Editors testing readers' patience for unlimited holiday cheer

"Refugees" is from cartoonist John Cole. The Record and many other news outlets continue to ignore the carnage of the Syrian civil war, which began in March 2011; the role of Russia in keeping the regime in power and whether Russian President Vladimir Putin helped Donald J. Trump win the U.S. presidential election.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We have much to celebrate during Christmas and Hanukkah, but the holidays aren't easing our nationwide anxiety with a Trump presidency just 26 days away.

Meanwhile, the Sunday edition of The Record is laying on the holiday cheer with upbeat columns and stories on nearly every section front, even though many of them are flawed.

For example, on Page 1, the enormous amount of space devoted to Nora Renzulli, a Wayne woman who volunteers to serve meals at Eva's Village in Paterson, ignores thousands of others who are just as dedicated (1A).

On the Local front, Road Warrior John Cichowski so-called Wish List for Santa is so heavily focused on drivers that he becomes a Road Scrooge for the tens of thousands who commute by train or bus (1L).

His lone reference to the midtown Manhattan Port Authority Bus Terminal as "a sardine-can relic" is inaccurate.

Nor does he know enough to call for more exclusive bus lanes to the Lincoln Tunnel as a way of providing immediate relief until a new terminal is built.

2016 election

An Associated Press story reports that polling after the November election found that "nearly two-thirds of voters described the [strong] economy as 'not so good' or 'poor' (16A).

But the AP ignores whether racism and misogyny were among the real reasons they voted for Trump.

On the Opinion front, a long piece by Merrill Brown, director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University, argues a Trump administration will test news organizations as never before (1O).

However, Brown doesn't discuss how the news media's intense focus on state and national politics -- as opposed to policies, issues and what's good for the state or country -- is the biggest possible disservice to voters.  

On politics or weather, North Jersey is bracing for hype

These images are part of an art exhibit in the dingy, Ninth Avenue end of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I've heard so many forecasts for this winter's first big storm I don't know what to believe.

They range from the "moderate" snowfall reported by WNYC-FM radio this morning to the "7+ inches" in a front-page headline in The Record today:

Jersey

braces

for the

storm

Winter's first

big blast could

drop 7+ inches

Buried by hype

When it comes to the weather and campaigns for the major party's presidential nominations, North Jersey readers have learned to brace for hype and other media exaggeration.

Making the the next general election seem like a horse race, which the print and electronic media have tried to do for well over a year, serves two purposes.

Burned-out editors, reporters and columnists -- weary after so many years of covering political conflict and swallowing candidates' lies and B.S. -- now only report contested elections.

And without hype and exaggeration, how are you going to sell newspapers to readers so apathetic they often refuse to go to the polls, especially in North Jersey's local contests for council and school board?

Political stories

On Tuesday's front page, Editor Martin Gottlieb led with the contest between Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic Party nomination.

The Washington Post declared their last debate a defining moment for the party.

Left unsaid in this and other media reports is that either would make a great president, and preserve the Affordable Care Act and other accomplishments of the Obama administration.

And in the November election, either would certainly blow out of the water any of the clowns/racists/fear mongers/failed leaders and other trash put forward by the mean-spirited Republican Party.

In fact, many Democrats would love to see a Clinton-Sanders ticket or his appointment as her secretary of health and human services.

Gottlieb led Wednesday's paper with Sarah Palin's endorsement of Donald Trump, as if that moron can help the billionaire businessman get elected in November (A-1).

500+ vetoes

Wednesday's front page reported another "five dozen" vetoes executed by Governor Christie on a one-day break from his doomed campaign.

One bill would have prevented "convicted carjackers, gang members and others from buying guns," and another would require that "smart guns" be sold along with traditional handguns.

The new vetoes surely bring Christie's total to more than 500, set a record for any New Jersey governor and give a lie to all of the Charles Stile columns that have portrayed him as a compromiser who could break the legislative logjam in Washington.

Readers are still waiting for The Record to publish an editorial or column labeling Christie the worst governor in state history -- which has been evident to readers for many years.

Talking heads

Today's pathetic Mike Kelly opinion column rehashes news stories on the gun bills and vetoes, and goes on and on quoting Trenton lawmakers from both sides of the aisle speculating on whether Christie was motivated by his desire to win in Iowa, New Hampshire and other conservative states (A-1).

Nowhere will you find Kelly's opinion of Christie. 

Local news

Nearly the entire front of the local-news section today is filled with sensational court and police news or stories about the police (L-1).

A story on the bomb hoax that led to school evacuations "across North Jersey," and a second story on a terrorism-awareness conference discuss in great detail how police officers do their jobs.

More crime news appears inside as local Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza continue their boycott of any stories about Hackensack.

Aleppo pepper

The Better Living editors worship at the feet of chefs whose restaurants advertise in the Woodland Park daily.

No cooking method, condiment or food gains credibility unless a chef uses it in his or her restaurant.

That seems to be the only conclusion readers can draw from Food Editor Esther Davidowitz's Wednesday column on Aleppo pepper, which has been used by home cooks in New Jersey for ages, including a sizable community of Syrian Jews.

Her take: 

"The bright-red condiment that for years was barely known in the U.S., except by a few immigrant communities, has captured American chefs' admiration, thanks to its unique flavor."

Sadly, Davidowitz reports the pepper is "yes, named for Aleppo, the ancient city in Syria," but makes no reference to the civil war that has seen the country's rulers try to bomb it back to the stone age.

Politics and public transit, horse's asses and Teaneck

In a rare nod to public transit, The Modern in Fort Lee offers tenants of the 47-story luxury tower a free shuttle to and from the New York City subway. The building overlooks the infamous George Washington Bridge access lanes shut down by the Christie administration. The Record's support for mass transit has been lukewarm at best while the owners cash in on ads from car dealers.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After Tuesday's fatal Amtrak crash outside Philadelphia, editors of The Record and other media began wringing their hands over our unsafe, crumbling Northeast Corridor rail system.

Today, the Woodland Park daily carries two news stories and a column that blame politics for setting the stage for disaster. (A-3, A-4 and O-1).

Of course, these are the same conflicts and controversies generated by the two major parties that have defined all media coverage of elections and public policy in New Jersey and the nation for many years.

And the Record's support for public transit, including the extension of light rail to Bergen County, has been spotty.

The editors allowed Staff Writer John Cichowski more than a decade ago to turn the Road Warrior column from a champion of all commuters into a platform for drivers.

When Governor Christie cancelled the Hudson River rail tunnels in October 2010 and grabbed leftover money to fix roads and bridges to avoid raising the gasoline tax, the editors didn't blink.

The GOP bully cited potential cost overruns on the massive tunnel project, but then rubber stamped exorbitant Hudson River toll increases to cover similar cost overruns on the Port Authority's new World Trade Center.

Horse's ass

For the second time recently on the front page, Editor Martin Gottlieb delivers a good slap to residents of Teaneck by declaring the outcome of a horse race a "win" for the township (A-1).

I'm sure struggling merchants on Cedar Lane and township officials who scramble to balance their budget will receive absolutely no benefit from the owner of American Pharoah, who lives in Teaneck, proving once again that Gottlieb is a horse's ass.

Must-read list

Today's Road Warrior column ignores commuters altogether by reporting on the Port Authority's lost historic photos and other archival material (L-1).

Good luck trying to figure out the conflict between manufacturers and New Jersey car dealers in today's Business section cover story (B-1).

Of course, there is no mention that buying a new car and servicing it at the dealer is one of the worst experiences a consumer can have -- unless you buy an all-electric Model S directly from Tesla.

And that's probably because North Jersey Media Group, owner of The Record, reaps tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue from those very same dealers.

Battle ax

The upbeat profile of WNBC's New Jersey correspondent, Pat Battle, doesn't mention her total lack of interest in the 2013 City Council election in Hackensack, where a slate of reformers succeeded in ending decades of rule by the Zisa family (BL-1).

I'm surprised the Better Living editors didn't call the Teaneck resident another "win" for the township.

Don't miss The Corner Table column on everything Staff Writer Elisa Ung knows about truffles (BL-1).

And Real Estate brings us a riveting story on luxury pools costing from $100,000 to $1.5 million (R-1).

A third 'win'?

Columnist Mike Kelly also lives in Teaneck.

But he's far from a "win" as he once again suffocates readers with unnecessary background on the Amtrak crash, which has dominated the news for close to a week (O-1).

The headline is promising:

Politics derails

infrastructure Rx

And his first paragraph is hard hitting, but then readers bog down in five long paragraphs on details of the crash, including Kelly telling them he took the same train "often."

Did anyone turn the page to find out if the burned-out columnist had anything else to say? 

Media's obsession with political conflict cheats readers

Tulips blooming in Manhattan's Central Park last Sunday.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Conflict. Controversy. Confusion.

The Record and other news media love conflict, and every issue is presented in such a way as to fan the flames of controversy and confuse issues.

A legislative proposal is never presented on its merits. 

For example, on Friday's first Business page, a Democrat proposes to suspend corporate tax breaks until the state Treasurer documents the cost to New Jersey.

That sounds reasonable, given the low level of job creation in return for hundred of millions of dollars in corporate incentives.

Instead, The Record's prints a vicious reaction from the spokesman for Governor Christie, a Republican.

"We don't respond to the political games of notorious, unashamed partisans," said Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts (Friday's B-2).

To confuse the matter further, the story by Staff Writer Hugh R. Morley completely omits any data on the state's unemployment rate, job creation or anything else that would allow readers to judge the merits of the proposal by Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Union.

Political column

Since Christie took office in early 2010, Record Columnist Charles Stile has specialized in analyzing the GOP bully's every word, burp and fart in terms of their political impact, most of the time on Page 1.

You never see Stile discussing whether a Christie policy is good for the state. His job is to spin it and try to measure the impact on the governor's White House dreams.

Politics causes gridlock in Washington and Trenton, and it also is one of the most boring subjects one can imagine in a general interest newspaper.

The real story behind the politics -- the battle of the wealthy against the middle and working classes -- is never told.

Inside journalism

Would you believe that Stile has been honored by The Society of Silurians, a nationwide organization, for editorial writing and commentary?

That was the case even though his column is never labeled as "opinion" or "commentary" -- apparently to fool readers into thinking Political Stile is objective reporting.

The Silurians' awards aren't intended to gauge service to readers; that isn't even a factor in the judging.

In fact, Stile's fellow journalists cited him for "a yearlong series of riveting columns that chronicled in keen-eyed detail the political evolution of the embattled governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie" (Thursday's L-3).

Riveting? What about the uncounted thousands who are put to sleep by Stile and The Record's other veteran columnists, including Mike Kelly and Road Warrior John Cichowski?

Today's paper

We won't find out the truth about Christie's role in the September 2013 George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal until he and others testify under oath in federal court.

Today, Stile reports Christie defended cheating quarterback Tom Brady, and Staff Writer Melissa Hayes says the governor repeated the same I-knew-nothing answer to a Bridgegate questioner in New Hampshire (A-1).

Meanwhile, the Christie lawyers who whitewashed his role in the lane closings have billed the state $311,000 more, bringing their total fees to $7.8 million (A-4).

Hackensack news

The Record is reporting a $4.5 million tax-appeal settlement with Hackensack University Medical Center from the viewpoint of the City Council's political opponents (L-1).

That's pretty much the way almost every story on City Council actions and policies has been reported since a reform slate took over in 2013, defeating allies of the Zisa family.

Even though the election was "non-partisan," we are still talking Democrats (losers) v. Republicans (winners).

Readers don't have any way of judging the arguments presented in today's he said/she said story by Staff Writer Todd South, who is reporting what happened at Tuesday night's council meeting.

At one point, school board attorney Richard Salkin is actually quoted as predicting how a court would rule on the hospital's challenge to a 2008 air-rights agreement he "authored" (L-5).

Nowhere does South report Salkin was totally unconcerned about a $1 million loss to the city when it was discovered the school board had never been billed for a high school resource officer.

According to press reports at the time, Salkin advised the board not to pay the city.

Exxon deal, roads are bigger stories than vaccinations

Gasoline prices below $2 a gallon are just a memory. Take that, drivers of gas-guzzling SUVs who speed and hog the road.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's front page exposes Editor Martin Gottlieb of The Record to charges he is a slave to the conservative agenda adopted by Governor Christie and congressional Republicans.

Four of the five main elements on A-1 cast such issues as vaccinating schoolchildren, a pollution settlement and a nuclear deal with Iran in strictly partisan terms -- Republicans v. Democrats.

Gottlieb even legitimizes a crackpot group's wildly distorted estimates of road building and maintenance costs in New Jersey in an effort to kill any gas-tax increase (A-1).

Leading the paper with the so-called controversy over vaccinations is bewildering.

Ugly politics

The real controversies involve Governor Christie caving in to Exxon Mobil, and the transportation crisis brought on by the GOP bully's refusal to raise the gasoline tax to repair roads, bridges and rails.

One example of how politics is allowed to influence many of The Record's stories is today's report on the proposed $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobil Corp. for $8.9 billion in damages (A-1).

Staff Writers Scott Fallon and James O'Neill write almost the entire story as a battle between Democrats and Christie's party.

They note "Christie's practice of siphoning funds from environmental settlements to close state budget gaps instead of using the money for restoration efforts" (A-6). 

But in a related story at the bottom of the same page (A-6), O'Neill quotes a Democrat, Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, on Christie's money grab, casting it as a partisan issue.

Of course, this and just about every other story neglects to point out the state's ongoing fiscal crisis is caused by Christie's refusal to impose a tax surcharge on millionaires and raise the gas tax, two moves that would raise billions of dollars.

'Breaking news'

In his Feb. 22 column bestowing 2015 Black Hole Awards, Road Warrior John Cichowski neglected to warn drivers about numerous potholes on Route 4 west.

In today's column, the confused reporter is Johnny-come-Lately for two drivers I know who lost a total of five tires on that highway between Englewood and Hackensack (L-1).

Cichowski isn't the only disoriented reporter in the Woodland Park newsroom.

Staff Writer Hugh Morley insists the Tesla Motors showroom he visited (and wrote about in December) is on "Route 17 west" in Paramus (L-7).

Of course, that highway runs north and south.

How did his editor, a news editor, a copy editor and their supervisors miss that blatant error?

A fading Christie lacks the temperament to be president

On Saturday, The Record reported twice on the front page that Hackensack University Medical Center's mobile treatment unit for potential Ebola cases is "behind" a McDonald's on Essex and South Newman streets in Hackensack. But that's not the case. The hospital-owned lot is actually between the McDonald's and NJ Transit's Essex Street Station.

In today's paper, a front-page photo caption says the mobile treatment unit is "near a McDonald's." City officials want the hospital to move the unit, above. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

"Sit down and shut up."

With those words, Governor Christie dismissed another protester, even though everyone but The Record thinks the GOP bully has bungled the recovery two long years after Superstorm Sandy (A-3).

"Why isn't he [Christie] in Ship Bottom today?" protester Jim Keady of Spring Lake said. "Why isn't he in Ortley Beach, where people aren't back in their homes? He's got to finish the job."

Keady held up a sign -- "STAY IN NJ & FINISH THE JOB" -- an apparent reference to Christie's travels raising money for conservative politicians like himself who have been waging war on the middle and working classes. 

Well, is there really any chance Christie will even get the nomination, given his far-from-presidential temperament and his low approval ratings in New Jersey?

If he can't veto bills, he just tells his critics to shut up and sit down.

Voter apathy

He was elected to a second term last November, but the turnout was the lowest for any gubernatorial election in state history.

Christie won, because droves of voters stayed home.

In fact, none of the election coverage so far has addressed how much voters are turned off by the partisanship in New Jersey and Washington, and the Woodland Park daily's relentless focus on politics.

Take today's Page 1 column on the challenge to Rep. Scott Garret, R-Wantage, in the 5th Congressional District, which includes Bergen County (A-1).

Columnist Charles Stile and other staffers give the most coverage and credibility to the candidate who raises the most money, but never say why that is so important.

And this year, I haven't seen one analysis of the distorted and false attack ads big campaign money buys.

Even such an eminence as Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson left out damaging information about Garrett in the first front-page piece on the challenge posed by Democrat Roy Cho, an attorney who lives in Hackensack.

What The Record reported as Garrett's initial opposition to federal Sandy aid is now being called  "raising questions about the potential for wasteful spending" (A-11).

Wednesday's paper

High school football has such a grip on Editor Martin Gottlieb that he ran a two-year-old story about a Paramus Catholic player and his mother all over Wednesday's front page.

Gottlieb again led the front page with lots more on Ebola, even though not a single case has been confirmed in New Jersey.

Two more embarrassing corrections appeared on A-2.

In Wednesday's Better Living section, clueless freelancer Kate Morgan Jackson continues to recommend recipes that turn healthy ingredients into artery clogging nightmares (BL-2).

Her Lobster Frittata includes five whole eggs, a half-cup of cream, 2 ounces of cream cheese and 4 ounces of Swiss cheese.

Jackson should visit a hospital cardiac ward, and talk to patients who have had heart attacks from clogged arteries before she pushes another unhealthy recipe.

Third look

How can Road Warrior John Cichowski be so wrong about so many things in column after column, escaping even basic fact checking by his assignment editor, the copy desk and six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton?

In last Friday's column, which I discussed on Tuesday, Cichowski was relating the history of George Washington Bridge construction.

Then, the clueless transportation writer said:

"Until the Holland Tunnel was completed in Hoboken in 1927, the main method for drivers to get their cars across the Hudson River was by ferry...."

Of course, the New Jersey entrance to the Holland Tunnel is in Jersey City, not Hoboken.

And, of course, no correction appeared.

Politics are killing Hackensack, our state and our nation

Anthony Rottino, seated left front, is Hackensack's director of economic development and acting city manager, jobs awarded to him after he helped raise funds for the successful campaign of a reform slate of City Council candidates in last year's non- partisan municipal election.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Politics are an obsession at The Record of Woodland Park.

The editors, columnists and reporters seem incapable of discussing any serious issue without applying the filter of politics, as today's lead Page 1 headline on a lawsuit in Hackensack demonstrates.

Does the banner headline even make sense?

"Lawsuit roils Hackensack politics"

The suit, filed by acting City Manager Anthony Rottino of Franklin Lakes, names other city officials, including Mayor John Labrosse and Police Director Michael Mordaga.

Is that "politics"? 

The current members of the City Council are described as "a political coalition" in the first paragraph of the story, which is written by Abbott Koloff and former Hackensack reporter Hannan Adely.

To get the story on Page 1, the reporters also claim Rottino's suit is a sign the City Council has failed to "put an end to costly legal disputes," without explaining all of those suits were filed against the corrupt former police chief, Ken Zisa, whose family ran Hackensack for decades before his allies were thrown out of office last year.

Calls to resign

At council meetings, gadflies and other critics have repeatedly called for Rottino to resign, claiming the Citizens for Change fund-raiser isn't qualified for the city manager's job.

In his suit, filed Monday in Superior Court in Hackensack, Rottino accuses "top officials of violating state law, condoning 'mob-like and thuggish behavior' by the police union and conducting a smear campaign to 'destroy his reputation'" (A-1).

Rottino also claims some city officials are trying to fire him, in part, "because he opposed raising police salaries and sought to protect the job of a public relations consultant who is being paid $78,000 by the city while working two other public jobs, " referring to Thom Ammirato.

Rottino, 48, is being paid $176,000 a year as economic development director and acting city manager.

Staff Writer Jim Norman of The Record, left, covered tonight's Hackensack City Council meeting, along with Marko Georgiev, a staff photographer.

Blood in water

Rottino's lawsuit has North Jersey Media Group smelling blood in the water.

The official didn't attend tonight's council meeting -- the second meeting in a row he missed -- but four NJMG reporters and a photographer did.

Staff Writers Jim Norman, Mike Kelly and Adely of The Record were there, along with Jennifer Vasquez of the weekly Hackensack Chronicle. 

Staff Writer Christopher Maag, who took over the Hackensack beat from Adely, is on vacation.

During the meeting, council members went into executive session, then emerged and voted to fire Ammirato, their former campaign manager, whom they hired last July as city spokesman.

They also voted to adopt a $94.46 million budget.

Columnist Mike Kelly of The Record, left, at the back of the City Council Chambers with attorney Richard E. Salkin, a longtime ally of the discredited Zisa family. Compare Kelly's mantle of gray hair with his shit-eating-grin column photo.

Corrosive politics

Look at how "politics" have killed any progress on climate change, immigration, a higher minimum wage and other issues in Washington.

What we have been seeing on the national and state levels is a sustained effort by a moneyed elite to strip the middle and working classes of all they have gained in recent decades.

Christie lovers

Since Governor Christie took office in 2010, Columnist Charles Stile, Staff Writer Melissa Hayes and Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Dobin have time and again written about important state issues in purely political terms.

They have massaged Christie's image as a conservative Republican who works hard at achieving compromise with his Democratic opponents -- carefully editing stories, columns and editorials to omit mention of the GOP bully's many vetoes, such as a Stile column on A-1 today.

Us v. them

They portray controversies, such as the Superstorm Sandy Bill of Rights proposal, strictly in terms of a partisan battle, not even bothering to explain why, as Christie insists, the bill violates the law (A-4).

The millionaires tax also is portrayed as a partisan battle, despite lagging tax revenue, high unemployment and Christie's grab for mass-transit funds to fix roads.

The Record's story quotes Republicans as claiming "increasing taxes would cripple the state's economy," but Staff Writer John Reitmeyer betrays readers by failing to note it is already crippled (A-6).

This is a common practice in electronic and newspaper journalism, going for "sound bites," no matter how ridiculous or nonsensical they are, as long as they stir controversy. 

Fat guy strikes out

In contrast to the editorial idolatry of Christie, today's unflattering front-page photo clearly shows a man of his size shouldn't wear shorts and a T-shirt, and shouldn't show himself to be such a klutz with a baseball bat (A-1).

In Better Living, the owner of The Plum and the Pear, a new restaurant in Wyckoff, justifies charging $31 for several ounces of Copper River sockeye salmon from Alaska by noting it is "usually available five or six weeks a year" (BL-1).

The clueless editors publish the quote, even though fresh wild sockeye salmon from other Alaskan rivers, as well as other states, are just as delicious and will be available until early October.

Finally, editors are focusing on the uninsured

Signs provide plenty of reading along River Street in Hackensack, where The Record prospered for more than 110 years before the Borg family's North Jersey Media Group abandoned the city for the sticks, precipitating a slide in local-news coverage that persists to this day.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

On Page 1 of The Record today, Editor Marty Gottlieb drops the filter of politics to focus on the people who have been living without health insurance.

For the first time since selfish Republicans again tried to derail the Affordable Care Act, the paper carries profiles of North Jersey residents who hope to find affordable health care. 

Now, where are the stories about the behind-the-scenes maneuvering by health insurance company lobbyists, and the millions of dollars in contributions flowing into the campaign accounts of Tea Party radicals and other conservative Republicans?

Lazy reporting

But lazy journalism still dominates the front page in another column citing polls that claim Democrat Cory Booker now holds only a 13-point lead over Tea Party crackpot Steve Lonegan in the U.S. Senate race.

Lonegan, you may recall, recently kept a straight face when he compared governing Newark to his years running tiny, dysfunctional Bogota. 

And what about all those polls predicting a close race between President Barack Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney last November, when, in fact, the Mormon was blown out of the water?

Politics are the refuge of scoundrels like Staff Writers Charles Stile and Herb Jackson, who don't have the stomach for covering the issues that affect voters.

Errors pile up

Staff Writer John Cichowski is another so-called journalist who refuses to do the legwork to cover the issues of most concern to commuters in his Road Warrior column.

On the Local front today, Cichowski acknowledges the column started 23 years ago this week, written by a different reporter, Jeff Page, but doesn't admit he's no Jeff Page, despite 10 years of trying.

Cichowski's laziness is well-known, including his refusal to cover mass transit or report on declining enforcement by the state police of speeding, tailgating and other reckless driving.

Morons define issues

The addled Cichowski also allows drivers to hijack the Road Warrior column, and spin exaggerated tales of problems -- from highway detours to glare to red-light cameras.

And Cichowski has committed so many errors and given so much inaccurate advice on road rules, toll discounts and other subjects that a reader in Hackensack started a Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers.

Local news? Nothing from Hackensack and Teaneck for yet another day.

More failures

On the Opinion front today, another failed columnist claims the health-care exchanges "flopped" after they went online last week -- even though consumers have three months to buy coverage (O-1).

Of course, it's Staff Writer Mike Kelly who flops, especially with the shit-eating grin evident in his dated column photo.

On the Better Living front today, the imbalance in food coverage is evident -- the challenges of feeding a family on assistance shares the page with Staff Writer Elisa Ung's obsession with dessert (BL-1).

Ung again goes far afield in The Corner Table column, which is supposed to be devoted to restaurant issues, by stuffing her pudgy face with a new line of scones, muffins and croissants at Starbucks.

Hotel promoter

What are readers to make of Travel Editor Jill Schensul's gushing cover story today on new hotel "amenities" (T-1)?

Here's another major travel piece without prices, suggesting Schensul was comped by the big hotel chains or she agreed to write the lavishly promotional copy to land more advertising for her pathetically thin, 4-page section.

Editors try to paper over uncomfortable truths

Musicians scrambling to protect themselves and their equipment from a sudden, heavy downpour on Tuesday night during a concert on the green in downtown Tenafly.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Will wonders never cease, as reported by The Record?

A Superior Court judge was called for jury duty in Passaic County, then excused at the request of the defendant's lawyer in a civil suit (Page 1).

Gee whiz. 

When is The Record ever going to report on the outrageous hourly rates charged by attorneys, and how they restrict access to the courts?

Hourly charges of $400, $500 and more prevent many people from ever bringing their grievances to court or force them to cut their losses and settle frivolous suits filed against them by such litigious companies as North Jersey Media Group.

In the fact-based HBO drama "The Newsroom," a lawyer for the cable-news network tells a producer she charges $1,500 an hour. 

Let's hope that's a piece of fiction.

Ay, caramba!

There are at least 5 stories about state campaigns, politics and, yes, the 2016 presidential contest in today's paper (A-1, A-3, A-4 and A-11).

During a campaign swing through Newark's Ironbound, Christie boasted of "his bipartisan record," Staff Writer Melissa Hayes reports with a straight face (A-4).

Of course, the reporter or her editors didn't dare mention all of the times he used vetoes to get his way on everything from an increase in the minimum wage to a tax surcharge on millionaires.

White noise

Readers might notice no African-Americans appeared with Christie in the conservative Portuguese, Spanish and Brazilian neighborhood.

That's because Ironbound residents are likely to run for the phone to call police when they see a black person on their block.

Clinton v. Christie?

The story on the 2016 presidential race also is kind to Christie, who doesn't have a ghost of a chance to defeat Hillary Clinton, even if he is chosen as the nominee over Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio and those other GOP morons (A-11).

Buckle up

The Road Warrior column often takes a back seat to accuracy.

Today, Staff Writer John Cichowski bores readers with a column on seat-belt use by passengers in the back seat, and fields questions from readers who seem as befuddled as he is (L-1).

So far, Cichowski has a perfect, nearly 10-year-long record of avoiding real commuting issues, such as massive traffic congestion and inadequate mass transit.

From hunger

Readers turning to Better Living for intelligent food coverage only get crumbs and crummy ones at that:

Two artery clogging recipes, one from Kate Morgan Jackson, a clueless food blogger in Upper Saddle River. 

One of the recipes has cream cheese, sour cream and heavy cream in it (BL-1 and BL-2).

And the cover story is on a celebrity chef taking part in one of those silly TV cooking contests (BL-1).

Choking readers again with politics, police news

The crown on top of the Johnson Public Library in Hackensack.

Three of the 5 main elements on Page 1 of The Record today are about politics.

And in a 6-page Local section, there are 11 police or court stories standing in for municipal news.

The A-1 story on NJ Transit doesn't report that what train riders need most during rush hour is more seats, not Wi-Fi.

The Record continues to focus on the brouhaha over phone spying by the federal government (A-1).

But the story doesn't mention that one of its reporters, Road Warrior John Cichowski, was recorded wailing to his assignment editor he had run out of press releases to rewrite.

Jeffrey who?

Have any of the stories on Jeffrey Chiesa told readers how long he will serve as a seat warmer in the U.S. Senate (A-1)?

Or when whomever wins the special October election will take the late Frank R. Lautenberg's seat in the Senate, and how long he or she will serve until they have to run again (A-1 and A-6)?

More hot air

In columns on Sunday and June 2, Cichowski reported on gas stations offering free compressed air, but there were numerous errors in both lists, according to a concerned reader:

"The Road Warrior provided an almost useless list with mistaken and incomplete location information for various gas stations that offer free compressed air for tires in his June 2 and 9 columns. 

"ALL 22 of the stations had mistaken or incomplete information after he tried to correct and update that list.

"His mistakes included wrong towns, streets, cross streets, station name or addresses.

"His incomplete information for remaining stations included the main road, but no cross streets. It would be more difficult to find the stations since many of these main roads are several miles or longer.

"The Road Warrior published this information from readers without a careful review.

"Road Warrior was negligent in not verifying locations to ensure they were accurate and complete enough to be of value for others, who would not be familiar with the cited areas.

"Does the Road Warrior have any responsibilities to The Record and its reader for which he can be held accountable?

"As a special courtesy to Eye on the Record readers, I have posted next to my 6/9 article on this Facebook page an updated, corrected list with more complete location information."

Read the full e-mail to management at the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers: 

Ship of facts springs more leaks