Politics: Brooklyn’s newest congresswoman, Rep. Yvette Clarke, has written fewer bills than all but three members of her 54-person freshman class — and she didn’t even roll out her first piece of legislation until earlier this month, after getting wind that an influential political magazine was about to publicly skewer her for failing to draft a bill. Comment.

Politics: Yet another person has started dreaming about the day when Borough President Markowitz is term-limited out of office — Councilman Bill DeBlasio announced this week that he will seek Markowitz’s seat in 2009. Comment.

Politics: A Republican contender for a Civil Court judgeship in overwhelmingly Democratic Brooklyn — who has run as a line filler for his party in previous years — is surging this year, thanks to the notoriety that comes from running against a controversial, ethically challenged, homophobic and largely absent Democratic opponent. Comment.

Editorial: Voters must reject Noach Dear for Civil Court and choose his worthy opponent, the Republican James McCall. A Republican for judge? In Brooklyn?! Here’s why. Comment.

Smartmom: Teen Spirit is coming out of his shell — but did Smartmom have anything to do with it? Comments (1).

Letters: Our mailbag is full as usual! Comment.

DUMBO: DUMBO residents, civic organizations and the area’s most-prominent developer were unified in their support for recognizing the neighborhood as a historic district at a Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on Tuesday. Comment.

Williamsburg: A city panel has landmarked Greenpoint’s Eberhard Faber pencil factory and several surrounding buildings — just in time, one commissioner remarked, to protect the building from “development fever [and] fires.” Comment.

PS … I Love You: Our columnist — an actual writer — was so inspired by all the actresses putting out kids books that she now vows to crank out a story for the illiterate set. Comment.

Yellow Hooker: Our columnist thinks Lowen’s and Dolphin Fitness are being railroaded in the steroid probe. Comments (1).

Brooklyn South: Our columnist examines Abercrombie & Fitch’s “Cobble Hill” sweatshirt and finds it, um, uncomfortable. Comment.

Heights Lowdown: Our columnist dresses up her dog and joins the party on the Promenade. Comment.

Greene Acres: Our columnist looks at why so many Fulton Street stores are closing. Comment.

Beside the Point: Our columnist opens the mailbag. Comments (2).

Checkin’ in with: The man behind that weird line of “customers” at Trader Joe’s is unmasked! Comments (1).

Park Slope: Three homeless men have driven one of Park Slope’s most liberal religious leaders to the very brink of what some would consider “Christian” behavior. Comments (1).

The Brooklyn Academy of Music scrambled to relocate this week’s gala from Brooklyn to Manhattan after failing to get the requisite city permits in time. Comment.

BAM District: The centerpiece of a world-class arts district that’s going up around the Brooklyn Academy of Music will be built by a local developer, The Brooklyn Paper has learned. Comment.

Carroll Gardens: Subway riders who regularly use the Smith–Ninth Street station in Carroll Gardens were depressed by the news that the station would be closed for nine months for repairs, most likely in 2010. Comment.

Downtown: Panhandling in DUMBO has gotten out of hand, judging by complaints from area residents at a crime prevention meeting last week. Comments (2).

Park Slope: Bedraggled riders of the B63 bus weren’t the least bit surprised to hear that their tortoise-like ride is actually the slowest in Brooklyn — averaging less than 5 miles per hour, according to the Straphangers Campaign. Comment.

Two more groups have mobilized to turn the fight against fliers and menus into a dual-front war. Comments (3).

Cartoon: Our cartoonist’s take. Comment.

Nick Monte, a former owner of Monte’s Venetian Room on Carroll Street, died on Oct. 13 at age 90. Comment.

Williamsburg: Greenpoint continues to be the Mayberry of Brooklyn, with crime rates remaining low, at least according to Paul Vorbeck, the commanding officer of the 94th Precinct, which encompasses the neighborhood. Comments (1).

Carroll Gardens: Community activists were treated to a glimpse of the Gowanus Canal’s high-rise future when the Toll Brothers development company, which owns property on the western bank of the canal, unveiled preliminary plans for affordable housing, co-op and rental units, and public access to a 40-foot swath of greenery along the canal. Comments (1).

Fort Greene: Drug dealing and muggings are up in Clinton Hill, residents say, a result of the ongoing influx of wealth into the neighborhood. Comment.

Williamsburg: The Bloomberg administration wants to pull the plug on plans for a massive power plant on Brooklyn’s northern waterfront and is pushing ahead with its own plans for a 28-acre park surrounding the Bushwick Inlet by condemning the property parcel by parcel. Comment.

Williamsburg: While the city turns up the heat on TransGas, a smaller landowner is feeling the pressure from a city plan to condemn property to create Bushwick Inlet Park. Comments (3).

Williamsburg: L train commuters certainly didn’t notice much of an improvement on their crowded line on Monday, the first day of newly expanded service. Comment.

Park Slope: The city’s post–9-11 reality hit home this week with Prospect Heights coop owners, who grumbled about the possible health effects of a city plan to install cellular phone equipment on their roof. Comments (1).

Bay Ridge: More than 100 residents showed up last Saturday at the New Utrecht Reformed Church to celebrate the old parish’s 330th birthday with an old-fashioned church dinner, followed by worship and stories chronicling three centuries of enduring the elements. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Work on a new synagogue on 60th Street was halted by the city after a new neighborhood watchdog group discovered that the developers were planning to build a structure taller than current zoning allows, along with other violations within the building code. Comments (3).

Fort Greene: Brooklyn Hospital, the Fort Greene medical center that has, until recently, been mired in bankruptcy, may get at least its financial health back by selling its parking lot to a private developer. Comments (1).

Park Slope: A coterie of local pols, community activists, kids and YMCA members broke ground on the Prospect Park Y’s new $5.7-million pool center on Monday — kicking off an 18-month construction project in the Ninth Street facility’s back lot. Comments (1).

Park Slope: Tips for drivers on Marathon Day. Comment.

All the important meetings you should be going to. Comment.

Parenting: All the action for you and your kids! Comment.

In the spirit of encouraging a free exchange of ideas, The Brooklyn Paper makes this space available to our readers. Comments (2).