On Jan. 11, the six-year anniversary of the internment of the first “enemy combatant” at Guantanamo Bay, Congressman Jose Serrano called for the prison’s closure.

Longtime Community Board 7 member Sandra Erickson, who was recently replaced as chair of the Board’s Land Use Committee, was picked to be one of the 11 members on the New York State Real Estate Board. Erickson has worked in the industry for the past 25 years, she said.

The New York Road Runner Bronx Half Marathon Grand Prix will take place on February 10 from 6 am to noon. The following roads will be closed to vehicular traffic: • Sedgwick Ave., between West 195th Street and Mosholu Parkway • Goulden Ave., between West 195th Street and Mosholu Parkway • Paul Ave., between West 205th Street and Mosholu Parkway • West 195th Street, between Paul Ave. and Sedgwick Ave. • West 205th Street, between Paul Ave. and Sedgwick Ave. • Grand Concourse, between Mosholu Parkway and East 178th Street

A listing of community and public meetings in the northwest Bronx.

Bronx Community Board 7 Chair Faulkner is hoping Fernando Tirado, who started Jan. 7, replacing veteran district manager Rita Kessler, will be the key to unlocking not just the Board offices, but also the Board’s potential to be an effective and productive community voice.

The Norwood News celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.

Mosholu Preservation Corporation published the first issue in October 1988 for a simple reason: There was no local newspaper in the community and no way for local residents, organizations and institutions to communicate on a regular basis.

The first issue was only four pages. It featured a listing of events and an in-depth cover story about a massive sewer reconstruction project along Mosholu Parkway (that project eventually led to the disastrous massacre of the Norway maples along the parkway).

The paper grew steadily over the years from a monthly covering only Norwood to a bi-weekly covering all the neighborhoods of Community Board 7 with 10 special supplements a year.

Bronx community boards must pick up the torch lit by their Manhattan counterpart and follow through with alienation legislation. The people of the Bronx deserve nothing less.

A listing of community events, programs and services in the for our readers in the northwest Bronx.

For more than 20 years, the Bronx Jewish Community Council has partnered with B’nai B’rith’s Project HOPE to bring food packages to frail and elderly homebound Jewish adults at Chanukah and at Passover. During Chanukah last month, hundreds of BJCC volunteers delivered 500 packages to seniors, most who live alone, throughout the borough.