The Jersey City Independent "

- Ward E councilman Steven Fulop, in a letter to the Journal, says that the furloughs of city workers put in motion last week by the administration aren’t the best step to begin facing the budget problem. He suggests a number of other cost-cutting measures — like eliminating outside consultants and car perks for city employees — instead. (This letter is not online.)

- A Hoboken man charged with murdering a man in front of a barber shop in the Heights in 2005 turned down the prosecution’s current plea offer at a hearing yesterday.

- Jersey City company MET Tech Inc. says it has introduced a new type of seismic sensor that offers greater accuracy and can potentially reduce the cost of underground oil exploration.

- Want to commemorate Veterans Day? The Journal has some options around Hudson County.

- Jersey City/Hoboken-based poet Jack Wiler died late last month. He was 57.

Today’s Best Bets:

- There’s an opening reception at 6 pm for two shows at City Hall — traditional Zen calligraphy by GaeSan Hye Seong and Bonnie Gloris’ solo exhibition “Beneath the Surface.” At 8:30, the Warehouse keeps the documentaries rolling with Home, and at 9 pm Michelle V. and Melinda Davis are at Lucky 7′s.

In statewide news:

- As he checks out the budget he’ll inherit, governor-elect Chris Christie is reportedly examining the possibility of declaring a financial emergency in the state. Such a declaration could give Christie broad powers, like suspending rules governing state worker layoffs.

- Anne Milgram will not stay on as attorney general in the incoming Christie administration. U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Ralph Marra seems to be in line to take over her position.

- The New Jersey Appellate Division has ruled that “use of force” reports, which document the circumstances surrounding a police officer’s use of violence against a citizen, are government records that must be made available to the public under the Open Public Records Act.

- Distress among commercial real estate mortgages in New Jersey is intensifying, with more properties in the state going back to the lenders. Some industry insiders say a crisis may be in the works if the economy continues to falter.

- The state Supreme Court heard arguments Monday on whether politicians can use campaign money to pay for criminal trials as an “ordinary and necessary expense of holding public office.” Former state Sen. Wayne Bryant, who was indicted on corruption charges this year and is now serving time in federal prison, wants to use some of his $556,000 in leftover campaign funds to pay for his legal fees from that trial.

- New Jersey is more than four years behind schedule in finishing a plan to combat invasive plants, animals and other organisms that threaten our environment, but the plan should be ready within a few weeks, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

- Bad job news: Just weeks after completing its acquisition of Wyeth, Pfizer says it will consolidate its research and development activity to five main campuses. This will result in the closing of Wyeth’s Princeton research center.

- The Hackettstown candy factory that produces M&M’s has flipped the switch on a new solar array that provides clean energy.

- North Jersey law enforcement officials say more than 4,000 people have turned themselves in as part of the Fugitive Safe Surrender program.

- South Jersey Republican state Sen. Diane Allen has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer,

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