Chris loves Sandy, but hates the rest of us

The new City Council, led by Mayor John P. Labrosse Jr., third from right, meeting at Hackensack City Hall on Monday night in an atmosphere of optimism for the city's future. A sign inside the 3rd Floor men's bathroom, below, seems to show the city has been conservation-minded, though it is just getting around to installing solar panels on its buildings, lagging behind Teaneck and other communities.

By Victor E. Sasson

Editor

Just imagine how Governor Christie is getting off every night thinking about Sandy -- the devastating superstorm he disguises as a siren who is luring unwary voters into giving him a second term.

The GOP bully is knocking himself out to convince voters he should be judged only by what he's done since Sandy -- and not on all of the promises to the middle class he has broken since he took office in January 2010.

And The Record of Woodland Park can't do enough to help him, continuing to run Sandy recovery news on Page 1, as it does today, or all over the Local front, even though more than 9 months have passed.

I have yet to see a story contrasting Christie's stand on the issues with that of Democratic challenger Barbara Buono.

As the bottom of today's front page shows, that's because Editor Marty Gottlieb continues to portray the contest as one that will go to the candidate who raises the most money (A-1).

Making babies

Gottlieb wastes more space today -- stories on A-1 and L-1 -- about the birth of the royal heir in Britain.

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' pathetic attempt to localize the story omits the names of any of the women who gave birth at North Jersey hospitals on the same day or the names of their babies (L-1).

Assume the position  

Filmmaker Michael Moore is a genius who has the courage to make documentaries no one in Hollywood would undertake.

But his well-known weight problem makes some readers wonder how Kathleen Glynn, his colaborator, managed to survive 21 years of marriage to him, unless he allowed her to be on top (A-2).

Some staffers have wondered the same thing about Sykes' husband, a tall, thin graphic artist who once worked at The Record.

Hackensack news

Today's Local front is dominated by a suspected gang member who tried and failed to take on the re-energized Hackensack Police Department early Monday (L-1).

Robert Leonardis, 22, fired one shot that narrowly missed Officer Joseph Ayoubi, but was severely wounded when four officers fired back, Police Director Mike Mordaga said.

At a Hackensack City Council meeting on Monday night, one resident said she now calls the police when she sees something amiss in her neighborhood, and they actually respond.

In the past, she said, she didn't bother to call because she knew police working under the corrupt police chief, Ken Zisa, would do nothing.

Solar-power lesson

A resident asked the council and City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono why no solar panels are being installed on city schools.

Lo Iacono said the profligate Board of Education has refused to meet with the council to discuss solar power.

The systems being installed on city buildings cost taxpayers nothing.

Coffee is hot and cheap

Sykes continues to rely on photos of minor accidents in place of legitimate local news, and continues to supply readers with no information on the cause.

Clues in today's L-3 photo suggest an older driver (Mercury Marquis, blue license plate and handicap space) couldn't wait to get a morning cup of coffee McDonald's sells to seniors at a special, low price, so he crashed his car into the fast-food restaurant.