After a heated fight, state lawmakers agreed in April to fund half of the city’s $13.1 billion, 5-year capital plan. That funding will allow 21 stalled construction projects, along with dozens of new science labs, technology upgrades, infrastructure improvements and other renovations, to move forward.

Norwood resident Anna Rogovin (left) was among those honoring the fallen at the annual Memorial Day ceremony organized by Post 69 of the Jewish War Veterans at the Museum of Bronx History on Bainbridge Avenue. Rogovin, a former Navy WAVE (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service), served as a chemist in Washington, D.C. during World War II. She went on to work for Sloan Kettering, Colgate Palmolive and the American Petroleum Institute. She will turn 90 in September.

Dan Doctoroff, Mayor Bloomberg’s go-to guy for development projects, said a request for proposals (RFP) would be issued in August during a May 4 tour of the Kingsbridge Armory.

Deirdre Burke and Laura Spalter thought something was fishy when their rent checks went uncashed and new leases weren’t issued after their Riverdale complex was sold. Those warning signs led to a protracted legal battle waged by tenants of the Vinmont Houses against their new landlord, Joel Wiener.

Registered Nurses (RNs) rallied last Friday for a better pay increase than they have been offered by Montefiore Medical Center. The nurses, represented by their union, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), have been without a contract since January 2005.

Supporters of Gary Axelbank’s public affairs talk show on BRONXNET, the borough’s public access television network, put on a show of their own last week. With cardboard signs hanging around their necks, they marched from Kingsbridge Road and filed into the station’s studio on the Lehman College campus to protest BronxTalk AM’s cancellation on the day of its final broadcast.

Subway renovations along the No. 4 line and some controversial developments projects were discussed at the Community Board 7 (CB7) District Service Cabinet meeting last week. Agency representatives gave local updates and statistics during the session, which takes place every other month.

Tenants in Pinnacle buildings from three northern Manhattan community boards gathered for a joint public hearing Monday night. It was the culmination of months of activism by tenants fed up with rent increases based on falsified repair reports, unlawful rent increases and baseless legal actions.

Foreclosures in the Bronx are on the rise. Many of the factors that contribute to these foreclosures are also increasing (i.e. interest rates, fuel prices, water and sewer costs, property taxes, sub-prime and predatory lending, and the age of the local housing stock). In 2004, the foreclosure rate for one to four-family homes in Bronx Community Boards 5, 6, and 7 was double that of the city.