I was a community organizer from 1976 to 1983 in the northwest Bronx. It was my first job after college. Until recently you may never have even heard of that job, “community organizer.” But since the Republican National Convention, it’s gotten a lot of play, thanks to Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin’s dissing of Barack Obama’s tenure as a community organizer in Chicago.

Onstage The Bronx Library Center hosts the Papo Pepin Salsa Ensemble, Sept. 20 at 2:30 p.m.; Latin Jazz Concert by Ivo Tirado, Jr. and the Latin Jazz Element Sextet, Sept. 24 at 2 p.m.; and Chamber Music by the Bronx Symphony Orchestra, Sept. 27 at 2:30 p.m. The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Rd. off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46 or visit www.nypl.org. The Mosholu Library, at 285 E. 205th St., hosts BombaBoricua, Sept. 20 at 2:30 p.m. and From Italy With Love, featuring Dino Rosi “La Voce di Napoli,” Sept. 27 at 2:30

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MMCC Open House and Carnival The Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, located at 3450 DeKalb Ave., at the corner of Gun Hill Road will be having an open house for program registration on Saturday, Sept. 27 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A free carnival will take place, rain or shine, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. including free food, face painting, raffles, activities and more. For more information, call (718) 882-4000 ext. 0. Karate Classes Mosholu Montefiore Community Center at 3450 DeKalb Ave. offers a wide selection of karate classes for elementary school students, teens, and adults starting in the

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Norwood resident and World War II veteran Robert A. Theiral passed away on Aug. 14 from a blood clot related to a hip injury. He was 93. A first generation American and former employee of Peter A. Frasse & Co., Theiral was a mainstay in the Williamsbridge Oval, just across the street from where he had lived since 1968.

The city’s Department of Environmental Protection has decided not to blast at the Jerome Park Reservoir, but they were still due in court on Wednesday along with community organizations that brought a lawsuit to fight the plan.

Last week, myself and nine other reporters from various ethnic and community newspapers in New York, flew out to Denver to cover the Democratic National Convention. I stayed in a house on the outskirts of Denver, and travelled into the city center every morning, to take in the sights and sounds. In the evenings I blogged about my experiences on the West Bronx Blog, at www.westbronxnews.blogspot.com.

The race for the 33rd District State Senate seat has had its fair share of twists and turns, but perhaps the most surprising thing is how each candidate for the position explains why he is right for the job. The incumbent, Senator Efrain Gonzalez Jr., who has represented the 33rd since 1989, speaks of what he believes he can do for the community, while the challenger, Pedro Espada, talks about what he has done.

As we reported in our last issue, a race for the Civil Court is doubling as a proxy between two factions of the Bronx Democratic Party. The faction of six Assembly members and three senators who are challenging the leadership of Party Chair Jose Rivera took the unusual step of holding a rally for their candidate Elizabeth Taylor on the steps of Borough Hall on Aug. 22. Those present were Assembly Members Aurelia Greene, Michael Benjamin, Michael Benedetto, Ruben Diaz Jr., Jeffrey Dinowitz and Carl Heastie as well as Senators Rev. Ruben Diaz, Eric Schneiderman and Ruth H. Thompson. The

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State Senator Efrain Gonzalez’s bid to have his indictment dismissed has been denied by U.S. District Court Judge William H. Pauley III. Gonzalez’s co-defendant, Neil Berger, also failed in his effort to have his trial separated from that of Gonzalez and two other co-defendants, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. The trial will proceed as scheduled on Oct. 6.