The Jersey City Independent "

The Jersey City Housing Authority will be the recipient of a $998,400 grant as part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Capital Fund Education and Training Community Facilities (CFCF) program, Congressman Albio Sires announced in a statement today. The CFCF program earmarks money for the construction of facilities that provide early childhood [...]

The Jersey City Fire Department will add approximately $1 million of life-saving gear – both for firefighters and potential victims – thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The grant will go towards ”turnout gear,” which is protective firefighting safety gear, as well as thermal imaging cameras that are used to [...]

Local organizers affiliated with the progressive group MoveOn.org are expecting a big turnout tomorrow when they hold a rally against the debt-ceiling deal in Journal Square. “The agreement on raising the debt ceiling will make a bad situation even worse,” says Fr. Dave Stump of St. Peter’s College, a lead organizer of the rally. “It’s [...]

- NJ to Lose House Seat; Will it Be One of Ours? New Jersey will lose one of its 13 seats in the House of Representatives, based on new Census data released yesterday that will shift Congressional power to the South and West. Experts say that one of Hudson County’s three seats may be lost, [...]

- Columbus Drive: The widening and reconfiguration of the busy Downtown thoroughfare Columbus Drive is well underway, but Ward E councilman Steven Fulop hopes that the plan to eliminate on-street parking may be reconsidered after the road paving is complete. The entire project is due to be wrapped up by next spring at the latest. [...]

UPDATED WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 at 1:15 PM WITH NEW NUMBERS The election results tonight in Jersey City show that incumbent Ward B councilman David Donnelly has won himself two and a half more years on the City Council, fighting off five challengers who all vied to fill the unexpired term of former councilman Phil Kenny, [...]

- Economic Development Subsidies: New Jersey Policy Perspective’s recent “The Good, the Bad and the ERGly” report shows how the state and municipalities take advantage of New Jersey’s newest tax increment financing law — the Economic Redevelopment and Growth (ERG) Grant program — to redirect state and local taxes to subsidize private projects. The report [...]

- Hoboken Joins Opposition to Spectra: Hoboken has joined the fight against a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through Jersey City to Manhattan, via an October 1 letter from mayor Dawn Zimmer to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Meanwhile, Spectra Energy has hired a research firm to conduct a phone survey in order [...]

When the New Jersey Education Association’s (NJEA) 125-member political action committee last week released its endorsements for this fall’s Congressional elections, one notable local name was not included on the list: Rep. Albio Sires. Sires, a former West New York mayor, was first elected in 2006 to represent the 13th District, which includes large parts [...]

- Sires’ GOP Opponent: Henrietta Dwyer, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Rep. Albio Sires is this fall’s Congressional election, says she was sitting on her couch watching news about the health care debate earlier this year when she decided to run for office. She dubs herself as “fiscally conservative [and] socially moderate.” – Wheelchair Athletic [...]