The Times ties Christie to GWB lane closures

Two of the three lanes to George Washington Bridge tollbooths, above, were closed in early September after an exchange of e-mails between members of Governor Christie's staff and his Port Authority appointee, leading to gridlock in Democratic Fort Lee and charges of political payback by the GOP bully.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorThe New York Times Web site is reporting that Governor Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closures "when...

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Christie hires $1,000-an-hour lawyer at a discount

Thursday afternoon rush hour on River Road in Teaneck, as seen through a dirty windshield.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorTaxpayers are beginning to learn how much they'll be paying for all of the high-priced legal talent flocking to the side of Bridgegate figures, including Governor Christie.But don't expect The Record of Woodland Park to investigate a legal system with no ceiling on hourly rates that, in effect, restricts access to the courts.Or discuss...

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N.J. Public Radio: Why is Christie so secretive?

The Modern, a 47-story apartment building under construction in Fort Lee, overlooks the Chris Christie Memorial Local Access Lanes to the George Washington Bridge, below.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorNew Jersey Public Radio says The Record's top lawyer is calling the Christie administration the most secretive in decades.Jennifer A. Borg is being quoted today in the report on WNYC-FM, whose Web site calls the story "Chris Christie's 18 State Secrets."Matt...

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Editors join Republicans who sit on their asses

This winter's crop of potholes has blossomed on Euclid Avenue, near Summit Avenue, in Hackensack, above and below. Other big potholes are on Euclid, near the railroad tracks, and on the Anderson Street Bridge to Teaneck.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorBarack Obama delivered one of the best speeches of his presidency on Tuesday night, but hundreds of congressional Republicans greeted his call to action by sitting on their asses.And today, The Record's editors...

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Finally, here is Super Bowl news to celebrate

Miller's N.J. Ale House on Route 4 in Paramus didn't call Fish for a seafood delivery. Imagine the possibilities: Bully Beef Building Maintenance, Pork Barrel Electricians and Lamb & Lion Plumbers.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorIf you can survive the boring front-page Tara Sullivan column on an assistant pro football coach with the improbable last name of "Studesville," there is really big Super Bowl news in The Record today.Woody Johnson, the filthy...

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Pro football keeps on dumping on New Jersey

On Route 4 in Paramus this morning, I didn't see any signs of the Super Bowl 'frenzy' that was headlined so prominently in The Record. At 8:30 a.m., the sun wasn't even shining.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorThe teams set to clash in this Sunday's Super Bowl are partying in New York City, but sleeping in a Jersey City hotel.That way, pro football can continue to take a dump in the Garden State as it perpetuates the fiction the game is being played...

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Christie speaks 'loudly' and acts like 'a big dick'

Cedar Lane and River Road in Teaneck on Thursday afternoon.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorGovernor Christie's insults, vetoes and mean-spirited budget cuts have earned him the title of "GOP bully" everywhere but at The Record.In April 2011, Christie urged the media "to take the bat" to state Sen. Loretta Weinberg of Teaneck for collecting a taxpayer-funded pension while making $49,000 a year as a legislator -- even as one of the governor's Democratic allies...

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Editors go to bat for drunks, perverts and gamblers

Hackensack's 2014 Recycling Calendar arrived today -- 24 days into the new year -- inserted into my home-delivered copy of The Record. Better late than never, I guess, but it's a good thing it wasn't inserted into Thursday's paper, which wasn't delivered.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorThe Record today delivers more hand-wringing by the editors over whether Super Bowl fans will see the Garden State's best face.An editorial complains that NJ Transit "is...

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Are taxpayers footing huge Bridgegate legal bills?

The Modern, a 47-story residential building under construction in Fort Lee, overlooks the three George Washington Bridge access lanes at the center of Governor Christie's biggest crisis since he took office in 2010.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorThe print edition still hasn't hit my driveway, so I turned to NorthJersey.com for the latest developments in the Bridgegate scandal.Everybody is hiring highly paid legal heavyweights to represent them, but I can't...

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Marty Gottlieb has little to show for 2 years at the helm

This morning, a path had been cleared so commuters wouldn't have to climb over the snow at a bus stop across the street from Sears in Hackensack, above, but that wasn't the case at another bus stop around the corner on Anderson Street, below.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorThis month, former New York Times editor Marty Gottlieb is celebrating two years at the helm of The Record of Woodland Park, and readers can only guess at what he lists as his accomplishments.Most...

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A half-assed assessment of Christie's first term

Route 17 in Paramus, above, and the view through a streaked windshield, below, after about four hours of snowfall today. Municipal crews from Hackensack to Ho-Ho-Kus and Englewood to Elmwood Park will do their usual sloppy job of making streets safe for drivers and pedestrians, but The Record's lazy assignment editors, including Dan Sforza, will merely shrug their shoulders, as their predecessors have for decades.By VICTOR E. SASSONEditorSlapping...

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