Bronx News Round-up

Here's a bundle of recent Bronx news stories, courtesy of one of our talented young reporters, Stephen Baron.

Bronx HIV Testing Push
The city health department wants every Bronx adult to get a free HIV test over the next three years, officials announced today.

To tie in with National HIV Testing Day, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is launching the largest HIV testing initiative in the city’s history. The campaign, called “The Bronx Knows,” also hopes to reach the 250,000 Bronx adults who have never been tested.

Though the Bronx beats the other boroughs in testing rate, Bronxites count for nearly a quarter of the city’s HIV infections and a third of AIDS deaths each year. Among Bronx residents who tested positive in 2006, more than a quarter were already sick with AIDS.

The Norwood News has previously reported on Montefiore’s Adolescent AIDS Program and Bronx AIDS Services.

Bronxites can visit any of one of 40 testing locations in the borough for a free, confidential HIV test. Visit here for a listing of locations.

Pathways Saved
The Bronx alternative high school Individual Pathways at Walton High School will be open for at least one more year, which comes as a relief to neighborhood residents, the Daily News reports.

School Funding Restored
City Council restored $129 million to stave off school budget cuts in the approved budget last night, though the school funding came at the expense of money usually given to “library services, cultural affairs, legal aid, seniors and government services,” the Daily News reports.

Fordham and Botanical Garden
Fordham University announced with the New York Botanical Garden a new graduate degree program to receive a master’s degree or doctorate in environmental science, the Daily News reports.

Lehman College Student Raped
Police are on the hunt for a rapist who attacked a Lehman College student in her Washington Heights apartment, the Daily News reports. Police have not released the name of the 19-year-old student.