JC school board approves teachers’ contract
The Jersey City Board of Education at its Thursday meeting approved a new four-year contract for teachers similar to the contract they turned down at a special meeting in March.
The new contract spells out pay increases of 4.3 percent for the current school year, 3.1 percent in the second year, 3.2 percent the third year, and 2.8 percent in the final year. Also, because of a new state law, teachers will have to pay 1.5 percent of their salary for health benefits.
The board had rejected in March a contract that had been negotiated for the past year, saying that economic times had changed.
The vote on the new one was 4-3 with two abstentions.
More than 800 teachers packed the meeting at School 11 in Journal Square for the meeting.
Voting against the contract were board members Patricia Sebron, Frances Thompson, and Sean Connors, while voting for the contract were board president William DeRosa, board vice-president Sue Mack, Peter Donnelly, and Carol Lester. Abstaining from the vote were Angel Valentin and Sterling Waterman, due to a ruling by a state Ethics Board that they might have a conflict.
18-year sentence for Jersey City pimp
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office announced that Jersey City pimp Allen “Prince” Brown was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison for running a human trafficking and prostitution ring in Jersey City’s Society Hill condominium complex.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Kevin G. Callahan issued the sentence, which includes 10 years and 10 months of parole ineligibility.
Brown pleaded guilty in April to racketeering and extortion as part of an operation that brought women from Camden, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and other towns to various locations in Jersey City known as “stables,” where Brown allegedly would take away their cell phones and any form of identification they possessed, and allegedly give the women heroin and cocaine to feed their addiction and control them.
New Jersey’s Attorney General Paula Dow offered a harsh assessment of Brown: “Allen Brown exploited vulnerable young women, imprisoning them in a life of prostitution and narcotics addiction … now it is his turn to face prison, where he will not be able to harm any more women.”
Port Authority board votes to buy Greenville Yards
The Port Authority Board of Commissioners on Tuesday authorized the agency to move ahead with the purchase and redevelopment of Greenville Yards, a century-old rail yard in Jersey City. The purchase will remove up to 360,000 trash trucks annually from trans-Hudson crossings and New Jersey highways by moving New York City’s sealed containerized solid waste and other commodities by barge and rail when the facilities are completed by 2013.
The board authorized $118.1 million for the overall project, part of which will go toward the purchase of approximately 47 acres of upland property and 72 acres of riparian rights at Greenville, and part of which will go toward the existing rail car float system operating between Greenville Yards and sites at 51st and 65th streets in Brooklyn, N.Y. Funding for this authorization will come from federal and state grants, and Port Authority funds.
New York City plans to ship an estimated 120,000 to 180,000 containers of solid waste per year through two barge-to-rail transfer points on the western side of the Port of New York and New Jersey. If Greenville is used for this purpose, it would handle about half of the container stream, with the balance going to the other selected facility. In order to meet this demand, the Port Authority will make improvements to decades-old tracks and infrastructure, as well as construct a modern barge-to-rail transfer facility.
Jersey City will be site of upcoming ‘American Idol’ auditions
For all the “American Idol” lovers out there, auditions for Season 10 of the FOX music show will be held in Jersey City sometime this summer, with no date or location announced yet, according to a post on the “American Idol” website.
The website also says that people can “continue to check AmericanIdol.com for the rest of the audition cities, registration information, travel guides, and the rest of the important details as we roll them out.”
Besides Jersey City, auditions will be held in Nashville, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
JC man is HCCC Valedictorian; Jesse Jackson delivers graduation address
Jersey City resident Poojan A. Mehta, a native of India who immigrated to U.S. in 2008, has been named the valedictorian of Hudson County Community College’s Class of 2010.
The Jersey City resident will deliver the valedictory address at the College’s 32nd Annual Commencement ceremonies this Thursday, May 27 in Prudential Hall at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. Ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder and president of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, and one of the most revered leaders in America’s civil rights movement, will deliver the keynote address.
More than 880 students will graduate that evening, making the Class of 2010 the largest in the college’s history.
Dominican Mother’s day event in JC
The Jersey City Juan Pablo Duarte Dominican Parade and Festival Association will hold its Dominican Mother’s day event on Sunday, May 30, at noon at the Dante Aligheri Society, 562 Summit Ave. in Jersey City.
Tickets are $20 and the event will include music, food and refreshments. For more information, contact Gregory Malave at (201) 432-9498.
June-A-Palooza Fair in JC
The Learning Community Charter School, located on Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City, is holding their fifth Annual JUNE-A-PALOOZA Street Fair on June 5 from noon to 5 p.m. at Hamilton Square, across from Hamilton Park in downtown Jersey City. Rain date is June 6.
There will be crafts, games, food, flea market, music, face painting, dunk tank and blood drive.
Also, the group will hold a raffle with wonderful prizes that includes a one-year gym membership, Yankees and Mets tickets, iPods, one-week timeshares, restaurant gift certificates, and show tickets. For more information, call (201) 332-0900.