(BPT) - Often, we don’t think about heroism until we see it in action - when disaster strikes and ordinary people exhibit extraordinary courage and compassion to help victims in their time of need. The truth is, however, that the best of human nature is on display every day in the lives of millions of Americans who work in public service jobs across the country. Sometimes all it takes to tap that inner hero is an opportunity – and the education – to serve others.

What does the First Amendment mean to you?

Not since 1971 have we seen the government so blatantly attack the freedom of the press. Working for local news organizations most of my life, I have a strong affiliation to the principles that should guide the news. I also hold in equal regard the freedoms that must be upheld for our democracy to flourish.

The comprehensive immigration reform bill that U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is co-sponsoring would put millions of immigrants on the path to citizenship and would specifically benefit the Asians here, he said.

“We have a great Asian community and I am a great fan of immigration because it adds to the greatness of New York and the greatness of our country,” Schumer said during a phone press conference Friday.

The recent spate of arrests and criminal investigations involving public officials has ensnared a high percentage of minorities in the state Legislature, leading some in the community to ask if black and Hispanic lawmakers are being targeted.

State Sen. James Sanders (D-Jamaica) decided last week that the question of conspiracy or corruption was far better-suited for an open, frank and free-wheeling debate before nearly 200 people at the Black Spectrum Theatre in Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica.

Dear Editor:

If an investigation of the Benghazi attack should reveal that there were members of the Obama administration, including the president himself, who knew what really happened and did nothing to prevent it from happening, then all of them should be forced to resign from their positions, including the president.

The anger of the American people is building regarding the entire incident. We have every right to know the full facts and truth about this tragic incident, which took the lives of several people. Why can’t our government ever admit that it was not totally honest with the American people?

It is time for accountability regarding the Benghazi attack. President Obama needs to take full responsibility for this major screwup. The Wizard of Oz could do a much better job of running the country.

About a dozen restaurant owners and bikers got the 411 on Tuesday on new delivery regulations.

A package of city laws that went into effect on April 23 requires helmets, reflective vests, lights, bells and identification linking the riders to their employers’ establishments.

City officials broke ground Tuesday for a new K through 5 school in Ozone Park that is being constructed on the site of a former Catholic school.

The new school, called PS 316, is located at 90-07 101 Ave and will serve 444 students from the Ozone Park community and is currently slated to open in September 2014. It will feature reading and speech resource rooms, a library, guidance room and a medical suite. Two of the 20 classrooms in the school will be dedicated to District 75 students.

If published reports are right, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) and seven others were taped in former Sen. Shirley Huntley’s home either at the request of the FBI, or at Huntley’s recommendation to the bureau.

In an interview following Huntley’s sentencing to prison last week, Peralta said he is at a loss to explain why either would consider him a possible target for a corruption probe.

About two dozen bicycle enthusiasts came together last Saturday at Maspeth High School for a community forum to kick into gear plans that could see a new bike infrastructure for the area and surrounding neighborhoods in place by as early as next year.

Among those in attendance was Frank Rosado, a Ridgewood resident who commutes by bicycle to Manhattan every day.

An inactive construction site that has been stalled for years is frustrating the residents of Briarwood.

The lot located at 84-03 Lander St. was supposed to be developed into a six-story apartment house. But years later, the building remains unfinished, with metal columns that have since rusted over and a plywood fence that has become weather-worn and covered in graffiti.

Repairing the seawall in Queensbridge Park has been talked about for well over a decade. Last Friday those plans came to fruition when politicians, the Parks Department and dedicated neighborhood advocates dipped their symbolic golden shovels into a pre-dug pile of dirt to commence construction.

The $6.65 million project will raise the crumbling seawall separating the park from the East River in the most northern section of Long Island City across from the Queensbridge Houses. Plans also call for a 6-foot-wide promenade with benches, plantings and a small wharf at its northern end.

The Juniper Park Civic Association is not happy with the approach of Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and the city to cleaning up the district and has decided to take one matter into its own hands.

At the intersection of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road, there is an abandoned newsstand that has been an eyesore for about 10 years. In 2009, Crowley held a press conference calling on the Metropolitan Transit Authority and Long Island Rail Road to allow the community to demolish the newsstand and create a temporary green space in its place.

An appellate court has overturned a ruling by Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis that states the city is practicing deliberate discrimination against minority applicants for the FDNY.

Published reports also said Garaufis has been barred from sitting on a retrial to address the matter.