In a perfect example of “grandstanding,” Congress is conducting yet another investigation of the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball.

Now that baseball has so belatedly begun investigating and regulating itself, Congress sees an opportunity to avoid many of our most serious national issues by making a play for headlines, holding hearings on matters already brought to light in the Mitchell Report.

And what better headline grabber than baseball’s most celebrated pitcher, Roger Clemens. Fans have long loved Clemens when he pitched for their team and hated him when he was pitching against them. New York fans remember the famous feud between Clemens of the Yankees and Mike Piazza of the Mets.
But the current round of Congressional hearings seems more designed to get Clemens to commit perjury than to prevent the use of steroids or HGH (human growth hormones).

Congratulations! Finally, someone has managed to get the NYPD to release crime statistics on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. Unfortunately for us, this only confirms that our neighborhood is what we have always considered it: the most dangerous place to live in the 52nd Precinct. Sector “G,” otherwise known as “George,” where Our Lady of Refuge Parish resides, is first in homicides and burglaries, tied for first in felony assaults (which includes shootings), second in robberies, tied for second in rapes, and third in grand larcenies. We don’t live in precincts, we live in neighborhoods. We don’t want to hear

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Students from four music groups at the Cecilia Cruz Bronx High School of Music traveled to Walt Disney World on Feb. 15 to perform at its annual “Magic Music Days.” This honor marked the second time in three years the school has been selected to participate in this event.

When Rita Martinez’s second grade class at PS 291 decided to perform a dramatization of the children’s book "Something Beautiful," they were unaware that they were actually delving into the history of their own school.

Free Computer Tutoring Mosholu Preservation Corporation is offering a free computer tutoring class Mondays through Fridays from 2 to 5 p.m. at 3400 Reservoir Oval East. Topics range from basic computer skills to navigating the Internet. All are welcome. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call Brenda Lucio at (718) 324-4461. Navigating Medicare Council Member Oliver Koppell, along with other local politicians and organizations, is offering a program on Medicare, including how to choose a Medicare, health or drug plan; how to protect yourself from fraud; and who to notify if you suspect Medicare fraud. Speaker Betty

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Onstage n JASA    Van Cortlandt Senior Center, located at 3880 Sedgwick Ave., presents Music of Latin America performed by classical guitarist Anthony Purdy, March 9 at 1 p.m., preceded by lunch at noon with a suggested donation of $3. For more information, call (718) 549-4700. n The Bronx Library Center hosts A Musical Tribute to Tono Pepin, featuring Tono’s son, master percussionist Papo Pepin and his salsa ensemble, performing Latin jazz, the music of his father, Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m. The Center is located at 310 E. Kingsbridge Road off Fordham Road. For a detailed schedule, call (718) 579-4244/46

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While the city continues to deliberate about which contractor should develop the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory in the northwest Bronx, community leaders and local elected officials wonder what’s taking so long. As the community awaits an answer, speculation is running rampant.

Despite ongoing community concerns, work will begin this month on a 6-story, 48-room Comfort Inn on Webster Avenue in Norwood, as the McSam Hotel Group moves ahead after struggling for more than a year to convince neighbors that the project will be good for the area.

This is not the kind of news that makes the front page of the city’s tabloids or the top of the 11 o’clock news (or even the bottom).

But it should because it will affect millions of New Yorkers and the city’s civic bloodstream.

As Juan Gonzalez first reported in the Daily News last month, the city is now negotiating a contract with Verizon to provide cable service in the five boroughs.

That’s important for two reasons. The first is obviously that it will introduce cable competition for the first time. Time Warner and Cablevision will no longer have virtual monopolies.

The second reason is that part of the deal will include what percentage of revenue will go toward public access television.