Oliver Koppell served 23 years in the State Assembly, a short stint as the state’s attorney general, several years as president of Community School Board 10, and now eight years in the City Council representing the 11th District, which covers all of Norwood and parts of Bedford Park. Despite the impressive resume, which includes his work as a private attorney, Koppell isn’t ready to complete his long run of public service when term limits will require him to step down after two Council terms on Dec. 31, 2009. He wants four more years.

Bronx Community Charter School celebrated the beginning of the school’s first year with a parade on Sept. 12. Students made hats and parents helped make noisemakers. A brand new elementary school option for District 10 parents, Bronx Community occupies the first floor of Jacob’s Place, an affordable housing development on Webster Avenue. The school, whose founders include Norwood residents Sasha Wilson and Kendra Sibley, opened with 100 students in kindergarten and first grade. 

Thirty-two-year-old Norwood resident Julio Flores has been charged with the gruesome murder of his ex-girlfriend, Jaritza Calderone, 28, who lived at 250 E. 176th St.

State Senator Jeffrey Klein released his annual "Dirty Dozen" list of the city’s most unsanitary restaurants based on inspection reports from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

•    The Croton Facility Monitoring Committee will meet on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m. For more information as well as the location, call (718) 231-8470. •    Community Board 7’s Education Committee will meet Friday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at the board office, 229-A E. 204th St. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. •    Community Board 7’s Parks and Recreation Committee will meet Monday, Sept. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the  board office, 229-A E. 204th St. For more information, call (718) 933-5650. •    Community Board 7’s Youth Services Committee will meet Thursday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. at

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There were a number of contested Democratic primaries in the Bronx. Here are the results: State Assembly – District 79 Michael Benjamin, 2,301 votes, 61.64% Sigfredo Gonzalez, 1,432 votes, 38.36% State Assembly – District 83 Carl Heastie, 3,667 votes, 78.25% Sherman Browne, 1,019 votes, 21.75% State Assembly – District 85 Ruben Diaz, 3,157 votes, 85.58% Israel Cruz, 532 votes, 14.42% State Assembly – District 86 Nelson Castro, 1,513 votes, 62.62% Mike Soto, 903 votes, 37.38% State Senate – District 33 Pedro Espada, 4,615 votes, 59.60% Efrain Gonzalez, 3,128 votes, 40.40%

In defeating Maria Matos, Jose Rivera’s choice in the Democratic primary for Civil Court, Elizabeth Taylor scored a victory for a large faction of Bronx elected officials who seek to replace Jose Rivera as party boss. The so-called Rainbow Rebels, named for the diversity in their ranks, also defeated Rivera’s attempt to unseat several of the breakaway incumbent lawmakers. This all comes as the Bronx County Democratic Committee prepares for a meeting on Sept. 28 at the Utopia Paradise Theater, where the Rebels will likely make their move to unseat Rivera.

As we report in this issue, Council Member Oliver Koppell, who represents Norwood and part of Bedford Park, in addition to his Riverdale base, has emerged as the prime mover behind an effort to extend term limits for city elected officials from two four-year terms to three. We are open to this concept. But since voters ratified term limits twice, any changes are for the voters to decide, not Koppell or his Council colleagues who obviously have a self-interest in this matter. Our gripe here is not with Koppell’s record, who was also an effective assemblyman for more than two decades before his Council tenure. What troubles us most is the last-minute nature of this effort. Koppell could have introduced this legislation last year or the year before. So, this strikes us as a bid to get it past voters with as little public input as possible. We are open to this concept. But since voters ratified term limits twice, any changes are for the voters to decide, not Koppell or his Council colleagues who obviously have a self-interest in this matter.

On Aug. 7, the Housing Committee of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition held a "Know Your Rights" training session at Our Savior Church, 2317 Washington Ave. The training focused on educating community residents, including immigrants, of their rights as tenants.