Bay Ridge: The death of Frank Powers, who was briefly the Republican standard bearer to succeed disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella, has thrown the race for the Staten Island–Bay Ridge congressional seat into its natural state: turmoil. Comment.

Politics: The death of would-be Republican congressman Frank Powers has split the Staten Island and Brooklyn wings of the so-called Grand Old Party. Comments (1).

Bay Ridge: Councilman Domenic Recchia said a case of internal corruption at a non-profit that he funded has nothing to do with him. Comments (2).

Politicrasher: Our political insider takes the measure of Council candidate Gary Reilly, eternal optimist. Comments (1).

Politicrasher: Our political insider makes the scene. This week: Council candidate Jo Anne Simon’s mojito party! Comment.

Bay Ridge: Frank Powers, who had been selected by Republican power brokers to run for the congressional seat being vacated by disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella, died in his sleep on Sunday. He was 67. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Frank Powers, the presumptive Republican candidate for the Bay Ridge congressional seat being vacated by disgraced GOP lawmaker Vito Fossella, introduced himself to the public days after national Democratic Party officials made the rare move of endorsing Staten Island Councilman Mike McMahon in his intra-party primary. Comments (1).

Bay Ridge: Presumptive Republican congressional candidate Frank Powers dodged a bullet this week after his son, Fran Powers, failed to win the Libertarian Party’s nomination, thus avoiding the prospect of an ugly father-against-son race to succeed disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Brooklyn Republicans have joined their Staten Island bedfellows and endorsed dark-horse candidate Francis Powers to retain GOP control of the seat held by outgoing, and disgraced, Rep. Vito Fossella — and at the same time, Democrats are increasingly uniting behind their candidate, Councilman Mike McMahon. Comment.

Bay Ridge: A staffer in embattled Rep. Vito Fossella’s Bay Ridge office says his boss’s tarnished reputation won’t hurt him in his just-announced run for the Assembly. Comments (1).

Bay Ridge: Democratic party leaders from Brooklyn and Staten Island anointed Staten Island Councilman Mike McMahon as their chosen candidate for the congressional seat spanning the two boroughs that is being vacated by disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella. Comments (1).

Politics: A group of ornery Brooklyn Democrats has effectively said it would rather have no one representing it in Congress than Rep. Yvette Clarke. Comments (2).

Bay Ridge: Humiliated Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) ended the speculation around his own political career by announcing he would not seek re-election this fall — an announcement that set off intense jockeying on both sides of the political world. Comment.

Politics: A former reality show cast-member and hip-hop journalist kick-started his congressional campaign this week, saying 13-term incumbent Rep. Ed Towns “has completely ignored” his constituents. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Rep. Vito Fossella’s drunk-driving arrest and subsequent admission that he was an adulterer who fathered a child out of wedlock hasn’t only thrown the GOP into disarray — it’s apparently done the same thing to Democrats trying to pick a challenger to take on the disgraced congressman. Comments (2).

Bay Ridge: It’s not over ’til the thin Italian sings — and he’s not saying a word. Embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) is not only fighting his May 1 drunk-driving charge in court, but apparently fighting for re-election. Comments (3).

Editorial: We’d prefer a campaign on the issues — rather than one focusing on how a “law and order,” “family values,” “fiscal conservative” candidate got himself into such a mess. Comment.

Politics: Brooklyn’s two superdelegates whose districts voted overwhelmingly for Sen. Barack Obama in February’s New York primary say they’re still backing Sen. Hillary Clinton — though one of the ubervoters admitted that he was “bothered” by the trailing candidate’s use of the race card last week. Comments (1).

Politics: Councilwoman Letitia James has been fined by the city for overpaying a campaign worker with taxpayer money during her 2005 re-election campaign — and for trying to hide details of a payoff to a political consultant linked to disgraced party boss Clarence Norman. Comments (1).

Bay Ridge: Embattled Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) will reportedly not seek re-election — a stunning bombshell that capped a topsy-turvy week that began early last Thursday with the congressman’s arrest for drunk-driving in the Virginia suburbs and subsequent reports of a possible extra-marital affair. Comment.

Editorial: The Brooklyn Paper calls for Rep. Vito Fossella to resign now rather than drag his constituents through the ongoing scandal over his drunk-driving arrest and extra-marital affair. Comment.

Cartoon: Our artist’s take on the Fossella drunk-driving arrest. Comment.

Politics: Vito Fossella is certainly not the first politician to get in trouble with the law. Here’s a handy chart. Comments (2).

Vox Pop: What do Bay Ridge residents think of Rep. Vito Fossella since his May 1 drunk driving arrest? We hit the streets to find out. Comments (5).

Bay Ridge: Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) was arrested early Thursday morning in Alexandria, Virginia for driving while intoxicated. Comments (3).

Politics: Disgraced Rep. Vito Fossella had more than two times the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream when he was arrested for drunk-driving on early Thursday morning in Virginia — and the six-term congressman is facing a mandatory sentence of five days in the slammer. With video … Comments (2).

Politics: Embattled Rep. Vito Fossella admitted today to fathering a daughter with the woman who bailed him out of an Alexandria, Virginia jail after his arrest last Thursday for drunk driving. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Rep. Vito Fossella called the press to a hotel in Staten Island to address his Thursday morning drunk-driving arrest in Virginia. Here is the six-term congressman’s opening statement, as captured by BrooklynPaper.com cameraman Ricky Barlin. With video … Comment.

Fort Greene: It’s the MTV kid versus the golden oldie for Congress. Comments (2).

Brooklyn Angle: Tucker Reed, who spent the last two years fixing potholes, handing out energy-efficient lightbulbs and keeping the peace between DUMBO’s warring factions, is heading to Iraq to do, basically, the same thing. Comment.

Bay Ridge: Dick Cheney popped into New York this week to raise money for Rep. Vito Fossella’s re-election campaign — and the much-hated vice president brought in enough cash to offset any damage he did to Fossella in the eyes of Brooklyn voters, experts said. Comment.

Editorial: Rep. Vito Fossella — the city’s lone Republican congressman — called in a much-hated vice president to help him raise money. He’s banking on two things: Cheney’s pull with billionaires and voters’ short memories come November. Comments (2).

Cartoon: Our artist’s take on the issues of the day! Comment.

Politics: The Rev. Jesse Jackson came to a Fort Greene church to talk about the mortgage crisis, but the old politician in him couldn’t resist talking about everything else. Comment.

Politics: Former Black Panther Angela Davis gave her much-anticipated lecture at Pratt Institute and said that racism is still as ingrained as ever in the U.S. Comment.

Politics: Former fugitive, Communist Party presidential candidate and Black Panther Angela Davis is coming to Pratt with a message that racism is “no less overt” than it was 50 years ago. But is it? Comment.

Politics: The death of the mayor’s congestion pricing plan has also lead to the killing of the city’s residential parking permit proposal. Comment.

Brooklyn Heights: Is the end near for state Sen. Marty Connor? The Brooklyn Heights Democrat’s hopes for a 16th term are looking shakier than ever, thanks to a few good weeks for challenger Daniel Squadron. On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer came to Brooklyn Heights to endorse Squadron, calling his former staffer “one of the smartest, most able people I know.” Comment.

Bay Ridge: Likely GOP nominee John McCain stopped by Bay Ridge on Thursday to talk politics and have a slice of pizza without sauce! With video … Comments (2).

Politics: The City Council approved the mayor’s plan to charge car drivers $8 and truck drivers $21 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street by a 30–20 vote on Monday. But here in Brooklyn, the vote went the opposite way. Comments (3).

Bay Ridge: A Bay Ridge rail yard site that has become a haven for the homeless people will now be inspected weekly to clear out the area and increase safety. Comment.

Politics: Some polls show that Barack Obama’s campaign may by losing momentum — but Mr. Gallup and Mr. Zogby might want to drop by a Fourth Avenue bar, where the nation’s first Barack Obama ale is selling as fast as bartenders can pour it. Comment.

Politics: Mayor Bloomberg’s ambitious and controversial plan to charge drivers $8 to enter Manhattan’s central business district will come to a vote early next month in the City Council, where it faces a very bumpy road, according to our survey of all 17 Brooklyn councilmembers. If the vote was today, Brooklyn would vote 8–1 against the plan (with six undecideds and two councilmembers too busy to return our calls). Comments (5).

Downtown: A group of Brooklyn judges may sue the city to preserve its parking privileges in a park next to Borough Hall, claiming that the removal of 20 or so spaces will endanger the judges’ safety because the nearest city-owned garage is two blocks away. Comments (6).

Editorial: The Parks Department has moved to evict a few dozen judges from parking in Columbus Park — and The Paper cheers. Comments (1).

DUMBO: As the war in Iraq reaches the five-year mark, journalists and presidential candidates have been talking about it endlessly, but according to Lou Reed, Moby and Laurie Anderson, not nearly enough is being said. Comments (1).

Politics: Brooklynites marked the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq with a damp protest rally on Wednesday. Comment.

PS … I Love You: Tip O’Neill used to say that all politics is local. Who knew it extended to food? Comment.

Vox Pop: Reports that Gov. Eliot Spitzer hired prostitutes was the talk of political insiders all week. But the man on the street — in this case, the woman on the street — was talking about the story a little differently. Our inquiring photographer asked Brooklyn woman a simple question, “Would all men cheat on their wives if they knew they could get away with it?” Comments (1).

Bloomy in the ’Hood: Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a residential parking permit plan to bolster his controversial proposal to charge Manhattan-bound drivers a “congestion-pricing” fee — and the permits quickly had the desired effect, swaying two ambivalent Brooklyn lawmakers toward supporting the bill. Comments (1).

Politics: Borough President Markowitz just fell behind Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in the second (still early) mayoral poll. Now is the time when Brooklyn voters’ voices need to be heard: Should Marty run? Vote here.

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Bloomy in the ’Hood: Mayor Bloomberg joined Fort Hamilton HS Principal Jo Ann Chester last Thursday to celebrate the school’s arts education program — but not everyone found the mayor’s speech scintillating. Kenneth Lai, a Fort Hamilton HS junior, devoted as much attention as he could spare. Comments (2).

Smartmom: Eliot Spitzer’s alleged prostitution habit has Smartmom wondering what it would take before she left Hepcat. Comments (1).

Brooklyn Angle: Call him a Nader Traitor — but the only Brooklynite to contribute to Ralph Nader’s inept 2004 campaign has bailed on the twice-failed presidential hopeful. He’s not alone. Comments (1).

Politics: Last week’s stunning mayoral poll put Borough President Markowitz ahead of other pretenders to the City Hall throne, but the Beep’s dithering over whether he will run is allowing valuable fundraising opportunities to dissolve into the ether, experts said. Comment.

Cartoon: Our artist’s take on the issues of the day! Comment.

Fort Greene: Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries wants to help renters from being displaced. Comment.

Politics: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama received thousands of votes more than he had been credited with in the Board of Elections’ unofficial Primary Night vote count. Comments (5).

Bay Ridge: Steve Harrison, who came closer than any Democrat before him in defeating the city’s only Republican congressman two years ago, won the endorsement of the Staten Island Democratic Association by a landslide vote of 42-6 last week. Comments (3).

Politics: Brooklyn election workers undercounted hundreds, perhaps thousands, of votes for Barack Obama in the New York primary earlier this month, spawning calls to investigate the Board of Elections and even conspiracy theories that workers were trying to help home state Sen. Hillary Clinton. Comments (8).

Politics: Two Brooklyn members of Congress say they’ll vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton at the Democratic convention in August, even though the majority of voters in their districts cast ballots for Sen. Barack Obama in the New York primary, The Brooklyn Paper has learned. Comments (3).

Politics: The New York primary is settled, but the money war rages on between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Comments (2).

Brooklyn Angle: Our columnist’s cast auction goes well — with two councilmen in a bidding war! Comments (1).

Politics: Everyone’s getting in on the “state of” game these days, from Borough President Markowitz, who gave his sixth, final and raucous “State of the Borough” address on Feb. 7 at the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal, to Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Fort Greene), who gave a more muted performance at Pratt Institute on Jan. 30. Of course, both were following in the vaunted tradition of presidents past and present, including President Bush, who gave his final State of the Union on Jan. 28 in Washington. Here’s how the three politicians’ speeches compared. Comment.

Politics: Brooklyn Democrats are far more divided than their counterparts across New York State, backing Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, 50 percent to 48 percent. Comments (1).

Politics: State lawmakers are about to hand themselves a big pay raise. Here’s what they say about it. Comment.

Editorial: The Brooklyn Paper endorses Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Brooklyn Paper endorses Sen. John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination. Comments (4).

Politics: Voters across the political spectrum tell why they support their man (or woman). Comment.

Politics: Meet Erica Sattin. She’s smart. She’s young. She’s opinionated. So why can’t she make up her mind about which Democrat to support on Tuesday? Comments (1).

Politics: Brooklyn Republicans — yes, they exist! — are determined to not go down with Rudy Giuliani’s sinking ship. Comment.

Politics: The city can now penalize business owners for leaving circulars and menus on the doorsteps of homeowners who’ve explicitly said they don’t want them, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Spitzer on Tuesday. Comment.

Politics: A Brooklyn Heights author tells how a kosher butcher in Brooklyn, playing David to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Goliath, faced off against the federal government and won. Comments (1).

Politics: Whoever takes over for Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D–Cobble Hill) will have some big shoes to fill — literally. The NBA-sized DeBlasio is term-limited out of the district, but already five candidates have stepped up to represent the 39th Council district. Comment.

Politics: At the moment, there are only three Democratic candidates vying to replace term-limited Councilman David Yassky and represent a sprawling district that stretches from Greenpoint to Park Slope. Comments (2).

Politics: Councilman Bill DeBlasio is running away with the race to succeed Borough President Markowitz — the money race, that is. Comment.

Politics: Another big gun — this time Rep. Vito Fossella — has come out against a city plan to build a garbage-transfer station along Gravesend Bay — and says the plan could literally blow up in the city’s face. Comments (1).

Politics: The City Council is on the verge of requiring electronics manufacturers to pick up their computers, video games and TV sets when consumers are done with them, but the mayor has signaled his opposition on the grounds that the goal, however laudable, is unattainable. Comment.

Politics: The Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld New York’s “smoke-filled” system of choosing trial judges, setting aside critics’ concerns that political party bosses control the system. Comment.

Bay Ridge: The Constitution can make you healthy. That’s the word over at Bay Ridge’s Appletree Natural Foods shop, which, in the spirit of the presidential primary season, has set aside an entire window for a gigantic display of our nation’s founding document. Comments (11).

Politics: Constituents of Councilman Bill DeBlasio blasted the up-and-comer for spending most of the past two weeks campaigning for Sen. Hillary Clinton in Iowa and New Hampshire. Comments (1).

Politics: A court-appointed attorney who plundered the fortune of former Judge John Phillips has been temporarily stripped of her license to practice law — but District Attorney Charles Hynes won’t commit to opening a criminal investigation into her wrongdoings. Comments (2).

Brooklyn, Iowa: Our columnist takes you inside an actual Iowa caucus room: “What I saw was the most basic form of democracy in action. I was proud to be an American.” With video … Comment.

Brooklyn, Iowa: BROOKLYN, IOWA — Former Sen. John Edwards emerged a narrow winner in this rural town of 1,300, fighting off a last-minute visit by former President Bill Clinton and a strong surge by younger voters for Barack Obama in a raucous, only-in-Iowa caucus. In a much-more subdued process, Brooklyn Republicans made Baptist preacher, weight-loss guru and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee the winner of their vote. Comments (1).