Bronx News (Bxnews.net): St. Ray’s Hails Class of 2012

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): St. Ray’s Hails Class of 2012: St. Raymond High School for Boys celebrated the Class of 2012 with a Commencement Mass at St. Raymond Parish. Families and friends...

St. Ray’s Hails Class of 2012

St. Raymond High School for Boys celebrated the Class of 2012 with a Commencement Mass at St. Raymond Parish. Families and friends gathered at the graduation Ceremony in the St. Raymond Parish Auditorium. 

Msgr. John Graham, Pastor of St. Raymond Parish and Br. Daniel Gardner, Principal of St. Raymond High School for Boys, welcomed the 184 graduating students and their families on this special occasion, marking the 52^nd graduating class. Salutatorian Josue Lugardo and Valedictorian Rogelio Torres spoke to their classmates and as they reflected on the past four years and looked to the next chapter of their lives.  

Members of the class of 2012 will attend colleges and universities such as College of Mount St. Vincent, Cornell University, Delaware State University, Dominican College, Fairfield University, Hunter College, Iona College, Iowa State University, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Manhattan College, Manhattanville College, Mercy College New York University, Pace University, St. John’s University, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Temple University, Vassar College and Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. 

Collectively, St. Raymond graduates earned more than $3.5 million in academic and athletic scholarships at schools they applied to, the highest amount earned in the past five years. These students also logged a total of more than 14,000 community service hours over the past four years throughout their communities. 

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Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Banning Food, Banning Freedom

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Banning Food, Banning Freedom: Soda Ban: Banning Food, Banning Freedom (The following Op Ed is from The New York Analysis of Policy & Government, Frank Vernucci...

Banning Food, Banning Freedom

Soda Ban:

Banning Food, Banning Freedom

(The following Op Ed is from The New York Analysis of Policy & Government, Frank Vernuccio, Editor, in response to Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban on large sodas)    

The increasing role of government in the private life of American citizens has been portrayed as almost inevitable.  However, recent attempts to regulate the size of soft drinks brought the glare of ridicule to this trend. The alleged good intentions of politicians in dictating personal matters raises the question of whether government has gone far beyond the functions authorized by the Constitution, at the cost of neglecting the real and pressing needs of the nation. It also raises the issue of whether there is an additional, less discussed, agenda at play.

A salient example comes from America's largest city, New York, which faces major problems. While the crime rate both in New York State and The United States is falling, serious crime in the metropolis is rising. Its unemployment rate is 10.2 percent, far above the national average of 8.2 percent. Half of its 8th graders fail statewide science tests. Major infrastructure issues exist.  Budgetary concerns may cause the closing of firehouses. Taxes are exceptionally high.

The Big Apple's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, however, has other concerns on his mind. Much of his time and attention has been spent on the dietary habits of his constituents. He has vigorously addressed his displeasure on what he perceives to be the excess intake of calories, sugar and salt by his jurisdiction's residents. (The mayor has also authored other bizarre decisions. In a 2010 snowstorm, his administration's transportation chief ordered the plowing of a bike lane before many key roadways were cleared; at least one death was attributed to the inability of an ambulance to make a timely arrival.)

The growing gap in the time elected officials spend addressing personal peeves and the performance of their actual duty to deal with traditional governmental responsibilities has become a contentious issue on the local and national levels. (It's not only elected officials who are guilty of this. The Occupy Movement was widely criticized as focusing on generalized, and rather confused, complaints about society rather than on specific challenges government can actually meet.)

Americans increasingly perceive that their government's emphasis on personal matters is misguided, as revealed by a Rasmussen poll taken in June. Only 24 percent agree with Bloomberg's recent attempt to ban the sale of large soft drinks, which would be imposed by the city's unelected Board of Health at his whim, without the input of the electorate or even the local City Council.

The response from civil libertarian think tanks has been scathing. CATO Institute's David Boaz writes: 

"In a free society, government doesn't make our personal decisions for us. We don't need a Big Brother or a mayoral nanny. We have the right and the responsibility to make our own decisions, so long as we don't interfere with the rights of others."

CATO has monitored the development of our over regulated society for some time. Its policy analyst Radley Balko used the writings of Pulitzer-prize winning economist James Buchanan as part of the basis of his study. "Conventional threats to freedom," Buchanan wrote, "from...central planning...and...the welfare state...are today joined by...paternal socialism...which [is the] willingness among many to allow the government to take control of their lives. The emerging threat to American liberty today, then, is...the desire among some in government to interfere in nearly every aspect of our lives, and the lack of concern on the part of many Americans that this is happening." 

Contrary to the impression that the would-be food regulators give, Americans are not increasingly unhealthy. The CATO study emphasized that Americans are living longer than ever. 

James Gattuso, writing in The Foundry, stated:

"Contempt for consumers is...at the heart of this proposal. It has the distinct smell of elitism about it...the Great Unwashed...can't be trusted with their own health...they should not be allowed to spend their money on Mountain Dew; they should spend it on vanilla lattes as their betters do."

The concern is not confined to conservative think tanks. PJ Media recently asked, "If government bureaucrats can ban the types of fast food outlets available, manipulate the size and types of drinks we consume, and regulate every aspect of food preparation, what couldn't they attempt to ban?...Will Bloomberg next propose a measure limiting red meat intake...Will the nanny state do-gooders ban hot dogs, or force Americans to take part in government exercise programs...?"

A Hoover Institution study noted that "The current unease is rising among people who are comfortable with some substantial government role in providing jobs, supporting agriculture, subsidizing health care, financing education, or regulating banking. They have the visceral sense that things have gone too far. They are clearly fortified in their view by the chronic levels of unemployment...in the face of an ill-conceived stimulus program that seems to have done nothing to improve overall productivity. And they are not amused when government pads its payroll with folks who don't do much of anything useful."

Parallels have been drawn between Bloomberg's elitist impulses and President Obama's Health Care law. NPR reports that "some Bloomberg critics on social media did detect a nanny state axis...and warned that Bloomberg's proposal could be a vision of the future under Obama." 

Conservatives have long warned that if the government is responsible for your health care, it will soon claim the right to determine what behaviors you should or should not do that affect what it will have to pay to keep you healthy. The Washington Examiner's Philip Klein notes that Bloomberg, in defending his ban, quoted a supporter who wrote that "anyone who pays taxes and thus bears the health care costs...should support this."  

"Ultimately," Rasmussen notes, "Bloomberg's ban on large sugary drinks highlights the gap between the American people and their political leaders. Most Americans are looking for ways to change the system so that they can make their own health care choices rather than have decisions imposed on them. The political class wants to make those choices for us. That's the key question in the [national] health care debate. Who do you trust more with important decisions: the government or the people?"

NYC is not alone in its intrusiveness. Author David Harsanvi writes that "countless busybodies across the nation are rolling up their sleeves to do the work of straightening out your life.  Certain Massachusetts towns have banned school-yard tag sales.  San Francisco has passed laws regulating the amount of water you should use in dog bowels." There are numerous other examples, some of which would be comical if the implications for civil liberty were not so serious. 

Rasmussen's other recent polls provide an indicator of what the majority view on that issue is. Another June poll demonstrated that 51 percent believe "that government is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector of them." An April poll revealed that "only 22 percent believe society would be become more fair if there was greater regulation."   

Interference in personal matters extends beyond food.  Increasingly, education has been the battlefield where elitist attempts to regulate personal behavior have been launched.  Legal writer Elie Mystal recently wrote about the New York State Department of Education's weird decision to ban words (are book burnings far behind?) that they deem too controversial. The outcast words weren't curses or racial insults.  They included "birthday," (it might offend Jehovah's Witnesses) and dinosaur (which could anger creationist) as well as other harmless phases.

It is not inappropriate to ask whether there is another agenda involved. Many of the foods that have been objected to by the would-be nannies are the same or similar to those that were the target of anti-American protestors overseas who demonstrated at fast-food outlets such as McDonalds. 

Similarly, educational bureaucrats seem to have a penchant for banning American cultural icons. A California school sent home a student who wore a U.S. flag t-shirt on Cinco de Mayo. A principal in Brooklyn has forbidden the singing of "God Bless America" in the odd belief that the tune would be offensive to some.

We seem to have arrived at a time when previously unquestioned values--important ones such as personal freedom and patriotism, and lesser ones, such as the foods we eat--are no longer shared by some elitist bureaucrats. They appear anxious to subdue traditional expressions of American culture in favor of multiculturalism.

Eugene Miller, in his study of F.A. Hayek's opus, The Constitution of Liberty, stresses that Hayek believed that the west, as a whole, is losing faith in the principles of liberty.   Government, Hayek noted, must be prevented from using coercion improperly.    

There's a lot more at stake than your right to quench that thirst with a large Coke. 

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Bank Can't Compete

Freedman says private bank can't compete with HUD loan

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, June 14- Herbert Freedman said, this week, that representatives for New York Community Bank (NYCB) have advised him that the bank won't be able to compete with the offer of a HUD-backed loan that is currently seen as being in the offing.

Members of the Riverbay board met, Tuesday night, with officials of Wells Fargo Bank and the city and state as negotiations leading toward $600 million in mortgage refinancing for Co-op City seemed to be moving toward a final conclusion.

“The bank has advised us that they can't compete with the HUD-backed offer that we have been discussing in recent weeks,” Freedman said, in an e-mail this week.

Freedman noted that officials of the bank have asked him if the HUD-backed mortgage falls through.

Under the projected refinancing that seems to be on the table at this time, HUD would guarantee $530 million of the mortgage, while city and state agencies would guarantee $70 million of the loan.

The mortgage refinancing, Freedman has stated in recent weeks, would be for 35 years at a projected, fixed interest rate of 3.5 percent per year.

Co-op City has yet to submit a formal application for the HUD-backed mortgage because the Riverbay Corporation must shell out $5 million in fees before being considered for the loan through the federal agency.

Co-op City, if the time comes to submit a formal application for the HUD-backed mortgage, will have to dip into its reserve funds to pay these fees.

However, Freedman has said that Co-op City will get the lion's share of these fees back if Riverbay get the $600-million mortgage.

As a result, Co-op City's top management officials has stressed that Riverbay h as to be extremely cautious about paying the fees that are required in conjunction with the application for the HUD-backed mortgage.

Freedman has noted that Riverbay won't shell out the money for the fees until management feels assured that the community will get the refinancing.

Co-op City, in pursuing refinancing at this time, is trying to capitalize on historically low interest rates, hoping to lock in the low rates over an extended period of time.

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Crime in the Bronx

Blotter Notes

By David Greene

PAIR WOUNDED IN WAKEFILED... 

Police responding to calls of shots fired, discovered a man and woman both shot in the leg. 

The incident was reported at 2:40 a.m., on June 12.The victims were transported to an area hospital and were expected to recover. No description of the gunman was available.

TASER THIEF IN FOXHURST

Police were called to 1033 Faile Street at just after 2 a.m., on Tuesday, June 12, for a call of an armed robbery. 

The victim reported that he was robbed by a man with a taser. The suspect was described as a male Black with dreadlocks, who fled the scene on foot.

FATAL TRAIN STRIKE ON CONCOURSE

Police were called to the D-Train at E. 167 Street and the Grand Concourse, for reports of a person struck by a train. 

The incident was reported at 9:30 p.m. on June 11. Rescue crews frantically tried to reach the individual, who was declared dead at the scene less than 15-minutes later. No additional information was available at this time.

BROOK AVENUE SHOOTING... 

Police from the 40th Precinct were called to Brook Avenue and E. 139 Street, for reports of a man shot. 

The incident was reported at 4:20 p.m., on June 11. The unidentified victim was shot in the leg and removed to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition. Police were reportedly searching a building, located at 570 E. 139 Street, for the suspects described as two male Hispanics, one 6-feet tall and wearing a green Addidas shirt.

SCHOOL BUS DRIVER ASSAULTED

Police were called to the scene of an assault of a school bus driver. 

The incident was reported at 12:05 p.m., at the corner of E. Tremont Avenue and Anthony Avenue. The bus driver was removed to a local hospital in serious, but stable condition. Officer's from the 46th Precinct were looking for the suspect, described as a Black male.

HOME AVENUE JUMPER

Rescue crews were called to 355 Home Avenue, for reports of a person had jumped from a building. 

Upon their arrival, officers discovered the victim on the ground after jumping from an unknown height. The victims condition and circumstances are still not known at this time.

DOUBLE SHOOTING ON UNION AVE. 

Officers from the 40th Precinct were called to the scene of shots fired and discovered two gunshot victims. 

The incident unfolded at 1:30 p.m., on June 10. The two victims were rushed to a local hospital, their conditions are not yet known.

BRONX RIVER CRASH

Rescue crews removed one victim after a vehicle overturned. 

The crash was reported at 12:30 a.m., on June 10, on the southbound Bronx River Parkway at the E. 177 Street exit. One victim was extricated and rushed to a nearby hospital. The person's condition is not yet known.

MAN SHOT IN SOUNDVIEW

Police from the 43rd Precinct were called to the scene of a male shot. 

The incident took place in the stairwell of the James Monroe Houses, located at 1755 Story Avenue, at 12:15 p.m., on June 9. The 20-year old victim was expected to recover. 

Police were looking for a suspect, described as a male Black, wearing a NASCAR cap and black pants who fled the scene.

FISH AVENUE SLASHING

Police from the 47th Precinct were called to the scene of a female slashed in the face with a razor. 

Police arrived at 3467 Fish Avenue, at 12:20 p.m., on June 9, and discovered the victim. One suspect was quickly apprehended.

149 STREET BANK ROBBER

Police were looking for the individual who robbed a bank in the south Bronx. Police were called to 360 E. 149 Street after an individual passed a note to the teller and fled with an undetermined amount of U.S. currency. The suspect was described as a male Black, 5' 5'' tall, with a slim build.

OFFICER SHOT AT FIRING RANGE

EMS was requested to Rodman's Neck, for a police officer reported shot at the NYPD shooting range. 

The female corrections officer was reportedly accidentally shot in the leg and rushed to Jacobi Hospital in stable condition after the incident, which took place at just after 7 p.m., on June 7.

BAYCHESTER BANK ROBBERY

Police were called to a Baychester bank after a call of a robbery. The incident was reported at the CitiBank, located at 3955 Baychester Avenue, at Strang Avenue, at 9:30 a.m., on June 7. Police were looking for a male Black, dressed in black, who fled the scene.

E.241 STREET STABBING

Police and EMS were called to 691 E. 241 Street for a report of a person stabbed. 

Upon their arrival officers discovered the victim in critical condition. The suspect was described as a male Black, wearing a green and white hoodie and a yellow baseball cap with the words, "Old Navy," on it. No other details were immediately available.

If you have witnessed or have information on a violent crime, you may give your information anonymously by calling 1 (800) 577-TIPS or TEXT: Crimes. ENTER: TIPS577.   

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Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Pain in the Gas

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Pain in the Gas: (Photos by David Greene) BRONX, NEW YORK, June 14- We heard of pumping your own gas to save money but this is ridiculous. Fire depa...