Amazing What a Fresh Coat of Paint Can Do

Students from Bronx Aerospace Academy spent

the fall semester spruce up their school's facilities

This winter, the halls of the Bronx Aerospace Academy, a small military-themed high school on Gun Hill Road, look fresh and new thanks to a nonprofit group that is making its mission to spruce up the city's drab and dilapidated public school buildings.

Publicolor, founded in 1996 by industrial designer Ruth Lande Shuman, aims to engage at-risk students with their learning environment by getting them to paint their school hallways, classrooms and other facilities.

Read the full story here.

-Photos by Falon Perez

Bronx News Links: Arroyo in trouble, Bronx Aerospace under fire, Supermarkets dwindle

Here's a few Bronx stories from last week that we didn't get around to posting until today:

Arroyo Under Investigation
Bronx City Councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo is under criminal investigation for allegedly funneling more than $80,000 to a nonprofit with family connections.

Daily News reports: "City officials confirmed the probe Wednesday, a month after the Daily News disclosed that Arroyo directed $82,500 in 2007 to the South Bronx Community Corp., where her sister was the fiscal officer and her nephew was executive director."

Bronx Aerospace Under Fire
The extremely successful Bronx Aerospace H.S. may be closed by the Air Force at the end of next year unless school administrators can account for $66,000 and address possible rule violations, the Daily News reports.

The Air Force officially placed the school on probation for possibly mishandling ROTC funds, and parents and teachers have complained about certain school rules, including one student promoting his girlfriend.

The principal, Barbara Kirkweg, known around school as Captain Kirk, says the problem surrounds ROTC funds, which are separate from general school funds and she expects situation to be resolved soon.

In 2006, we reported that the aviation-themed Academy graduated more than 93 percent of its class in 2005, making it the most successful small school at the time. Last year's graduation rate was 90 percent, according to InsideSchools.org. Students said they are judged based on their performance and leadership skills rather than students' clothing. The high school also provides a refuge from the streets, as students often stayed late in the night.

Supermarket Scarcity
Soundview residnts held a town hall meeting last night to discuss the possible closure of the area's largest supermarket Key Foods, in the face of rent hikes and dwindling supermarkets.

Daily News reports: "In a borough where few people own cars and public transit coverage is less than ideal, closing a major grocery store could mean a difficult trek to the next-nearest supermarket, or force the least mobile to rely on higher-priced local grocery stores."

-Compiled by Stephen Baron