This week's Riverdale Review and Bronx Press

Here are the stories in this week's (June 28 - July 4) issues of the Riverdale Review and Bronx Press.

* Budget woes force music cuts at PS 24 > PS 24 has fired both of its music teachers and has been forced to shut down its music department in order to balance its bare-bones operating budget.

* Light turnout for primary day > Thousands of Bronx voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in an unusually times primary election.

* Safety hazards could lead to less parking > Up to six parking spots along one of Riverdale's narrowest streets could be permanently lost because rogue drivers are blocking emergency vehicle access.

* Developer seeks to donate historic Stella D'oro building signs > Metropolitan Realty Associates president Joseph Farkas plans to donate the two signs to the Bronx Historical Society, but the organization said there isn't enough space in their storage room.

* Work at 230th Street mall to commence in November > Construction on the $54 million Broadway Plaza shopping mall is slated to begin by Thanksgiving, pending approval of all relevant permits.

* PS 24 changes schools schedule > Students at PS 24 will start and finish school 10 minutes earlier next year, thanks to the school's attempt to alleviate the traffic snarls and gridlock that have plagued area motorists.

* Residents turn red over left-turn traffic light change at Broadway > City officials have changed the traffic signal at one of Riverdale's busiest intersections in a bid to improve safety and eliminate driver confusion.

* Retired Horace Mann staffer admits to sex with students > A former English teacher at Horace Mann School has revealed he had sex with at least three students while working at the uber-elite private institution.

* Local author/actress is doyenne of Italian-American culture > Riverdale resident Emelise Aleandri's 2002 pictorial history "Little Italy" is about to be published in Italian, and her latest work about Mulberry Street will be released as soon as she choose either of the two publishers vying for it.

* Motorists get break on Muni-Meters > The State Legislature passed a bill last week that would protect drivers from parking tickets while they are walking to a Muni-Meter to purchase a receipt or walking back to their cars to display it.

Also, in the Bronx Press:

* Hunts Point market gets $10 million grant > The Hunts Point Terminal Market is set to receive a $10 million federal grant from the US Department of Transportation to help modernize it and keep it in the Bronx, where it belongs.

* Bronx records surge in bank robberies > With unemployment in the Bronx at record levels, people have been robbing banks at an alarming rate, keeping themselves 

and cops extremely busy--with no fewer than 22 robberies or attempts since January.