In "Who’s Got Your Number?" the Tribune examined scams and scam artists and offered tips for "Scam-Safe Living" ... Flushing civics, community board members, Sanitation crews and merchants teamed up to sweep downtown Flushing clean after a city survey described the commercial hub as "one of the filthiest" areas in NYC ... court battles failed to restore Rep. Nydia Velazquez’ Queens congressional district ... and Queens Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette joined Democrats citywide in announcing his support for Rudy’s reelection ...

Plans for a cleanup of Flushing Bay were moved up after studies showed the bay was filthy – and "unsuitable for marine life" ... a former Queens Auxiliary Cop and two of his cronies bought some big trouble by calling a phony "10-13" (officer down) into a 911 operator ... the call brought responses from 13 Emergency Service Units ...

Media mogul Ted Turner sent representatives from Time Warner to the Big Apple to meet with Parks officials about plans to open the 1998 Goodwill Games in Flushing Meadows Park ... Queens residents braved a series of torrential downpours to display their commitment to the war for the streets ... they joined rain–soaked cops from all over Queens on "National Night Out Against Crime"...

City and state lawmakers passed legislation that would slap heavy penalties on property owners who illegally convert homes ... Rep. Floyd Flake did a quick about-face, announcing his resignation from Congress ... Flake decided to minister full-time after all ... plans were finalized for the development of a Home Depot store on the site of the shuttered Ronzoni Macaroni factory in Long Island City ... and a Tribune feature examined vandalism at Queens cemeteries...

Queens’ teamsters settled in for a long strike ... UPS drivers tightened their belts and vowed to stay out until their demands were resolved ... Queens DA Richard Brown busted car salesmen who tampered with vehicle odometers ... and a Queens developer met up with stiff opposition to his proposal for development of luxury condos on the site of the Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria ...

A Tribune feature chipped away at the shoddy paint job on the outside of the recently renovated Flushing Town Hall ... Rudy Giuliani came to Queens to announce a $147 million facelift planned for Jamaica Hospital ... and candidates started lining up to vie for Rep. Flake’s congressional seat ... the Tribune won recognition for long-lost hero Joseph Hock, who drowned 60 years ago off Idlewild Beach.

It was official! After months of testing and perfecting "the most Queenscentric web site possible," the Tribune revealed its "Tribune On-Line Site" ... stop by and visit the hottest weekly news site in Queens at http://www.queenstribune.com ...

Fire raged through a private school in Kew Gardens ... and police were puzzled by the disappearance of five young Chinese visitors who vanished off a street in Corona ... a Bellerose man was arrested after cops discovered an arsenal of weapons and ammunition inside his home... cops went to the home after they got an anonymous phone call about a woman who had committed suicide in there ... the cops found the body in the same room as the weapons ... and a special Tribune Education Section featured an article on "Kids, Computers AND the Modern Classroom" ...