The Jersey City Independent "

- Epps Contract Hearing: As we reported last night, no vote was taken on the controversial contract of superintendent Charles Epps at the special Board of Education meeting. Both NJ Spotlight and Politicker have good reports on the proceedings; look for our full report soon.

- 9/11 Responder Waiting on a Settlement: A former NJ Transit bus driver from Jersey City who helped shuttle Port Authority police officers from Journal Square to Ground Zero is waiting to find out how much money he’s entitled to over a settlement for health problems related to the 9/11 cleanup aftermath.

- Cocoa Bakery Goes for Crowd-Funding: Cocoa Bakery — the not-yet-opened bakery on Grand Street — has rolled out the Cocoa Club as a means of fundraising through crowd-sourcing.

- Ballot Positions Drawn for Sheriff’s Race: Incumbent sheriff Juan Perez’s name will be in Column A on this fall’s ballot. Perez, a former Democrat, is running as a Republican against undersheriff Frank Schillari, who has the backing of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

- Jury Deliberations Begin in Murder Case: Jury deliberations have begun in the murder trial of a 42-year-old Jersey City man in connection with a 2008 Heights shooting death.

Today’s Best Bets:

- The forecast is calling for rain, which could put a damper on the outdoor festivities scheduled for today, like the free Jazz for Lunch concert by Generation of Soul (noon) or the Kennedy Dancers’ free dance performance (6:30 pm) at Grundy Pier, and the second night of La Festa Italiana (6 pm). If you want to get indoors, check out the opening reception for photographer Beth Achenbach’s new show at Made with Love — Simplicity — at 7:30 pm, or take in a free screening of the 1979 Filipino film Mother, Sister, Daughter at the Warehouse (8 pm).

In Statewide News:

- Federal Mortgage Aid Coming: To try to help prevent more defaults, the Obama administration says it will send $112 million to New Jersey to design a program to help unemployed homeowners stay in their homes while looking for work. The state’s Department of Community Affairs expects to “play a role in implementing” the program, but there are no specifics yet. New Jersey has until Sept. 1 to submit a plan for spending the money.

- Super Bowl Money: The 2014 Super Bowl at the New Meadowlands Stadium is projected to pump $594 million into the local economy, and all but a fraction of it will end up in New York’s coffers. Just 3 to 10 percent of what visitors spend on hotels, fancy dinners, entertainment, rental cars and the like will end up in New Jersey, a study commissioned by the stadium says.

- New Jersey Association of Counties Audit: New Jersey county governments each year paid higher dues to a lobbying group whose director received massive salary increases with no apparent oversight, according to an audit obtained by the Record.

- Retooling Clean Energy Fund: Facing another year of scant funding, the Board of Public Utilities is scrambling to retool an ambitious clean energy program that had plenty of cash before the budget crisis hit.

- Lawmakers Push for Sodexo Probe: Two state legislators want the attorney general to investigate the financial dealings of Sodexo, the multinational firm that handles food service for 73 school districts in New Jersey, after the company paid $20 million to New York to settle allegations it overcharged 21 districts there for services.

- Meteor Shower: The Perseid meteor shower, a yearly spectacle that returns every August to fill the sky with streaks of light, is due to arrive tonight and peak Thursday, according to NASA.

- Sales Workers to Get Back Wages: New Jersey-based workers for CenturyLink will get a share of $144,593 in back wages recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division from the company, which had been investigated on claims that inside sales personnel were not paid overtime when working more than a 40 hours per week.

- Republicans Slow to Give Up Dwek Money: Despite vowing last summer to give away $51,000 it got from FBI informant Solomon Dwek, New Jersey’s Republican State Committee has only donated $6,350.

- Regional Electricity Use Sets Record: Consumers in New Jersey and 12 other Mid-Atlantic states in the PJM Interconnection region set new records for electricity consumption for June and July while using 16 percent more electricity so far this summer than last.

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