Jury duty. Day two. Wphewh! That was a close one. They just called out what seemed like 50 names. About half the room cleared out. The rest of us all looked around at each other with a mixed message of happiness and survivor’s guilt. Ok, now that I’m off the hook, on with the show: Thursday’s Bronx News Roundup! Weather: Sunny, high of 77, today, possible rain tonight.

The Daily News has this sad story about a Bronx father, Roberto Medina, who badly needs a kidney transplant. Tragically, his sister, Yolanda Molina, the mother of three daughters, died in surgery while attempting to donate her own kidney to save her brother. A new donor kidney from the body of deceased person has now emerged, giving Roberto another chance to live.

The Post has more on the teenager who was allegedly rundown in the street and killed by his older girlfriend.

In more cheery news, a Bronx man was convicted of torturing and killing a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor during an Upper Eastside robbery in 2009. Prosecutors said Aljulah Cutts beat Felix Brinkman and choked him with a bed sheet while attempting to get the combination to Brinkman’s safe. When Brinkman didn’t relent (again, the guy’s a Holocaust survivor!), Cutts choked him to death.

This isn’t pleasant either, kid gets crap beaten out of him in Eastchester, courtesy of the Daily News:

The DN put four reporters on the 2400 Webb Ave. story (landlord illegally hires contractor which removes fire escapes, leaving 200 tenants homeless). Tenants say they’re struggling to find accommodations for the six month period it will take to have the fire escapes re-installed and believe the landlord may be trying to drive them out.

Yesterday, a Bronx teen became Police Commissioner for the day. Hey commish, what are doing about Stop & Frisk?

Ok now we’re talking: Good news! Courtesy of Daily News arts reporter Tanyanika Samuels, about powerpoetry.org, the new online poetry community born out of University Heights High School class Power Writers. On the site, built through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, kids can post and text in original poetry or upload video performances that others can share and comment on. Power Writers also inspired a documentary, “To Be Heard,” which was shown on PBS this spring and is playing for free on Friday, at 7 p.m., at United Palace Theater, 4140 Broadway.

This year, the St. Anthony’s feast, coming this weekend to Belmont, will feature a giglio, a 60-foot-high wooden tower that will be festooned with flowers and plaques depicting beloved Catholic saints. The giglio will be carried down Arthur Avenue to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel on Saturday afternoon.

Crap, name just got called.