22 The Queens Courier • march 20, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Astoria woman hopes to become Jeopardy! champ BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA ctumola@queenscourier.com/@CristabelleT “Jeopardy!” is in Diane Levinson’s genes. The 44-year-old Astoria book publicist is one of several family members to compete on the popular TV quiz show. Her cousin, Brian, represented the borough on the program in 2008. He became a three-day champion, winning about $73,000. “That’s what made me say ‘if he can do it, I can do it,’” Levinson said. A periodic watcher of the Alex Trebek-hosted show since its premiere 30 years ago, Levinson, like many fans, has always enjoyed shouting out the right answers. But playing at home in front of the TV is a lot easier than competing live. Online tryouts are held only once a year, in January. After three attempts, Levinson finally made it to an inperson audition. “What you don’t realize is that all three of the contestants know most of the answers most of the time and it’s really about ringing in first,” she said. After making it to the televised version, Levinson taped her appearance this past December. The episode will air on Thursday, March, 20 at 7 p.m. on WABC. She had five weeks notice before facing the cameras. “Working in book publishing is actually good preparation for being on the show because you learn a little bit about a lot of different topics,” said Levinson, who is a publicist with Princeton Architectural Press and Chronicle Books. In that time she prepared by reviewing old show questions on the “Jeopardy!” fan site J! Archive, and read through reference books and atlases, memorizing facts, such as bodies of water, 19th-century vice presidents and Civil War battles. She even recruited her friends to help by having them Astoria resident Diane Levinson will compete on “Jeopardy!” on Thursday, March 20. randomly quiz her on state capitals and asking her other questions. Though Levinson is sworn to secrecy about her outcome until the show airs, she said most of the answers Photo courtesy of Jeopardy Productions, Inc. she knew on the show were facts she knew beforehand. “It was a great experience,” she said. “Everybody who has ever thought about going on ‘Jeopardy!’ should try out.” Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law JUMP IN A LAKE Advertorial Q: On a sunny afternoon, some friends and I went on an outing to a state-owned lake. The lake is very shallow, undeveloped and unsupervised. My family and I had made many trips there before. This time, I walked right to the edge of a spillway of the dam that had formed the lake. The water was murky and about two feet below the spillway. Without hesitation, I pulled off my shirt and dove headfirst into the water. My head struck the bed. It turns out that the water was about two feet deep. A: Your attorney will need to argue that the state was negligent for failing to warn of a known danger and in failing to take any steps to warn of the hazards posed by this danger – that the lake’s water near the dam was too shallow for diving. The state will defend itself by saying that you were engaging in reckless behavior. This constitutes the sole legal cause of any ensuing injuries. You were familiar with the lake and should have been aware that its water had diminished to a dangerous level. You should have understood that descending from the spillway required you to choose a safer means than you did on that unfortunate day. I am afraid that the courts are likely to rule that what you knew about the lake’s conditions should have alerted you that the water at the face of the dam on the lake side was not deep enough to support safe diving. Yet you dove there anyway. Still, by all means take this case to a resourceful attorney, in case there are some details that you have not mentioned. The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel. This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2014 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Ave, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878 Private Contract Bus Service to… The Bronx High School of Science & High School of American Studies at Lehman College VALLO TRANSPORTATION, ltd. SCHOOL BUS CHARTERS Safe, Prompt, Professional, Courteous and AFFORDABLE Service 1-800-VALLO-99 • 718-961-7600 www.ValloTransportation.com THE SAFEST WAY TO TRAVEL “Just the best little bus company in the City of New York”
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