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- Pay-to-Play Issues Cloud Contract’s Future: The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency could void a multimillion-dollar contract for a City Hall annex because the developer violated the city’s pay-to-play law when it donated $1,500 to Ward E councilman Steven Fulop. Fulop and a company representative both maintain that the donation did not come from the company — even though Fulop did return the money.

- Renegotiating Abatements: The city has negotiated a settlement with four waterfront developers that will bring nearly $1 million in back tax abatement payments for the two most recent years.

- Are More Transparent City and County Websites on the Horizon? County and municipal governments and authorities would have to develop searchable websites so taxpayers can see how their money is spent under a bill that cleared the state Senate yesterday. Hudson County’s website recently received a below-average score on how well it provides “detailed and timely information to the public” from a coalition of good-government groups.

- BP Rally: About 20 activists staged a rally across the street from a BP gas station at the mouth of the Holland Tunnel yesterday to protest caps on oil companies’ liability for oil spills. “If the oil companies didn’t have so much power, we’d have electric cars by now,” one organizer tells the Journal. “We wouldn’t have to fight wars for oil.”

- Bill Proposes Change to UEZ Paperwork: A proposed bill would allow all businesses located in Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) to immediately deduct the entire sales tax on purchases for their own use inside the UEZ, rather than having to apply to the state for rebates. Advocates of the measure — like Jersey City UEZ director Roberta Farber — say the reduction of paperwork would be a huge boon to urban businesses.

- Moishe’s Collecting Notes for LeBron: The moving company is collecting gifts to be shipped to Cleveland to be given to LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers star who will become a free agent on July 1. The Knicks are among the teams interested in picking the b-baller up. If you want to send something LeBron’s way, the storage container will be awaiting additional gifts at 215 Coles St. through the end of this weekend.

- Daycare Coming to the Beacon: Little Explorers Academy has signed a lease to open an early childhood learning/daycare center at BeKids, the 66,000 square-foot children’s-only destination located within the Beacon complex.

- Bank Robbery: A man made off with more than $2,000 after robbing the Capital One Bank at West Side and Virginia Avenues yesterday.

In Statewide News:

- Affordable Housing Overhaul Clears Senate: Legislation that would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing and give cities and towns more of a role in deciding the amount of affordable housing within their borders was approved 28 to 3 by the state Senate Thursday. The bill, which is opposed by a coalition of affordable housing, environmental and smart growth groups, now moves to the Assembly.

- Fights Over Specifics in the Budget: Democratic legislators are reportedly planning to ask Gov. Christie to restore roughly $400 million in budget cuts to programs and services for AIDS patients, students and the poor. Meanwhile, physicians and others are calling on the governor and legislators to save the state’s $7.5 million anti-tobacco programs that may be eliminated July 1.

- Lobbyists Using Federal Law to Avoid Disclosure: With a new group airing radio ads that pitch Gov. Christie’s tax cap proposal, questions are being raised once again about who funds these efforts. But because Reform Jersey Now is registered under federal law as a nonprofit social welfare organization, it doesn’t have to disclose its donors or abide by strict state laws that seek to prevent well-funded special interests from dominating state politics. The Record reports that this is part of a pattern of organizations the federal tax code to skirt the tougher state campaign-finance rules, which require disclosure and limit contributions.

- No Federal $ for Fighting Cell-Phone Using Drivers: While drivers on cell phones are considered one of the most serious problems on New Jersey roadways, the absence of federal funding for crackdowns has left local police departments to strike out on their own, according to state highway officials.

- Help for Those Who Owe the MVC Money: The state Motor Vehicle Commission has announced a new program to help people get back on the road legally who owe thousands of dollars in surcharges but are unable to pay them off because they need a driver’s license to get to work.

- Biotech Industry Doing OK: A new survey from a trade group finds the state’s biotechnology industry has continued to thrive during the past two years despite a troubled economy and reluctant investors.