Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, July 14

Ladies and gentlemen of the Bronx and beyond, welcome to Thursday's edition of the roundup. Enjoy.

Weather: Gorgeous. Cooler. Enjoy.

Story of the Day: Ex-Chilean Guerrilla Turned Bronx Social Activist Fights Deportation
Victor Toro, a South Bronx immigrant rights activist and social worker, continues to fight an uphill battle against deportation back his native Chile, where Toro says he was tortured during the 1970s by the military regime of Augusto Pinochet. He fears prosecution a Chile now run by another ruler with a military background. Toro, who co-founded the leftist guerrilla group MIR in late 1960s, was expelled from Chile after spending a year in concentration camps. A doctor at Montefiore Medical Center testified that Toro still suffers from post-traumatic stress as a result of the torture he experienced during that time. He ended up bouncing between countries for several years before arriving in the Bronx in 1984. Since then, he helped found the La Pena community center and been a staunch and vocal advocate for immigrant rights. Arrested by immigration officials in 2007, Toro's court appeal is close to coming to a conclusion.    

Quick Hits:
The naked suicide plunge taken by a Bronx couple off the Tappan Zee Bridge continues to baffle friends. One of the jumpers, Alfa Choice, was a former teacher at Bronx Science.

Bronx News Roundup Oct. 10

A famous mob informant, on the run from cops having been mistakenly released from prison in September, was recaptured yesterday, after his car was traced to a home on Randall's Avenue in the east Bronx. Kenneth "The Rat" O'Donnell, who had been serving a long sentence for armed robbery, was found hiding in a closet when police found him. Apparently he'd dyed his hair black and shaved his beard in an attempt to avoid detection. O'Donnell is best known for providing evidence that helped put away more than 50 New Yorks mobsters in the 1980s.

For Hispanic Heritage Week, NY1 looks at the work of La Pena, a South Bronx-based community activist group whose "office" is in a local garden. La Pena was formed more than 20 years ago by two Chilean immigrants, one of whom is now in danger of being deported. The group works closely with Bronx band Rebel Diaz, who have been making headlines of their own.

Council member Oliver Koppell "must mend fences if he wants to run again" says The Riverdale Press. Koppell has been critized in recent weeks for loudly supporting a terms limits extension, and for siding with embattled Party Chairman Jose Rivera (a decision he's since reversed).

A Bloods gang member from the Bronx will be spending the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of plotting the murder of a drug dealer. Chaz Glynn (aka Chaddio, aka Bloody Cash) had two teenage associates shoot dead Frederick Fowler in May 2000, in the Morrisania section. Glynn is already serving prison time on an unrelated drugs charge.

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece titled: "Philanthrocapitalism: How the Rich Can Save the World." The article mentions Bill Gates, whose money helped start dozens of small schools including the hugely successful Bronx Lab, located on East Gun Hill Road in the now-closed Evander Childs High School.

The weekend is nearly upon us. Boogiedowner has details of where to go and what to do.