Links and News Round-up, Friday, Oct. 5

Here's a few links and news stories as the week comes to an end here in the Bronx.

A couple crime stories to get us started:

U.S. Marshals arrested a Bronx man in Wilmington, Del. for allegedly shooting a 24-year-old man who was sitting on milk crate in Williamsbridge.

Two brothers from the northwest Bronx were convicted earlier this week for drug trafficking and murder. According to evidence presented at the trial, Pedro and David Gonzalez operated a large drug depot, selling marijuana and crack cocaine at East 196th Street and Crescent Avenue. Pedro was implicated in the murder of Eugene Soto, who was shot to death on Valentine Avenue in 1996.

A little local politics: The Daily News' Bob Kapstatter reports that Bronx Dem Boss Jose Rivera is throwing his weight around to help his son, City Council Majority Leader Joel, in his upcoming race for Bronx borough president against Ruben Diaz (and possibly Jose Marco Serrano).

Some sports: As everyone probably knows by now, the Yankees fell hard in the their postseason opener, getting shellacked by the Cleveland Indians, 12-3. Here's a story from an Australian paper about how Yankees fans expect nothing but big things (read: a championship and a clutch performance) from $25 million-a-year superstar Alex Rodriguez. Good quotes from local fans, but also a serious lack of baseball knowledge.

Yanks-Indians, game two, starts a little after 5 p.m.

And finally, a little history: Great story today in the Times Metro section by Manny Fernandez about the turnaround on Charlotte Street in the South Bronx. Thirty years ago today, President Jimmy Carter visited this devastated block of rubble and vacant lots. It looked like Berlin after World War II, but it was really just the victim of city/landlord/tenant neglect and extreme poverty.

For more on the Charlotte Street turnaround, read Jill Jonnes' seminal book about the trials, tribulations and, finally, triumphs of the Boogie Down: South Bronx Rising. An updated version now contains a whole chapter about the efforts of activists in the northwest Bronx. This should be required reading for everyone living or working in the Bronx. You can read most of South Bronx Rising here. Seriously, you should read this.

Have a great weekend. Bronx Columbus Day parade starts at noon on Sunday at Morris Park and White Plains Road.