Weather: Bronxites will be burning (or at least sweating a little) today as temperatures soar into the high 70s! Small chance of showers later on. Similar mix of warmth and rain potential tomorrow.


Story of the Day: Cute Kid Battles Cancer, Runs for Cute Penguins
We’ll lead with this heart-warmer about a penguin-loving six-year-old boy from Long Island who is coming to the Bronx on Saturday to participate in the Bronx Zoo’s annual Run for the Wild fundraiser. Last fall, after doctors diagnosed young Aghelos Kouvaras with a rare form of cancer, he was forced to drop out of school and has spent his life in and out of hospitals ever since. During his ongoing convalescence, Agehlos developed a love for penguins: “They’re cute animals and they were dying,” Aghelos told the Daily News. Despite his own condition, Aghelos wanted to do something to help his new endangered favorite creature. In turn, his teachers went to work raising $3,000 for this year’s Run for the Wild, which is dedicated to protecting the Magellanic penguins who live off the coast of southern Argentina. Now, eight months after his diagnosis, Aghelos feels well enough to do his own running for the wild and will participate in the 5K run/walk on Saturday with about 80 supporters cheering him on. Yesterday, the Zoo rewarded the first-grader by letting him feed their penguins.

Quick Hits:
In a well-reported follow-up to the story of the Belmont-area fire that killed two parents and their 12-year-old son, the Daily News reports that the Buildings Department received five complaints saying there were illegally converted one-room apartments in the building (2321 Prospect Ave.) that went ablaze yesterday morning. The last complaint came just 11 days before the fire and there is no record of the agency doing anything in response. Too often – records show less than half of the time – the city is unable to access buildings to investigate complaints. And after two attempts, cases are closed. Buildings officials say the low inspection rates are due to budget constraints that won’t allow them to authorize overtime so inspectors can visit buildings after hours and on weekends.

The man heading the NYPD ticket-fixing scandal, Bronx DA Robert Johnson, unsuccessfully tried to get his own speeding ticket fixed by going through proper court channels. Let this be a lesson to all of us.

DNAinfo‘s Murray Weiss reports on Huffington Post that the ticket-fixing investigation may also include cops attempting to squash domestic violence and DWI charges.

Bronx-born caterer Kwame Onwuachi, now living in Harlem, is following in his mother’s culinary footsteps.

Tree-giveaway projects are happening all over the borough.

Yamaris Clemente, a relative of late Puerto Rican baseball legend Roberto Clemente, is excelling as the shortstop for the Monroe College softball team.

East Bronx waterfront advocates have a vocal new ally in the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance.

Westchester Square is one step closer to gaining a Business Improvement District.