The Jersey City Independent "

- Crowne Plaza Admits Polluting the Hackensack: The corporate owner of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Secaucus pleaded guilty Monday to unlawfully discharging wastewater contaminated with sewage into the Hackensack River, and will pay Hackensack Riverkeeper $75,000 for river patrol and maintenance programs.

- Manzo Seeks Dismissal of Corruption Charges: Oral arguments will be heard today to dismiss extortion charges against former Assemblyman Lou Manzo. The charges against Manzo were under the Hobbs Act; his attorney plans to argue today that the Hobbs Act applies to public officials, and since Manzo at the time was only a public-official hopeful, the act doesn’t apply and charges should be dismissed.

- Hudson County Leaders React to Health Care Bill: Most of the medical and elected officials the Journal talks to see the health care reform bill passed Sunday by the House as a win.

- Repping JC at SXSW: Local faves Any Day Parade get a nod in Jim Testa’s dispatch from the annual music festival; a few other Jersey City bands — including Chico Mann and Val Emmich — are at SXSW this year as well.

- Arrest in 1978 Murder: Two men — one from Jersey City, the other from Irvington — have been arrested and charged with the murder of five teenage boys who vanished from a Newark street nearly 32 years ago. No word as of yet on how the unsolved crime was solved; a press conference on the case is scheduled for later this morning.

- 14-Year-Old Shot: A 14-year-old Jersey City boy was shot in the leg while being robbed by six boys on the basketball courts at School 41 on Bayview Avenue Sunday night; a 17-year-old boy has been charged, according to police reports.

- Creative Grove’s Return: Dislocations has a report from last Friday’s re-opening of the Creative Grove Artist Market. “For a community to exist, it needs a point where the idea of community can manifest and be realized by everyone who shares the idea of community,” he writes. “Creative Grove is one of those points for Jersey City.”

- JC on TV: N.Y. Export: Opus Jazz, a contemporary dance film based on a 1958 Jerome Robbins ballet, was shot in offbeat, mostly abandoned-looking locations — including one in Jersey City. The film premieres Wednesday evening on PBS.

- Faux Cobblestones: Dislocations stops to talk to the folks installing some of the new crosswalks made to look like cobblestones; as he notes, the crosswalks aren’t just for historical whimsy — they also aim to make cities more pedestrian-friendly by putting the crossings into greater visual relief with the street.

Today’s Best Bets:

- Lots of good stuff going on in Jersey City this Tuesday. First up, for the history buffs or architecture nerds, the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce is putting on a “History of Jersey City” event at the Beacon (5:30 pm). The event includes a tour of the Beacon’s historic renovation, a book signing by Cynthia Harris & Leon Yost and a lecture on Journal Square history given by Dr. Eric Friedman. At NJCU, there is an artists’ talk for the “Make Believe” exhibition at 7 pm. On the free live music front, don’t miss the excellent Touristas at Bar Majestic (7:30 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Pension Reforms Signed into Law: Gov. Christie has signed into law broad changes to pensions and benefits offered to public workers. The new laws ban future part-time workers from the pension system, instead requiring part-timers who make more than $5,000 to join a 401(k)-style plan. It also makes pensions for future hires less generous, rolling back a 9 percent increase granted in 2001, requires pension payments to be based on one job, and limits payments of accrued sick leave for future workers to $15,000. The bills do not affect those already retired.

- Vote on COAH Killer Postponed: The state Senate has postponed a vote on legislation that would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing and give cities and towns more power in determining how much affordable housing they should provide. The bill is opposed by housing advocates, who took partial responsibility for slowing the bill’s progress yesterday.

- Budget Fallout: Public colleges and universities are bracing for another round of painful cuts after Gov. Christie last week proposed chopping $173 million, or 7.7 percent, of state funding from higher education next fiscal year. The spending plan would follow $62 million in midyear budget cuts, and would likely result in tuition increases, fewer new faculty hires, and cuts to several scholarship programs. Meanwhile, School boards across New Jersey are preparing to slash their staffs in reaction to the state’s plans to slash aid to schools. And Times columnist Bob Herbert cites New Jersey as one of many states where “millions of children are being left far behind, and many millions of adults as well” due to severe budget cuts brought on by the economic crisis.

- Nurses Sue Insurer: A group of 35 registered nurses are suing Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey on claims the insurer has underpaid them by $4.5 million in the past few years for their services as surgical assistants.

- Bad Day for Christie Nominees: The Senate Judiciary Committee declined to vote Monday on Hal Wirths, Gov. Christie’s nominee to head the Labor Department, after grilling him for more than an hour over his qualifications. The governor’s office, fearing that Wirths would be voted down, asked the committee to adjourn without a vote instead. The state Senate also refused to consider the nomination of acting Department of Children and Families Commissioner Janet Rosenzweig as questions lingered about her credentials and her role at an organization that specializes in sex research.

- ‘Jersey Fresh’ Designation Expands: A bill in the legislature would expand the “Jersey Fresh” labeling program beyond fresh produce, creating a category for prepared foods and baked goods.

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