Thanksgiving dinner. Isn't it early to mid-afternoon?

So, why does The Record report: 

"North Jersey shoppers showed they're willing to reschedule Thanksgiving dinner."

Apparently, that first sentence was based on an interview at the very end of the story with a 19-year-old Paterson man at Best Buy who said he didn't mind missing Thanksgiving dinner to get a good deal on a TV for his mother (A-6).

Puck you, editor says

If only the wealthy Borgs are really interested in how retailers are doing, why did Editor Marty Gottlieb think anyone would care how the pathetic Devils are doing on selling tickets in Newark (A-1).

The hockey team has managed to lift its ranking among 30 teams to 20th from 24th (A-8).

The story doesn't say a word on such factors as the cost of tickets and parking or  whether food and beer prices at the Prudential Center are exorbitant.

Spacey columnist

On the Local front today, Road Warrior John Cichowski is back with a compelling commuting issue:

Finding parking at the mall on Black Friday (L-1).

The silly column for "road warriors" appears just below two stories about the increasing number of people who can't afford to buy food five years after the start of the Great Recession.

Why aren't those stories on Page 1 today?

Record errors

On Wednesday, Cichowski scored a record 21 errors in his column on Monday's meeting of the state Transportation Committee in Trenton, according to a concerned reader.

Some of the mistakes were quotes that were made up, according to the reader.

As an example of the errors, the reader, in an e-mail to managers and editors, noted:

"Road Warrior indicated that Bill Baroni, a PA executive, managed to explain away an unannounced change in a George Washington Bridge traffic pattern that caused five days of gridlock in Fort Lee.

"As the committee chairman and majority of committee members made very clear, Baroni tried, but did not manage, to explain away or provide all needed documents and information about the unannounced change that only caused four days -- not five -- of gridlock."

To read the full e-mail, see the Facebook page for Road Warrior Blooppers:

Is the Road Warrior hard of hearing?

Local yokels

In today's Local section, Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sfroza again fell flat on his face in attempting to fill the section with legitimate local news:

Check out the long, wire-service obituaries for Alfred Feld, Jane Kean and Ye Htut -- three more people you have never heard of (L-5).