Brooklyn Today: February 17, 2012

February 17, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff
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Good morning. Today is the 48th day of the year. It is the birth anniversary (1908) of pioneer sportscaster Red Barber. Barber was the announcer for the Dodgers, first on radio and later on both radio and TV, from 1939 to 1953. Among his colorful expressions were “tearin’ up the pea patch” (on a winning streak), “rhubarb” (a heated dispute on the field) and “sittin’ in the catbird seat” (when a team was doing exceptionally well). Barber later worked for the Yankees until 1966.
 
Well-known people who were born today include Hall of Fame football player Jim Brown, actress Michelle Forbes, socialite and television personality Paris Hilton, actor Hal Holbrook (Magnum Force, All the President’s Men) and Brooklyn-born Hall of Fame basketball player Michael Jordan.
 
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The 84th Precinct Community Council will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at St. James Cathedral Pavilion, 240 Jay St., Downtown Brooklyn. There will be a special presentation by Common Ground, an organization that helps the homeless, about solutions to homelessness.
 
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According to The Daily News, the body of a woman was found stuffed inside a laundry bag in a vacant lot in Brownsville on Wednesday afternoon. The victim is described as a middle-aged black woman with cornrows. Police were still investigating the incident yesterday.
 
According to PR Newswire, Fort Greene Park has become the 18th New York City park location to get free AT&T Wi-fi service. The company announced a partnership with the Bloomberg Administration last June to offer the service in parks across the five boroughs. Brooklyn tourists and residents can access Fort Greene Park’s Wi-Fi near the visitor’s center.
 
The Daily News reveals that a second roll-your-own cigarette shop has opened in Brooklyn only a few blocks from the borough’s first smokes store — which is now being targeted in a citywide tax crackdown. Green Leaf Smokes, at 1326 Sheepshead Bay Rd. in Sheepshead Bay, opened last month despite the Law Department’s ongoing campaign to stamp out places that allow customers to pack loose tobacco into rolling machines. Smokers walk out of the shops paying as little as $3 per pack — avoiding the $7.47 in federal, state, and city taxes attached to the typical package sold in delis and bodegas within the five boroughs.
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