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.

Wacko racist Trump stumps with Plump to pay GOP debts

A horse and carriage returning along Prospect Avenue from the Hackensack High School Prom Show Off on Thursday night, above and below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In a joint appearance with Governor Christie, Donald Trump's subliminal messages to "Make America Hate Again" and "Make America White Again" went over big in Lawrenceville on Thursday night.

More than 1,000 people paid $200 each to see the apparent Republican presidential nominee, and hear his promise to build a wall along the Mexican border, The Record reports today.

A private, $25,000-a-ticket fundraiser went toward more than $300,000 in legal bills from the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal exclusive of the $10 million taxpayers forked over to get Christie off of the hook (A-1 and A-8).

Exploits vulnerable

Meanwhile, faced with another big budget gap, Christie is once again exploiting the most vulnerable, and plans to cut millions from charity care (A-1 on Thursday).

An editorial today (A-18) carefully avoids mentioning that a tax surcharge on millionaires Christie has vetoed at least tree times would nearly cover the $1.1 billion revenue shortfall.

What else would you expect from Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin, who has the filthy rich owners of the Woodland Park daily breathing down his neck? 

A Saturday Night Live skit shows crackpot Donald Trump and a humiliated Chris Christie conferring on a vice presidential candidate to run with the apparent Republican presidential nominee in November -- anyone but Christie.

Trump picks Dr. Ben Carson, right.

Legal fees

Stories on a $15 million lawsuit settlement and a $2.2 million jury award today and Thursday don't mention that the plaintiff's lawyers are expected to take at least one-third of that for payment of legal fees and expenses (A-1 and L-1).

Attorney Samuel L. Davis, who won the $15 million deal, represents Juliana Valdez, now 13, who had 22 surgeries after her foot was mangled by an escalator at a Paramus mall in 2013 (A-1).

Should any lawyer who worked on one case part time for three years be paid more than $5 million?

Rare victory

Another Page 1 story today reports a rare victory in the battle to get Ford Motor Co. to remove all of the 166,000 tons of toxic paint sludge dumped 50 years ago in Ringwood (A-1).

Borough officials "have suspended plans to build a recycling center on top of a mountain of contaminated soil," The Record reports.

Still, there is no mention anywhere in the story that the "Ramapo Lenape tribe" (A-8) are a mixed-race people who have been discriminated against for hundreds of years.

In previous stories, The Record has called them "low income." 

Scott Garrett

In all the years Staff Writer Herb Jackson has been covering Rep. Scott Garrett, D-Wantage, today might be the first time he's described him as having "the most conservative record in the state's delegation" to Congress (A-1).

Josh Gotthheimer, the Democrat challenger in November, goes further, calling Garrett a key member of the racist Tea Party.

Readers want to know why Jackson, the so-called Washington correspondent, has never mentioned Garrett's Tea Party credentials.

'To die for'

One thing I learned in many years of copy editing for The Record is to avoid using the word "die" in a headline over a food piece.

But that didn't stop the copy editor who handled Elisa Ung's Informal Dining Review of a takeout-only deli in Fair Lawn.

"Heroes to die for"

Could that be "to die from"?

Ung tells readers nothing about the cold cuts used in the hero sandwiches except they are "imported" or from stores in "the famous Arthur Avenue Italian neighborhood in the Bronx" (BL-14). 

Big deal.

What readers really want to know is whether the meat in the cold cuts was naturally raised and is free of nitrates and other preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

Under her puzzling rating system, she awards the deli, A Family Affair, only two out of three stars, meaning "if you're nearby, a must-eat."

So, I guess Ung is saying if you live in Hackensack, Englewood, Wyckoff, Mahwah, Wayne and many other towns, don't bother.

As Bridgegate case drags on, lawyers are having last laugh

Parts of Main Street outside of downtown Hackensack have been repaved, as have other streets, but State Street and a narrow stretch of River Street still give drivers a rough ride.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The latest delay in releasing the list of "unindicted co-conspirators" in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal serves only to line the pockets of the many lawyers involved.

Governor Christie alone has managed to spend more than $10 million in taxpayer funds on his law firm's elaborate stonewalling of public suspicions that he was involved in the September 2013 dirty trick against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor.

Christie's lawyer, Randy Mastro, actually had the balls to announce he was lowering his hourly fee to $650 from $1,000.

Despite the obvious bias of Mastro's final report, The Record has time and again pointed to it as evidence Christie did nothing wrong.

And the Woodland Park daily allowed WNYC-FM and other media to take the lead in keeping track of Mastro's bloated bills to the Governor's Office.

Three-year delay

Now, the trial of Bill Baroni, who was the Port Authority's deputy director, and Bridget Anne Kelly, then deputy chief of staff to Christie, is set for this September -- three years after the event.

David Wildstein, a Christie crony on the Port Authority, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy last May, and is expected to testify against Baroni and Kelly.

We can only guess at the huge legal bills facing this trio, and whether they had to take second and third mortgages on their homes.

Silence on fees

High legal fees deny many people their day in court.

That doesn't trouble The Record or North Jersey Media Group, which has deep pockets and doesn't hesitate to finance such First Amendment cases as trying to make public the list of people who weren't charged in the lane-closure scandal.

At the same time, the editors also have done their best to hide just how much lawyers get from multi-million dollar jury awards and settlements by simply not reporting them.

And when is the last time you saw a story reporting that a plaintiff is paying $200, $300 or $400 an hour for representation or that a criminal defendant might have to come up with a $10,000 retainer to get a lawyer to appear in court with him? 

Law-firm merger

The Record stays silent on legal fees even as it promotes a Hackensack law firm that has been paid handsomely to represent NJMG in everything from age-discrimination lawsuits to copyright infringement cases.

A story on the Saturday Business page reported Pashman Stein is merging with Walder Hayden of Roseland, but didn't identify the Hackensack firm as the one that's favored by NJMG Vice President and General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg.

Local news?

The Record's Local front today includes three sensational court stories, and two more appear on L-3 along with crime news.

Yet, two local obituaries were buried on L-5, including one for the Fort Lee man who ran Zabar's deli counter.

"To the legions who shop at Zabar's, the Upper West Side specialty food emporium, Harold Horowytz was the prince of pastrami, the king of corned beef, the lord of lox," Staff Writer Jay Levin wrote.

Below the Horowytz obituary, Levin reported the death of Allen Wahlberg, a longtime Ho-Ho-Kus councilman.

So, Horowytz and Wahlberg are treated the same as Madeleine LeBeau, an obscure French actress whose obit also is played on L-5.

Bias against Obama

What motivated The Record's editors to take a pot shot at President Obama in the coverage of his speech to Rutgers University graduates on Sunday?

The reporting I saw elsewhere was overwhelmingly positive, but The Record's main Page 1 story on Monday ended on a surprisingly sour note.

What exactly was the point of quoting a parent, Vince Zangli, saying he "couldn't be more disappointed in the last eight years," a clear reference to Obama's two terms in office?

Of course, that is consistent with all of the attacks on Obama by Christie and Record Columnist Mike Kelly.

Still, many readers are asking whether Zangli, Christie, Kelly, the editors and the reporter who quoted the parent are motivated by racial animus against the nation's first black president.

Coach Christie?

And why didn't The Record and other media question Christie's excuse for boycotting Obama's speech.

Who believes that fat slob's claim that he has coached his son in baseball "since he was 7 years old," and wanted to see him pitch his last college game?

Chief restaurant reviewer forgets she is a reporter first

Parking in front of Joyce Chinese Cuisine and other tenants at Kress Plaza, a strip mall in River Edge, requires the skills of a constitutional scholar to interpret all of the signs warning customers about time limits, towing and other bad news.

The Record's rave review of Joyce Chinese Cuisine in Friday's edition makes no mention of the parking restrictions or that customers who use the bigger lot in back of the strip mall won't find a rear entrance to the restaurant. This photo was taken today before the restaurant opened at 11 a.m.

The restaurant, at 478 Kinderkamack Road, also has a sign on parking regulations, above, in addition to two others on nearby stores, below.

This sign means that if you park in front of the restaurant, you have to finish your meal in 30 minutes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Some River Edge residents were incredulous when they learned town fathers had approved a large Chinese restaurant for a Kinderkamack Road strip mall where parking is notoriously difficult.

Then, two friends joined a second couple for dinner at the new restaurant, Joyce Chinese Cuisine, and were incredulous they were charged an introductory price of $6 for a pot of tea that is free just about everywhere else.

Now that the restaurant has had its grand opening that pot of tea is listed on the menu at $8.

Starry eyed

You won't learn any of this by reading Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung's rave, 3-star review of Joyce Chinese Cuisine in The Record on Friday (BL-16).

But there is lots of gee-whiz reporting on the "more than $1 million" the owners spent to turn a vacant space "into an elegant restaurant" -- when every restaurant reviewer knows or should know readers can't eat the wallpaper.

Difficult parking at a suburban restaurant and an $8 charge for a pot of Chinese tea are two turnoffs that will keep me away no matter how good the Sichuan food might be at Joyce Chinese Cuisine. 

Lan Garden on Route 46 west in Ridgefield also serves Sichuan cuisine, and that restaurant, which is now having a soft opening, and Lotus Cafe in Hackensack have plenty of convenient parking out front.

Today's paper

Don't expect The Record to do any serious reporting on some lawyers' outrageous hourly rates or the roughly one-third they collect after huge monetary settlements of civil lawsuits.

In fact, Staff Writer Kibret Markos has filed numerous stories on settlements of many hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars without ever mentioning how much of that goes to the lawyers.

The rare byline of Jean Rimbach apears today over a front-page story on the $615,000 in legal fees Bergen County will be paying for two county police officers who were found not guilty in a police shooting (A-1).

On Aug. 16, The Record also reported in a Page 1 story the law firm that whitewashed Governor Christie's role in the George Washington Bridge scandal has billed "taxpayers" $6.5 million.

Hourly rates

Doesn't the county or state have the right to ask a judge if the fees are reasonable? Is that being done in these cases?

What about an investigative story on lawyers' hourly rates and whether they effectively deny due process to plaintiffs who cannot afford to pay for representation?

And are any lawyers in North Jersey actually doing significant pro bono work? 

Local news?

There is so little local news in today's paper a reporter was asked to write a story even after finding out no North Jersey activists are demonstrating over the shooting of an unarmed black teen in Ferguson, Mo. (L-1).

On L-6 in Local, the local-assignment editors scrambled to fill huge holes with wire-service obituaries of two people no one has ever heard of.

Friday's paper

Page 1 of The Record on Friday read like a regional edition of The New York Times with stories on Ferguson, Mo.; the beheading of an American journalist in Syria, new DEA limits on a painkiller, Ebola and the national 'knockout' game (A-1).

In Local, the only real news was the death of Violet Cherry, former director of Englewood's Health Department (L-1).

Her obituary shared L-1 with a story on "a study" of a DPW access road in Paramus.

And why didn't head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, do more with a Teaneck Police Department tradition of bidding goodbye to retirees with a parade and party (L-2 photo)? 

A single, nasty lawsuit won't derail reform in Hackensack

Hackensack residents lining up to question city officials during the public-comment portion of Tuesday night's City Council meeting.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Tuesday night, more North Jersey Media Group staffers gathered in one place in Hackensack than at any time since 2009, when the Borg family's flagship newspaper abruptly abandoned the city.

Four reporters and a photographer covered the City Council, which met on the third floor of City Hall, several blocks from The Record's old headquarters at 150 River Street.

Bombshells

The day before, acting City Manager Anthony Rottino hit city officials with "a bombshell lawsuit alleging that he was the target of a smear campaign designed to run him out of his $176,000 position," according to The Record's lead Page 1 story today.

Rottino, of Franklin Lakes, actually holds two positions, acting city manager and economic development director.

That "bombshell" is getting blanket coverage in The Record, unlike the "bombshell" decision to pull out of Hackensack, where the Borg family prospered for more than 110 years, about a year after the biggest downsizing in the company's history.

The negative impact on Hackensack's downtown was ignored as the Borgs shifted coverage to big mall retailers, whose advertising revenue keeps the Woodland Park daily afloat.

Reforms advance

Despite major missteps by the Citizens for Change slate that was swept into office in 2013, the Rottino suit is not expected to stop the drive to reform a city that withered and nearly died under decades of rule by the Zisa family.

In fact, as shown by the $94.46 million budget approved on Tuesday night, CFO Jim Mangin has earned praise for cleaning up the financial mess left by the previous administration.

Of course, the four reporters from The Record and Hackensack Chronicle weren't there on Tuesday night to report positive news.

Today's paper leads with the firing of former campaign official Thom Ammirato, a Rottino ally, from his $78,000-a-year position as city spokesman, but says nothing about the new spending plan (A-1).

Staff Writer Hannan Adely also reported the council summoned Rottino to "a hearing about his job" on Thursday morning. 

Word pushers

Columnist Mike Kelly, the burned-out reporter who helped cover the official corruption and insurance fraud trial of former Police Chief Ken Zisa in 2012, smelled blood, prompting him to make a rare trip to the city.

Don't look for any insights. Kelly is probably writing his column today and filling it with the same tired phrases he has used hundreds of times before.

The first paragraph of a second story on A-1 today, under the rare byline of veteran reporter Jean Rimbach, refers incorrectly to Rottino as "Hackensack's city manager."

Legal lesson

Rimbach reports "whistle-blower actions" like the suit filed by Rottino "are tough to win" (A-1).

The complaint claims Rottino opposed raising police salaries more than 2%, tried to protect Ammirato's job and raised questions about the allegedly "widespread use of steroids by members of the Police Department" (A-6).

Rottino also claims city officials violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination by "choosing a white candidate for a municipal judgeship over a qualified black candidate."

Acting City Manager Anthony Rottino didn't attend Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Sitting in was Art Koster, executive assistant to the city manager and city personnel director, left front. CFO Jim Mangin is seated at right. Mayor John Labrosse is seated on the dais flanked on each side by the four other members of the City Council.

'Costly legal disputes'

The Record's lead front-page story on Tuesday reported the Rottino suit and seemed to blame the City Council for failing in its goal of putting an "end to costly legal disputes."

Of course, this is the kind of simplistic nonsense reporters try to peddle all the time.

To put an end to "costly" legal disputes, you'd have to upend the entire system of lawyers charging whatever the traffic will bear, backed up by judges, who were, after all, onetime lawyers who tested the limits on hourly rates.

A lawyer who charges $400 to $500 an hour effectively denies many people access to the courts.

Still, this is a system supported by many, including The Record and Jennifer A. Borg, NJMG's vice president and general counsel, because it limits the ability of employees to file suits over working conditions, age discrimination, severance and other issues.

Second look

On Monday, the lead story in Local on the proposed county budget contained several reporting and editing problems, as listed by a reader of Eye on The Record:

"Today's L-1 article on [Bergen County Executive Kathleen] Donovan and the budget contains very confusing and mistaken information.

In the 2nd paragraph, it states:

The budget "will deliver real relief in the form of a slightly less than zero tax increase."

If the net difference is slightly "less" than zero, it is a tax decrease. It would have to be slightly "more" than zero, for it to be tax increase.

In the 4th paragraph, it states:

"Donovan, a Republican running for a second term, contends that in order to slice $6.8 million from the budget she proposed in March, the freeholders are tapping into funds that can't be replenished next year."

Based on further details in the article, they would not slice [cut] the budget by $6.8 million. They would increase the funding for the proposed budget based on using $6.8 million from motor vehicle fines instead of Donovan's proposed $4.8 million.

In subsequent paragraphs, it states:

"They're raiding all the funds and taking the money out, which is very imprudent because next year, even if you've got the money in, you can't spend it," Donovan said during a Record Talk Radio interview on Friday."

"She said she proposed spending $4.8 million from a fund for motor vehicle fines, about the same amount the county has spent in previous years. But Donovan said the freeholders have called for spending $6.8 million of that revenue, leaving about $450,000 in the fund."

"Donovan said state spending rules require local governments to anticipate receiving no more than they already have in the fund. Even if the fund took in $2 million in fines in 2015, the county would be able to spend only $450,000 of that amount, she said."

"So you've got a built-in, we think, over $3 million deficit on Day One in January 2015. That's totally irresponsible of them to do that, she added."

"The last paragraph is in the wrong order since it makes no sense on how there can be a $3 million deficit based on not being able to spend the freeholder's proposed $6.8 million vs. Donovan's proposed $4.8 million, which is only a net difference of $2 million.  

"It should have followed the first paragraph." 

Eye on The Record will return

 after the Fourth of July

Editors miss big story about legal system

This pothole on Euclid Avenue in Hackensack was photographed on Feb. 23, but still hasn't been repaired. I called the Department of Public Works and was told crews are filling holes, but permanent repairs can't be made until warmer weather arrives.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

A Page 1 photo in The Record today shows a man in rumpled clothing who could stand in for tens of thousands of litigants who have been made poorer by high legal fees.

Although the editors say Governor Christie is paying $650 an hour to his Bridgegate lawyer, the paper has never explored a system with no apparent ceiling on legal fees paid by ordinary people who face age, race or employment bias or who file other civil suits.

And those high fees deny access to the courts for thousands of people with legitimate grievances.

Rewarding lawyers

Today, a front-page story discusses all of the judicial vacancies Christie has left unfilled, including 21 in Essex County, causing case backlogs (A-1).

But the story doesn't explain those backlogs delay the cases of plaintiffs who then have to shell out even more money in legal fees, playing into the hands of lawyers like Christie.

Screwing up the legal system is the latest accomplishment of the GOP bully, the worst governor New Jersey has ever had.

High legal fees

Staff Writer Kibret Markos, who covers the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, has ignored high legal fees in just about every story he's written about lawsuits.

And Markos never tells readers that plaintiffs only collect part of those huge multi-million dollar  jury awards that make headlines, with a significant portion going to the lawyers.

None of this is surprising, given the propensity of the Borg family, which publishes The Record, to sue people for alleged copyright infringement, forcing them to spend many thousands of dollars to defend themselves.

North Jersey Media Group also regularly employs lawyers from firms in New Jersey and New York, paying them hundreds of dollars an hour to file suits to enforce open-records laws and for other purposes.

Maybe the Borgs get a discount when they run favorable publicity about Pashman Stein, the Hackensack law firm they employ frequently.

Media negativity

Staff Writer Virginia Rohan panned Ellen DeGeneres' performance as host of the Oscars on Sunday night, but today, the paper reports the broadcast drew the most watchers since 2004 and that a "selfie" by actor Bradley Cooper crashed Twitter (A-4).

Was Rohan merely indulging in the kind of negativity the media seem to love, finding fault with nearly everything and often failing to report anything  positive?

Editors' favorites

Of course, the editors do have favorites, including Christie and Rep. Scott Garrett, the conservative crackpot who represents the 5th District in Congress, including the liberal bastions of Hackensack, Fair Lawn and part of Teaneck.

Today, an Opinion piece by Garrett appears on A-9, where he decries "government intrusion" in food choices and other consumer issues. 

Hey, give me a break. Garrett, you may remember, initially opposed President Obama's offer of billions of dollars to help Sandy victims in New Jersey.

I keep misspelling his last name as "Garret," as in the mountain near the Woodland Park newsroom, and that's likely because every word out of his mouth adds to a mountain of mean-spirited bullshit.

More headlines

On L-6 today, two local obituaries appear, retelling the lives of a Lodi High School coach and a state police veteran who got plenty of headlines when they were alive (L-7).

What about the unknown, unsung people who led interesting lives? Don't they deserve some special attention?

More bad reporting

Rohan is back today with way too much information about "the evolution" of Matthew McConaughey, who won the best actor Oscar on Sunday night (BL-1).

What a waste of space. I would like to have seen second thoughts on her harsh assessment of DeGeneres in Monday's paper.

I especially found curious the reporter professed to be puzzled -- she wrote, "Huh?" -- when the daytime talk show host told the audience they would be considered racists, if "12 Years a Slave" didn't win the Oscar for best picture.

Obviously, that was a reference to academy members rejecting a film with a black director, a black screenwriter and a largely black cast that is a clear condemnation of slavery, which enriched whites and drove the country into civil war. 

Hilarious pizza bit

And I can't fathom Rohan's claim that there was no payoff after DeGeneres ordered pizzas, said she didn't have any money and asked Hollywood bigs to fork over some cash.

Harvey Weinstein, the homeliest studio head in Hollywood, handed her a couple of big bills, and actor Brad Pitt also contributed to the pot.

Instead of wasting space on the "evolution" of an actor, The Record's editor, Marty Gottlieb, should run a long piece on the "devolution" of Christie, and explain why he deserved reelection last year.

And let's hope that if Gottlieb assigns such a story, he picks someone who isn't as dim-witted as Rohan.

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).

Selling out to all those lawyers

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

The first all-woman jury in Los Angeles was seated in November 1911.

Even though Superior Court judges set aside Friday as sentencing day and juries like to return verdicts on that day -- so they won't have to come back on Monday -- there is way too much crime and punishment news in The Record of Woodland Park today.


In fact, you'll find only one municipal story on the front page and one in Local -- as head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' staff of lazy, incompetent assistants and reporters apparently took a three-day vacation from covering the 90 or so towns in the paper's circulation area. 


Editor Francis Scandale was so desperate to find something legitimate for Page 1, he had to pull out of the can a takeout on police using stun guns and blow up a photo of a high school football player. 

In recent months, Sykes' Local section has swung more and more toward accident, fire, police and court news as reporters neglect municipal coverage or are sidelined on endless "investigations." 

Hackensack reporter Monsy Alvarado has been told to chase every lead on the downfall of Police Chief Ken Zisa and cover every dinky disciplinary hearing as if it was the convening of the Supreme Court.

It's no wonder residents had to turn to a weekly paper this year to learn details of the city budget and higher tax rate, and the name of the new mayor.

Editors stun readers

Today's A-1 story on police use of stun guns is based on guidelines the state issued "last month." The graphic next to it uses the word "shootings" three times and "fatalities" twice in its heading and text. Someone should shoot the news copy editor.

On A-13, the Editorial Page, critical letters from three readers show they haven't been fooled by all the positive editorials and columns on Governor Christie's education and transportation policies, many by Alfred P. Doblin, the ass-kisser who edits that page.

In lawyers' pockets

Kibret Markos, the reporter who wrote the stun-gun piece, had a busy day at the Bergen County Courthouse, filing three major stories for today's paper. All the stories on the front of Local are related to state and federal civil or criminal courts.

Markos is in the pockets of the civil bar, as you can see in his report on a $7.4 million judgment Friday in a lawsuit filed by a Hackensack cardiologist who was run down by an inebriated minor. 

There is not a word on the huge amount of money that will be claimed by the plaintiff's greedy lawyers. In fact, in all the years Markos has been covering the courthouse, he has never discussed legal fees or explored how they limit people's access to the civil courts.


More crime-and-punishment news appears today on L-2 -- with an enormous photo to take up space -- and L-6. What's that harness racing story doing on L-3? Must be more filler from the desperate Sykes.

Selling out to advertisers

There is no local food coverage in Better Living today, but consumer reporter Kevin DeMarrais of the Business staff covers the opening of a "fast, casual" eating place in Clifton -- two days after Business had what amounted to a huge, free advertisement for a high-end steakhouse that is opening at a Paramus mall.  

'Your honor, Mr. Green isn't here'

Image via Wikipedia

The Rutgers College football team in 1882.

I feel sorry for that Rutgers football player who is paralyzed, but does Editor Francis Scandale really expect me to read this much about  it? I follow Formula 1 racing, not baseball, so I'm totally uninterested in the main element on Page 1 today. The Democrat turned Republican who is intent on unseating the congressman from Wantage? Yawn.

But look at the fourth A-1 story today in The Record of Woodland Park -- a glowing profile of the defense attorney for Ridgefield Mayor Anthony R. Suarez, who is on trial in federal court. Look at that client list. Read about his rags-to-riches rise. Why should I be interested in that? What kind of hourly rate does he command? $300? $400? More?


Oh, that's not in the story. Is that a deliberate oversight? 

In deference to the bar, The Record long has avoided discussing legal fees or even what attorneys keep when a jury award or settlement yields many millions of dollars for a plaintiff. And, of course, the former Hackensack daily has never explored the larger issue of how high legal fees and the snail's pace of civil litigation limit people's access to the courts.

Poor Suarez. Even if he is found not guilty, he'll probably be broke or his "legal defense fund" will be empty.


The relationships among judges and attorneys is so cozy. A criminal defense attorney can walk into a courtroom and say, "Your honor, Mr. Green isn't here. I'd like a postponement." And the judge, who was an attorney, immediately understands the lawyer hasn't been paid his retainer. No retainer, no representation, no hearing.


The front of Local has an "Accident of the Day" photo on the front -- a signature of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes. No Hackensack or Teaneck news appears in the section.


Food Editor Susan Sherrill and Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung have been so busy stuffing their faces with cupcakes, apple pie and other desserts, they didn't have time to write anything local for Better Living today.


Sherrill has been slaving away on her debut "Your Kitchen" column, based on a cookbook recipe. I've been eating takeout for days in anticipation.