49th Precinct Breakfast Honoring the Police Officers and Community Leaders By Robert Press Friday morning was the 32nd Annual 49th Precinct Fellowship Conference hosted by the 49th Precinct and the 49th Precinct Community Council. Over one-Hundred people were in attendance […]

Reverend John Hale (1636) Hale was a church pastor in nearby Beverly, Massachusetts, during the Salem witch trials in the late 17th century. Initially, Hale supported the prosecutions of the alleged witches. Once his second wife was accused of witchcraft, however, he had a change of heart, denouncing the practice of witch hunts in his book A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft. A fictional portrayal of Hale appears in Arthur Miller’s famed play The Crucible. What happened to Hale’s wife? More…

Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all the gravities of terrestrial life. H.G. Wells (1866-1946)

materfamilias Definition: (noun) A female head of a family or tribe. Synonyms: matriarch Usage: As materfamilias, my grandmother calls the shots on holidays like Thanksgiving, and no one dares question her. Discuss.

Bronx Borough President Candidate Fernando Cabrera Visits 100 Year Old Conti Pastry Shop By Robert Press Conti’s Pastry Shop has been in business for one-hundred years at 786 Morris Park Avenue. Mr. Sal Paljevic has been the owner the past […]

Dr. Henry Faulds (1843) Faulds was a Scottish doctor and scientist who pioneered the study of fingerprints as forensic evidence. He first became interested in fingerprints after noticing the imprints left by craftsmen’s fingertips in ancient pottery. Convinced that fingerprints could be a valuable investigative tool, Faulds unsuccessfully tried to convince Scotland Yard to employ his methods. His findings went largely unnoticed during his lifetime. How does Darwin’s cousin factor into a controversy over Faulds’s work? More…

By what strange law of mind is it that an idea long overlooked, and trodden under foot as a useless stone, suddenly sparkles out in new light, as a discovered diamond? Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

kingpin Definition: (noun) The most important person in a group or undertaking. Synonyms: bigwig, top banana Usage: A years-long undercover operation finally yielded the evidence needed to bring down the country’s most notorious drug kingpin. Discuss.