The Jersey City Independent "

- NJ Transit Fare Hikes May be ‘Adjusted’: NJ Transit’s executive director says that the amount of the proposed fare hike will likely be lowered. “At this time, a 25-percent increase is an extraordinary, extraordinary burden, so we’ll take that into consideration,” Jim Weinstein says, adding that the adjustment won’t likely be huge. Still, he says it was proof that this weekend’s public hearing process is democratic. “I know that people are cynical about whether or not this really has any meaning,” he says. “I will tell you that it does.”

- Sheriff Perez Fires Political Opponent: Hudson County Sheriff Juan Perez has fired Undersheriff Frank Schillari, who has said he is running against Perez in the June 6 Democratic primary. Meanwhile, Perez has reportedly changed his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican. The Reporter has more on Perez in this profile.

- Homicide on Clerk Street: An armed man walked up to a 20-year-old at around 6 am Saturday on Clerk Street near Myrtle Avenue and delivered a fatal shotgun blast into his back.

- Pension Reform Will Lower BOE Health Costs: The bill signed by Gov. Christie last week that requires public employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries toward health benefit costs will save the Jersey City school district about $4 million, according to Superintendent Charles Epps.

- It’s Auction Time: The city, desperate to raise revenues to help bridge a massive budget gap, is auctioning off four Jersey City firehouses, a Greenville three-story residential and commercial building and three vacant parcels Tuesday. The city stands to make at least $1.86 million from the sales.

- State Moving Sex Offenders from Hudson to Central Jerz: The state Department of Corrections says as many as 162 civilly-committed sex offenders — who have completed their prison terms but are judged too dangerous to be released — now housed in a temporary facility in South Kearny will be moved to Woodbridge. The change is the result of a May 2009 court ruling that ordered the offenders to be moved. The state stands to save — and Hudson County stands to lose — $2.3 million in lease money as a result of the move.

- School Named for DiNardo? The widow of slain JCPD detective Marc DiNardo is proposing that the School 23 Annex at 128 Duncan Ave. — where the late officer went to school — be named after him.

- High Tech Students Win Web Design Contest: Connie Ngo and Daniel Tripi of High Tech High School beat out more than 50 teams from 17 schools to take first place in the “Rapid Design” category in the high school division of the New Jersey Web Design Competition.

- JC Couple Trying to Win Wedding Contest: Erin Sturges and Marc Nesbitt are among hundreds of couples vying for the wedding of their dreams in the Crate and Barrel/Daily Candy Ultimate Wedding Contest.

- CREATE Expels Student Who Brought Gun: The 16-year-old CREATE Charter School student who was charged with having a loaded handgun in school was expelled at the monthly Board of Trustees meeting Thursday night.

Today’s Best Bet:

- Renown gang-intervention leader Rev. Greg Boyle is at St. Peter’s College this morning for a free lecture on working with at-risk youth (11 am). For more on Boyle, check out the Q&A with him we ran yesterday.

In Statewide News:

- Budget Fight Coming Over Taxing the Rich: Gov. Christie has refused to renew an income-tax surcharge on people earning $400,000 and more, saying residents are already overtaxed. Leading Democrats are pushing back, saying the legislature will not approve a spending plan without reinstating the tax surcharge. Meanwhile, Christie continues to talk tough, saying he’s ready for a prolonged fight with the state’s unions.

- Problems With the Property Tax Cap: In his efforts to tame the state’s high property taxes, Gov. Christie wants to copy Massachusetts’ Proposition 2 1/2 law, which limits annual increases in a community’s tax levy to 2.5 percent and requires voter approval to exceed that cap. The law went into effect in 1981, and Christie has heralded it as a shining beacon of success. But the Associated Press says Christie’s numbers “just don’t add up when you look at the big picture,” and experts tell Gannett the cap could be a disaster if it is not coupled with an increase in education funding.

- Hurdles Facing Medical Marijuana Law: The medical marijuana bill passed by the state in January is to be the most restrictive in the nation. But as the Record reports, “this tough stance raises questions so complicated they wonder if they’ll be able to meet this fall’s deadline.”

- Seeking to Limit OPRA Requests: Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo has proposed amending the state’s Open Public Records Act to limit on the number of requests individuals and private agencies could make during a certain time. Russo says the idea comes out of his town’s experience with a resident who filed excessive records requests to simply “bust chops,” but open-government advocates say limiting requests in any way is a bad idea. They say a better solution is for all municipalities to begin investing in e-governance technology.

- Budget Cuts Hurting Green Biz: The state’s slashing of clean energy funds has thrown hundreds of “green” businesses employing thousands of workers into limbo.

- Naming Rights on Rest Stops: James Simpson, the new commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, is contemplating selling naming rights to the turnpike’s rest stops as he scrambles for new revenue.

- Sending Sample Ballots Over Email: One New Jersey lawmaker has introduced legislation that would give voters the option to receive sample ballots electronically, rather than through the regular mail.

- Nonprofits Facing a Tough 2010: Less than 40 percent of 300 New Jersey nonprofits in the Center for Non-Profits’ annual survey say they expect their funding to rise this year, and more than a third are projecting a decrease. That comes on top of a rough 2009, when nearly half of the groups reported their funding decreased by 5 percent or more. At the same time, nonprofits are forecasting that the bad economy will cause the demand for their services to grow rapidly.

- Hospital Errors: A newly released analysis of reported medical errors in 2008 shows that patient falls were the most frequently reported incident, making up 40 percent of the 533 total events reported by hospitals to the state.

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