The Jersey City Independent "

- County and federal authorities say they’ve dismantled a counterfeit check ring based in Jersey City and arrested more than 45 people believed to have stolen over $140,000 in North Jersey and New York.

- Star-Ledger columnist John Farmer, noting that last week’s municipal election wasn’t a big deal in state political circles, says it wasn’t always that way.

- Who might be the next chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization? The Insider throws out some scenarios. (Mayor Healy is currently chair, but the Insider seems to think his post is up for grabs. We’ll see.)

- The number of property tax appeals in Hudson County, like the rest of the state, are way up in 2009 from the previous year.

- To combat weak sales, Canco Lofts is offering a free Smart Car to each person who purchases one of their penthouse condos. The condos range from $550,000 to $675,000; the car retails around $15,000.

- A motorcyclist riding in Jersey City died early Saturday morning after he reportedly slammed into a concrete support. On Saturday night, a man was hit by a vehicle at Montgomery Street and Bergen Avenue and was taken to the medical center with life-threatening injuries.

- The bus company Coach USA, which owns Red & Tan, has received $444,000 in Homeland Security grants to help prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.

- The Golden Door Charter School is pushing to purchase its building on 9th Street from the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, but the city isn’t interested in selling.

- St. Peter’s College held its commencement yesterday; presidential historian Michael Beschloss was the speaker.

- A 15-year-old Jersey City boy won Nintendo’s Punch-Out Challenge in NYC this weekend.

Today’s Best Bets:

- Bob Leach, who JCI profiled last week, makes his second public appearance in a matter of days tonight. He’ll be at the Five Corners Branch Library (678 Newark Ave.) presenting Invasion of the Reds: Mayor Hague’s War Against Radicals & Free Speech, a video story. The event is free, and it begins at 6 pm.

In statewide news:

- MVC agencies are closed statewide today as part of the state worker furlough plans.

- The state Division of Child Behavioral Health Services is looking to change the way family support groups operate in New Jersey. Under its plan, group workers and board members would be hired by the organizations that make decisions about a child’s care, a move families and mental health advocates say is wrongheaded. They argue the care management organizations are the same ones whose plans for children are often challenged by the support groups.

- The two Republican gubernatorial frontrunners faced off in a second televised debate on Saturday. Chris Christie and Steve Lonegan sparred over taxes and their conservative credentials. The gubernatorial primary is slated for June 2.

- The largest of the state’s four-year colleges and universities are expanding the size of their freshman classes in September to accommodate a record number of applicants.

- A month after radioactive tritium was found at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in South Jersey, experts are still trying to define the scope of the contamination.

- The Gloucester County NAACP chapter is asking Gov. Corzine to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the way officials handled complaints made against police by two black men who claimed separately they were racially profiled and assaulted.

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