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- Ward C councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez will stay in her seat, after a judge denied Norrice Raymaker’s legal challenge that sought to have Lopez removed from office; the dispute centered around whether or not Lopez was indeed a resident of Jersey City, or if her primary residence should be considered Florida, where she has claimed a homestead exemption tax and has allegedly spent much of her time. But the judge ruled that Lopez had been a resident of Jersey City since at least May 12, 2008, which is all that’s needed to run for office. Raymaker’s attorney says they plan an appeal; look for more on this later today from JCI.

- Bike JC will hold its inaugural meeting tonight; in case you missed it, check out our report on the fledgling bike advocacy group here.

- David Cruz weighs in on the same-sex marriage bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee late last night, arguing something that we have argued in the past: same-sex marriage is all fine and good, but the government shouldn’t really be involved in “marriage” at all — leave that stuff to the religious institutions. For more on yesterday’s hearing, check out a wrap-up from Blue Jersey, which was live-blogging, and Politicker. The bill is expected to be in front of the full Senate Thursday.

- Legislation sponsored by Jersey City Assemblywoman Joan Quigley that seeks to expedite the payment of accidental pension death benefits for the families of fallen police and firefighters was approved by a 77 to zero vote yesterday in the state Assembly. The bill comes after the widow of JCPD detective Marc DiNardo waited nearly three months for pension benefits to kick in.

- A vigil urging Congress to act on a robust health care reform bill with a public option is scheduled for tonight.

- During the holiday season, many minds turn to helping the less fortunate. The Reporter has a list of toy drives and other events in Jersey City to get you started.

- Local veterans congregated at the J. Owen Grundy Pier near Exchange Place yesterday to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor.

- Dislocations mourns the loss of Beret’s Simple Cafe in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, which has been closed for about a month now.

- The JCPD has kicked off its “Over the Limit, Under Arrest 2009 Year End Crackdown” on intoxicated driving during the holiday season.

Today’s Best Bet:

- Stephany Peikin, Jiliian Bordeaux and Pray for the Wanderer are at Lucky 7′s for a free show.

In statewide news:

- Same-sex marriage wasn’t the only thing going on in Trenton yesterday. The Assembly passed a bill to send a proposal to voters next November that would ban the state legislature from using taxes meant to provide benefits such as unemployment or disability checks for other purposes. The Assembly also passed a bill requiring school officials to notify parents whenever pesticide pollution is detected on school grounds is a step closer to becoming law. Meanwhile, a Senate committee passed legislation that would give adults with autism antidiscrimination rights and the ability to enroll in a statewide tracking registry.

- The Corzine administration has reversed course and now says it will apply in January for the first round of competition for federal stimulus money that could bring more than $200 million to New Jersey’s public schools.

- A group of advocates for people with developmental disabilities ramped up lobbying efforts Monday against legislation that would shutter five of the seven state institutions that house nearly 3,000 state residents.

- Verizon has agreed to a settlement with the state Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs to resolve the lawsuit arising from its marketing, sales, billing and customer service practices for its FiOS television, telephone and internet services.

- Gov.-elect Chris Christie and his transition team have reportedly decided on an Inauguration Day schedule that will take place mostly in Newark, beginning with a morning Mass and concluding with an evening affair at the Prudential Center arena.