The Jersey City Independent "

- The job market for Hudson County’s day laborers has dried up as construction has slowed to a near halt.

- A man was arrested yesterday for attempting to warn the JCPD about nuclear weapons at NJ and NY ports. Cops say it doesn’t matter if the man, who has been linked to false threats previously, truly believed he was helping out or if he was simply trying to cause a stir. At first glance, it sounds like this guy could use some mental health counseling, not jailtime.

- Some of the girls who will be among the first to attend Hudson Catholic Regional High School talk about why they chose to attend previously all-male school. Hudson Catholic is enrolling girls for the first time ever this fall.

- The Jersey City Economic Development Corporation is administering a $100,000 grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to help prospective foster parents correct any physical problems with their homes that may be impeding them from caring for foster children. The city is one of only three NJ municipalities to be awarded this funding.

- Columnist Earl Morgan thinks that the applications approved last week by the City Council to the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund are a product of election season.

- The nurses at Christ Hospital are joining nurses statewide in trying to get a new collective bargaining agreement by May 31.

- The city’s federally-funded $2.3 million high-tech crime-fighting center gets some love from Fox 5 News.

- NY Waterway could go bankrupt this year, according to Crain’s. The ferry operator’s financial outlook is so bad that it is preparing a lawsuit against US Airways to recoup the expenses it incurred during the rescue effort related to January’s plan crash in the Hudson River.

- In another one of his profiles of NJ’s congressmen, the Star-Ledger‘s Bob Braun talks to Rep. Donald Payne, who represents a sliver of Jersey City’s southern parts as congressman from the 10th District. Payne, who was elected in November to his 10th term, tells Braun that he spends his days working on bread-and-butter domestic issues and nights and weekends pursuing his keen interest in international affairs.

- An estimated 20,000-25,000 people turned out for yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

In statewide news:

- State lawmakers are considering a bill that could allow developers to remove age limits on already-approved housing without starting the municipal approval process anew.

- In 2006, Congress appropriated $127.8 million to keep trains across the country safe, but only $8.2 million — 6 percent — was spent.

- Gov. Corzine wants to introduce the Powerball lottery to the state to help ease budget woes.

- The retail vacancy rate along six major “shopping corridors” in North Jersey grew to 6.6 percent in 2008, according to a survey by R.J. Brunelli & Co., Inc. In 2007, the vacancy rate was 3.6 percent. Brunelli & Co. places the blame largely at the struggles of big-box retailers like Circuit City and Linens ‘n Things.

- Libraries are getting a lot of use because of the recession, the very economic force that threatens many libraries with funding cuts as states and municipalities struggle to balance their budgets.

- In the wake of a report released last week by the National Alliance on Mental Illness that graded NJ’s mental health system a C, just above the national average of D, the Star-Ledger talks to John Forbes Nash Jr. and his family. Nash was the inspiration for the book and film A Beautful Mind, and he and his son both suffer from schizophrenia. The family is advocating for the state to create a special needs trust fund, which would help individuals pay for services.

- The state’s ski areas had a decent season this year, partly because fewer people took big ski trips to Vermont or the Rocky Mountains.

- New Jersey Turnpike Authority employees earned $11 million in overtime in 2008 — an expenditure that agency officials attribute to a 24-7 schedule and chronic absenteeism.

- Both the Senate and the Assembly have full agendas today. Blue Jersey has the rundown.

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