A little more than 300,000 people live in the 33rd Senate District, which includes the entire readership area of the Norwood News.

The incumbent, State Senator Efrain Gonzalez, is charged with stealing more than $400,000 in taxpayer money from nonprofits he controls. Sure, a jury could possibly declare him innocent, when he finally gets to trial, but that doesn't absolve Gonzalez from the sin of setting up and funding ghost groups that do virtually nothing for constituents, wasting precious taxpayer money. Court papers and reporting by the Norwood News found zero evidence of any work the nonprofits have done.

Gonzalez's legal troubles blew a cavernous opening in the usual Machine-erected brick wall protecting incumbents.

If you thought a small army of young, ambitious pols would be jumping through, ballot petitions in hand, you'd be wrong.

Instead, we get Pedro Espada, a former south Bronx state senator, who at least deserves credit for identifying a district where the ethically challenged excel.

Espada heads a group of south Bronx health care centers. Three of his executives pleaded guilty to diverting $30,000 from family care and AIDS treatment programs to Espada's 2001 bid for Bronx borough president (he lost by just a few points to Adolfo Carrion). The state attorney general's office said the health center officials even took food "intended for AIDS patients and [gave] it instead to Espada campaign workers," according to a New York Times report.

In recent weeks Espada has been pushing free food giveaways, including one on Gun Hill Road and DeKalb Avenue in conjunction with his Burnside Medical Center.

What a coincidence that these events overlap with his Senate bid!

The daily routine of many Bronx public high school students goes something like this: get to school an hour early to be herded through metal detectors, eat lunch at 10 a.m. in a crowded cafeteria, and go home without having had any art, music, or science classes. Experiences like these brought more than 60 Bronx youth, educators and activists to a press conference and rally on the steps of City Hall on Aug. 7

Bronx youth rallied outside Yankee Stadium hours before the All-Star Game on July 15, calling for more and better jobs, and emphasizing the stark contrast between the largely publicly-funded new Yankee Stadium and the daily lives of many poor Bronxites.

I am writing in response to the editorial in your July 10-23 issue, “Circular Firing Line at Armory?” I was puzzled by your characterization that the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition is trying to shut out Community Board 7. We agree that the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance (KARA) and CB7 must work in common […]

In her penultimate year as a member of the New York City Council, Maria Baez has found herself the subject of media scrutiny. News stories regarding poor attendance at Council meetings, enormous cell phone bills and a check to a non-existent organization, have left Baez with a tarnished public image.

A listing of public and community meetings in the northwest Bronx.

Michelle Parks wants to open the only roller skating rink in the Bronx, which would be a boon for borough boys and girls who often lack venues for organized sports. But the 40-year-old from Parkchester did not know how to start a line of credit or how to apply for loans.

Which is why Parks was one of more than 100 prospective and current north Bronx business owners who attended the third annual North Bronx Economic Development Summit on June 19.

A listing of public and community meetings in the northwest Bronx.

A listing of public and community meetings in the northwest Bronx.