The Jersey City Independent "

- Today is the federal holiday honoring the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. City office and the parking authority are closed; here are some celebrations in the area.

- Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York is urging federal officials not to close immigration detention operations at the Varick Federal Detention Facility in Manhattan, arguing that their decision to transfer its roughly 300 detainees to Hudson County jail would “represent a crushing blow to the due process rights of immigrants.” Schumer points out that it would be very difficult for the detainees’ families or attorneys to visit from NYC to the county jail, which is Kearny; meanwhile the director of the NYU Law School’s Immigrant Rights Clinic says the Hudson County jail isn’t currently required to meet national detention standards, and that many of her students have been trying for months — without success — to visit detainees in the jail. It’s worth noting that the jail has also recently been sued for the alleged lax health care of a detainee who had breast cancer. The federal government is trying to make the move largely for financial reasons; housing detainees here would reportedly cost less than half it does to house them in the Manhattan facility.

- The attorney representing former deputy mayor Leona Beldini in her federal corruption trial has filed a motion to dismiss the charges; he argues that due process wasn’t followed, the counts against her are not supported by the evidence and the government should have to disclose additional evidence to the defense.

- The number of murders in Hudson County in 2009 dropped from 36 to 31 in 2008, but the number in Jersey City was 28, one more than in 2008.

- Bad budget news: the state estimates that every municipality and county in New Jersey will see a double-digit increase in pension payments this year. The exact amount of the payment, which is due by the end of June, hasn’t been announced yet, but Mayor Healy seems to have failed in his push to have state legislators allow local governments to defer half of this year’s payments, a move that saved Jersey City $14.8 last year.

- A 22-year-old and a 21-year-old from Jersey City have been charged with the execution-style murder of a 21-year-old earlier this month on Wegman Parkway.

- The Hudson County Improvement Authority has lost about $4.5 million in state aid, which could lead to municipalities seeing a hike in their waste disposal fees.

- The Jersey City Medical Center has sent a nurse and a paramedic to were dispatched yesterday to Haiti to aid in relief efforts. St. Peter’s College is pitching in too, as are other local organizations; here are a few.

- The Journal editorializes that Journal Square “needs more than it gets,” and calls for a closer look at the Journal Square Special Improvement District, which is designed to help businesses in the area flourish. (Also: who knew McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken were “small businesses?”)

- Jersey City has addressed 1,466 complaints for a lack of heat for both residences and offices since Oct. 1.

- The Insider reports that members are looking to revive the Jersey City chapter of the NAACP; be on the lookout for a membership drive sometime soon.

- A Jersey City man who has what he says it a million-dollar collection of rare books will soon be evicted from his apartment, and he’s unsure what will happen to his treasured collection.

- The Star-Ledger’s Jay Lustig reviews Tris McCall’s latest album, calling the Jersey City singer-songwriter “a unique figure on the local indie-rock scene.”

- Kendall Messick’s “Impermanence” show, which we wrote about earlier this month, gets the ABC 7 treatment.

- Following a trend among financial institutions, Provident and PNC Banks have adopted the policy of having customers show their faces by removing hats, hoods and sunglasses when they walk in the door.

- Jersey City’s Stevens Cooperative School has moved to a new space in the Newport area, which gives the school the ability to expand from a kindergarten through Grade 5 facility to a kindergarten through Grade 8 school by the 2012-2013 school year.

In statewide news:

- As Gov.-elect Chris Christie gets ready to drop the “elect” from that title and take office Tuesday, he says he “feel[s] like I’m ready” and that he “think[s] people are ready for the pain” of tough budget cuts that he plans to impose. Looking at what Christie has pledged to tackle (and how), the Record says “to do” list looks familiar. And the Philly Inquirer‘s Jonathan Tamari says “it has become clear the state’s political winds have shifted.”

- The state Treasury Department says that better-than-expected income tax collections in December helped New Jersey make up for sagging sales and business taxes, leaving the state’s monthly revenue 1.4 percent above expectations.

- Big sports news yesterday as the Jets defeated the San Diego Chargers, bringing them one step closer to a Super Bowl appearance. They will face the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC title game on Sunday at 3 pm.

- New Jersey is set to strengthen its seat belt rules.

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