The Record, Bergen County, NJ

Break-Ins Start with Knock at the Door ; Cops Seek Woman in Clifton Burglaries

CLIFTON Police are investigating a series of apartment burglaries that begin when a young woman knocks at the door and then the door gets pried open if no one is home. Since Jan. 10, there have been nine burglaries reported in apartment buildings around the city. Three of them occurred at an apartment building at 900 Paulison Ave. on Monday but police now have a description of the suspect.

Suspect Allegedly Stole Diazepam

LINCOLN PARK - A 28-year-old local man awaits a court date after allegedly breaking into a home Saturday and stealing prescription medicine. Police say Bruce Smith Jr. of Main Street had a bottle of Diazepam in his possession after they found him outside a Summerbell Lane home. Smith was intoxicated and admitted he had swallowed a few pills, they said. Police had received a phone call about a possible break-in at the residence at about 3 p.m.

Liberal Columnist Molly Ivins, 62

AUSTIN, Texas Best-selling author and columnist Molly Ivins, the sharp-witted liberal who skewered the political establishment and referred to President Bush as "Shrub," died Wednesday of breast cancer. She was 62. Ms. Ivins died at her home while in hospice care, said David Pasztor, managing editor of The Texas Observer, where Ivins was co- editor.

Obituaries

RUSSELL BELL, 55, of Palisades Park died Monday. He was a crystal fabricator for Coherent Crystal, East Hanover. He was a member of Elks Lodge 2475, Palisades Park and Fort Lee. Arrangements: Frank A. Patti & Kenneth Mikatarian Funeral Home, Fort Lee. MARK A. BERGER, 79, of Fort Lee died Wednesday. He had been a manufacturer's representative for Custom Wood Products, where he worked for 30 years. He was an Army veteran. He was a life master and life member of the American Contract Bridge Leag...

Motel Standoff Ends Peacefully

School Food Is All Fresh, Passaic Officials Say

PASSAIC No schoolchildren are being fed outdated food, district officials are avowing after finding 10 cases of hot dogs with expiration dates of November 2005 at School 6 last week. Board of Education members on the Cafeteria Committee were touring that school's food storage facilities to update procedures for getting rid of old food when they found the outdated meat last Tuesday, the officials said.

Speculating On the Blacktop Market

I was in New Brunswick on Wednesday listening to a bunch of guys yak about leasing two New Jersey toll roads to private interests when I got this terrific idea: I could make a killing by selling off one of my kidneys. A Google search showed a black market kidney can fetch $87,000, maybe more. Since I've got two, maybe I could get by with one? I could pay off my bills, build an addition to the house, maybe travel. ...

Silver Lining for Homeowners ; Soaring Property Values to Limit Bergen Tax Hike

A continued surge in property values and new construction in Bergen County will help curb the tax increase included in the $432 million county budget introduced Wednesday by County Executive Dennis McNerney. The proposed spending plan for 2007 calls for a tax levy of $295 million an increase of $24 million, or 8 percent, in property tax revenue over last year.

Male Athletes Lag Behind

Graduation rates for student-athletes in colleges across the country are rising, but male athletes continue to earn diplomas less often than other students. Among the 25 most popular schools for New Jersey residents that offer athletic scholarships or other athletics aid, 18 report lower graduation rates for male athletes. Female athletes, meanwhile, consistently outperform other students. Here are the top 10 most popular schools for New Jersey students: School, All students, Male athletes, F...

Englewood's Schools Praised by State Board [Corrected 02/02/07]

ENGLEWOOD The state Board of Education praised the school district Wednesday for moving faster on integrating high school students and providing all students with "comparable" academic opportunities. In previous reports, the district was criticized for maintaining two distinct high schools, the racially balanced Academies@Englewood magnet program and the traditional Dwight Morrow High School, which is largely black and Hispanic.

Some Democrats See Ferriero 'Power Grab' ; Protest Proposed Rules Change

Dozens of Democratic protesters stood outside Hackensack Middle School on Wednesday afternoon, opposing what they described as a power grab happening inside. The Bergen County Democratic Organization was voting on a proposal to change its rules regarding legislative candi- dates.

Police Union Slams Plan to Shut Dispatch Desk ; Letter Calls Washington Township Proposal 'Ill-Conceived'

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP The township police union sharply criticized Wednesday a proposal to shut down the local emergency dispatch center, saying the mayor and the Borough Council have not notified the public of their plans. In a letter obtained Wednesday by The Record, the township's Policemen's Benevolent Association said council members have been privately discussing since November a plan to close the local police desk on July 1.

Borough Calls in Enforcer to Keep Tabs On Landlords ; Code Officer Cracks Down On Building Violations

HALEDON You can take Mitch Hanenian literally when he vows "I intend to clean up this town."

Probe of Chief Wasn't by the Book ; Paramus Cops Erred in Harassment Case

PARAMUS The Police Department's Internal Affairs division failed to immediately follow the state attorney general's guidelines when handling sexual harassment accusations against Chief Fred Corrubia. After filing an open public records request, The Record learned that internal affairs did not generate a complaint number soon after police learned of an anonymous letter alleging that the chief groped a subordinate female officer.

Corzine Orders Tribute for Slain Officer

Governor Corzine called for state and U.S. flags to fly at half- staff Friday in honor of slain Paterson Police Officer Tyron D. Franklin. Corzine, who attended Franklin's Jan. 13 funeral in Paterson, issued an executive order Wednesday, calling for both flags to be lowered at all state departments, offices and agencies.

New Tests at Ringwood Sludge Site

What's new: Authorities trying to find out how far toxic waste has invaded the lives of residents near the Superfund hazardous waste site in Upper Ringwood will expand tests of game animals and look at residential properties. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is awaiting test results of deer taken from Ford Motor Co.'s former landfill off Peters Mine Road to determine what else it should test. What's next: In addition to a health advisory issued last week warning residents about eat...

Machine Unusable, so 11 Men Take Over ; Crew Takes Stumps with Chain Saws

WEST MILFORD Workers are relying on brawn and chain saws to slice through tree stumps clogging Greenwood Lake because the ice has been too thin this week to support heavy machinery. Grinding machines weighing 8,000 pounds were supposed to start chewing up thousands of stumps as soon as the ice was thick enough to support them. But despite freezing temperatures for two weeks, only two to three inches of ice formed on the nine-mile waterway.

Voter Rejection Hasn't Buried Artificial Turf in West Milford

WEST MILFORD Artificial turf on the high school field would make it usable virtually year-round, but is it worth the cost? Council members and school trustees are grappling with the issue, two years after voters overwhelmingly said no to the same question in a school referendum.

'Adored' Homeless Man Dies From Burns ; Memorial Service to Be Held Feb. 11

A homeless man who suffered severe burns when he accidentally set his mattress on fire with a cigarette died of his injuries Wednesday, hospital officials said. Michael Johnson, 40, died around 11 a.m. at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, where he was being treated for third-degree burns to his torso and face.