The Jersey City Independent "

- All five mayoral candidates gathered for their first all-in debate last night in the Heights. They discussed crime, tax abatements and local tax burdens, the flailing school system, open space, mass transit and criminal justice issues. Some interesting policy ideas came out over the course of the two-hour debate, and we’ll shine a light on those in our report later today. Meanwhile, check out coverage from the Journal and Politicker.

- The City Council will appoint a replacement for Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello on Monday at 5 pm. Council president Mariano Vega says that Team Healy candidate Phil Kenny is one of the possibilities, but is not guaranteed to get the seat. Councilman Steve Fulop and several Ward B candidates have criticized the idea of appointing someone who is running in May’s election to the seat, which will be open on April 1.

- Facing a deadline to pass the 2009-2010 school year budget, the Board of Education punted last night. With five votes needed to pass the budget, the final vote tally came in at 4-2-1, with board members Terry Dehere and Ed Cheatam absent. The budget will now be imposed on the district by the state, in a move board chairman William DeRosa said “set[s] ourselves back 20 years.” The board members voting against the budget objected to the local tax levy for schools increasing from $86 million to $93 million — we’ll see how much the local tax levy will be now that the state will make the budgetary decision for us.

- A 26-year-old man was shot multiple times on Clendenny Avenue near West Side Avenue on Wednesday, and he later died at the Medical Center. It is the city’s seventh homicide of the year.

- Anthony Chiappone resigned his At-Large seat on Bayonne’s City Council yesterday, and will run for the 31st Legislative District with the Hudson County Democratic Organization in the June primary. The 31st District covers Bayonne and part of Jersey City. Chiappone was helped by his close relationship with Sandra Cunningham here, Politicker reports. Part of Cunningham’s decision not to oppose Mayor Healy in this May’s election hinged on Healy’s pledge to protect Chiappone in Bayonne.

- We noticed the new Team Healy sound trucks the other day that featured video campaign ads, but didn’t think much of it, beyond “isn’t this kind of distracting and dangerous for motorists?” Turns out the truck, idling away at the Grove Street PATH on Monday evening, was breaking state law. “As the words ‘Cleaning up toxic waste’ flashed on-screen, exhaust blew out of the truck’s tailpipe,” writes Green Jersey’s Jennifer Weiss. “Ten minutes later, the truck still smelled of exhaust and its engine was audible. A half-hour later, the truck was still playing ads and appeared to still be running its engine. State law prohibits diesel and gas vehicles from idling for more than three minutes.” After she brought it to the attention of Healy campaign manager Bud Demellier, he said “it won’t be on (idling) any longer … it has to go on auxiliary power.” In other Healy sound truck news, coming out of last night’s debate there was a quick scare for Healy’s folks gathered outside when a tow truck pulled up in front of the sound truck — but it wasn’t there to take Healy’s truck away, just to help the driver get back into the vehicle after he’d locked himself out.

- Terminal operators and a trucking association say business at NJ’s ports — including ones in JC — is already down 20 percent to 30 percent this year from the same period in 2008, forcing them to reduce operating hours, cut work schedules and lay workers off.

- Hudson County Court will shut down on May 22 and June 29 as part of a plan to save a little money by furloughing some workers.

- The JC-based nonprofit International Institute of New Jersey, which provides services to crime victims who are recent immigrants, has been awarded a $41,023 grant from the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.

- Jersey City’s “restaurant scene, a United Nations of ethnicities, is unparalleled in New Jersey,” according to Star-Ledger food critic Peter Genovese. He weighs in with a mixed review of Grand Sichuan on Grove Street (highly recommended by this non-food-critic writer).

- Presidential historian Michael Beschloss will be St. Peter’s College’s commencement speaker at this year’s graduation.

- The Journal took home several second-place “Better Newspaper” awards from the New Jersey Press Association.

In statewide news:

- Gov. Corzine’s budget cuts did not spare NJ Transit. The mass transit agency faces a proposed cut of $62 million, or 17 percent, which the Tri-State Transportation Campaign says “will impair the agency’s ability to properly fund operations, and increase the likelihood of a fare increase or service cutbacks.”

- A report released yesterday says the pension fund for NJ’s teachers is now underfunded by at least $15 billion.

- The state Supreme Court has recommended the Legislature create a law denying defense lawyers the right to cross-examine people who have suffered from witness intimidation.

- State officials say revenue from tourism fell 1.6 percent last year as the budding recession and high gasoline prices prompted people to travel less.

- The Newark Museum is celebrating its 100th birthday this month.

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