Just before 11 a.m. last Thursday, a man passed a note to a female bank teller at a local bank on the corner of Kingsbridge Road and Jerome Avenue. Police said they immediately suspected an inside job. They were right.

Robyn Anderson-Malico, a nurse at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in University Heights was one of 10 honorees nationwide to be given the National Cherokee Inspired Comfort Award. The award is given out yearly to recognize health care professionals and nurses who leave a lasting impression on patients with their outstanding service.

Police have stepped up surveillance and residents are taking precautions after a string of violent attacks last month in the vicinity of Kingsbridge Road and Morris Avenue that left one man dead and five others hospitalized.

A fire broke out in a restaurant kitchen on Feb. 12, and by the time 168 firefighters tamed it two and a half hours later, a decade's worth of Kingsbridge Road businesses had gone up in smoke.