Bronx News Roundup, Oct. 13

A man was shot and killed by cops after a wild chase that ended in what police called a violent struggle. According to the Daily News, Wardell Johnson was riding a four-wheel off-road vehicle down Boston Road when police tried to pull him over. The pursuit continued until the yellow ATV ran out of gas near Baychester Avenue. It appears Johnson was unarmed.

One man arrested in connection with the Bronx gang torture of two teenagers and 30-year-old man, posted bail Tuesday night. Ruddy Vargas-Perez, 20, who turned himself in Monday, said, "God knows I'm innocent." And his pregnant wife said Vargas-Perez was with her during the attacks and that he isn't a part of the Latin King Goonies, which police say is the name of the group that carried out the attacks.

The city's Education Department says it is done paying the bill for nearly 1,000 community groups living rent free in 900 of the DOE's buildings. It wants the non profits to pay for their own security and custodial expenses or face eviction. For groups like the Mary Mitchell Family and Youth center in the Bronx this may mean cutting back on services they offer to kids. The center's director, Heidi Hynes, says the DOE has "left us out in the cold." Here's some more background on the center's struggle to stay afloat.

After the dismissal of one juror, deliberations over the fate of four men accused of plotting to bomb two Riverdale synagogues continues.

A Bronxite shares her experiences running the NYC Marathon.

Bronx News Roundup, May 11

In an editorial yesterday, El Diario La Prensa said "some of the points [State Senator Pedro Espada] has been raising in the face of accusations from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo merit discussion."

Cash-strapped Westchester Square Hospital seems to be hanging on and has filed a five-year plan. Officials now believe that the hospital is capable of surviving on its own.

Happy 70th Birthday Parkchester! This Saturday, the Parkchester community will be celebrating the housing development's 70th anniversary by the Metropolitan Oval.

The latest on the peace talks between Assemblyman Carl Heastie (the Bronx Democratic party boss) and Assemblyman Peter Rivera.

Governor Paterson's emergency budget bill has been approved by legislature. This will allow Paterson to furlough about 100,000 state employees without pay for one day.

The State Education Department and New York teachers unions has come to an agreement that could revamp teachers evaluations and connect them to students' test scores. At the moment, teachers are simply rated satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Veteran Democratic consultants Patrick Jenkins and MarySol Rodriguez have founded a Bronx-based political consulting firm. State Sen. Eric Schneiderman, who's running for attorney general candidate, is already a client.

Senators Diane Savino and Jeff Klein are sponsoring a bill that would ban convicted sex offenders from living in public housing.

A lab-tech in the NYPD's forensics department has been suspended for allegedly falsifying drug-test results.