The Jersey City Independent "

- City Looks to Bond for Embankment Deal: A bond ordinance that would allow the city to spend up to $7.7 million in its efforts to gain control of the 6th Street Embankment from developer Steve Hyman will be up for a vote at tomorrow’s City Council meeting. The city says it has a number of grants lined up to pay off the bonds.

- Hudson County Budget Hearing: The cuts to athletic programs at High Tech High and County Prep continued to be a hot topic at last night’s public hearing on the county’s budget. Freeholder Bill O’Dea says he’s found money to save the sports programs and also help pitch in funding for adult education programs, which are also facing steep cuts.

- New Development Looks to Use Geothermal Energy: The developers of the mixed-use development planned for the site of the former Van Leer Chocolate Factory are drilling for geothermal energy, which would help cool the buildings in the summer and heat it in winter using heat exchangers reaching 500 feet below ground.

- Kenny’s Petition for Sentencing Delay Rejected: Former Ward B councilman Phil Kenny has lost a bid to have his sentencing for corruption delayed; Kenny was trying to piggyback on a recent ruling that said Lou and Ron Manzo couldn’t be prosecuted under the Hobbs Act because they were not public officials. But a judge wrote that the ruling had no bearing on Kenny’s case, since he was already councilman at the time of the bribes. In other corruption news, former deputy mayor and Healy campaign treasurer Leona Beldini, who was sentenced this month to three years in prison for her role in Jersey City’s political corruption, has filed an appeal of the sentencing.

- Second Arrest in Teen’s Death: The Hudson County Prosecutor’s office says it has arrested a 22-year-old Jersey City man in connection with the murder of a Jersey City teenager earlier this month near Exchange Place. It is the second arrest in the case. The man was previously charged with hindering prosecution and possession of a firearm in connection with a December murder; in that case Tennessee Titans football player Kenny Britt acted as one of the guarantors of the man’s bail bond.

- Is Bill Matsikoudis On the Way Out? The city’s top attorney tells us he is “probably” leaving his post this year, but that nothing is concrete. Several anonymous sources tell the Reporter that Matsikoudis has made it clear he is leaving this summer, and one of those claims the corporation counsel is leaving so he can run for office.

- Tackling Apartment Overcrowding: The state Senate Urban and Community Affairs Committee has approved a bill that would allow fines of up to $10,000 to landlords and tenants who allow overcrowding in buildings. The legislation would allow municipalities to adopt ordinances allowing the issuance of summonses to those alleged to have violated occupancy requirements that leads to overcrowding, and it would not be applicable to seasonal rentals or to buildings with more than four residential rental units.

- Biblioteca Criolla’s New Home: The branch library dedicated to works in Spanish, which was closed last month as part of budget cutting, reopened yesterday in its new home — the library’s main branch on Jersey Avenue.

Today’s Best Bets:

- This afternoon marks the latest iteration of Pollie Barden’s Bottled Project; there’s a reception for Home Sweet Home, A Bottled V.2 Redesign Project, which features work done by MS #4 students, at 3:30 pm at Windows on Columbus. In the evening, Ward E councilman Steven Fulop and JC Families for Better Schools founder Shelley Skinner bring the Whitney Tilson’s education reform presentation, A Right Denied: The Critical Need for Genuine School Reform, to City Hall; the presentation will be followed by a panel discussion with Rev. Reginald T. Jackson, executive director of The Black Ministers Council of New Jersey, and Ryan Hill, founder and CEO of Newark’s TEAM charter schools (6:30 pm). For lovers of politically tinged post-punk, Lucky 7′s is the place to be this evening, as honorary locals Ben Franklin bring the jams at a free show with two touring bands — Texas’ A Disco for Ferns and Missouri’s The Dead Pawns (9 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Budget Deal Reached: Gov. Christie and state lawmakers have reached a state budget compromise that restores funding for some programs for students, the disabled and others. The major restorations in the deal that impact Jersey City include $48 million for Urban Enterprise Zone funding, $3 million for NJ After 3 after-school program that serves urban students and $1 million for the NJ STARS community college scholarship program.

- Dueling Tax Cap Proposals: Senate president Steve Sweeney is proposing a more flexible bill capping property taxes at 2.9 percent, while Gov. Christie continues to stump for his constitutional amendment creating a cap at 2.5 percent.

- Dems Fail to Override Christie Veto on ‘Millionaire’s Tax’: Democrats did not reach the two-thirds majority yesterday needed to override Gov. Christie’s veto of a tax that would increase taxes on income more than $1 million.

- Teacher Retirement Way Up: Nearly 6,500 school employees in New Jersey have filed for retirement this year, almost double the number for all of last year. The retirements are likely being spurred by state udget cuts and anxiety about possible changes in pension rules.

- Another Boost for Wind Power: The Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has approved a bill to help offshore wind developers finance their projects, which could help the bill clear the full Senate before lawmakers break for summer recess.

- Initial Backers of Solar Bill Now Oppose It: A scaled-down version of legislation designed to promote community-wide solar projects won approval from the Senate yesterday, but its fate is uncertain because many of the people who originally pushed for it were lobbying against the current version of the bill.

- Background Checks: School board members would be disqualified from serving if they’ve been convicted of serious crimes under a bill that passed the Assembly today. And a Senate committee has released a bill that would close a loophole that exempts bus drivers for private schools and state agencies from the background checks public school drivers are required to undergo.

- Yep, It’s Been Hot: This spring was the hottest on record in New Jersey, according to state climatologist Dr. David Robinson of Rutgers University.

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