(Long Island, NY) According to Senator Ken LaValle, The New York State Safe Boating Certification Course is now available on-line without a fee.  New York State Law requires anyone born on or after May 1, 1996, to have a completed boating safety certificate before operating a motorboat.

Senator LaValle said, “I commend the State Parks Department for continuing to move forward with technology that helps our residents.  The online courses are more convenient for Long Island boaters, and the new addition of a no-cost course is especially significant.”

Until recently, boaters seeking the certification had only one option, which was to complete an eight-hour course in a classroom setting.  Now, the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has approved both classroom and internet-based courses for boating safety certification.

Now joining the two previously approved online vendors is The Boat US Foundation, which offers a free online boating safety course.When the course is successfully completed, boaters have the option of adding a small anchor icon to their driver’s license or non-driver ID, which would signal completion of the course.

Full information can be located on the NY State Parks website at http://nysparks.com/recreation/boating/boating-safety-class.aspx.

(Long Island, NY) King Kullen’s commitment to Long Island families and children continues with the company’s 2015 annual donation to benefit summer camp programs for disadvantaged youth. King Kullen recently presented checks in the amount of $6,000 each to Family & Children’s Association for its Nassau County-based summer camps and to Family Service League for its Suffolk County camps. In addition, all King Kullen and Wild by Nature stores are participating in a scanned coupon program this June and July where customers can donate to the summer camps right at the register.

Pictured (left to right): King Kullen Co-President Brian C. Cullen; Family & Children’s Association President/CEO Jeffrey L. Reynolds; King Kullen Corporate General Counsel and Family & Children’s Association Board Member Bernard P. Kennedy; and King Kullen Co-President J. Donald Kennedy. Photo Credit: King Kullen.

Pictured (left to right): King Kullen Co-President Brian C. Cullen; Family Service League VP for Development Cynthia Gorman; and King Kullen Co-President J. Donald Kennedy. Photo Credit: King Kullen.

A Second Look at What We Share as the Human Race

(Long Island, NY) “The Family of Man ­––Redux 2015”, an exhibition of photographs focusing on the commonalities that bind people and cultures around the world, is on view from June 13 to July 12, 2015, in the Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery of the Art League of Long Island. Inspired by Edward Steichen’s monumental Family of Man exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955, photographer Rick Wenner has assembled sixty works by an array of Long Island photographers that reflect the gamut of life from birth to death.

As Steichen wrote in his catalog introduction of the original exhibition, “The exhibition demonstrates that the art of photography is a dynamic process of giving form to ideas and of explaining man to man. It was conceived as a mirror of the universal elements and emotions in the everydayness of life, a mirror of the essential oneness of mankind throughout the world.”

“Tears of Joy.” Photo Credit: Robin Appel.

Grouped thematically, the photographs in the Art League’s exhibition explore instances, happy and sad, funny and poignant, even disturbing. Among them is the thrill and wonder of holding a minutes-old infant, the energy and antics of childhood, tender family moments, the pleasures of lying in the sun on a beach or savoring an ice cream cone or a cigarette, the joy of a wife welcoming her soldier husband back from the war. There is a section devoted to the land, notably farming. More somber realities are hardships, illness, loneliness, and aging. Along with these are scenes of compassion, grouped under a quotation from Anne Frank’s “Diary”: “I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

What all the photographs share is the delight of a fresh point of view–in a word, surprise.

Juror Rick Wenner has selected the following photographic works for the following awards of distinction:

Awards of Excellence

• Robin Appel, Heavenly Tears of Joy, digital photograph
• Spencer Ross,  Waiting at the Clinic,   photograph, film
• Greg Tsontakis-Mally, Wengyi, photography: large format

Honorable Mentions

• Patricia Colombraro, ALS, photograph, film
• Gloria Golden, Tarahumara, digital photograph
• Jennifer Mullowney, In awe, digital photograph
• Paul Schmid, Sleeping Cambodian Boy, digital photograph

The Jeanie Tengelsen Gallery is open free of charge Monday through Thursday 9am– 9pm, Friday 9am – 4pm and weekends from 11am – 4pm. The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Road in Dix Hills. For more information call (631) 462-5400 or visit www.artleagueli.org.

The exhibition is sponsored by the Bridgehampton National Bank.

Celebrity Event Productions and Scotto Savitt Bring the Fun to Off Key Tikki for Beach Ball Thursdays

(Long Island, NY) On Thursday, June 18th at 5:00PM the sounds of summer will be in the air as Patchogue’s Off Key Tikki brings swaying palm trees, tropical drinks, and some of Long Island’s best musicians out to its Patchogue Riverfront Summer Solstice kickoff event at 31 Baker Place, Patchogue, NY 11772. This is also the Start of Beach Ball Thursdays – a flashback to the original classic legendary clubs OBI, Cocos, Neptunes and Hot Dog Beach – which means the party will be in full-swing!

With music from Sa La Ve, Klassic Rewind, No Stone Unturned, plus MC Scotto Savitt, DJ Tommy Bruno, and Patty Dodge & her Dodge Dollz–you can savor exotic tropical cuisine and enjoy the “Ultimate waterfront experience” before you dance the night away. Want to add to the excellent service and experience of the night as you arrive? With the “Bikini Valet” you can have your car washed by appointment while you dine or watch the the show!

With the “Off Key Falls” set as the backdrop to the stunning view of the Patchogue River, the night will serve a dual purpose as this is also the start to the “Solstice Weekend” June 19th-21st at Long Island’s Riverfront Paradise a collective which includes Off Key Tikki, Harbor Crab Co. , Dublin Deck, and On the Waterfront Restaurant — with even more LIVE MUSIC from over 20 live bands all weekend long at the different locales, as well as the release of hundreds of lanterns from the five different locations on Saturday night at sunset, and concluding with a fleet of ships coming in to Patchogue Harbor on Sunday from 12-2 for the Blessing of the Fleet! So much to do on the Patchogue Riverfront during this extended summer solstice all weekend long starting Thursday night.

www.patchogueriverfront.com

Saturday night:

Come in anything that Floats!

• Boats
• Rafts
• Paddleboards
• Water Jitney

Hit every place on the Riverfront, participate in the Poker Run for $250 and prizes!

Try the Riverfront Iced Tea – Every Place Makes ‘em Different…Try them all!!

Try the At Fathers Day Brunch at all Locations!

FREE DOCKAGE ALL WEEKEND!

If ever there was a place to be to ring in the beginning of the Summer, it’s at the Patchogue Riverfront –”Where Long Island Play’s This Summer!” with their kickoff at Off Key Tikki 31 Baker Place, Patchogue, NY 11772 on Thursday June 18th at 5pm as part of their Beach Ball Thursdays Dance Party.

For More Information, Visit: http://offkeytikki.com/ or one of the other participating facilities websites.

For Press Inquiries, CONTACT: RickEberle@gmail.com.

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Sixth Precinct Crime Section officers are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate the man who stole items from a Medford store in May.

A man entered Target, located at 2975 Horseblock Road on May 31 at approximately 5:40 p.m. and stole razors. He was last seen getting into a newer-model black Nissan Altima driven by a person who was apparently waiting for him.

Suffolk County Police are seeking the public’s help to identify the man who stole items from a Medford store in May. Photo Credit: SCPD.

The man is described as a white male with brown hair. He was wearing a black shirt with a light-colored collared shirt over it.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(Long Island, NY) Suffolk County Crime Stoppers and Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives are seeking the public’s help to identify and locate a man and woman who used a stolen credit card in Southampton and Shirley last month.

A credit card was stolen from CVS, located at 341 Commack Road, Commack, on May 26. The card was used by a male and female later that day at supermarkets in Southampton and Shirley.

Suffolk County Police are seeking the public’s help to identify a man and woman who used a stolen credit card in Southampton and Shirley last month. Photo Credit: SCPD.

Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offers a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,C,I-Glen Head) joined his Assembly colleagues to pass legislation (A.1357-A) that would ban the sale of any crystalline or powdered alcohol substance in New York State.

Powdered Alcohol, also known as “palcohol,” is a powder that when mixed with liquid, creates the equivalent to an alcoholic mixed drink. In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the powdered alcohol, but quickly reversed its decision due to heightened concerns about the substance.

“Powdered alcohol is an unnecessary item that could pose many dangers to its consumers,” said Montesano. “The novelty of alcohol in this form could be very harmful, especially to adolescents, as they can easily conceal and transfer the powdered substance. By passing this legislation I hope we are able to prevent this potentially dangerous substance from falling into the wrong hands.”

Since its initial approval, several states, including Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah,Vermont, Alaska and Virginia have passed similar legislation to prohibit sale of such items.

The bill has recently been passed in the Senate and is awaiting action from the governor.

(Long Island, NY) The Seventh Squad reports the arrest of an Elmont woman for a Robbery that occurred on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 at 5:43 p.m. in Massapequa.

According to detectives, a female victim had arranged to sell a designer belt and designer “Carmine” sneakers to Felicia Ahmed, 18, who was known to the victim. Ahmed arrived in a vehicle driven by an unknown male to a pre-arranged location in Massapequa.

Nassau County Police reports the arrest of Felicia Ahmed, 18, an Elmont woman, for a Robbery that occurred on Wednesday, June 10 in Massapequa. Photo Credit: NCPD.

The victim handed the belt to Ahmed and placed the sneakers on the car at which time Ahmed shoved the victim to the ground and fled in the vehicle with both items. Fifth Precinct Officers located Ahmed at Elmont High School on Thursday, June 11, 2015 and placed her under arrest.

Ahmed is charged with Robbery 2nd degree and will be arraigned on Friday, June 12, 2015 at First District Court in Hempstead.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

(Long Island, NY) Upon completion of their library’s summer reading program, Long Island McDonald’s and the Nassau Library System and Suffolk Cooperative Library System will reward children in Nassau and Suffolk counties with a certificate for their choice of a free grilled chicken snack wrap or cheeseburger, and a low fat chocolate milk, apple juice, or 12oz soft drink.

McDonald’s is committed to supporting educational programs in the community, especially initiatives that encourage children to read. Through the Summer Reading Program, over 110 of the public libraries on Long Island offer a series of diverse reading programs, as well as fun and educational activities for children of all ages to enjoy during the summer months. “We are excited to once again partner with the LI McDonald’s Owners and Operators. Their support of the Summer Reading Program for the past 27 years has been a wonderful partnership and something that the children look forward to each year. We thank them for their continued support,“ says Renee McGrath, Nassau Library System Youth Services Manager. “I am extremely proud that this program has been in existence for 27 years, reaching school children from Kindergarten through high school. It is a truly rewarding program that encourages reading literacy and reinforces that we are a grassroots company,” says Luciana Montuoro, LI McDonald’s Marketing & PR Director.

In celebration of 27 years of supporting summer reading in Nassau and Suffolk public libraries, Ronald McDonald will be appearing at several local libraries where he will perform his Reading and Magic Show.

• Wednesday, June 24th – 5:00 p.m. – Elmont Library located at 700 Hempstead Turnpike
• Wednesday, July 22nd – 11:30 a.m. – North Bellmore Public Library located at 1551 Newbridge Road
• Wednesday, August 5th – 2:00 p.m. – Riverhead Free Library located at 330 Court Street
• Tuesday, August 18th- 11:30 am – Westhampton Library located at 7 Library Avenue

McDonald’s is the world’s best known brand and is the global leader in food service. There are more than 620 McDonald’s Restaurants in the New York Tri-State area, of which 82 restaurants are located throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Visit www.LIMcDonalds.com for more information on other programs on Long Island, and to join the McValue Club for great savings at popular attractions on Long Island.

(Long Island, NY) The Third Squad reports the arrest of Lisa M. Berry, 42 of Hempstead for a Robbery that occurred on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 9:15 pm in East Garden City.

According to detectives, after finishing her shift at a local establishment at the Roosevelt Field Mall and walking through the parking lot to her car, the 25 year old female victim was approached from behind by a female black subject who displayed a black handgun and demanded money from her. After handing the subject $110.00 in cash, the subject fled on foot and was last seen heading through a nearby parking garage.

Nassau County Police reports the arrest of Lisa M. Berry, 42 of Hempstead for a Robbery that occurred on Tuesday, May 26 in East Garden City. Photo Credit: NCPD.

Berry was located on Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 7:25 p.m. on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead where she was placed under arrest without incident. She is charged with Robbery 1st degree and Criminal Use of a Firearm 1st degree. She will be arraigned on Friday, June 12, 2015 at First District Court in Hempstead.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the prosecution to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.