The Jersey City Independent "

- City Car Policy Questioned: Mayor Healy is looking to reduce the city’s municipal auto fleet by 20 percent to help cut costs; Ward E councilman Steven Fulop takes it a step further and says all take-home city vehicles need to be axed.

- Budget Hearing Tonight: Remember, the public hearing on Jersey City’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget is at tonight’s City Council meeting. The proposed budget, as introduced, would impose a roughly 25 percent property tax increase on residents; city officials are still looking for more ways to cut.

- Immigration Jail Transfer Hitting Snags: With only three days to go before the official end of detention operations at New York City’s Varick Federal Detention Facility, officials have found that the detainees hardest to relocate to Hudson County Jail are those with serious medical problems. Advocates point out that moving the detainees to Kearny isn’t going to solve the problem of poor medical care for them. “The absence of legally enforceable standards leads to situations where detainees are being mistreated, whether they’re being held for a day, a month or a year,” New York Civil Liberties Union advocacy director Udi Ofer tells the Times.

- Christie School Cuts and Jersey City: School board member Gerry McCann says that Gov. Christie’s cuts to school aid could mean 1,500 layoffs in the Jersey City public school district.

- No All Points West This Year? Executives at AEG Live, the promoter of the All Points West music festival tell the Times they have not yet decided whether it will return to Jersey City for a third year, while a number of high-level booking agents say the festival seems to be off.

- More HCDO Speculation: Bayonne Mayor Mark Smith says he won’t rule out serving as the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) chairman, but adds that he’s not thinking about it right now.

- Martin Abreu Gets Jail Time: The Jersey City police officer who killed a 26-year-old woman while driving drunk in Manhattan last year has been sentenced to between 3.5 and 10.5 years behind bars.

- Looking to Lose Weight on the Small Screen: Eighteen teachers from Academy 1 Middle School have been working with Fox 5 News and Dr. Mehmet Oz on weight loss since mid-January.

- McNair Mock Trialers Suffer Defeat: McNair Academic High School’s mock trial lost its first match of the year at the regionals competition; they were beat by Mendham High School in Morris County yesterday.

Today’s Best Bets:

- “Does Frederick Douglass’ Vision for America Include President Barack Obama?” — professor Robert Perry will explore this question in a free lecture today at the library’s main branch (2 pm). This evening, St. Peter’s College will play host to a book signing and happy hour to celebrate Joseph McLaughlin and Thomas Matteo’s recently published pictorial history book St. Peter’s College (5 pm). Later in the evening, it’s the first night Catch a Rising Star’s monthly comedy series at Michael Anthony’s (7:30 pm), and there’s free live music at Made With Love (Kelly St. Patrick at 7:30 pm) and Boca Grande (Beninghove Banned at 9:30 pm).

In statewide news:

- DEP Must Release Names: A state Superior Court has ruled that the Department of Environmental Protection must make public the names and nominating petitions of the 108 candidates who sought appointment to a controversial state “Science Advisory Board” created last year.

- Christie Clamps Down on Independent Authorities: Gov. Christie has issued his 15th executive order; it places strict limits on spending by the state’s independent authorities, commissions and boards and sets the stage for eliminating some of them completely.

- New Transpo Chief: Transportation commissioner James Simpson says transparency and customer services will be his priorities at both the Turnpike Authority and NJ Transit.

- Toll Booth Behavior: Toll collectors on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway received more than 550 complaint letters about their conduct between 2008 and 2009, according to records obtained by TheSmokingGun.com.

- New Attorney General: Former Essex County prosecutor Paula T. Dow was officially sworn in as New Jersey’s 58th Attorney General yesterday at the Hughes Justice Complex.

- Suit Alleges Privacy Violations: The New Jersey Psychological Association is suing two insurance companies and an administrative agency that serve 800,000 state employees, saying they are routinely demanding therapists hand over confidential patient information as a condition of getting paid.

- Hearings on Nation’s Oldest Nuclear Plant: The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in South Jersey will likely come under intense scrutiny today when public hearings begin on whether to require installation of cooling towers, a multimillion dollar upgrade its owners say will force the Ocean County facility to close.

- Corzine’s Future Plans: Former Gov. Corzine has reportedly arranged to be a regular guest host and commentator on the financial-news network CNBC, among other national outlets, and will be guest lecturing at Princeton University and, perhaps, Harvard.

- Fishing for Votes in D.C.: An estimated 3,000 fishermen, including hundreds from New Jersey, will rally on the Capitol steps today to win support for changes to the main federal fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

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