The Jersey City Independent "

- UEZ Mayors Plot a Strategy: Representatives from the state’s Urban Enterprise Zones met yesterday at Liberty Science Center to discuss Gov. Christie’s proposed budget, which freezes UEZ funds altogether, and talk about how to push back.

- New Charges Against Manzo? Additional charges may be in store for former Assemblyman and mayoral candidate Lou Manzo, who is already under indictment for allegedly taking $27,000 in bribes from the FBI informant in the federal corruption probe. At yesterday’s pretrial hearing, the federal prosecutor said no new conduct is being investigated, but any new charges will arise from the same acts for which Manzo has already been charged. Meanwhile, Manzo’s attorney argued that the charges should be dismissed.

- Rider Suing PATH Over Bottle Arrest: Pavan Trivedi says he was slammed down to the ground by a Port Authority cop and held in a room against his will when he tried to take two bottles of sealed wine home on the PATH train on New Year’s Day. He says he is fighting the ticket he received, in addition to filing suit against the Port Authority.

- A Park Mess: Residents say they are encountering disgusting conditions at Major John Desmond Park, more commonly known as Audubon Park. For its part, the city says that budget cuts have led to parks being cleaned every other day, rather than every day as they had been in the past.

- High Schoolers Tapped for Big Game: St. Peter’s Prep’s Ronald Roberts and St. Anthony’s Derrick Williams are among the high school basketball players that are on the “Suburban” team roster for the Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game at Madison Square Garden on April 17. Prep’s Mike Kelly will also serve as a coach for the team.

- Street Art: Gaia has a better daytime picture of the new street art we told you about Monday, at what appears to be the corner of Stuyvesant Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard.

- Will NJCU Make the NCAAs? New Jersey City University’s women’s bowling team will learn whether it has been selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA National Collegiate Bowling Championship during a live broadcast today at 4 pm.

- Rx Pills Guilty Plea: A 51-year-old Jersey City man was one of four people who pleaded guilty Monday and admitted their roles in a black market network that distributed prescription narcotics like OxyContin and Percocet in Hudson County.

Today’s Best Bets:

- There is a free screening of the 1986 film The Mission, which is about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th century South America, at St. Peter’s College (7 pm). Over at NJCU, Hudson Pride Connections Center and the university are sponsoring “Trans-Logues,” which features the stories of women of the transgendered experience in a piece inspired by Eve Ensler’s “Vagina Monologues” (7 pm). In the mood for some music, Bryan Beninghove and his cronies have got you covered. They’re at Boca Grande for a show with special guest bassist Josh David (Q-Tip, Common) and a special $20 open bar special (9:30 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Affordable Housing Recommendations: Calling New Jersey’s current approach to providing affordable housing “irrevocably broken,” a group appointed by Gov. Christie is recommending that counties, not the state, oversee municipal development plans and require 10 percent of all new housing be within reach. The report is being roundly criticized by housing advocates, who say the recommendations, among other things, promote suburban sprawl.

- Pay Freeze for Teachers? Gov. Christie is calling for the state’s public school teachers to accept pay freezes in 2011 and make immediate payments toward their medical benefits, as significant layoffs and program cuts loom in most school districts.

- Public Speaks on Budget: More than 200 people attended the first public hearing on Gov. Christie’s proposed budget yesterday in Paramus. While some offered support for the budget, the Record reports that most did not.

- NJ Docs Group Sues to Overturn Health Care Bill: NJ Physicians, a nonprofit group with 1,600 members, argues in a eight-page lawsuit that the new health care bill undermines states’ sovereignty and violates citizens’ Constitutional rights by forcing them to buy insurance.

- New Jobs for Corzine: Former Gov. Corzine has landed back on Wall Street, as the CEO and chairman of options and futures firm MG Global Holdings Ltd. He will also be a visiting professor at Princeton University during the 2010-11 academic year.

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