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Friday, March 6, 2020
Vol. 69, No. 10
HOME & DESIGN
PLASTIC BAG BAN GOES INTO EFFECT
NORTH SHORE RESPONDS TO CORONAVIRUS
PAGES 27-38
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Mariani seeks closure
L E A P ( D AY ) F O R J O Y
Looks to clear brother’s name BY E M M A J ON ES On Sept. 25, 2015, Mineola resident Joe Mariani received news that his brother, John Mariani, had been shot and killed in a botched robbery in Medellin, Colombia. Five years later, Joe Mariani got a measure of closure when the second person involved in the killing was recently convicted. But Mariani said he still needs to clear his brother’s name from the negative inferences that followed his death in Colombia. “He’d give you his right hand. He’d give you his shirt. He helped everybody,” Mariani said of his brother, who lived in Floral Park. John Mariani had been vacationing in Colombia with a friend. He was attacked while they were on their way to a restaurant in Medellin. John Mariani and his friend had just stepped out of a cab in front of a restaurant, authorities said. As his friend was paying the cab driver, two men pulled up on a motorcycle. Continued on Page 20
PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWELL HEALTH
Proud parents Justin Bates and Diane Timpa look on at their newborn daughter Mia Fay Bates, with her two older brothers close by. Mia was born at 1:51 p.m. on Saturday, the only Leap Day baby born at Katz Women’s Hospital at Long Island Jewish Medical Center this year. She weighed 8 pounds and 13 ounces and measured 20 inches long.
EWSD, state team up against vaping N.Y. health commissioner attends rally against teen use at Wheatley School BY E M M A J ON ES
against teen vaping. The event was organized by The Wheatley School hosted the Long Island Council on Alcoa #NoVapeNY rally on Thursday holism and Drug Dependence, attended by state Health Com- the NYS PTA and Wheatley. In fall 2019, the East Wilmissioner Howard Zucker to bring together concerned com- liston School District formed a munity members in the fight committee tasked with proactively informing the youth community about the dangers of vaping and convincing teen e-cigarette users to quit. The task force is made up of students, parents,
teachers and administrators seeking to combat the “vaping epidemic” and inform young people of the potential health risks of vaping, which include addiction, impaired brain development, increased heart rate and blood pressure, heart disease and lung injury. “We as a school pride ourselves on fostering civic engagement in our youth,” stated Rahul Ajmera, a Wheatley senior and member of the task force. He ex-
plained that the committee takes a “student-centered approach” to the issue. Ajmera said that student members of the committee gave presentations to their peers on the health risks associated with vaping last fall. Wheatley has additionally implemented an online vaping cessation program, disciplinary measures and bathroom monitors in order to deter student ecigarette use. Continued on Page 51
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