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- Here come the furloughs: The city is forcing all non-uniformed employees to work 12 fewer days without pay between Dec. 24 and June 30 in order to cope with a crushing budget gap of more than $40 million. The dates will be chosen by the city, and business administrator Brian O’Reilly says they will try to make most of them coincide with holidays and weekends. Representatives of city workers aren’t thrilled with the cuts, with the secretary of the 110-member Jersey City Supervisors Association calling 12 days “excessive.” The city expects the mandatory furloughs, which come after a voluntary furlough program introduced this summer didn’t attract enough interest, to save $2 million. Mayor Healy is also taking a pay cut, though the amount is thus far unspecified.

- A 25-year-old woman from Chicago was critically injured last night when she was hit by a pickup truck at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Newark Avenue.

- Teachers and administrators from Jersey City and other urban schools in North Jersey will gather at Kean University this fall to share ideas on how they can close the gap between their students and those in more affluent suburban districts.

- After a 25-year career in financial services, Jersey City’s Eric Diaz has changed careers and now operates a mobile pet grooming van.

- Hudson County Improvement Authority enforcement officer Harry Aceti has pleaded guilty to being involved in a gambling operation in state Superior Court. He must forfeit his job as an enforcement officer for the authority and is permanently barred from public employment in New Jersey. He could also face a criminal fine of up to $25,000 when sentenced on Nov. 13.

- Hudson County is hosting the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk on Sunday, Oct. 18, in Lincoln Park. Registration begins at 8 a.m., with the walk to begin at 10.

- A Community Partnerships for a Tobacco Free New Jersey seminar slated for this morning hopes to raise awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. The free seminar will be at Partners in Prevention (309-311 Newark Ave.) from 10-11:30 am.

- Chef Ian Kapitan, who left the Iron Monkey to open Jo’s Bistro in New York last spring, has come back to this side of the Hudson and returned to the Light Horse Tavern, according to the Life Vicarious.

Today’s Best Bets:

- The final Groove on Grove show of the season is tonight, with local faves Any Day Parade and the One and Nines on the bill. Tonight also marks the kickoff of the final weekend of J CITY Theater’s Passion — I caught a performance last weekend, and it’s definitely worth seeing, with solid acting, an interesting script and, yes, some live sax accompaniment. Also tonight is the “Remembering Glenn” program at the Cunningham Branch Library, where speakers are invited to come share their memories of our late mayor in celebration of his birthday.

In statewide news:

- New Jersey has been awarded nearly $40 million in federal funding to enhance state and local efforts o respond to swine flu this fall.

- Independent gubernatorial candidate Chris Daggett has unveiled what he describes as a fundamental restructuring of new Jersey’s state’s tax system, changes that he says would deliver up to a 25 percent property tax cut for all homeowners to a maximum of $2,500.

- Meanwhile, a new Quinnipiac University poll shows Gov. Corzine continuing to shrink Republican challenger Chris Christie’s lead in the gubernatorial race. The poll finds that among likely voters, 43 percent say they’ll back Christie, while 39 percent are behind Corzine, 12 percent will support Daggett and six percent remain undecided.

- A new federal rule that went into effect on Sept. 1 has banned telemarketing robocalls, but the calls persist — and so do lawsuits against the companies behind them. In New Jersey, Verizon Wireless and OnStar are pursuing claims against those allegedly responsible for robocalls that hawk extended car warranties. (Story not available online.)

- State Senate President Dick Codey is accusing South Jersey power broker George Norcross of an underhanded campaign to woo Democrats in order to remove Codey from power.

- Princeton University’s president says staff layoffs will be necessary after the school’s endowment declined nearly 23 percent in value during the past fiscal year.