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- A lawsuit filed by two former officials at the CREATE Charter School accuses Ward C Councilman Steve Lipski — who is the school’s founder and director — of ordering cover-ups of school violence. The suit further alleges that when former principal Najla Solomon and former dean Gloria Bennett did not comply with Lipski’s orders, he eventually fired them. Lipski calls the allegations “hogwash.”

- The JCPD says it rescued a 20-year-old woman on Saturday who said she was being held against her will by a pimp in Society Hill. According to reports, the woman was drugged last Monday and brought to JC from Ohio. She was eventually taken to a hotel in Chelsea to engage in prostitution but apparently refused. Then she was brought back to JC and held captive in the Society Hill townhouse. The alleged kidnapper lives in the same street in Society Hill as another alleged pimp who was arrested last fall for allegedly forcing heroin-addicted women to turn tricks in exchange for drugs and shelter. Weirdest fact in this report: “After giving a statement to police on Saturday, the woman was taken to the Journal Square PATH station where she said she would take public transportation back to Ohio” (emphasis added). Seems strange for cops to just up and drop off someone who’d allegedly been the victim of human trafficking.

- A JC cop shot a 20-year-old man from Kearny in the hand this weekend. The man was allegedly driving his car at the officer during a traffic stop at Linden Avenue near Route 169. The JCPD was responding to complaints about drag racing. The man who was shot got away and ended up in an Elizabeth hospital, where he told police he’d been carjacked. The Elizabeth cops, though, were reportedly suspicious, re-questioned him, and figured out that he’d been involved in the JC incident. The officer has surrendered his gun pending the outcome of the investigation, HudCo prosecutor Edward DeFazio says, adding that while the investigation isn’t yet complete, preliminary results suggest that the officer’s use of force was justified. The man who was shot is being charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault against a police officer, eluding police and making false reports.

- Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop is charging Fire Director Armando Roman of playing politics with promotions at the JCFD. Roman says the promotion of the firefighter in question, Terrance McGee, came because five or six captains are retiring and McGee is first on the list to replace them. Fulop was unconvinced. “[McGee] is close to the mayor and that is the reason [Roman] is promoting one additional captain after doing 17 last year,” the councilman tells Earl Morgan. “I don’t know what would prompt [Fulop] to say that,” Roman says.

- The $6.4 million pedestrian walkway from Newport to Hoboken’s train terminal is scheduled to open in four months. The NJ Transit project is part of a state-mandated Hudson River Waterfront Walkway master plan, which will create an 18.5-mile path from Fort Lee to Bayonne.

- Two of mayoral candidate Lou Manzo’s at-large council candidates talk to the Insider about the race. “It’s time to replace the criminals in City Hall with the real crime fighters,” says former county sheriff Joseph Cassidy. Former director of public works Betty Outlaw hits the Healy administration on crime and says that simply instituting a gun buyback program is not enough. “The primary deterrent to crime and youth violence is a preventive approach that is rooted in community involvement, church groups, recreational opportunity and education,” she says.

- With all the news about Alex Rodriguez and steroid use, the Journal wonders: “Whatever happened to an investigation of steroid use by members of the JCPD?”

- This year will mark the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to what’s now known as the Hudson River. Despite the fact that the anniversary won’t happen until this fall, the Reporter has a preview of some events.

In statewide news:

- The state Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear the ACLU-NJ’s challenge to a 2007 directive from the Attorney General banning the distribution of leaflets or any other materials within 100 feet of polling places. The edict also required media outlets to provide two weeks notice for permission to conduct exit polling. The ACLU wants to distribute a wallet-sized card that outlines who may vote, what to do if you aren’t allowed to vote and a hotline number to call for help.

- The potential loss of $21 million in state funding for NJ’s stem cell program — as proposed by Gov. Corzine — is the latest blow to the state’s dreams of curing diseases, attracting top scientific talent and creating the premier stem cell research institute in the nation.

- Gov. Corzine spent all or part of 105 days outside of NJ in 2008, according to a review by the Star-Ledger. The 105 days amount to 30 percent of Corzine’s time, and the number is up from 85 in both 2006 and 2007.

- A movement led by the New Jersey League of Municipalities aims to halve the state’s dedicated tax dollars for local libraries. A state Assembly bill to that effect was introduced last week.

- A bill moving through the Legislature would require school districts to try to obtain the criminal history, if one exists, of new students over the age of 18, in addition to his or her academic records.

- Opera New Jersey and the NJ Symphony Orchestra will collaborate on three productions this July in Princeton and a “Carmen” at three venues around the state next February. The groups are heralding the move as being on the cutting edge of a trend — sharing resources during the recession — in the nonprofit arts industry.