Rhetoric flew, but a few substantial differences were evident between four of the six candidates for Hiram Monserrate’s City Council seat at a meeting Monday of the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens. Comment.

For Bellerose resident Balbir Singh, New Year’s Eve was not a time of celebration. Comment.

CORONA — A Corona resident walked two miles to the hospital after getting shot three times outside a Corona night club on New Year’s Day, police said. Comment.

FRESH MEADOWS — A Corona man was arrested Dec. 31 after he fled the scene of an accident that claimed the life of a Hollis man, police said. Comment.

FOREST HILLS — Police arrested two Jamaica men Dec. 31 in connection with beating and robbing an 18−year−old man on Austin Street in Forest Hills, a representative for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

It is refreshing to see a politician with the courage to speak his mind. In December, U.S. Rep Gary Ackerman said he knew less about Caroline Kennedy than he does about Jennifer Lopez. Comment.

Attorney Tom Ognibene of Middle Village served on the City Council, representing the 30th Council District of western Queens, for 10 years until 2001, when he was term limited out of office. During most of that time, he served as the Council minority leader. Comment.

The nurse ran to the doctor and said, “The patient that just left here, the one you said was in perfect health, just dropped dead outside our office door. What shall I do?” The doctor said, “Turn him around so it looks like he was just coming in.” Comment.

New Year’s Eve was bittersweet, as we had planned on going to a friend’s house early in the evening and later join revelers at Il Bacco in Little Neck to welcome in the new year. It was to be a dual celebration, as it was Joe Oppedisano’s 50th birthday, too. Happy birthday, Joe! Joe is, of course, the proprietor of Il Bacco. Comment.

Attending networking functions can enhance your business production for 2009. Many have told me networking events do not work for them because they get nervous at the thought of attending them. Even extroverts have told me they are not always sure how to act while attending. Comment.

What started out as her daughter’s idea for a birthday party has ended up as a full−fledged business for Lisa Middleton−Thompson. Comment.

Townsend Harris High School in Flushing has received a $10,000 cash award for being selected as the Intel School of Distinction for science, one of only three schools in the country to be recognized. Comment.

Newly seated Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D−Flushing) knows she is entering the state Legislature at a challenging time for the city, state and country, which is why she said it was important for her to hit the ground running. Comment.

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D−Bayside) recalled how he was hustled into a shelter to evade rockets fired from Gaza during his visit to Israel over the weekend and reaffirmed his support for the Jewish state in its most recent conflict with Hamas in a conference call Tuesday with reporters. Comment.

Transit officials have mentioned fare hikes of 23 percent, but Theodore “Ted” Kheel would provide free buses 24 hours a day with subway straphangers paying only during rush hour and no more than $1.25. Comment.

After months of uncertainty, state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D−St. Albans) is poised to become the majority leader of the Senate following a Tuesday night meeting of Senate Democrats, he said in a statement. Comment.

Crime rose in four of the seven major categories in the 114th Precinct last year, but the number of incidents dropped 5.2 percent overall, including a dip in the number of homicides, according to police statistics. Comment.

A state group that raises awareness of human trafficking recently awarded U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D−Astoria) as 2008’s congressional member who has taken the most steps to prevent trafficking through legislation, a spokeswoman for the group said. Comment.

A 9−year−old Ozone Park boy was killed Tuesday afternoon when he was struck by the campaign vehicle used by a City Council candidate at the corner of Cross Bay and Rockaway Boulevards, police said. Comment.

A family from Bayside and another from Flushing welcomed the first two babies born in the five boroughs within the first 10 minutes of 2009, while a Richmond Hill family’s newborn son was the first delivered in the state during the New Year. Comment.

Bayside’s popular CaffÉ on the Green closed its doors permanently on New Year’s Day after the city chose a new concessionaire to replace the catering hall at its Cross Island Parkway locale, a city Parks Department spokeswoman said. Comment.

Flushing residents, business owners and Lunar New Year revelers from around the city are having a case of deja vu as track work on the No. 7 subway line threatens to disrupt celebrations in the bustling downtown hub for the second straight year. Comment.

Three Queens congressional members who sit on the House Financial Services Committee grilled but received few answers from the watchdog for the Securities and Exchange Commission and the head of the corporation that will be paying out claims to investors duped in the $50 billion Ponzi scheme allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff, a Rockaway native. Comment.

The MTA’s decision to shut down No. 7 train service from Manhattan to Queens for nine consecutive weekends could devastate already struggling businesses and force residents into long commutes, City Councilman Eric Gioia (D−Sunnyside) said during a Sunday news conference at the Vernon Jackson subway station in Long Island City. Comment.

What’s in a name? According to some people who are and were running for the 23rd Council District, a lot. Comment.

The state’s Empire Zone program helped to create more than $77 million in capital investments within three southeast Queens neighborhoods over the last 20 years and is expected to give those selected areas a bigger boost in the near future, city administrators said Tuesday. Comment.

Vivian Squires, the 86−year−old grandmother who fought off an attacker who robbed and stabbed her four times in her Springfield Gardens home Sunday, left Mary Immaculate Hospital Tuesday afternoon, softly singing “I’m going home, I’m going home, I’m going home.” Comment.

Get ready, Jackson Heights. The already packed stable of candidates for the 25th Council District seat may soon get another distinguished contender. Comment.

Stories of Israelis and Palestinians holed up in shelters, terrified to leave their houses during the most recent conflict between Israel and the Islamic military group Hamas, have prompted Queens politicians and residents to voice their support for victims of the violence in the Middle East. Comment.

Call it a troubled bridge over polluted waters. Comment.

Borough property owners were pleased that long−awaited $400 rebate checks from the city were on the way, but many said the checks would provide little relief following the City Council’s vote, which approved a plan to raise property tax rates this year. Comment.

A two−alarm fire raced through the home and museum of a College Point artist Tuesday night, probably destroying a collection of his life’s work. Comment.

When Madeleine Martin first read the script of the play “August: Osage County,” she wasn’t sure she’d be able to bring herself to play the role of Jean Fordham, the cheeky and emotionally abandoned youngster in Tracy Letts’ wonderfully written family drama. Comment.

According to a New York Coalition Against Hunger survey, the Bronx’s food pantries and soup kitchens are falling short of demand and struggling to stay open. Comment.

The Huntington Free Library has recently become a tragic eyesore for the Westchester Square community. Comment.

The sounds of pieces from often overlooked black composers and Queens artists will be wafting from venues throughout the borough this winter as Maspeth−based Musica Reginae Productions launches its ninth season. Comment.