Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 6

A 61-year-old Bronx man has contracted West Nile virus. According to the city's Department of Health, it's the city's first confirmed case of the year.

A piece of stone from the old Yankee Stadium has a new home: the Bronx Museum.

In an editorial, the Daily News had some praise for State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr. He deserves credit, the paper says, for his farm worker bill which would have granted farm workers basic labor protections. Despite Espada's efforts, the bill was narrowly defeated on Tuesday, after several Democrats who had earlier supported the legislation voted no.

Daniel Padernacht, an opponent of Espada's in this September Democratic primary, was recently interviewed on the radio show, The Perez Notes.

An investigator for the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General has been convicted of attempting to bribe a Bronx pharmacist.

A corrections officer who worked at Rikers Island has been sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of ordering inmates to beat up two teenage prisoners in 2007. (Here's the press release from the Bronx District Attorney's office. And see here and here for earlier news stories about the case.)

Fare-beaters are continuing to abuse the honor payment system onboard Bx12 Select buses, which run along Pelham Parkway and Fordham Road.

Lloyd Ultan, the Bronx borough historian, has a protégé.

A group of graffiti artists have painted a mural of Keith Elam, aka MC Guru, on a building on East 174th Street near Webster Avenue. Guru, a rapper and producer who hailed from Boston, died in April aged 48. You can see pictures of the mural here.

Bronx News Roundup for August 26

A Bronx man is being held without bail after fingerprints from a minor charge were found to match those sampled from a rape victim in 1993. In 2007, the man's cousin was charged in connection to the crime and now faces up to 25 years in prison.

A worker for Tri-State Electrical Contracting was struck by a lift on the Throngs Neck Bridge. The worker's company was ironically a subcontractor of E.E. Cruz Contracting, the company found responsible for the July 10th fire that shut down Bronx traffic to and from the bridge for more than two weeks.

According to a poll done by the New York Daily News, 76% of baseball game and park-goers rated most of the parks in the Bronx area outside Yankee Stadium with D's or F's on a scale from A-F in terms of maintenance. Residents say they haven't seen where much of the $220 million has gone that was allotted in 2004 by Mayor Bloomberg to revitalize city parks.

Councilman G. Oliver Koppell of the Bronx calls on Sen. Diane Savino to make an apology for remarks that Gov. David Paterson's vision is affecting his ability to govern.

Leaks persist after $32 million was given to do repairs at the Grand Concourse tunnel at 161st Street. The situation has residents wondering where their tax dollars are going and Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. calling it "an ice skating opportunity" for cars.

Mosquitoes infected with the West Nile Virus have been found in the east Bronx. Health officials advise residents of the Ferry Point Park area near Whitestone Bridge as they plan to spray for bugs in the area tonight.

A Bronx team proves the game of cricket will continue to have a big following as the Bronx Lions, the cricket team for Lehman High School that was nonetheless eliminated from playing in the tournament, showed up with hundreds of others to watch the NYPD youth cricket match that was reported on by NBC News.

Some residents of the South Bronx have started up a small farm to raise organic produce as well as interacting with the community to raise cultural and historic awareness of the land.

Bronx News Roundup Aug. 19

South Bronx residents still pine for Macombs Dam Park, which was swallowed up to make way for the new Yankee Stadium [Daily News]

Eighteen new charter schools will open across the city this fall, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. The press conference was held outside the early anticipated Bronx Community Charter School, a k-8 school at 2348 Webster Ave. [NYT] The school was profiled in the Norwood News last November. Here's the school's blog.

A homeless intake center planned for 151st Street and Walton Avenue will help improve the neighborhood, according to the Department of Homeless Services. [Daily News]

Nelson Castro, the Democratic machine's choice to replace Assemblyman Luiz Diaz, has shaken off charges of voter fraud, says Bob Kappstatter in his weekly column. The charges, bought by a rival of Castro's, were thrown out by the Bronx Supreme Court despite Castro's testimony being called "less than credible." [Daily News]

Castro is attempting to become the first Dominican elected official in the Bronx (discounting district leaders). He is described by the party as a "young visionary" and "energetic, compassionate." But his endorsement seems to have come out of the blue. Just months ago Castro blogged:

"Would there ever be an opportunity? I'm no way near the Rivera family. How do you see it, could there ever in my life time be a chance for a Dominican elected official in the Bronx?" [The Sun]

Here's a Times story documenting Castro's rise. For a time, he worked for Washington Heights Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat who is being challenged in the primary by his former protege Councilman Miguel Martinez. Espaillat vs Martinez (both of whom are Dominican) is shaping up to be one of the more exciting (and bitter) races. [NYT]

Two off-duty female cops have been charged with pistol-whipping a man in Williamsbridge [Daily News]

The West Nile virus has sickened a Bronx man. [Daily News]

A Bronx woman who downloaded eight songs onto a music sharing Web site has been found guilty of copyright infringement. She's been fined $6,050, which equates to a rather pricey $756 per song [DailyTech]

Homeless, smelly, but alive! Three new-born kittens, found hiding out in a garbage can in Kingsbridge, are looking for a new home. [NY1]

Bronx News Roundup Sept. 11

At least one of the three bullets that injured an undercover police officer on a Bronx subway platform, Friday, was fired by a colleague, police have confirmed.

On Wednesday and Thursday parts of the Bronx and Staten Island will be sprayed with pesticide to kill mosquitoes and ward off the West Nile virus.

Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel is one of many Democrats taking issue with what they see as the misguided optimism of General David Petraeus, America's top military man in Iraq. Petraeus, who's currently testifying on Capitol Hill, says the surge strategy is working.

The Bronx Cultural Trolley, a free monthly trolley run by the Bronx Council on the Arts, has been named the best in the city. The trolley, a replica of an early 20th Century model, ferries culture fans from one South Bronx art spot to another. It usually runs on the first Wednesday of every month. For more information, see here and here.

With community boards back in session after their summer hiatus, here's a look at when and where the Bronx's 12 boards are next meeting.