Queens: Several southeast Queens political leaders’ involvement in a neighborhood nonprofit has been called into question amid a report in the New York Post that the group’s tax returns failed to give a full accounting of how its funds were spent. Comment.

Queens: State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced last week he plans to sue Vantage Properties, which owns more than 80 buildings in Queens, to stop it from harassing rent-regulated tenants and forcing them from their homes in order to rent the apartments to individuals who could pay for more expensive, market-price units, he said. Comment.

Queens: The winning bidder of the contract to build and operate video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Race Track has strong ties to the Rev. Floyd Flake, the influential minister at Allen A.M.E Cathedral in Jamaica. Comment.

Council District 25: Freshman City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) spent his first week in office adjusting, learning — and dusting. Comment.

Queens Borough President: Borough President Helen Marshall struck an optimistic tone despite the harsh economy and the loss of two borough hospitals last year as she addressed the crowd assembled for her ceremonial swearing-in ceremony Tuesday at York College. Comment.

Council District 29: Queens City Council members picked up a bevy of committee chairmanships last Thursday as the 2010 legislative year began in earnest. Comment.

Queens: There’s a special election Feb. 9 to fill the Assembly seat vacated by new Councilman Mark Weprin, with Mark’s brother David Weprin and his former Council opponent Bob Friedrich vying for the seat. TimesLedger is co-sponsoring a debate with the Queens Chronicle Feb. 1 at the Queens High School of Teaching at 6 p.m. The public is invited and you can suggest questions to our editor, Roz Liston, at rliston@cnglocal.com. In the meantime, here are our profiles of the candidates.

Assembly District 38: A week after Gov. David Paterson unleashed an ambitious ethics-reform agenda in his State of the State address, the state Legislature rolled out its own initiative. Comment.

Mean Streets: Did Marty Markowitz bring the Prospect Park West bike lane to a skidding halt? Comment.

Queens: Forest Hills resident Lilianna Zulunova said she plans to challenge state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) in this year’s Democratic primary and is going around the community to spread word about her platform issues that include job creation, affordable housing and education. Comment.

Queens: The MTA’s proposed cuts to bus service will cripple commuters across the borough, former City Councilman David Weprin warned Sunday as he urged Queens residents to get their heads out of the sand and fight to save their commutes. Comment.

Council District 32: Elected officials from throughout the borough and beyond celebrated the inauguration Sunday of City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Rockaway Beach) at the Scholars’ Academy School in Rockaway Park. Comment.

Assembly District 38: Anthony Seminerio, a 74-year-old former state assemblyman from Richmond Hill, faces up to 14 years in prison when he is sentenced Feb. 4, a federal judge said last week in a decision that accuses him of abusing his power to bully money out of hospitals, nonprofits, and other groups in exchange for lobbying state officials on their behalf. Comment.

MTA Chairman Jay Walder said the agency still operates much as it did decades ago and spends too much money ineffectively while “buses still crawl through traffic,” but he pledged to make changes for the better. Comment.

Queens: Queens parents will now be able to receive information about school emergencies as they unfold thanks to the expansion of an alert system, city officials announced at JHS 217 in Briarwood last week. Comment.

Queens: The top three neighborhoods in the city with the largest percentage of immigrants are in Queens, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said last week in a report that showed newcomers make a strong contribution to the urban economy. Comment.

Council District 44: The upcoming special election to succeed Simcha Felder for the 44th District City Council seat is shaping up as a political version of David versus Goliath, according to Hassidic and Orthodox Jewish political pundits in Borough Park. Comments (1).

Brooklyn: He ain’t ‘da boss for nothing. Comment.

Brooklyn: If State Senator Kevin Parker (D-Flatbush, Midwood) is wondering what will happen once the criminal charges against him are adjudicated, all he has to do is look at fellow Senator Hiram Monserrate. Comment.

Brooklyn Borough President: Barack Obama’s not the only president who’s getting tough on banks. Comment.

Mayor: Job creation and thrift were the two foremost topics on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s mind as he laid out his State of the City address Wednesday at Astoria’s Frank Sinatra High School for the Performing Arts. Comment.

Brooklyn: Two of the leading Republican candidates hoping to unseat Governor David Paterson brought their platform of reducing spending and lowering taxes to Brooklyn GOPers last week during a packed meeting held at the Bay Ridge Manor. Comment.

Council District 19: Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) is eligible to receive additional funding from the city, but the newly elected councilman for northeast Queens said the money could have been more useful during last fall’s campaign season and that it must all go toward paying off debts accrued for mailing and printing costs. Comment.

Queens: New York’s elected officials are pushing for a tax cut they said would boost new jobs for small business owners throughout the state and country, but when such a measure could take effect remained unclear. Comment.

Queens: When the final U.S. Census 2000 tallies were calculated, New York lost two seats in Congress, in part as a result of low response rates in areas of the state such as Queens with high immigrant populations. Comment.

Council District 44: A blast from the past could be throwing his hat in the ring in the 44th District City Council special election. Comment.