Author: Jack Mirkinson (Jack Mirkinson)

Ralph Green will be speaking at Bedford-Stuyvesant today before he leaves for the Vancouver Olympics 2010 to represent the United States in the Paralympics. Green lost his leg at 15 years old because of a runaway bullet. The Brooklyn Ink is following the story and will bring you updates throughout the day.

Borough Park native Rabbi Milton Balkany was charged with extortion, blackmail and making false statements to coerce a Connecticut hedge fund into donating $4 million to two schools in Brooklyn. Balkany, a dean at one of the Jewish schools in question, was arraigned at Manhattan Federal Court Thursday evening before his release on $250,000 bond.

Read Maia Efrem’s story about the MTA’s decision to start charging for student MetroCards. Residents of Brooklyn say this will make it hard for their children to access the same opportunities.

Police discovered a 25-year-old woman dead in her apartment at 250 Lott Avenue in Canarsie around 2am last night. The victim, identified as Michelle Fernandez, died of head trauma. Police have not released any arrests as of Thursday even. Still just a DCPI report, but we’ll let you know when we have more details.

Marion McCleneghan, 40, disappeared after a party on Feb. 1st and hasn’t been heard from since. Police describe the case as a “priority,” according to OTBKB.

It’s not easy being furry in Brooklyn these days. First a dog was mugged last week in posh Park Slope. Now, local pets are on the alert for a pooch poisoner, reports the Brooklyn Paper. All of this is enough to inspire big dogs to form their very own support group, says the Daily News.

Read the Brooklyn Ink’s novel take on the mumps outbreak. We ask what the long-term implications are of a disease that can cause reduced fertility in adolescent men.

Read Chris Alessi’s story on a town hall, where only two Arab-Americans said they’ve seen improvement in immigration policy since President Obama took office.

A city councilman has created a map of blighted building developments … and it’s not a pretty sight. Brad Lander is asking for your help tracking progress cleaning up the rubbish left behind.

Brooklyn’s most heated trial of the year wrapped up yesterday and jurors must now weigh the conflicting testimony of four police officers about what happened to Michael Mineo, who says he was sodomized in the Prospect Park subway station. Update: Jury asks to review all evidence in the case, reports The New York Times.