Welcome back to the latest edition of the Bronx News Roundup. These are the local Bronx stories we’re following today, starting with the weather: This morning’s rain should subside this afternoon; high near 65 today with clear skies and heavy winds expected later tonight. Should be in for some sun tomorrow.

I want to get to some of the past stories from local Bronx papers that you might have missed, but first, another big geeky win for Bronx Science! Yesterday,  Dr. Robert Lefkowitz, class of ’59 hauled in the  prestigious Jerome Park-area public high school’s 8th Nobel prize — the most captured by graduates from any one high school in the country. The previous Bronx Science winners have all come in the field of physics. Lefkowitz, a 69-year-old professor at Duke University Medical Center, won his prize for chemistry.

He is splitting the $1.2 million prize with a Stanford professor. The pair won for “deciphering the communication system that the human body uses to sense the outside world and send messages to cells — for example, speeding the heart when danger approaches. The understanding is aiding the development of new drugs,” the Times‘ Kenneth Chang reports.

Lefkowitz isn’t just a smart guy, he also has a sense of humor. Here’s him talking about how news of his award altered his big plans for the day: “I was going to get a haircut,” Dr. Lefkowitz told the Times, “which if you could see me, you would see is quite a necessity, but I’m afraid that’ll probably have to be postponed.”

Of course, the post on the Times’ City Room blog immediately sparked a debate in the comments section on Bronx Science’s admissions process, lack of diversity and affirmative action in general.

Speaking of which, the NAACP Defense and Legal Education Fund recently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education, saying the use of a specialized test as the sole basis for entry into elite public schools like Bronx Science and High School for American Studies (just down the road, no Nobel winners yet) is discriminatory. [Riverdale Press]

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said he supported the lawsuit and criticized Mayor Bloomberg’s terse response to it as “insensitive,” saying: “Is it possible Mayor Bloomberg neither appreciates nor comprehends the inequities at play when it comes to equal access to test preparation for the Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) and educational opportunity as a whole in New York City?” [Bronx Times]

The Press has some more details in its heart-breaking story about 19-year-old Victor Maldonado’s murder in Kingsbridge last Monday. Maldonado’s mother said he would be buried in his beloved Batman t-shirt, the Daily News reports.

Riverdale rocker John Hughes is still cranking out music with his band Johnny Seven, which plays the Bronx stretch of the marathon every year, the Press reports.

The Bronx Times has the lowdown on the borough’s Halloween festivities.

Bronx Times editor Bob Kappstatter’s column last week focused on the final tally from the beating taken by incumbent Naomi Rivera during last month’s primary. With all the ballots counted, Mark Gjonaj beat Rivera by more than 500 votes. He also spent close to $300,000 to do it. We’ll miss you this week, Kappy, enjoy the time off, hopefully sipping slow drinks somewhere with a nice view (or, more likely, posting wise cracks on Facebook).

And finally, a big scoop for the Hunts Point Express about how online grocer FreshDirect hired superstar South Bronx environmental activist Majora Carter to combat local opposition to its pending move to the Mott Haven waterfront. Those opponents say they are surprised, given Carter’s background in fighting for urban recreational space, that she would agree to advocate for a corporation that, with its fleet of delivery trucks, will further pollute an area already plagued by high asthma rates. In her response, Carter said FreshDirect would be a great fit for the area given its commitment to transitioning its trucks to alternative fuels (which would reduce the pollution effects) and ability to provide good jobs (opponents dispute that the jobs will, in fact, be “good,” noting that most of the jobs pay about $8.75 an hour).

Oh, and the Yankees are back in the Bronx tonight for game 3 of their playoff series against the Orioles after a rough ride home early Tuesday morning. Game starts at 7:37 p.m.[DN]

That’s it for today. Send links and news tips to us at norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org.