So far in 2007, according to police statistics for the 52nd Precinct, graffiti complaints are up 45 percent and arrests are up 31 percent. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s more graffiti, says Lieutenant Steve Phalen, the special operations officer for the 52nd Precinct, but it does mean people are being more vocal about their disdain for it.

The New York City Water Board’s proposal for an 18 percent rate increase was met with stiff opposition from Bronx Council Member Oliver Koppell.

Bronx Congressman Eliot Engel said that President Bush condemned millions of American children to a tentative future by vetoing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).

Joined by some 100 New York City high school students, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion went downtown Sunday to admonish city agencies for not providing enough after-school options for youth.

Two Saturdays ago, members of Sistas and Brothas United (SBU) held a rally in Poe Park and then marched in unison to the steps of the vacant and contaminated old Fordham Library on Bainbridge Avenue. If this appears to be a misprint, it’s because it was the third rally there in the past few months.

After members of the Ku Klux Klan distributed numerous racist flyers in Manassas, Virginia, specifically targeting immigrants, Bronx Congressman Jose Serrano introduced legislation condemning their actions.

Croton Facility Monitoring Committee will meet on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the DEP Outreach Office, 3660 Jerome Ave. There will be reports on costs, jobs, storm/ground water and more. For more information, call (718) 231-8470. Community Education Council 10 will meet on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 6:15 p.m. at PS/MS 279, 2100 Walton Ave. The topic will be Physical Education. For more information, call (718) 741-5836. 52nd Precinct Community Council will meet Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at St. Philip Neri, 3031 Grand Concourse. For more information, call (718) 220-5824. Bedford Mosholu Community Association will meet

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Construction will begin next spring on a new four-story building on the PS/MS 95 campus. When completed, most of the building will serve as the new home of the Ampark Neighborhood School, which is now using a smaller building across the street.

In our last issue, we reported on th-e drastic changes under way on Grand Avenue and surrounding blocks. Large, beautiful homes, some with wraparound porches, are being bulldozed for ugly, cookie-cutter, multi-family dwellings that scar our neighborhoods. You know the ones – the uniform, non-brick structures, with Fedders air conditioners, all concrete-and-driveway front yards, and no room for grass or trees. Maybe it’s too late to protect the historic homes, and maybe extremely spacious one-family homes are just not suitable for most families who want to live here.