Editors acquit, condemn Christie in court of public opinion

No plans have been announced for this vacant land and shuttered business, above and below, across the street from the first residential project in Hackensack's ambitious downtown redevelopment. The 222-unit rental building is scheduled to open in the fall.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Depending on which page of The Record you read today, federal investigations are a minor annoyance to Governor Christie or they could eventually end his "presidential aspirations."

A news story leading the front page puts a positive spin on the resignation of United Airlines' CEO in an investigation of the Port Authority related to the George Washington Bridge lane closures.

The headline -- "Scandal still taking a toll" -- is clear enough, but the caption under Christie's photo says:

"Two years after the George Washington Bridge scandal, Governor Christie has never been accused of wrongdoing" (A-1).

A better, more accurate caption would have been that many questions remain about Christie's role in the scandal.

And those questions may finally be answered by the upcoming testimony of ally David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to helping plot and cover up the Fort Lee lane closures two years ago (A-10).

Darker editorial

"This is not good news" for Christie, according to an editorial on the shake-up at United Airlines and questions surrounding a special flight for Christie mentor David Samson, when he was chairman of the Port Authority (A-20).

Christie nominated Samson, his former campaign counsel, to the board of the bi-state transportation agency, which runs the bridge and Newark Liberty International Airport.

"If Samson, known as 'The General,' is linked to a deal trading flavors for a non-stop fight to South Carolina [where he has a vacation home], the political damage to Christie will be monumental.

"Just the reemergence of the Port Authority narrative at this point in Christie's struggling presidential campaign inflicts damage."

How many years?

Editor Martin Gottlieb couldn't resist sensationalizing the front page today with a big photo of Monica Mogg, who was sentenced to consecutive life terms for the murder of her ex-lover and his new girlfriend in a bedroom.

The A-1 photo sends readers to the full story on the Local front, plus two more photos, but all of those elements contain so many different descriptions of the sentence readers can't be blamed for being confused.

The A-1 photo overline says, "Two life terms for double homicide."

But the big, black headline on L-1 says, "166 years for 2 murders," forcing readers to wonder how that number was arrived at.

Doesn't "life" in prison mean until you die? Apparently not.

Finally, the lead paragraph of the story contains this awkward, hard-to-read phrase:

"A former preschool teacher was sentenced Wednesday to two back-to-back life terms in prison .... [italics added]."

That's too many to's or two's.

Hackensack news

Also on the Local front, The Record announces that plans for North Jersey Media Group's 19.7 acres on River Street in Hackensack have received preliminary approval from the city Planning Board (L-1).

Publisher Stephen A. Borg is quoted as saying the hotel-residential-retail project includes a "connection" to downtown, but no details are provided.

In all the years The Record operated at 150 River St., employees were forced to take their chances with fast-moving traffic as they tried to cross River Street to reach Main Street restaurant and shops.

If a hotel and 700 apartments are built there, a footbridge over River Street would be the only way to guarantee pedestrian safety.

The Record prospered in Hackensack for more than 110 years and its departure in 2009 sped up the decline of Main Street. 

Ode to crap

On the Better Living front, chief restaurant critic Elisa Ung celebrates "North Jersey's most classic, old-time hot dogs," but doesn't tell readers they are full of harmful antibiotics, growth hormones and preservatives (BL-1).

Three of the photos show fried hot dogs from Rutt's Hut in Clifton, Hot Grill in Clifton and Hiram's in Fort Lee covered in what looks like vomit. 

How appetizing.

Reporters line up for fat P.R. gigs

A taco al pastor at El Califa Restaurant in Mexico City. You can't rely on The Record to tell you a credible version is available at a year-old Mexican restaurant in Englewood.

When you read The Record stories on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority today (A-3) and the Port Authority on Friday's front page, just remember the long line of reporters and editors who now hold six-figure public relations jobs there and elsewhere.

Look at how gently The Record is treating Governor Christie, who vetoed a proposed law to reform the free-spending, toll-raising bi-state agency while arranging high-paying jobs for his two failed Supreme Court nominees.

Insult to readers

Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, D-Englewood, called the governor's action "an insult to commuters who were hit with record toll hikes last year."

Of course, the comment was buried on the continuation of Friday's Page 1 (A-8).

No editor or reporter -- who are poorly paid relative to the public relations people at big agencies and in state government -- wants to jeopardize his or her chance of getting one of those easy gigs  manipulating compliant media as a prelude to retiring on a fat pension.

On Saturday, the Woodland Park daily called Phillip Kwon, a failed high-court nominee, one of Christie's "loyalists," but there is no mention of whether Kwon donated money to the governor's campaign and if so, how much (A-1).

Christie's 'contacts'

Later in Saturday's story, dozens of campaign donors and former administration officials who got Christie-endorsed jobs at the Port Authority are referred to -- bizarrely -- as "contacts" (A-8).

The paper doesn't mention all of Christie's former assistant U.S. attorneys who now are riding the public gravy train thanks to the GOP bully's own personal pay-to-play system.

On A-3 today, look at the glowing terms used by Christie's mouthpiece to describe the other failed high-court nominee, Bruce Harris, a lawyer who has no courtroom experience:

"Mr. Harris is an exceptional attorney with a remarkable educational and legal background," winks spin-doctor Michael Drewniak.

Harris is being considered for general counsel of the Turnpike Authority. 

Undisclosed salaries

The Record is careful to omit any mention of Kwon's and Harris' future salaries to avoid outraging readers any further than they are.

In head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section, the big Hackensack news today is another lawsuit -- this one filed against a critic by a city official who is "close" to former Police Chief Ken Zisa.

At the behest of Sykes and Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza, Hackensack reporter Stephanie Akin writes almost exclusively about the city's legal problems.

Utility pole news

On Friday, the big Hackensack news was a dump truck knocking down three utility poles -- part of the section's occasional series on felled poles and trees.

Amid paralyzing traffic jams and standing-room only on rush-hour buses and trains, the so-called commuting columnist spun an entire Friday column out of one couple's MVC woes (Road Warrior, L-1).

Half a plate

In food news, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung finally endorses Las Maravillas de Tulcingo 3, the go-to place in Englewood for inexpensive and authentic Mexican fare (BL 16 and 17).

It's a shame her appraisal on Friday didn't mention the restaurant's terrific taco al pastor, made with pork and fresh pineapple, or some of the other dishes I enjoyed with my family last September:

A large guacamole, crunchy with chopped onion ($8); a large bowl of chicken soup, enough for two ($7); shrimp with peppers, onions and melted cheese, served on a large platter with yellow rice and beans ($11); and a whole, farmed tilapia that was deep fried and served with rice, beans and tortillas so we could make our own fish tacos ($13).

Loosely translated, the restaurant's name means "The Wonders of Tulcingo," a town in the state of Puebla from where the owners hail.

I'm not sure why Ung refers to the restaurant as being on "the west side of Englewood's downtown."

Is that her code to readers who might be wary of venturing over the tracks to the ethnic, working-class side of a city known for its high-end boutiques and multimillion-dollar East Hill mansions?

Also, the center food photo with the review is out of focus and appears to have been mislabeled "cactus salad." 

Cancer on the menu?

Today, the Better Living cover celebrates unhealthy chili and hot dogs under the titles of "North Jersey Classics" and "LOCAL EATS."

As far as I know, Rutt's Hutt, Hiram's and the other places serve hot dogs filled with harmful antibiotics and preservatives.

The latter, including nitrates and nitrites, have been linked to cancer.