Former State Senator Efrain Gonzalez, awaiting sentencing following a conviction on fraud charges, will remain a free man into 2010.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz’s office recently boasted of the state assembly’s passage of two pieces of road safety legislation: one banning the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while driving, and the other cracking down on drunk driving.

A listing of public and community meetings for our readers in the northwest Bronx and beyond.

An explosion of street violence upended three Bronx communities in recent days, taking the lives of two teenagers and severely injuring a girl, all of whom appear to be ordinary kids guilty only of crossing paths with errant gunshots. (On Thanksgiving, three people were shot on the Grand Concourse, near Fordham Road.)

Crime is indeed down, but that doesn’t change the realities of these tragically truncated lives or the neighborhoods that have not benefited equally from otherwise welcome statistical trends.

There is no single answer to solving this problem, but there are many things that can help and we should try them all and more.

Here are just a few:

• Whatever your opinion of Mayor Bloomberg, he is a national leader on the gun control issue. We should support his efforts any way we can.

• As stated above, there are neighborhoods where the city’s statistical drop in crime has not been felt on the street. When the inevitable budget cuts are proposed to cope with the economic downturn, cuts to youth programs and police should be a last resort, especially in neighborhoods where crime has gone the opposite way of the citywide trend. In fact, we need to find a way to increase funding for youth programs, whether that comes from the city, state or federal government.

Have courage! Stand up to the generals and War Machine. Explain what you know is true, and young people who voted for change, and the majority of Americans who now say "bring home the troops," will stand with you.

Bainbridge Avenue merchants affected by a devastating Halloween morning blaze can take heart in the experiences of another set of Bronx business owners who were left homeless earlier this year.

A listing of arts, entertainment and recreational events for all our readers in the northwest Bronx and beyond.

A listing of programs, services and announcements for all our readers in the Bronx and beyond.

Lieutenant Carlos Ocasio, Jr. recently passed away on Nov. 21 in his Norwood home after over a yearlong battle with colon cancer. Ocasio was 49 years old.