FLUSHING — A Flushing man will spend up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to beating a policeman in Jackson Heights with a baseball bat and stealing his weapon and handcuffs, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said this week. Comment.

A Facebook posting last week by a drunk St. John’s University student turned up anything but laughs after school officials feared it could lead to a Virginia Tech-style shooting on the Queens campus, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

Bayside community activist Mandingo Tshaka has been slapped with a $27,400 city fine following a June inspection of his home by the city Department of Buildings. But he said one violation at his house had been corrected, while another was invalid under former city zoning laws. Comment.

Queens Democratic Party insiders said Kevin Kim’s win over his five opponents in the Sept. 15 primary stemmed from the candidate’s ability to not only galvanize his base but also to draw voters from across the district. Comment.

A group of Flushing limo drivers and more than two dozen others protested outside Luo and Co. last Thursday, alleging the company’s leader had engaged in “gang” tactics by threatening, assaulting and extorting drivers employed at the collective of taxi and limousine companies. Comment.

A College Point Irish bar that had formerly been the site of the neighborhood’s last remaining German restaurant will host a grand opening celebration this weekend that features the music of a longtime city-based rock ‘n’ roll group whose leader’s ancestry is German and Irish. Comment.

Close to 5,000 runners descended upon northeast Queens Sunday for the annual College Point half-marathon despite criticism from some community leaders who were upset the event was scheduled on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. Comment.

The deadliest bombing in Argentina’s history has led a group of the country’s residents to Fresh Meadows this week, where they will be staying while protesting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly. Comment.

Queens Republicans said they did not believe City Council hopeful Dan Halloran’s adherence to a pagan religion would have any affect on the Auburndale attorney’s bid to fend off Democrat Kevin Kim in the race to replace Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside). Comment.

After eking out a victory in the Queens Democratic primary for City Councilman John Liu’s (D-Flushing) seat last week, Yen Chou is looking forward. Comment.

Readers fortunate enough to have attended the 1964 World’s Fair will understand why we are elated with the decision announced last week to make the New York State Pavilion an official state landmark. The crumbling edifice of concrete and steel is a reminder of the greatest moments in Queens history. Comment.

Gov. David Paterson announced last week the word “oriental” is officially deemed offensive and will be banned from all state forms by the year 2010. The law banning this word was sponsored by state Assemblywoman Grace Meng. Comment.

There are some wives who think we men cannot cook. Nonsense! I happen to be the originator of the “hot yo-yos” — spaghetti wrapped around meatballs. Comment.

It is hard to find a well-paying job in the workforce today when you have experience. With college students now back in class, many are contemplating what to major in. Comment.

Solange Elizee was an 85-year-old woman suffering from Parkinson’s, diabetes and high blood pressure when she was beaten and robbed outside her Jamaica apartment in 2007, her son told a jury in State Supreme Court in Queens Monday. Comment.

A Corona man has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly doused a Fresh Meadows couple’s home with gasoline and lit it on fire, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Comment.

On April 8, 2004, a number of near-misses turned into a hit-and-run accident as two teenagers walking home from a movie were struck by a drag racer on Francis Lewis Boulevard opposite St. Francis Prep. One died. Comment.

EAST ELMHURST — An East Elmhurst teen was arrested after allegedly killing a 21-year-old in East Elmhurst Friday, the Queens district attorney’s office said. Comment.

CORONA — A Corona man was arrested after allegedly punching a woman in the face while she held her 2-year-old daughter, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

EAST ELMHURST — Two Corona men were arrested after allegedly stabbing a man after swiping a beer bottle from the individual’s hand, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

ELMHURST — A city homicide detective from Long Island died Saturday following a crash on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, police said. Comment.

LAGUARDIA AIRPORT — A Florida man was arrested last week after he tried to bring a loaded gun on a flight out of LaGuardia Airport, the Queens district attorney said. Comment.

In the Sept. 10 TimesLedger Newspapers article “Weiner scores Paterson for Immac, St. John’s shutdowns,” U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) had it wrong in his description of the closure of St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica. To say these hospitals closed because Gov. David Paterson failed to provide stimulus funding demonstrates that Weiner is not only unaware of the facts, but fails to appreciate the steps the Paterson administration took to try to save the hospitals. Comment.

Workplace violations are more severe and widespread in the low-wage labor market, according to new groundbreaking information released in a report compiled by the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development, the National Employment Law Project and the University of California, Los Angeles Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. Comment.

For decades the Democratic Party has scared senior citizens before every election with phony accusations that Republicans would reduce or eliminate their Social Security benefits. Even while Republican elected and party officials have urged fiscal responsibility to ensure Social Security and Medicare could be stabilized, Democrats have engaged in scare tactics to win elections while unnerving seniors. Comment.

For 22 years the Queens Falcons Youth Football League has played and practiced in Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village. For thousands of children between 7 and 16, this was their first experience with team sports. Some went on to play for high school and college teams. For the kids and their parents it was an unforgettable experience. Comment.

The Democratic primary race for the 19th City Council District seat in northeast Queens has ended with Kevin Kim in the lead over Jerry Iannece. The final results of this election, however, will not be determined until all the absentee ballots have been counted. It is believed there are about 1,000 absentee ballots to be included in the final count. Comment.

For little boys and girls of a certain age — or perhaps we should say, now at the threshold of being grandparents — a figure from their childhood was born in Flushing Sept. 8, 1910. Joe Bolton, son of a salesman of hotel supplies, left Queens when his parents moved to Manhattan when he was a youngster. Comment.

The fascinating world of politics has outdone itself again. Late Thursday evening I received a phone call from a friend. His conversation started out, “Dee, did you read today’s Queens Tribune?” I said, “No! I’d been busy all day I hadn’t had time to read any of the local papers, including my own TimesLedger. Why do you ask?” Comment.

Usually I am not much of a devotee of “days,” “weeks” and “months” celebrating something, but I make an exception now and then. I do for Estuaries Day, sponsored by the Alley Pond Environmental Center. This year’s event, the fifth annual, will take place Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Comment.

There are some wives who think we men cannot cook. Nonsense! I happen to be the originator of the “hot yo-yos” — spaghetti wrapped around meatballs. Comment.

Astoria restaurateur Gary Anza could be the only business owner in the neighborhood to have been inspired by the 10-day blackout of 2006 to open a new eatery. Comment.

It is hard to find a well-paying job in the workforce today when you have experience. With college students now back in class, many are contemplating what to major in. Comment.

An attorney for a Flushing imam accused of aiding an alleged al-Qaida terrorist said he was trying to help, not trick, federal agents grilling him on the suspect’s whereabouts and activities. Comment.

David Paterson’s future as governor is on thin ice following reports that President Barack Obama and some influential Democrats are pressuring him not to run next year, but southeast Queens constituents and other leaders are asking his critics to cut Paterson some slack. Comment.

Despite Republican challenges that kept the appointment in court for months, Gov. David Paterson’s appointment of former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch as lieutenant governor was validated by the state Court of Appeals Tuesday. Comment.

A grassy knoll is the latest territory causing friction between the state Parks Department and Long Island City dog owners after the agency barred canines from the area in Gantry Plaza State Park. Dogs were also banned from the old piers when the rest of the new, six-acre grass area opened up in July. Comment.

Ever since Mary Immaculate Hospital closed earlier this year, a group of southeast Queens civics has been working hard to make sure residents get their health needs met. Comment.

A federal prosecutor described John Gotti Jr. as a merciless killer who spent his life harvesting the fruits of organized crime, but his lawyer said Gotti gave up the rackets before the time the government says he was a Mafia don. Comment.

Amid an expanding terrorist investigation in Queens, some members of the borough’s Muslim community expressed outrage over potential terrorists operating in their communities while others were more reticent about discussing the topic. Comment.

A Queens Family Court judge ordered last week that Michelle Malakov pay fewer visits to relatives of her convicted mother, who was deemed an abusive parent, after it was revealed that the 6-year-old has been left emotionally confused by her feuding families. Comment.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, arm-wrestling aficionados and a record number of other people flocked to the Queens County Farm Museum fair this weekend to indulge themselves in the sights, smells and tastes of an event characterized by blue-ribbon produce and craft contests, children screaming with delight while watching pig races, and a bevy of food options that included fried Oreos, spicy pickles and hot dogs. Comment.

A poll on airports in the New York City metropolitan area indicates that except for the cost of flying, flight delays are the biggest problem for air travelers. Comment.

The Republican challenger to City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) got a big boost to his campaign last week when Mayor Michael Bloomberg dropped by to endorse him. Comment.

After spending a year in Kuwait’s scorching heat and countless sandstorms, the 23 soldiers of the New York Army National Guard’s 27th Finance Battalion were ecstatic to reunite with family and friends at the New York State Armory in Whitestone Saturday. Comment.

An alert downstairs neighbor and a clearer picture of an injured woman’s statements to hospital staff were among the revelations uncorked during opening arguments in the trial of state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst) on assault charges. Comment.

The Sept. 15 primary election drew just 11 percent of eligible voters to the polls citywide, but its impact for emerging immigrant communities like Flushing may be felt for decades. Comment.

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) called on the federal government not to cut funding for medical imaging, citing a spike in wait times in the city over the past decade. Comment.

Queens residents cut the cord that towed the Democratic Party line in last week’s primary elections, and while some say politics in the borough is in a state of upheaval, the long-dominant political machine says it is as strong as ever. Comment.

Queens College has not only recently drawn top marks from U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review, but has attracted some of the borough’s most accomplished students and feted athletes and world-class musicians, President James Muyskens told members of the John F. Kennedy Democratic Club last week. Comment.

The waiting game continues for the Democratic voters in southeast Queens as the city Board of Elections waits to make public its counting of ballots in the near-stalemate between City Councilman Thomas White (D-South Ozone Park) and primary runner-up Lynn Nunes. Comment.

Former City Council candidate Albert Cohen’s camp dismissed reports his campaign had sent in numerous voter registration forms fraught with errors, including the names of dead people, saying any mistakes were growing pains in a massive effort to register voters who Cohen officials called disenfranchised. Comment.

Though a scandal surrounding a housing nonprofit whose employees were filmed giving advice on opening a brothel to a fake pimp and prostitute only came as close as Brooklyn, two groups representing Latinos brought the issue home to Queens. Comment.

A report issued by the Urban Justice Center Tuesday accuses the city of using strong-arm negotiating tactics with property owners at Willets Point while ignoring more than 200 tenant businesses that operate in the area. Comment.

Business and property owners near a waste transfer station on Review Avenue in Long Island City are getting in on the fight against the facility’s planned expansion. Comment.

A well-known Queens youth football league has thrown a hail Mary pass in its bid to continue playing on the grass at Juniper Valley Park after its permits were not renewed this summer. Comment.

Work may soon resume on a small bridge over a tributary of Newtown Creek that is prolonging the headaches of Long Island City business owners and community leaders now that a state environmental agency has approved a remediation plan. Comment.

Three music industry legends joined hundreds of teachers, students and residents in Astoria this week for the long-awaited unveiling of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts’ new building along 35th Avenue. The institution had been waiting eight years for a permanent home. Comment.

Music, poetry and laughter rang through a room at the Forest Hills Atria Saturday afternoon as more than 60 city residents ushered in year 5770 on the Jewish calendar. Comment.