Do I blame lack of sunlight or sub-par Sunday edition?

Pupuseria Las Americas, which is open 7 days, tries its luck in a storefront on Salem Street in Hackensack. Pupusas, a traditional Salvadoran dish, are stuffed corn tortillas. Meanwhile, an ice cream and coffee shop called Upsy Daisy has failed to open after starting renovations at 479 Main St. in Hackensack, below.A Shilla Korean Bakery operated for several years in the building, across the street from Sears' parking lot. Daheen Wang Mandoo, a Korean...

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NJMG unit focuses more and more on making news

Seen at a highway rest area in New York State.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORNorth Jersey Media Group -- publisher of The Record -- is no longer hiding the promotional activities of one of its units, Exposure.This is how the publishing company describes Exposure:"Exposure is a specialty area within North Jersey Media Group (NJMG) that produces unique, local events with mass appeal. Utilizing the marketing strength of NJMG products in North Jersey, Exposure...

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Should lawyers' opposition stop downtown progress?

An attractive property at Main and Bridge streets in Hackensack, not far from a planned open-air performance space that is being opposed by prominent members of the legal community.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORHackensack residents and visitors overwhelmingly prefer a downtown green and open-air venue for entertainment and community events over a city owned parking lot with meters.But lawyers in firms lining Atlantic and Warren streets want to keep the...

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Balanced front page is more irresponsible journalism

Lunch in Manhattan sounds like a good idea. But if you park for two hours at the midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal, it will cost $24.Or you could park illegally as many do and grab a street-corner falafel sandwich.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORThe Record's front page today seems to have everything -- from the horrors of civil war in the Middle East to a silly column on whether Rutgers' football team can compete with the "elite."There is news about Bergen...

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Planned Hackensack park now called 'open-air venue'

A controversial plan to convert this parking lot, between Atlantic and Warren streets, into a downtown park has been discussed at meetings of the Hackensack City Council, which last week approved a $650,000 bond to help pay for it. Now, The Record reports, the plan is called "an open-air venue" that will complement the city's planned Performing Arts Center (old Masonic Hall, rear right).By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORAn outdoor stage and a green; a groundbreaking...

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There's a huge hole in expose of hospital takeovers

A senior living residence in Saddle River on Sunday played host to more than a dozen great jazz musicians and singers performing at a benefit for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, including vocalist Dianne Reeves, above, and Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdes, below. The drummer backing Reeves is Steve Williams.Introduced as the "greatest living jazz pianist," Valdes' pounded the keys at Sunrise Senior Living, where chairman emeritus...

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Home-delivery mix-up: Features and opinion, no news

A small but vocal group of residents nagged Hackensack officials to start twice-a-week garbage collection this year. But the city caved in before encouraging more recycling and starting a composting program to reduce the waste stream.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORThe Record's plastic bag in my driveway this morning contained two Better Living sections, two Opinion sections, two TV books and some advertising.When I called, I was told the news sections...

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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...

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Here is a big reason you don't want to move to Leonia

In Manhattan today, panhandlers working the rush-hour traffic on the Harlem River Drive ramp leading to the George Washington Bridge.By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITORTwo weeks ago, a vibrant 60-year-old restaurant owner using a downtown Leonia crosswalk was struck by a school bus and dragged 71 feet to her death.In The Record's story on Leyla Kan of Fort Lee, Leonia Police Chief Thomas Rowe appealed to Governor Christie and the Port Authority to do something...

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