Education

UPDATE New Rochelle High School Teacher Arraigned for Distributing Indecent Material to 15-Year-Old

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced on Monday, Jan. 24, that former Salesian High School teacher, Mariela Barajas, was arraigned for allegedly disseminating indecent material to a 15-year-old.   Barajas, 22, of Mount Vernon, was charged on Jan. 24, in Mount Vernon City Court with disseminating indecent material to minors in the first degree, a felony. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office made the arrest following an investigation, with assistance from the Mount Vernon Police Department and New Rochelle Police Department.   While employed at the New Rochelle school, in December 2021 and January 2022, Barajas allegedly engaged


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Op-Ed: From Dr. King’s Dream to Parole Justice

By Dr. DEBORAH JENKINS
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”   Those are perhaps the most famous words uttered by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday we celebrated this week. They are also the words that run through my mind when I think about the withering injustice of mass incarceration. 160 years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, we still are not free. In many ways, we have made progress, but


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Bedford Park School Project Among Highlights of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts & Essay Exhibition

By SÍLE MOLONEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aee1LQsewMA Video courtesy of the New York Education Department and Office of General Services The New York State Education Department (NYSED) and Office of General Services (OGS) announced on Friday, Jan. 14, a record-breaking number of students have participated in the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fine Arts and Essay Exhibition, with one Bedford Park public school singled out for its creative project.   Department officials said Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolent advocacy served as the inspiration for 2,700 students from more than 90 public and private schools across the State to submit their creations. Overall, the submissions mark


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Applications Open for Woodlawn Cemetery Bridge to Craft Careers Preservation Training Program

By SÍLE MOLONEY
Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy is calling all young people aged 18 to 24 who are looking for a meaningful career in construction, historical preservation, and skilled trades and who would love to work with their hands to apply by Jan. 28, to be paid interns and receive specialized hands-on training in masonry and restoration.   Each spring, the Woodlawn Bridges to Crafts Careers Preservation Training Program selects 20 interns to receive specialized hands-on training in masonry and restoration under the guidance of a resident craftsman. The program includes a 10-week, paid, career training and job placement workforce development program which


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TAKE 5 Lottery Ticket Sold in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY
  The New York Lottery announced on Monday, Jan. 10, that one, top-prize winning ticket was sold for the Jan. 9 TAKE 5 midday drawing. The ticket, worth $18,720.50, was purchased at Heritage Pharmacy Inc, located at 235 East Tremont Avenue in the Tremont/Mt Hope section of the Bronx.   Take 5 players with midday and evening draws on the same ticket must check their numbers at nylottery.ny.gov to determine if they have the winning numbers for the corresponding midday or evening drawing. TAKE 5 numbers are drawn from a field of one through 39. The drawing is televised twice daily at


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UPDATE Eric Dinowitz Urges DOE to Provide COVID-19 Testing for All in Schools, City Announces New Measures

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
Days before New York City public school kids were dismissed for their winter recess, a few council members requested New York City Department of Education (DOE) and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to make more COVID-19 testing available at public schools.   At a press conference on Dec. 20, originally scheduled to take place in City Hall Park but which was switched to an online event due to the latest surge of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, District 11 city councilman, Eric Dinowitz, pointed to past instances of rising numbers of infections following holidays as a


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New York Lottery: Cash-4-Life Ticket Sold in The Bronx

By SÍLE MOLONEY  
It was an extra happy Christmas Day for someone. The New York Lottery announced on Saturday, Dec. 25, that one second-prize ticket was sold in the Bronx for the Dec. 24, Cash4Life drawing. The ticket is worth a guaranteed $1,000 a week, for life.   The lucky ticket was purchased at Throgs Neck Petro LLC, located at 4147 Throggs Neck Expressway in the Throggs Neck section of the borough.   The winning numbers for the Cash4Life game are drawn from a field of one to 60. The Cash ball is drawn from a separate field of one to four. The


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Bronx CB7 Prepares Budget for Fiscal Year 2023

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
July 1, 2022, will mark the start of another fiscal year for New York City government, designated as FY 2023 (FY23). Although still seven months away, community boards across the city have started the process of submitting their annual Capital and Expense Budget Requests which inform the borough president, city council, and mayor about the priorities in each community district. Officially known as the Statement of Community Needs and Community Board Budget Requests Fiscal Year 2023, the 37-page document identifies the most pressing concerns in each local community.   On Nov. 30, Bronx Community Board 7 (CB7) voted on, and


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Norwood Community Library Brings Free Books to The Bronx

By SARAH HUFFMAN
Outside the Keeper’s House on Reservoir Oval East in the Norwood section of the Bronx is a light blue library mailbox which, since around July 2021, has been regularly filled with used books, all waiting for new homes. The library mailbox is a recent initiative by “Norwood Community Library,” an outdoor, mutual aid, book exchange program.   30-year-old Brandon Montes is the founder of the volunteer-run library which launched in 2018, and he hopes the addition of the library mailbox will further strengthen his growing engagement with the community, through a love of reading.   “For a long time, we


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