Bronx Sports Report: The Madness Begins!

The “One Shining Moment” montage at the end of every NCAA Basketball Tournament is probably my favorite three minutes of television all year. I’ve included last year’s rendition above because (1) It’s awesome and (2) It features several highlights and smiles from Bronx boy Kemba Walker who ruled last year’s Big Dance when he led the University of Connecticut Huskies to an improbable run to the title.

Bronx Notes: Community Board 7 Environment/Sanitation Meeting Tonight

Bronx Community Board 7’s Environment/Sanitation Committee will meet tonight, Thursday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m. at the board office, 229A E. 204th St.

Bronx Notes: Discussion on School Re-organization Plans

To talk about the re-organization of MS 80 and other Bronx schools, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. is inviting elected officials, education activists, community leaders and parents to a forum next Thursday, March 15, at 6 p.m., at the Morris Educational Campus Auditorium, 1110 Boston Road. Elaine Gorman, the chief executive of the DOE’s turnaround program, will be on hand to speak.

Bronx Week 2012 To Kick Off May 10

This spring, Bronx Week will start on May 10 and run through May 20, culminating, as always, with a weekend of festivities that will include the Bronx Ball, a parade and street festival (usually on Mosholu Parkway) and inductions into the Bronx Walk of Fame.

Bronx Notes: Charter School Open House

Tech International Charter School invites students in the 5th grade interested in becoming part of its middle school, and their parents, to its open house at the Kingsbridge Library, 291 W. 231st St., Wednesday March 14, from 6 to 7 p.m.

Be Healthy! Wednesdays: Bronx Advocates Condemn Proposed Tabacco Control Cuts

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. Anti-smoking groups in the Bronx and across the state are deriding a proposed budget plan that would slash tobacco control funding by $5 million this year, a cut they say could reverse the strides New York has made in getting residents to quit the habit and could lead to more young people taking up smoking. “While we have seen a decrease in smoking rates, we still have over 850,000 smokers, many of whom are the most

Clement Gardner, the financial officer for a charity founded by Bronx State Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., was arrested yesterday for stealing $75,000 from the organization, according to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman– funds that were intended for programs to serve Bronx children and seniors. Diaz, Sr., founded the organization, the Christian Community Benevolent Association, in 1977 and served as the executive director for the nonprofit until 2002, and directed nearly $500,000 in public member item money to the group in 2006 and 2007, according to the New York Times. Diaz told the paper he was “shocked” by the news. In a

Fordham University students took to the streets last week to demand change in how the Bronx Jesuit school approaches multiculturalism and how it handles acts of racism and bias.

Bronx Links, Wednesday

Good morning! Welcome back to Breaking Bronx. We’re in for another beautiful day of spring weather today, with plenty of sunshine and a high of 68. Enjoy it. Here are the local news stories we’re following this Wednesday: Local leaders and politicians are once again looking for ways to battle the ongoing problem of dog poop on sidewalks here in the Bronx. Raising fines and increasing funding for enforcement of the city’s pooper-scooper law are among the suggestions, according to the Daily News. Opening arguments being today in the corruption trial of former Bronx State Sen. Pedro Espada. Espada and