By DAVID CRUZ Sepulveda It comes with a heavy heart that we hear that Bob “Kappy” Kappstatter, former longtime editor and political columnist of the Daily News and most recently The Bronx Times Reporter, has joined the “Dark Side”–public relations. Now a political and media consultant, his first client is Parkchester Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda. Kappy sounds happy in his new role. “After years on being on one side of the fence, it’s now kind of fascinating to be on the inside, and hopefully doing some good.” Good luck Kappy.

Digital Edition of the Norwood News Is Out!

By DAVID CRUZ Plenty of community news you can use can be found in the latest edition of the Norwood News, which can also be found at 300 locations throughout the northwest Bronx. In this edition we take you to the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District and Fordham Road Business Improvement Districts, which are engaged in a fight to stem a move by a special interest group pushing for more licenses to street vendors. It’s a tale that spans 30 years, and the Norwood News will give you the low-down. We also go around the corner from the BID, and to a building

By VIVIAN R. CARTER Mosholu Preservation Corporation (MPC), a not-for-profit support corporation of Montefiore Medical Center since 1981, wants the northwest Bronx to be healthy, safe and clean. It has garnered strong support from the Jerome-Gun Hill Business Improvement District and the merchants associations in three other local business corridors—Webster Avenue, East 204th Street and Bainbridge Avenue, and East 233rd Street and White Plains Road.

Montefiore School Health Program Tackles Teen Pregnancy With $3 Mil Grant

By IMANI HALL Vital Stats: 4K- Number of pregnancies among teen girls ages 15 to 19 in the Bronx. (Source: New York City Department of Health) Montefiore’s School Health Program (MSHP) has been awarded $3 million in funding by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation to combat teenage pregnancy in the Bronx. MSHP provides services to 40,000 Bronx students at 73 high schools in 22 school locations.

In Last Meeting Before Break, the 52nd Pct. Outlines Anti-Crime Strategy

By IMANI HALL The 52nd Precinct held its last community meeting before going on a two-month hiatus. At the meeting, Inspector Nilda Hoffman outlined the nagging spike in reported crime this year, focusing her attention on any impending increase this summer.

52nd Precinct Celebrates One Member’s Centennial Celebration

By IMANI HALL At the 52nd Precinct’s Community Council meeting June 25, members of the Council paused to recognize long-time member Mary Vallati, who will turn 100 this month. As part of the celebration, Vallati was presented with a proclamation from Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. with her family by her side.

Death of Kalief Browder Provokes Talk of Criminal Justice Reform

By JASMINE GOMEZ “I can’t take it anymore,” were the words Kalief Browder, a 22-year-old Bronx man, uttered to his mother, the night before he hanged himself on June 6 from his home.

For the Mentally Ill, a Daily Refuge Found at North Central Bronx Hospital

By DAVID CRUZ The debate over whether institutionalization of the borough’s mental health population rages fiercely, with state officials seeing it as vestige of a bygone era. In the last few years, the state has closed its institutions, shifting away from housing the mentally ill and seeking different forms of treatment instead.

Be Healthy – Federal funds for ER-decongestion Plan Come to the Bronx

By DAVID CRUZ Vital Stats: $438 Billion – Costs of Medicaid nationally. (Source: Center of Budget and Policy Priorities.) Hospitals across the Bronx have begun receiving an infusion of federal monies aimed at a plan that ensures Medicaid-covered patients stay on top of their health to avoid a costly emergency room visit. The plan is aligned with a larger goal of shrinking Medicaid spending, officials from St. Barnabas Health System (SBH) announced.