Welcome to Friday's Bronx news roundup. Let's get down to business, starting with the scorched earth we are all living through here in the Boogie Down and elsewhere around the country.
Weather: The National Weather Service says temperatures could reach 104 this afternoon and have issued an Excessive Heat warning. (My question: is there an Egregious Heat warning?) Tomorrow it is supposed cool down to a high of 100. We won't see any real relief until Monday when temperatures are expected to drop down into the relatively frigid low-80s!
Story of the Day: Bronx Cop Penalized for Ticket Fixing
The Bronx ticket-fixing scandal has claimed its first victim. (Unless, of course, you factor in the criminal cases that blew up in the face of prosecutors who were relying on testimony from cops implicated in the scandal.) Gregory Manning, a former financial secretary with the Patrolman's Benevolent Association, pleaded guilty yesterday to departmental charges at the NYPD Advocate's Office. Manning, who had testified three times in front of a grand jury called to investigate dozens of cops implicated in ticket fixing, was docked 40 days vacation, suspended for five days and issued a $500 fine for his transgressions. Manning had already filed retirement paper work, but the NYPD would not process it because the veteran cop was involved in the ongoing grand jury investigation. This could be a path others implicated in the scandal who want to retire might take as well.
Quick Hits:
Rev. Carmen Hernandez, an outspoken advocate for gay rights and LGBT justice, and her partner Dorris de Armas, a grandmother, will be one of 98 couples getting married in the Bronx on Sunday, the first day gay marriage will be allowed in New York. (764 couples are scheduled to tie the knot in the five boroughs Sunday, the most ever on a single day in NYC history.) In an interview, Hernandez talks about her love for de Armas, her homophobic mother and her decision to come out to her congregation at age 30.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Friday, July 22
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Thursday, July 7
Weather: Really hot and humid, again. High in the 90s, with a miniscule chance of rain early this afternoon. Should cool down tomorrow.
Story of the Day:
Darlene Urena, the 5-year-old Soundview-area girl who was shot in the stomach over Memorial Day weekend, is well on her way to recovery. On her way to friend's home to share a bag of Doritos, Urena was caught in a hail of gunfire, which police say was the result of a feud between rival gangs. During three hours of surgery at Jacobi Hospital, doctors stitched up a main artery and removed Darlene's appendix as well as a part of her intestines. While she still takes injections to prevent blood clots and is frightened by the sound of fireworks, Darlene "frolicked" around her apartment the other day and smiled as the Daily News took a photograph of her and her family. "I'm good!" Darlene said.
Quick Hits:
Meet Josue Vargas, a 13-year-old boxing prodigy from Morris Park. He fights tonight at the Loew's Paradise Theater on the Grand Concourse.
