Borough President Blogging for the Huffington Post

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. has begun blogging for the Huffington Post website. His first post, published on Wednesday, was titled "Continuing Our Fight Against Illegal Guns." You can read it here.  Already it's generated a fair few comments from readers, most of whom don't appear to share Diaz's position on gun control.

Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 9

On Friday night and early Saturday morning, there were nine separate shooting incidents in the Bronx.  Two teenagers were killed and 12 other people were injured. In a statement released Saturday, Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. said:

Last night’s wave of violence is extremely alarming, not only to myself  but to the overwhelming majority of my constituents: 1.4 million Bronx  residents who want to do nothing more than work, raise their families  and live their lives in peace without having to worry that they or their  children will be cut down by a thug’s bullet. The summer is supposed to  be a time to relax with family and friends without fear of losing one’s  life.  Those responsible for these shootings must be prosecuted to the  fullest extent of the law. Those who would turn to a gun as the answer  to their problems have no place in decent society. This has to stop.

An off-duty Bronx police officer was arrested on Friday night for driving drunk, police say.  Juan Burgos is a seven-year veteran assigned to the 43rd Precinct.

Bronx resident Gladys Carrión, the commissioner of the city's Office of Children and Family Services, has won friends - and plenty of enemies - for attempting to close several poorly run juvenile centers in upstate New York.

BoogieDowner has posted the names of 39 people on State Senator Pedro Espada, Jr's payroll, along with their wages. One name in particular - Haile Rivera - is raising eyebrows.  Rivera, a University Heights resident and former Obama campaigner, previously mulled a run against Espada. Now he's working for him, and sounding like him, too.  On Facebook last month, Rivera wrote: "Why is it that when the powers-that-be see a Latino/a rising, they do whatever it takes to bring him/her down?"

The Gotham Gazette takes an in-depth look at the race between State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. and Charlie Ramos.

Last night, a fire gutted a row of stores in Williamsbridge.  Investigators are calling the blaze suspicious.

A construction crew began installing the new Willis Avenue Bridge this morning. The bridge, which connects the South Bronx with Harlem, is replacing the bridge of the same name. It'll reopen in the fall.

Ten wind turbines located on the roof of a Melrose Apartment building generate enough electricity to serve the building's common-area needs. The building, which boasts numerous other "green" initiatives, opened last October.