Robert Zamot only has to walk a couple of blocks to feel connected to his son who lives out of state. He usually sends him and other extended family members presents several times a month from his local post office on Webster Avenue, known as the Botanical Station. Zamot also does the vast majority of his bill pay through the mail. But now, this 30-year resident of the Bedford Park neighborhood may have to walk an extra 15 to 20 minutes just to buy stamps.

The youth in the northwest Bronx have created their own forum, using art and spoken word, for talking about the issues they care about. This month it was the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory.

Norwood resident and bandleader Ibrahim Gonzalez embodied the spirit of a very rainy, but nonetheless upbeat, Williamsbridge Oval Festival on Saturday.

It’s 7:25 a.m. on a recent Thursday, and Yudelka Tapia is standing outside the 183rd Street subway stop on the 4 train, greeting sleepy commuters with a wide smile and a ready handshake. “Hello, how are you? Nice to meet you,” she says to one man in quick, accented English. To another: “Buenos días. ¿Cómo está, señor?”

It’s Sunday church time on Morris Avenue. Fernando Cabrera’s rising voice is filling with the Holy Spirit. Turning to the left, his profile to the congregation, the Bronx pastor is riffing and ranting like a Baptist preacher man. "Amens" and "hallelujahs" mix into the monologue like commas. He punctuates funny stories with loud, Chris Rock-like flourishes. He’s part pastor, part showman.

Jose Rivera, the Bronx assemblyman, remembers the first time he met Council Member Maria Baez. The year was 1982, and Rivera, having just been elected to the Assembly for the first time, was taking inventory in his district office, when he received a rude awakening. “Twenty women, black, white, Hispanic, they stormed in,” he recounted recently.

Elections are essentially job interviews. Candidates should make themselves available to answer questions about their experience, qualifications and goals.

Because the incumbent in the 14th Council District, Maria Baez, has decided not to participate in an Aug. 31 television debate on BronxTalk co-sponsored by the Bronx News Network, we’re starting to think that it might be necessary to require debates for Council candidates as part of the city’s public financing program. If you’re getting taxpayer money through the city’s Campaign Finance Board, then you should be required to face the taxpayers and your fellow candidates in a debate.

That said, we are expecting a spirited and informative debate on community issues between Fernando Cabrera and Yudelka Tapia.

And, of course, we’ll reserve a seat for Council Member Baez in case she changes her mind.

Tune in to channel 67 (cablevision) at 9 p.m. on Monday night. The debate will be re-broadcast every weekday evening the same time that week.

Our new borough president did something plainly logical, but nonetheless refreshing, this week. Coming up on a deadline to vote yay or nay on a Kingsbridge Armory redevelopment proposal from the Related Companies, Diaz essentially said he didn’t have enough information and needed more time. He got his wish.

Diaz, propelled by a vigorous community campaign for a real community benefits agreement, wants to know how the developer is going to respond to a draft agreement hammered out by Diaz, the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance, and Community Board 7.

As I get ready to go back to school, I like to look back on my summer vacation. I am proud to say that this summer I led hundreds of neighborhood youth in the Kingsbridge Armory Redevelopment Alliance’s campaign to make sure that the redevelopment of the Armory serves the needs of our community.