An investigation prompted by Senator Carl Kruger into a security breach at the state’s child abuse hotline has resulted in a report by the inspector general calling for increased security measures to protect the identities of callers. Comment.

The holiday season in Brooklyn wouldn’t be complete without festive live performances from area children, merriment and food with family and friends, topped off by a visit from Santa. That’s exactly what happened at the NIA’s Annual Holiday celebration at Regina Hall in Dyker Heights, 1230 65th Street. Comment.

Despite a decrease in overall felony crime, murders on the streets of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South jumped more than 35 percent in 2008, according to the unofficial year-end police statistics. Comment.

With the start of the New Year, the city believes it is now just a few short weeks away from certifying its rezoning plan for Coney Island with an eye toward wrapping up the entire Uniform Land Use Review Procedure by summer’s end. Comment.

Firefighters stretched their hoses to the limit Sunday night as they tried to extinguish a boat which had caught fire in the marina behind Kings Plaza. Officials said that the fire erupted inside the watercraft at 6:45 p.m. on January 4. No one was inside the boat at the time. Firefighters put out the raging all hands blaze in about 40 minutes, officials said. No injuries were reported. As this paper went to press, the fire was being treated as suspicious pending further investigation. Comment.

Seasonal spirit added to the joy of glad tidings when the Coney Island Lighthouse Mission coordinated a holiday outreach drive for its neighbors in need. Comment.

The following is a list of local community organizations that are meeting in the near future in your area. If you have any information that can update this listing, newspaper at 718-615-2500, ext. 3332. All meeting notices are accurate as of press time; however, they are subject to change from the organization. Please contact the organization at the number provided for confirmation of date, time and location. Comment.

Brooklynites struck by big news from abroad are beginning to organize here. Comment.

Robert Bielsky has seen the new war drama “Defiance” 30 times and counting, but it’s a story he could tell equally well sight unseen. Comment.

Father Time didn’t forget Brooklyn as he toiled around the perinatal clock. Comment.

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz and State Senator Carl Kruger teamed up to give toys and books to the children in Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn. The two elected officials went from bed to bed visiting with the young patients and their families and presented each child with a gift. Comment.

Amid claims of strong-arming tactics, the involvement of yet another billionaire and a circus-like atmosphere in the City Council chambers, the term limit debacle remained undecided at press time. Comment.

Famed civil rights activists and color barrier breakers head a list of new street renamings set to take place across the borough in the next few weeks. Comment.

Dreidels spun out of control as nearly 50 seniors representing four of Metropolitan Jewish Health System’s facilities competed in the organization’s annual spin-to-win dreidel tournament at Metropolitan Jewish Adult Day Health Center in Borough Park. Comment.

Sometimes it’s the involuntary responses — the ones that take no thought at all — that matter most. Comment.

Reality may have blown holes in that aphorism about rising tides lifting all boats - but there’s no denying that high tides around Plumb Beach are having a corrosive effect on the bike and pedestrian path running alongside the Belt Parkway. Comment.

A parolee with a long rap sheet has been apprehended as the gunman who allegedly killed a Sheepshead Bay cabbie during a botched robbery on Avenue Z last week. Comment.

The Flatbush and Shaare Torah Jewish Center invites the public to attend its first Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration & Celebration, featuring NY1’s veteran journalist Dominic Carter. Comment.

While prosecutors hammer out a new trial date for accused cop killer Lee Woods, cops from throughout the borough are still reeling from the heartache they suffered in a Kings County courtroom. Comment.

Council Member Michael C. Nelson, continuing his holiday tradition, presented gifts for the holiday season. In cooperation with the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty which arranged for the donations, Nelson delivered and distributed toys to the children of the New York City Housing Authority Sheepshead/Nostrand Housing Development at the holiday parties of the Sheepshead Tenants Association and the Nostrand Tenants Association. Comment.

Brooklyn’s new professional hockey team, the Aces, will be hosting a special fundraising night to benefit the Brooklyn Regional Office of the American Cancer Society on January 17th, 2009. Comment.

Martial arts will get the red carpet treatment at an upcoming event, billed as the “Academy Awards” for the sport. Comment.

Like it or not, the future of television broadcasting is digital – and that could lead to a “tsunami” of electronic waste that could pose an imminent danger, a state lawmaker warned last week. Comment.

A revel — and then some — was in store for members of the Seniors In Shape program at Aviator Sports & Recreation where seasonal festivities kicked off with food, dancing — and a bissel of exercise. Comment.

One is a Palestinian-American from Bay Ridge and the other is an Israeli-American from Flatbush, but the two people share a very real concern over the latest Middle Eastern conflict going on in the 26-by-6 mile piece of land on the Mediterranean coast known as the Gaza strip. Comment.

The NBA’s Nets may not be in Brooklyn yet, but two of their star time-out performers have already made the move. Pictured are Nets dancers Jerese Kimbough, left, and Allison Barnes who have moved to Brooklyn from Michigan and Alabama respectively to pursue dance careers. The two talented ladies say they love their new home borough and can’t wait for the team to relocate to Brooklyn. Comment.

Senator Carl Kruger, a longtime member of the Aging Committee, visited the apartment of Chana Reiss, a Midwood senior citizen who graciously invited the lawmaker to sample her homemade latkes (potato pancakes). Comment.

With the start of the New Year, the city believes it is now just a few short weeks away from certifying its rezoning plan for Coney Island with an eye toward wrapping up the entire Uniform Land Use Review Procedure by summer’s end. Comment.

An investigation prompted by Senator Carl Kruger into a security breach at the state’s child abuse hotline has resulted in a report by the inspector general calling for increased security measures to protect the identities of callers. Comment.

Organic food is the healthier choice for people, so it stands to reason it’s better for your pets too. Comment.

The pungent scent of hot asphalt is something that Brooklynites probably ought to get used to. Comment.

Eighteen-month-old Akitusaaq, the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium baby Pacific walrus, waves goodbye to 2008 and welcomes 2009 as he runs through some of his enrichment behaviors with animal keeper Paul Moylett. Comment.

The MTA Digs Deeper Into NY’s Pockets - Raise the Fares, Damn the Handicapped! Comment.