Hysterical voters denounce mail-in ballots weeks before Nov. 3 presidential election

We received our 3 mail-in ballots in late September.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I've long believed America has some of the laziest, most apathetic voters in the world, but now I see they are also some of the dumbest.

In New Jersey, vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 election are being sent to every "active registered voter," according to an executive order signed by Governor Murphy.

That order was cited by Bergen County Clerk John  S. Hogan, one of three county officials in charge of the election process.

The governor's executive order "aims to ensure that voters preserve their constitutional right to vote while upholding the priority of public health during the Covid-19 public health emergency," Hogan said.

But statewide voting by mail has unhinged at least one Maywood woman, who called for a class-action lawsuit against "our illegal, demonic governor."

Voting by mail

I and tens of thousands of other voters have used mail-in ballots for years in Hackensack school and City Council elections, in statewide primaries, and in general elections for governor, state Legislature, Congress and president.

We received our 3 mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election yesterday, and all registered voters should receive them by Oct. 5, Hogan said.

On Nov. 3, voters have three ways to cast their vote-by-mail ballots:

• Complete and return your ballot by mail in the postage-paid envelope provided. If postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10 at 8 p.m., the ballot will still be counted.
• Drop your completed ballot at one of "the secure drop boxes" located throughout Bergen County by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.
• Bring your completed ballot to your polling place by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3.

There will be a limited number of polling places open on election day "with voting machines exclusively for blind and disabled voters," Hogan said in a flier sent to every residential postal customer.

Hysterical voters

On Nextdoor, an online community forum, one Maywood woman referred to Governor Murphy as "very evil" and called mail-in voting "nonsense."

She also referred to mail-in ballots as "voter interference" and "election intimidation," and claimed they are "criminally illegal."

She called on other voters to join her in a class-action lawsuit to sue "our illegal, demonic governor."

She complained a sports arena in Newark was being used as a voting place to intimidate voters like her, because the people who live there "believe in garbage movements" that are "nothing short of anarchist attempts to overthrow the government" -- an apparent reference to Black Lives Matter.

But she denied that she is a racist.

Sadly, she was not alone in trying to sow confusion about mail-in ballots, and cite conspiracy theories and other nonsense, echoing President Trump.

Nextdoor usually is a forum for the exchange of helpful information, goods and services. 

Track your ballot

Mail-in ballots have become easier to use in recent years, and for the Nov. 3 election, you can actually "track your ballot" and see if it has been received by the Board of Elections.

The return envelope doesn't require postage as in the past -- it's postage paid.

The deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 3 presidential election is Oct. 13, 2020. Visit njelections.org.

That is also the site where you can track your ballot.

Watch this short video of Hogan demonstrating how to fill out and mail your ballot.

 

Read: Mail-in ballots boosted

 turnout in school election

When is the last time you got a $197 credit on your gas and electric bill from PSE&G?

SUNNY SIDE UP: Solar panels on my home in Hackensack, N.J., were installed in 2009 and 2012.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- I printed out my utility bill and stared in disbelief at a credit of $197.50.

I have solar panels and electric storage batteries on my home so I couldn't understand why since May I was receiving what I consider high bills for electric service.

Before 2020, my solar panels generated enough electricity to run my home for 4 months to 5 months every year so I didn't have to use or pay for any electricity from the grid.

Today, I called PGE&G and learned that during the Covid-19 health emergency bills have been estimated (starting on April 6, 2020), and the reading of meters didn't resumed until Sept. 3.

The bill I printed out this week is for March 7, 2020, to Sept. 3, 2020.

I received a total credit for those 6 months of $1,249.09 for overcharges on my gas and electric bills.

Hallelujah!

Where the millions of plastic bags recycled at ShopRite go and what becomes of them

RECYCLED INTO WHAT? My cart at the ShopRite in Paramus, N.J., is nearly filled with plastic shopping bags that are stuffed with more bags and lots of plastic food wrapping and plastic film destined for a recycling plant in Elizabeth, N.J. 

PLASTIC BAG BAN: After Paramus banned single-use plastic bags, ShopRite, Whole Foods Market and other supermarkets in the borough began bagging food purchases in paper, above. ShopRite's paper bag contains 60% recycled content and is itself recyclable.

Materials collected at supermarkets

turned into community playgrounds

Editor's note: This post has been updated with ShopRite recycling statistics, and a photo of Costco's recycled plastic carton that prevents the breakage of 9 million eggs a year.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- The massive recycling effort at the hundreds of ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey and nearby states yields new community playgrounds.

You can learn about the many tons of plastic and cardboard ShopRites recycle in a 2-minute video on "sustainability" from the Wakefern Food Corp.

Wakefern is the retailers' cooperative that owns and operates 344 retail supermarkets (see a link to the video below).

Recycling them into new plastic bags doesn't make sense as more towns and cities ban those bags, and as alarms are raised over microplastics poisoning our food and water supply.

What are microplastics? Here are 2 paragraphs from "How to Eat Less Plastic," the June 2020 cover story in Consumer Reports magazine:

"Cracking open a brand new plastic bottle or tearing a wrapper off a sandwich releases fragments of plastic that we might end up ingesting.

"Reliable research now shows that tiny bits of plastic -- called microplastics -- are in our food, drinking water, the air we breathe, and, yes, inside our bodies."  

ShopRite statistics 

Here are some of the recycling statistics for Wakefern's Elizabeth, N. J., processing plant:

1. Recycled more than 2.6 million tons since the 1970s.
2. In 2019, recycling totals include 135,873 tons of cardboard, 4,667 tons of plastic, 428 tons of newspaper and 762 tons of office paper.
3. In 2019, the plant composted more than 11,000 tons of food waste, and donated more than 5,000 tons of food to food banks.

Can more be done?

Although ShopRite, Whole Foods, H Mart and other supermarkets in Paramus provide paper bags to shoppers who don't bring reusable ones for their purchases, Tous les Jours, the bakery concession inside the Korean supermarket on Route 17, charges 30 cents for each paper bag.

And Aldi supermarkets in New Jersey have never provided plastic or paper bags to customers, but you can purchase a reusable bag for 10 cents.

A LOT OF YOLKS: Costco Wholesale officials say cartons made from 100% recycled plastic prevent breakage, saving more than 9 million eggs a year from landfills.

Recycling at Costco

Sustainability programs at Costco Wholesale, a global retailer, also are impressive.

"In some cases, we've been able to eliminate plastic altogether," Sheri Flies, Costco vice president of global sustainability and compliance, wrote in the May 2020 Costco Connection magazine.

For example, Costco swapped plastic for paperboard in sheet-cake trays, removed plastic hangers in some clothes and replaced plastic bags with compostable ones.

"If we can't eliminate plastic, we try to use less of it, through redesign," Flies said. "We reduced our plastic packaging by 6 million pounds in 2019."

Another goal is to use recycled plastic in plastic packaging, "such as increasing the recycled content in our Kirkland Signature 16-ounce water bottles to 50% in the U.S."

When plastic makes sense

"Kirkland Signature egg cartons ... reduce food waste, also a priority for us," Flies said, adding:

"These plastic cartons prevent breakage, saving over 9 million eggs a year from landfills and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"They use 100% recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which makes them 40% lighter than pulp cartons.

"These lighter weight and sturdier cartons enable our shipper to pack 50% more cartons on a truck, reducing truck trips from the farms to our locations and therefore reducing carbon emissions."

Read: How To Eat Less Plastic

Watch: ShopRite's Recycling

 and Composting Programs 

Watch: Plastic Wars from FRONTLINE

Monotony of 150 days in quarantine leaves me bored to tears, fearing long food lines

EXCUSE TO LEAVE THE HOUSE: To break the monotony of staying home during the Covid-19 pandemic, I pack up all of the plastic bags and food wrapping we accumulate and take them for recycling at the ShopRite in Paramus, a few miles from my home.

Plastic in our food and water

 adds to worry over coronavirus

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- As an older American, I know the quarantine is blurring time when I have to check my pill organizer to know what day it is.

The Covid-19 death toll continues to climb, but all my family and I can do is try to eat healthy, stay safe and limit our trips outside our home.

Still, with our quarantine nearing 150 days, the monotony, broken mostly by food shopping, is getting to us.

Our days and nights at home have a sameness to them -- punctuated only by horrifying news of the devastation and death caused by the coronavirus.

The United States has passed 5 million confirmed cases of the virus, more than any other country, The New York Times reported.

Food shopping

I've developed an unnatural fear of lines.

Lines that double, triple and quadruple, such as those I saw in mid-April at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

Or, even the long, single line of masked shoppers I once stood on at the H Mart in Ridgefield, a Korean supermarket offering a large selection of fresh, wild-caught fish for our Sunday dinner.

Now, I go to the smaller H Mart in Paramus, where there is never a line to get in on weekends, but lately a short line to check out with my fresh fish and prepared dishes like stewed tofu or pollock with sweet and hot peppers.

I've encountered other long lines, especially for returns, at Lowe's and Kohl's, both in Paramus.

Weight gain and loss

In the 5th month of the quarantine, food shopping -- my only form of exercise -- has become a chore instead of something I delight in.

Still, I am trying to buy more and more organic and non-GMO food that is free of pesticides for my family of 4, not only at Whole Foods Market, ShopRite and H Mart, but at Costco Wholesale, where an increasingly large variety of organic products and produce are available.

In the first few months of the quarantine, I gained 6 pounds, but I've been able to lose them and a couple of more by eating only breakfast and an early dinner, and watching my carbs. 

MAY 24, 2020: The line to get into the H Mart in Ridgefield, above, brought wartime rationing to mind. The line continued inside the store, below. 

PROTECTION: The H Marts in Ridgefield and Paramus consistently provide disposable plastic gloves to customers.

APRIL 23, 2020: Customers of Whole Foods in Paramus lining up to enter the supermarket after the hour reserved for shoppers who are 60 years old or older.

Shame on news media

Having spent nearly 40 years as a reporter, copy editor or food writer for 3 daily newspapers, including The Record of Hackensack, I've been so ashamed of the news media's surrender to President Trump.

In only the last month or so, it seems, reporters who cover the White House have started pushing back against Trump's endless stream of lies about the pandemic, the Obama administration, the environment, and Joe Biden, the Democrat who is running for president.

Meanwhile, Biden put his foot in his mouth a couple of times last week, including when he referred to CBS correspondent Errol Barnett, who is black, as "man." 

He also compared the reporter's  question about the candidate taking a cognitive test to asking Barnett if he "used cocaine." 

"Are you a junkie?" Biden said.

So, it's best to focus not on the candidate, but on what he stands for, and I'll take Biden's progressive platform over Trump's destruction of our democracy -- fueled by racism and greed.

A cartoon about President Trump by Steve Sack of the Star Tribune in Minnesota was among the most popular of the week (Aug. 1-8) on Cagle.com.

Plastic and food

After reading the June cover story in Consumer Reports magazine -- "How To Eat Less Plastic" -- I've replaced all of our plastic food-storage containers with glass, and stopped using a cheap coffee maker made mostly of plastic.

Now, I brew coffee in a Farberware Superfast Fully Automatic Percolator that my mother used about 30 years ago in our old Brooklyn home.

If Covid-19 doesn't get you, microplastic in our food and water likely will.

To make matters worse, the vast majority of plastic with a recycling symbol never gets recycled -- it ends up in garbage dumps, leaching into our reservoirs, or pollutes the ocean, where it is consumed by fish and other seafood.

The widespread notion most plastic is recycled is false, part of an elaborate, multi-million dollar ad campaign by the same petrochemical industry that pollutes our air and profits from the widespread use of plastic to bottle water and wrap food.

Watch: "Plastic Wars" from FRONTLINE

TWO MENUS: I'm a pescatarian, but the 3 other members of my family are dedicated meat and poultry eaters, so our food bills are unusually high. And we always have leftovers, such as this Atlantic Halibut Filet from Costco Wholesale I poached in Roasted Chipotle Salsa, and had for breakfast over leftover organic quinoa.

HEALTHY TAKEOUT: Wild Salmon BBQ Turmeric style was one of the 5 meals I ordered from Planted Eats, a health-food cafe in Hackensack.

Daily routine

I'm usually up before 6 a.m. to brew a pot of coffee, then shower (and shave every two days) before putting on my summer outfit -- shorts and a T-shirt, plus flip-flops around the house or a pair of Vans, red to match my Tesla Model S.

Breakfast is leftovers or I'll make a stuffed egg-white omelet with grated Parmesan cheese, smoked wild salmon, Mexican-style salsa and organic arugula or baby spinach, cut into 3 pieces so my wife and mother-in-law can have some, too.

If I don't have food shopping to do, I go online to print out credit cards statements or buy something at AmazonSmile.com or another site (nearly every day, it has turned out), and monthly spending on my Amazon Prime credit card has doubled during the quarantine.

I'll putter around the house or snip fresh herbs from the garden, read leftover sections from The Sunday Times under an awning on our deck, then go upstairs for a nap in the early afternoon, with my phone in my pocket to count steps.

I can easily do a mile or more around the house.

In the early months of the quarantine, I tried to walk in my Fairmount neighborhood every day, but that ended when I tripped over an uneven sidewalk and cracked or broke a rib. 

Early dinner

One of us cooks dinner and when my wife does, I usually have leftover fish or prepare a large dinner salad with raisins, slivered almonds, pitted Greek olives and fresh fruit.

We've been eating dinner as early as 3:30 in the afternoon, then settling down in front of the TV, having tea, roasted almonds, fresh organic fruit and no-fat yogurt until 8:30 p.m., when my wife goes upstairs to sleep.

I usually try to stay up until after 10 p.m., but TV, Netflix and Amazon have become so boring I barely make it.

I did double our Netflix DVD plan to 2 discs out at one time, and movies like "1917" and "Bombshell" have helped.

During the night, I get up 3 times to go to the bathroom, and start all over again before 6 a.m.


What's ahead?

In June, we started picking up takeout food from restaurants, including Lotus Cafe and Art of Spice, both in Hackensack.

And we spent a delightful evening enjoying dinner with wine and a pair of cabaret singers on the patio outside the Papermill Playhouse in Millburn.

Also in June, we drove into Manhattan to visit public statues and sculptures.

But only a Covid-19 vaccine will start us back on the road to normalcy, and allow me to volunteer again at a major hospital twice a week, as well as return to the gym, both for more exercise and the social contact.

I can't wait, even though I've always felt the definition of a "volunteer" is an older American who has nothing better to do with his or her time.

Japanese conglomerate owns equity fund that controls The Record, (201) magazine

THE VISION: A 271-unit apartment building -- to be called Print House -- is under construction in Hackensack, where The Record and North Jersey Media Group operated until 2009 (rendering from JLL Capital Markets).

THE REALITY: Construction on the first building, above and below, is expected to be finished in late summer to early fall 2021. A total of 5 buildings with a total of 654 units are planned for 20 acres between River Street and the Hackensack River. 

 Hedge funds, private equity

have become force in news industry

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- In 2016, a New Jersey hedge fund assumed ownership of Canada's largest newspaper chain "with very little fanfare," The New York Times reported last week.

The story noted "hedge funds and private equity companies have become a force in the news industry," including at The Record of Woodland Park and hundreds of other newspapers owned by Gannett.

"The private equity fund Fortress Investment Group controls the largest American newspaper chain, Gannett, which publishes USA Today, The Arizona Republic and 250 0ther dailies," The Times reported.

"Fortress is owned by the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank," the newspaper said.

A SoftBank subsidiary is called SB Media Holdings.

Borgs sell out

The Borg family sold North Jersey Media Group, including The Record, (201) magazine and other daily and weekly newspapers, to Gannett for nearly $40 million in cash in July 2016, but retained ownership of roughly 20 acres along River Street.

Now, with a nearly $49 million construction loan, the Borgs' Fourth Edition Inc. and partners have started work on the first of 5 apartment buildings.

Another apartment building in New Rochelle, N.Y., is called The Printhouse. 

"Print house" is usually a reference to a textile-printing factory. But a "printing house" is a reference to a company that produces "printed matter" -- closer to what The Record did in Hackensack for 110 years.

Cuts, cuts, cuts

Meanwhile, Chatham Asset Management of Chatham, N.J., emerged as the winning bidder last week in a bankruptcy auction for the McClatchy Co., "a chain with 30 media outlets including The Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Sacramento Bee," Edmund Lee of The Times reported.

"With roots going back to 1957, McClatchy, a consistent winner of top journalism awards, was one of the last major family run publishers" -- similar to the Borgs' standing in New Jersey.

What The Times reported about Chatham's track record as owner of a major newspaper chain is also true about Gannett, which accelerated a process started by Stephen A. Borg when he was publisher of The Record.

Postmedia, the Canadian newspaper chain, cut its workforce, reduced salaries and benefits, and "centralized editorial operations in a way that has made parts of its 106 newspapers into clones of one another," The Times said.

Read: The Borgs laughed all the way to the bank

Read: What the Borgs started...

Gannett is finishing with a vengeance

Read: The Record, NorthJersey.com

 lose tens of thousands of readers

Read: From great local journalism

 to hawking 'luxury' apartments

Covid-19: A showroom without Toyotas, need a mask to go home, outdoor dining

A CAR-LESS SHOWROOM: After I dropped off our 2010 Toyota Prius for service this morning, I walked through an empty showroom at Hackensack Toyota on River Street normally filled with the latest models. This dealer also has suspended a free shuttle service during the pandemic.

A short walk in Hackensack

shows changes from pandemic

THE CURRENT ON RIVER: A luxury apartment building across the street from the Toyota dealer is being marketed as The Current. Rents range from $1,950 for a studio to $3,500 for a 2-bedroom apartment.

MASKED TENANTS: This sign near the front door of The Current apparently means you need to wear a mask when you return home. The apartments were built on the former site of the Oritani Field Club and its tennis courts, and retain the club's 18 E. Camden St. address.

TWO-WAY WORK: Main Street in front of the Johnson Public Library was blocked for major infrastructure work as the city prepares to convert more of the street to 2-way traffic.

PHO ON MAIN: Pho Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant that occupies the space long occupied by Wondee's, is open for takeout and delivery.

WE STAND TOGETHER: The Main Street Business Alliance -- the force behind redevelopment of downtown Hackensack -- has posted signs rejecting racism. This one is in the window of Pho Saigon.

DELIVERY AND TAKEOUT: I glanced inside Pho Saigon before the restaurant opened for business, and saw the table where delivery and takeout orders are placed for pickup.

SHUTTERED BUSINESSES: The Riviera Lounge, above, where one customer praised the "beautiful ladies," and AMA Family Martial Arts Center, below, are just two of the shuttered business along Main Street.

PANDEMIC TO BLAME: Both businesses likely succumbed to restrictions put into place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

NEW BUSINESS: Halal Boyz is one of the new businesses on Main Street. The fare includes falafel and fried fish, available for takeout or delivery.

EATING OUT, LITERALLY: Outdoor dining is available at Noches de Colombia on Main Street.

REDEVELOPMENT: Work has resumed on two of the apartment buildings along Main Street, above and below.

NAIL GUN OR REAL GUN? The construction worker at the top of the boom was using a nail gun, which can be mistaken for the sound of a real gun.

GOING OUT OF BUSINESS: Sears, a Main Street landmark for many decades, is "likely closing," NorthJersey.com reported on July 1. The store opened in 1932. (See more in the comments section below.)

-- VICTOR E. SASSON

Cartoonists slam Trump's many failures on Covid-19, take a look at Nov. 3 election

This cartoon from Tom Janssen at Cagle.com shows President Trump's reelection chances plummeting as the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise. 

This Guy Parsons cartoon portrays Trump as the Rodney Dangerfield of American politics, facing many empty seats in rabidly racist Tulsa, Okla., when he resumed holding campaign rallies.

"And then, like a miracle, it goes away!" Trump is quoted as saying of the coronavirus in this sendup by Steve Sack, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis Minn.

Two amazing "medical facts" explored in this cartoon by Monte Wolverton are 1) people who take a Covid-19 test are hypochondriacs and 2) social distancing and face masks cause herpes.

Tombstone makers are catering to victims of Covid-19 who refused to wear face mask, says cartoonist David Fitzsimmons of the Arizona Daily Star and Tuscon.com. "He fought to breathe free or die," one tombstone says (upper left).

U.S. Attorney General William Barr has shown a propensity to punish those investigating Trump, so cartoonist Steve Sack portrays the "Barr Code" as reading "Corrupt."

Freelance cartoonist Bob Englehart of PoliticalCartoons.com suggests statues of front-line pandemic heroes replace those that are being torn down because they represent racism.

Flying without a parachute is the wickedly satiric result of  passengers refusing to wear face masks on a commercial airliner, cartoonist Dave Granlund says.

You've heard of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the fictional forensic psychiatrist turned serial killer. So, cartoonist Kevin Siers of PoliticalCartoons.com slams justice ill-served by portraying Attorney General William Barr as Hannibarr Lecter, who says, "Justice is served with some fava beans and a nice chianti."

Award-winning cartoonist Jimmy Margulies lampoons Trump's touting of miracle cures for Covid-19, focusing on Roundup, the week killer linked to cancer and multimillion dollar settlements in numerous lawsuits. Margulies was the political cartoonist at The Record of Woodland Park for many years.

Trump is the embodiment of the coronavirus in this cartoon from J.D. Crowe. "The tests are making me look bad," he says while wearing a hat with the message, "America first in Covid Deaths."

In this cartoon by Rick McKee, the Grim Reaper tells a man complaining it's too hot to wear a mask: "It's not the heat, it's the stupidity." 

As the July Fourth weekend approaches, cartoonist Dave Granlund believes Americans could use a refresher course on the Declaration of Independence.

Croatian cartoonist Petar Pismestrovic shows Trump as a gunfighter dealing with two enemies -- the coronavirus and the election.

Steve Nease at PoliticalCartoons.com portrays Trump fanning the flames of racism by finding another way to blame the Covid-19 pandemic on China.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON