Weather: Another beautiful one in the Bronx today, with temperatures a bit cooler than yesterday (think high 70s/low 80s), blue skies and lots of sun. Take your lunch break outside!
On to the news. Lots of headlines this morning about the Soundview Healthcare Network run by former Bronx Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., which just got kicked out of the state's Medicaid program and is likely facing closure. You can read more on this in our previous post, here. According to the A.P., Espada says he'll fight the state's decision with a court order.
Bronx schools scored the worst of the five boroughs on the state's English exams last year, with only 31 percent of students passing (that's compared to 44 percent citywide).
Hansel Aguero, 17, of Soundview, is off to Amsterdam this week to compete in a Yu-Gi-Oh! world championship tournament (Yu-Gi-Oh!, in case you didn't know, is a Japanese trading card game the kids are apparently into these days. I think the equivalent of my generation's Pogs). We liked Hansel's oh-so-confident, hometown-pride attitude: "I feel pretty confident," he told the Daily News. "I'm from the Bronx. I'm not scared of nothing."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Bronx News Roundup, Aug. 11
Monday, June 27, 2011
Bronx News Weekend Roundup, June 27
Weather: Mostly sunny and in the 80s today.
Quick Hits:
The Times' David Gonzalez, himself a graduate of St. Martin of Tours School in Crotona, offers this poignant piece on the school's closing and emotional last day of classes, which was last Wednesday. The 86-year-old parochial school is one of 26 closed this year by the Archdiocese of New York because of budget cuts and low enrollment.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Walmart: Bronxites Love Us!
Retail megastore Walmart is once again eyeing the big apple for the site of a new store, and this time they've got research under their belt to fight off opponents. The company commissioned its own poll that surveyed 1,000 New Yorkers--the majority of which, the company says, would welcome a Walmart somewhere in the city.
According to the poll, Bronx residents want a Walmart more than folks in any other borough: 80 percent of those asked say they would support the retailer coming to the city, according to a press release.
Opposition against Walmart setting up shop has been fierce in the past, as critics often question the company's labor practices and argue that the retailer would hurt the city's small business community.
But Walmart polled them, too: according to the survey, 62 percent of small business owners asked said they favor the store based on the idea that it would help create jobs.
A few years back, a coalition of Walmart opponents teamed up with a number of Bronx community groups to fight the possibility of the box store coming into the neighborhood.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn had planned to hold a hearing this week to discuss the impact a Walmart could have, though the retailer says it has no announced project in the city yet. The hearing has been postponed until next month.
So what do we think? Does the Bronx want a Walmart?
