Showing posts with label Bronx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bronx. Show all posts

5/3/09

At the Bronx Zoo: The Animals are Getting the Pink Slip

The Bronx Zoo is facing some serious cutbacks that could leave some endangered species looking for a new home:

What an example of skewed priorities. Mayor Bloomberg raised two taxes to ensure there will be 500 new cops on the streets of New York this year. There are 5.3 police officers for every 1,000 New Yorkers but there is only one World of Darkness and many of the inhabitants are endangered species. Thanks to Bloomberg's thirty-three percent cut in city funding to the zoo, children will no longer learn that "when the sun goes down most of the world's animals wake up."

...snip...

Why does the zoo deserve special treatment in these harsh times? In a city that claims there is no money left for adequate mass transportation or even food stamps for that matter asking for special consideration for a living museum may seem unreasonable but the zoo preforms a far more important service than the storage of a few animals. They are devoted to educating generations that will understand why we should make our responsibility to endangered species a priority and work to protect wildlife.

A little action item for the Bronx Zoo:

A big reason New York is the number one city on the planet is its cultural institutions. Those institutions, including the Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium, provide:

  • a top visitor destination
  • education for millions of children
  • employment for New Yorkers, and
  • vital support for the New York City economy

You were the difference in helping our institutions get their State funding restored-but we still need your help with City funding! This is a critical time to make your voice heard during the budget process.

Help Restore City Funding to the
Bronx Zoo and New York Aquarium!

If you go there they will help you write an email to Mayor Bloomberg and point you in the right direction to send it off...

9/18/07

To Avoid Return to Iraq, Soldier Arranged to Be Shot


Via the Ny Times, His wife helped to arrange it and they paid $500 to another man to do the deed:
Jonathan Aponte, a 20-year-old Army private, has admitted that he arranged to have himself shot in the knee to avoid being sent back to Iraq and then told police he had been wounded in a robbery.

Today, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, announced.

In a deal with prosecutors, Private Aponte pleaded guilty to one count of falsely reporting an incident in the third degree. Under the agreement, Justice John N. Byrne of State Supreme Court is to sentence him to a term of one year in jail on Oct. 17. His guilty plea in this case also covered any potential charges of perjury in connection with the investigation into the shooting, according to the district attorney’s office.

Support the troops... Bust a cap in their kneecap?

WTF??? Is this what it has come to? (h/t Buzzflash)