Bronx Business: Fordham’s One-Stop Santeria Shopping Destination

Stepping into Original Products Botanica on the corner of East 189th Street and Webster Avenue, visitors are welcomed with the aroma of fresh herbs, smiling employees and Spanish-Caribbean music playing from overhead speakers. It’s an expansive 15,000-square-foot store housing a vast collection of items — from altar tools and supplies, to ritual and saint candles, tarot cards and everything else in between.

Bronx Sports Report: Having Fun With New Manhattan College Coach Steve Masiello

The Bronx Sports Report recently had a chance to talk with Manhattan College’s first-year head coach Steve Masiello who has led the Jaspers to this season’s biggest turnaround in all of NCAA men’s basketball. Last year, Manhattan won a total of six games. Tonight, at home against Canisius, they go for win number 20.

Today! Live Coverage From The Bronx BP’s State of Borough Speech

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. is scheduled to deliver his third State of the Borough speech at Harry S. Truman High School tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. and we will be there to cover all the action live. You can follow along via our Twitter feed (@norwoodnews) or return to this site where we will provide a running feed of updates.

Bronx Nabe Note: Become Your Own Boss Workshop, Thursday Night

Project Enterprise and the University Neighborhood Housing Program are conducting a free self-employment session at the Concourse House, 2751 Grand Concourse on Thursday, Feb. 23, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wednesday’s Bronx News Links

Here’s a rundown of the stories Breaking Bronx is following this Wednesday, Feb. 22. Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the latest edition of the Norwood News, which is being distributed as we type.

Local Initiative Puts Focus on Teens’ Reproductive Health

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column. As federal lawmakers in Congress continue to debate over whether health insurers should be required to cover the costs of birth control, a recent city initiative is looking to curb teen pregnancy rates in the Bronx, where it is higher than in any other borough. The program, called Bronx Teens Connection, will offer affordable reproductive health services to the borough’s teenagers, as many here lack health insurance coverage and live below the poverty line. In New

Recently, a group of cycling enthusiasts who have been campaigning to turn the Armory into a giant bicycling center have teamed up with New York Gauchos, a Bronx-based youth basketball program, as well as several other sports-oriented groups, with the intent of converting the structure into an enormous sports, recreation and wellness center.

Bronx Breakdown: Church and School Confusion, FreshDirect, Just 1 Crime Story and SNL

The Bronx Breakdown is back with a special President’s Day edition, where we wrestle with our favorite three subjects — the separation of church and state, city subsidies for development projects, ridiculously sad crime stories — and have some fun with SNL. Let’s break it on down. (FYI, above is our temporary new Bronx Breakdown logo. It’s taken from a photo my mother took of Mercedes Benz parked on Seattle street. The Bronx is everywhere!)

Bronx Sports Report: Your Bronx-Centric Guide to the PSAL Playoffs

The Public School Athletic League playoffs kicked off this week with a slew of early round match-ups. But now we hit the tournament pause button as the city’s schools take next week off. It will give some teams a chance to regroup, while slowing the momentum of others.