The Bronx Arts Ensemble presents several free concerts Two Irish Tenors, Michael Brown and Neil Farrell, perform on July 29, Romantic Winds, featuring classical music on Aug. 5, and Music of the Big Band Era on Aug. 12. Each program will be performed at 2 p.m. at Rockwood Drive Circle, Van Cortlandt Park near Mosholu Avenue and Broadway and at 4 p.m. at McGinley Center, Fordham University, Bronx Rose Hill Campus at Southern Boulevard. For more information, call (718) 601-7399.

The Bronx Culture Trolley, a replica of a 20th-century trolley, transports visitors to Bronx venues of arts and culture on the first Wednesday of every month for free.

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.

With giggling, running children as a backdrop, as well as a crane hovering nearby over the mammoth crater that will eventually host a water filtration plant, the city cut the ribbon on a new playground for the southeast corner of Van Cortlandt Park on June 28.

Australian media titan Rupert Murdoch’s company News Corp., which specializes in tabloid-style journalism and produces the New York Post, officially announced the purchase of the Bronx Times Reporter and the Bronx Times papers last week.

Congressman José Serrano presided over the passage of a Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill that he said will provide hundreds of millions of dollars for consumer protection, community development, taxpayer assistance and grants to help states comply with the Help America Vote Act.

Congressman Eliot Engel introduced the Greenhouse Gas Accountability Act of 2007, a bill that would create a comprehensive registry of companies’ greenhouse gas emissions. The bill is one of two proposals under consideration that aim to reduce emissions through greater disclosure.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn visited the Poe Park Greenmarket to spread the word about the growing number of farmers markets that accept food stamps and EBT cards.

* Community Education Council 10 will meet Thursday, July 19 at 6:15 p.m. at PS/MS 279, 2100 Walton Ave. * Community Board 7, the 52nd Precinct Community Council and the Croton Facility Monitoring Committee will not meet again until September.