SHB_p004

SC03032016

4 The Courier sun • MARCH 3, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com De Blasio among mourners at funeral for Assemblywoman Barbara Clark By The Queens Courier Staff editorial@qns.com/@QueensCourier Joined by other dignitaries from across the city and state, Mayor Bill de Blasio came to St. Albans’ Allen AME Cathedral on the morning of Feb. 29 for the funeral of Assemblywoman Barbara Clark. Clark, who died last week at the age of 76 from cancer, represented parts of southeast Queens for nearly 30 years in the state Capitol. She was revered among her colleagues in Albany and other officials across the city for her leadership in the Assembly and advocacy for education. De Blasio greeted members of the Clark family, including her mother Ada DeBerry, who were among the more than 500 people gathered at the cathedral to bid the late assemblywoman a fond farewell. Also in attendance were Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Congressman Gregory Meeks, who delivered an emotional eulogy. Following the service, Clark was interred at Maple Grove Cemetery. J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home directed the arrangements. On the funeral home’s website, the Clark family requests asks that memorial donations in the assemblywoman’s memory be made to the Children’s Defense Fund-New York, 15 Maiden Lane, Suite 1200, New York, NY 10038, www.cdfny.org. Meanwhile, Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to announce if and when a special election for Clark’s vacant Assembly seat will be held. All Assembly seats are on the ballot in the November general election. Coast Guard boat capsizes off Rockaway while rescuing fishing boat crew By Alina Suriel asuriel@qns.com/@alinangelica A Coast Guard vessel capsized after trying to rescue workers on a fishing boat that ran aground on the Rockaway shores early in the morning of Feb. 25, according to published reports. ABC News reported that the Long Island Coast Guard command center received a distress call from the fishing vessel Carolina Queen III when it ran aground at Rockaway Beach near Beach 59th Street at around 2 a.m. According the Daily News, the 76-foot scallop fishing boat had been on an eightday fishing excursion when it lost power. The crew was still aboard as the fishing boat took on water at the time of the incident. All seven crew members were rescued from the boat using a basket from a Coast Guard helicopter above and there were no injuries reported. The Daily News reported a 25-foot Coast Photo courtesy of Mike Tyner The fishing boat remained stranded at shore late in the morning of Feb. 25. Guard response boat endured 10- to 12-foot waves before finally flipping over at 5 a.m. All five of the men on board were able to swim back to shore near Beach 19th Street, and the boat washed up on land shortly afterward. JFK Airport passengers busted for smuggling heroin, cocaine in two separate incidents BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND COURTNEY OBENG editorial@qns.com @QueensCourier Customs agents at John F. Kennedy Airport arrested two alleged drug smugglers last week accused of using creative and, in one case, very intimate-- methods of sneaking narcotics into the country. A 24-year-old woman was busted at John F. Kennedy Airport for allegedly using her genitalia to smuggle in $10,000 worth of cocaine, prosecutors announced on Feb. 26. Officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) searched Shekira Thompson, a Springfield Gardens resident, shortly after she arrived at JFK from Kingston, Jamaica. They escorted her to a private search room, where — in questioning Thompson — they learned that she had vaginally inserted a foreign object. The officers were provided with the vaginal insert, an oval-shaped ball wrapped in masking tape that was found to contain a half-pound of cocaine, authorities said. Thompson was taken into custody and later transferred to the Port Authority Police Department, which booked her on charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance. She remains held in jail on $100,000 bond of $50,000 cash bail and is due back in court on March 9, according to court records. “This seizure is just another example of our CBP officers being ever vigilant in protecting the United States from the distribution of these illicit drugs,” CBP Director of New York Field Operations Robert E. Perez said. Another passenger at JFK was busted last week for trying to sneak in drugs through several pairs of sneakers. Perez Beltran, a United States citizen, flew in from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Feb. 24. During a routine inspection, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered a pair of unusually heavy sneakers in his luggage. Upon further inspection, they discovered that the sneakers contained a tan powdery substance. The powder tested positive for heroin. Two additional pairs of heroin-filled sneakers were also discovered in his luggage. The estimated street value is approximately $90,000. Beltran was transferred to Homeland Security Investigations and faces federal narcotics smuggling charges.


SC03032016
To see the actual publication please follow the link above