The Jersey City Independent "

Low-income students attending New Jersey’s state and county colleges face an unsettling summer, as Gov. Chris Christie has proposed cutting the state’s higher education budget by $173 million. His painful budget plan, which comes in the wake of $62 million cuts shortly after Christie took office in January, means trouble for students attending Jersey City’s public colleges and universities.

Share/Save – Fare Hike Hearings Begin: Scores of commuters turned out at last night’s public hearings in Newark and Paterson on NJ Transit’s proposed fare hikes and service cuts. The hearings continue with several tonight, including one in Secaucus, and a few more on Saturday, including one in NYC. – Woman Shot Dead: A Bayonne [...]

Share/Save- The jurors in the federal corruption trial of suspended deputy mayor Leona Beldini asked for four things during deliberations yesterday; as the Journal notes, some were important, some not so much. Meanwhile, the jurors will have a snow day today and are set to resume deliberations on Thursday if the weather cooperates. – In [...]

Share/Save- FBI informant Solomon Dwek took the stand yesterday in the federal corruption trial of suspended deputy mayor and former Healy campaign treasurer Leona Beldini, telling jurors that Beldini was someone he had met and done business with. More from the Record and from Bob Braun. – David Cruz has a message for the protesters [...]

Share/SaveThe Assembly’s new speaker, Sheila Y. Oliver, announced today the leaders and the Assembly Democratic committee assignments for the General Assembly’s 23 committees in the 2010-11 legislative session, and two Hudson County legislators are in leadership roles, while almost all six are on at least two committees. “These Assembly committee chairs and committee members are [...]

Share/Save- Law enforcement officials are investigating whether the cop who shot an 18-year-old in the face Sunday night used appropriate force. Meanwhile, the man’s mother says doctors are telling her they don’t know if her son will regain his sight. – Bad news for the Banana Leaf: The popular Downtown food truck had its vendor [...]

Share/Save- Hudson County judge Maurice Gallipoli is scheduled to hear arguments tomorrow on whether Hudson County violated the state’s pay to play law when it awarded a contract to Correctional Health Services for prison medical services. That company’s president, Geoffrey Perselay, donated $1,000 to Hudson County freeholder Anthony Romano on May 30, 2008. The contract [...]

Share/Save- Hudson County’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed in the last two years, from 5 percent in September 2007 to 6.7 percent one year later to 11.6 percent in September 2009. It is now higher than both the state and national averages. Jersey City’s 12 percent unemployment rate is not the highest in the county; that [...]

Share/Save- Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, who represents Bayonne and part of Jersey City, is due in court today for his arraignment on charges that he and his wife pocketed paychecks meant for his legislative aides. – The Asbury Park Press editorializes that the the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics should suspend Mayor Healy’s law license, [...]

Share/Save- Guess who’s on governor-elect Chris Christie ten-person bipartisan transition team? None other than Jersey City state Sen. Sandra Cunningham. “I’m very excited,” she tells the Journal. “I think it’s a good opportunity.” – At-Large councilman Mariano Vega*, who was arrested in July as part of a massive federal corruption probe, has updated his campaign [...]