Bronx News Network, Jan. 14

With a little help from the NY Times Neediest Cases Fund, the sky's the limit for a bright Bronx teenager with a passion for community service.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is closing in on Pedro Espada, Jr.  According to court papers filed yesterday, there is "extensive evidence" that the embattled state senator and majority leader used monies from his network of health clinics to help advance his political career. A typically bullish Espada is calling it a "witch hunt."

In an editorial, the Daily News calls Espada a "taxpayer-fleecing, subpoena-ducking con artist." If his fellows Democrats "want any credibility as ethics reformers, they need to strip him of his lofty title and privileges," the paper says.

Espada says his driver is to blame for parking his Mercedes-Benz in front of a fire hydrant on Jan. 2, and that the State Police placard in the window was obtained legally.

A peek at the borough's most talented high school football players.

Police responding to a house fire in Allerton on Tuesday found marijuana plants, grow lights, and several guns.

The Bronx County Republican Committee has a new headquarters.

At a public meeting on Monday, teachers, parents, and students from Alfred E. Smith Career and Technical Education High School on East 151st Street, asked the Department of Education to reconsider plans to close the school.

In a victory for the UFT, teachers at a Bronx charter school have voted to unionize.

The New York Public Library has a new Web site.

Bronx News Roundup, June 23

The MTA is cracking down on fare-beaters on the Bx12 Select Bus Service.

Increasingly, teachers working at charter schools in New York and elsewhere are looking to unionize. In the Bronx, the Green Dot New York Charter School in Mott Haven could be next.

Two brothers - Rodrigo and Gonzalo Venegas (aka Rodstarz and G1 of the Bronx hip-hop group Rebel Diaz) - have been found not guilty of resisting arrest and obstruction of justice, after coming to the aid last summer of a street vendor they say cops were harassing. More here. And here's a video clip of the incident.

Twelve high school students, including at least three from the Bronx, recently traveled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, after winning a competition. More here.

Governor Paterson will hold a special session in the State Senate at 3 p.m. today, in the hopes of resolving the leadership stalemate. The Republicans, meanwhile, are planning a session for 2 p.m. - meaning they will control the chamber when the Democrats arrive. More here and here.

Bob Kappstatter is wondering if the Republicans will cut Pedro Espada loose.

Espapda and fellow (or ex-) dissident Hiram Monserrate are nothing if not quotable. We linked to this yesterday, but here's Espapda claiming in the Daily News that he really does live in his Bedford Park co-op and that a young boy in the building saw him the other day and said, "Mommy, mommy, look - he does live here." And here's Monserrate likening himself to Jesus.

Bronx BP Ruben Diaz, Jr. is calling on the city to test for toxic chemicals in aging public schools.

Judy Reyes, the Bronx-born Scrubs actress and one of the inductees into this year's Bronx Walk of Fame, is expecting her first child.