The Jersey City Independent "

- Three Years Later, Second Victim of Drunk-Driving Accident Dies: A 40-year-old Jersey City woman left in a vegetative state after a car accident involving a drunk Jersey City cop on the Pulaski Highway three years ago has died, making her the second fatality of the horrific crash. While her death is not expected to result in additional charges against the police officer, it may impact the civil suit the family has filed against Madison Square Garden, the Jersey City Police Department, Mayor Healy, former Police Chief Robert Troy and others.

- Hudson Has High Twitter Density: A new study from Jaffe Communications says that Hudson County has the highest concentration of Twitter users in the state.

- Cops Still Looking for Driver in Hit-and-Run: The JCPD continues to investigate the identity of the driver of a vehicle that killed a 72-year-old woman in a hit-and-run collision on Saturday; detectives are seeking the public’s help.

- Cop Faces Jail Time: A 29-year-old Jersey City cop faces up to 10 years in prison and the loss of his job when he’s sentenced Friday for assaulting his wife in December 2008 after he found her in a parked car with a man in Bayonne.

- Sentencing and Guilty Pleas in Rx Pills Ring: A 36-year-old Jersey City man was sentenced to state prison last week for distributing Percocet pills and heroin last year. Meanwhile, two other defendants from Jersey City pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the operation.

- City to Dedicate Trees Today: Jersey City will dedicate several trees planted last fall along 7th Street near Brunswick this morning at 10 am. “Working with residents and organizations in beautifying their neighborhood gives them the opportunity to take ownership of their local environment which they can be proud of,” Mayor Healy says in a statement. “At the same time, it builds a stronger community by developing and nurturing relationships among neighbors and city officials.”

- New Hire at Westin Newport: Donna Rybak has joined the Westin Jersey City Newport as its new catering sales manager; she was previously at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village down in Princeton.

- Arson Charges for 17-Year-Old: Investigators have arrested a Snyder High School sophomore on charges he set fire to a roll of paper towels in a bathroom at the school last week; the fire caused an evacuation.

Today’s Best Bets:

- The Tuesday two-fer is on, with free live music at Bar Majestic (Greg Ribot at 8 pm) and at Lucky 7′s (David Rynhart and Billy from WJ & the Sweet Sacrifice at 9 pm). Meanwhile, there’s also live music (from Roland Ramos) at what may be one of the final few BabyHole comedy show/open mics hosted by Melissa Surach; this week’s installment features comedy from Matt Ruby and Mike Lawrence and plenty of opportunities to get up on stage and do your thing (9 pm at the Lamp Post).

In Statewide News:

- Mass Student Walkout Slated for Today: Thousands of New Jersey high school students are expected to walk out of classes today to protest education cuts proposed by Gov. Christie. According to the Facebook group through which the protest was organized, more than 16,000 students plan to leave school between 8 am and 4 pm.

- NJ Pastor Leads Fight Against Arizona Immigration Law: A national Latino clergy group headed by Bergen County’s Rev. Miguel Rivera intends to file a federal court petition today in Phoenix challenging the constitutionality of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law. “Every Latino in Arizona will be in harm’s way with this law,” he tells the Record. “This is a law that sanctions, essentially, racial profiling. Police officers will work on the assumption that every brown person is an undocumented immigrant.”

- Offshore Drilling Hearing Today: New Jerseyans are getting their first opportunity to comment on the Obama administration’s plan to allow oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic Ocean with a hearing today in Newark.

- Court Rules NJ Blogger Not Protected by Shield Law: An appellate court has ruled that a blogger sued for defamation is not a journalist and is not covered by New Jersey’s shield law.

- Her Task: Making NJ More Business-Friendly: Lieutenant governor Kim Guadagno’s main charge in the Christie administration thus far has been leading the governor’s effort to jump-start economic development; the Record checks in with her to see how it’s going.

- Mechanical Car Inspections on the Chopping Block: New Jersey drivers would no longer be required to have their vehicles inspected every two years under a proposal by the Motor Vehicle Commission that could save the state $12 million. In addition, drivers whose vehicles are five years or younger would be exempt from emissions testing under the new plan. The current exemption is for vehicles four years old or younger. The MVC says the fail rate of the test isn’t enough to justify its cost, and points out that 29 states don’t have inspections.

- DOT Chief Says Safety Won’t Be Impacted by Slimmer Budget: The state Department of Transportation’s proposed fiscal year 2011 budget will be about 4 percent smaller, but while some road improvements could be delayed, safety and maintenance projects will not be put on hold, according to Transportation Commissioner Jim Simpson.

- Early Results: Low Pass Rates on Alternate Grad Exams: A year after the state revamped its alternate high school graduation exam, just 10 percent of the students who took the language arts portion earlier this year passed, while 34 percent passed the math section, according to preliminary results from the state Department of Education. State officials say the results are incomplete and caution against reading too much into them.

- Not Many Apps for Flood Aid Yet: Only a fraction of eligible business and property owners affected by severe early spring flooding in New Jersey have applied for available assistance.

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