Speed roundup today as we’re going to press with the latest edition of the Norwood News, which will hit streets in Fordham, University Heights, Bedford Park and Norwood tomorrow.
First, the weather: Rainy, with temperatures falling into the high 40s and winds gusting up to 36 miles an hour.
To the news!
Story of the Day: Bronx Boy Leads UConn to National Hoops Title
Soundview’s own Kemba Walker, who attended IS 174 before heading to Rice in Manhattan to play his high school ball, was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in leading the University Connecticut men’s basketball team to its third national championship. They beat Butler University, a relatively tiny Indiana school, 53-41. Jason Fisher, who apparently played with Walker back in the day, said he was proud to see his fellow Bronxite make it on the big stage. “It’s spirit and hard work,” he told the Daily News. “It’s something we all dreamed about when we were playing way back in the third grade. It’s a dream that came through for Kemba, and I’m really happy for him.” Here’s how they celebrated on the UConn campus (skip it if you don’t want to see college kids deliriously happy):
Quick Hits:
More than 33,000 people wrote in suggestions to name the Bronx Zoo’s most famous reptile – the Egyptian cobra who was on the loose for a week – and the finalists have been revealed: Agnes, Amaunet, Cleopatra, Subira Egyptian, Mia. Click here for more on the names and to vote for your favorite of the top five.
JPMorgan Chase donated an old Washington Mutual building, on East Tremont in Westchester Square, to the Bronx Council on the Arts.
HBO ran a documentary last night about Hollywood super producer Jerry Weintraub, who’s a Bronx boy.
Watch and then vote for the winner of WNYC’s Bronx Battle of the Boroughs music contest. The winner moves on to represent the Bronx in the citywide Battle of the Boroughs showcase in June.
A major rehab is beginning at the old Bronx County Courthouse.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio showed up at a Bedford Park building the other day to tout his new plan to hold shady landlords more accountable. The plan will include a link on craigslist that would lead apartment seekers to de Blasio’s list of the city’s worst landlords.
