Bronx News Roundup, June 18

The annual Bronx Independent Film Festival starts today at Lehman College.

Pedro Espada's housekeeper in Westchester has been interviewed by the Bronx DA about her boss' much-talked about residency.

One of the pit bulls rescued in a raid on a dogfighting ring in Mount Hope last summer has been re-homed. See here and here. More here on the raid itself (scroll down).

The Bronx DA is investigating a lawyer who represents landlords in Bronx housing court. The big questions: Does the lawyer actually exist? And, if not, what does this mean for the tenants he - whoever he is - has helped evict?

A Bronx detective, charged with perjury after a teenage suspect secretly recorded an interview the two had (an interview the detective said never happened), is an honest man, his lawyer insists.

An artist has created a life-size bust of a Bronx teenager who was shot dead in January.

Some of the funding the city threatened to take away from the Bronx Zoo has been restored.

State Senator Jose M. Serrano has an op-ed in today's Albany Times Union about stimulus accountability.

Bronx News Roundup, Mondary Morning, Oct. 21

Good morning (early afternoon) everyone. Here's a few news links to accompany your cup of coffee today. Some hot topics to discuss.

The NY Times is obsessed with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's link to the Bronx, well, specifically the South Bronx. In any case, this story in yesterday's Metro section examines the quasi-socialist leader's relationship with the Bronx, where he has donated discounted heating oil and millions for development programs through Venezuela's oil company, Citgo.

This quote sums up the Times' angle on the story: "It is an unlikely flow of largess, from an oil-rich South American country where much of the population lives in poverty to one of the neediest pockets in the seat of American capitalism."

Here's a look at the organizations and programs that will benefit from the Chavez money.

Some weekend crime stories:

Two men were stabbed, one to died, during a robbery in Mt. Eden early Sunday morning.

After an earlier stabbing death in Fordham on Saturday, a man was arrested and charged with murder.

Also on Saturday, a 7-year-old girl was hit by a car in Baychester.

Jose Calderon was convicted last week of manslaughter in the beating death of Quachaun Brown, 4, in Norwood last year. The jury acquitted Calderon of the more serious murder charge. He faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 1.

The NY Post and Gothamist report on a dogfighting "lair" here in northwest Bronx on Valentine Avenue. Warning: there are some graphic and unsettling images with these stories.

And, finally, here's a Times City section story about Mexican immigrants who fear for their safety in the North Fordham area here in the Bronx. Father John Jenik, of Our Lady of Refuge Church, is quoted in the story.

Often Jenik is alone in decrying the violence and drug activity in that troubled neighborhood. In an email sent to the Norwood News yesterday, Jenik said that, for the first time ever, drug dealers were conducting transactions in his church. Not a good sign.

Note: Please feel free to weigh in here on Bronx crime and safety concerns, Hugo Chavez or anything else you feel is of concern. We want to ramp up the discussion and hear from everyone.