Health Check: It’s time to Quit Smoking

By BRENDA BOATSWAIN, PhD.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, “cigarette smoking remains the chief preventable killer in America, with more than 40 million Americans caught in a web of tobacco dependence.” Each day, more than 3,200 youth (younger than 18 years of age) smoke their first cigarette and another 2,100 youth and young adults who are occasional smokers progress to become daily smokers. Studies have shown that smokers are more likely than non-smokers to develop heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States. Pregnant women and those who have a heart

Out & About: Enjoy a Weekend Walk in Norwood

Editor’s Pick: Free Events at Oval Park Williamsbridge Oval presents the following free events: Outdoor Movie, “La La Land,” Aug. 18 at 8 p.m. (held indoors if inclement weather); Back-to-School, Aug. 19 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring school supplies giveaways, library presentations, cooking demo, and fitness demos; and Splash From the Beach, Aug. 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., featuring sandboxes, water tables, beach games and more. For more information, call (718) 367-3657. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE WEEKEND WALKS AT EAST 204TH STREET FEATURED IN THE PRINT VERSION OF OUT & ABOUT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL SEPT.

Neighborhood Notes: Free Immigration Service

MMCC Trip Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (MMCC) offers an overnight trip to Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Oct. 5-6, with a visit to the National African-American History & Culture Museum. Stay includes one-night hotel and several meals. For more detailed information and rates, call the MMCC Senior Center at (718) 798-6601. Job Expos Employer pop-up recruitment expos are taking place at the following libraries from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Bronx Library Center, 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. and Belmont Library, 610 E. 186th St., both on Aug. 30; and Eastchester Library, 1385 E. Gun Hill Rd. on Aug. 24. For more

BCC to Remove Confederate Statue at Bronx Hall of Fame

Following the massive condemnation of demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va, Bronx Community College (BCC) plans on removing the sculpture of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson from its much visited Hall of Fame, school officials announced. The move comes several days after neo-Nazi and white supremacists converged onto Charlottesville over the removal of a statue bearing Lee’s image from public spaces. The violent protests resulted in the death of Heather Hayer, who was killed by a car that appeared to have deliberately run over counter-protesters by alleged driver James Alex Fields, Jr. “For 60 years, Bronx Community College

By Carmen Fariña

Like many New Yorkers, I was the first in my family to go to college. It didn’t even occur to me until midway through high school, when one of my teachers told me I’d need to go to college if I wanted to follow my own dream of becoming a teacher. She made college a reality for me. I know first-hand how important it is to have teachers who make college a reality for their students. More than 50 years after my teachers put me on the path to college and a great career, we’re making College Access for All

The Bronx Develops: Luxury Student Housing Rises in Bronx’s Little Italy

By JAKE SHORE of WFUV

The Norwood News, in partnership with WFUV and BronxNet TV, brings you a four-part series on development projects happening across the Bronx and its impact on community residents. For Fordham University students, living off campus is a respite from on-campus housing prices and its rules. It’s worked for Brendan Batcheller, a senior at Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business. The public accounting major said living off campus is markedly cheaper than living within Fordham’s gates. “The cost of a year’s rent for us is less than nine months’ worth of living in a dorm,” Batcheller said in an email. “There is

By ANTHONY RIVIECCIO

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen believes our economy is strong. She believes that good jobs are being created and that we don’t want to get too strong because in her opinion, if we do then she has to make interest rates higher- so the economy can cool down. She wants the Fed to start this process, of raising interest rates, as early as September. Yellen, and the Board, have said their number one target would be inflation. According to Yellen, if we go over two percent inflation” then we are going too fast. Well, firstly, I come from the

Dear Fellow Readers, After four weeks on a nice break, the print version of the Norwood News is back with plenty of community news you can use. We begin with page one and some news on a possible homeless shelter arriving to the neighborhood. This hasn’t sit well with residents who want the New York City Department of Homeless Services to reconsider a site on Webster Avenue, directly across the street from a public school. Read about the alternative location DHS is looking at and why it’s a viable and realistic option. We then spend pages two and three talking about

This week we asked readers if they plan on voting for Mayor Bill de Blasio in the upcoming election and whether they believe his proposed millionaire’s tax would bring enough funds to overhaul the New York City transit system. I can’t recall if I voted for him initially, but I don’t think I’d vote for him now because I feel he’s a little biased overall, even though his wife is a woman of color. I think he’s a biased person and I don’t think he does enough for the community. The tax would have to be substantial. But would the