Best Dressed
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Home: Little Neck
Age: 2
Photo & Text by John Scandalios
Bella Mia, a not yet 2-year-old Maltese, came away with the top award at the fifth annual New York Pet Fashion Show held in
the Penn Top Ballroom at the Hotel Pennsylvania on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. Bella Mia won "NYPFS Best Dressed in
Show 2013," wearing a beautiful green and purple "Roaring 20s" themed gown by Chattanooga, Tenn., doggie fashion
couture designer, Linda Higgins, who also was a big winner as she was awarded NYPFS Fashion Designer of the Year 2013.
Bella Mia, who was born in South Korea, is a New Yorker now, living in Little Neck with her proud owners, Roseann and Walter
Bolasny.
The posing puppy is in high demand for doggie couture fashion, but her greatest accomplishment is helping ill people in
hospitals, as she is a licensed therapy and service dog. Bella Mia is a proud graduate of The Good Dog Foundation, class of
2012, and she promises to continue to help people across the world.
Where's The Party?
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Donovan Richards (right) and Clippers II's Facebook profile (above) |
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On Feb. 19, while most candidates in the special election for Council District 31 held Election Night gatherings at their
respective offices, with what could be considered low-key affairs, Donovan Richards went a different way.
Richards, who at press time led the close contest by just 26 votes, held his party at Clippers II, a bar on Merrick Boulevard in
Laurelton.
The profile photo on the bar's Facebook page (pictured at left) featured an advertisement for "Freaky Flirty Thursday," a
weekly event at the establishment.
Perhaps it's for the best that elections are held on Tuesdays and not Thursdays. Otherwise, Southeast Queens may have had
an entirely different issue to talk about after the election.
Fashionable Pooch
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Huntley |
Designer labels, spa treatments and lavish clothing – and that was just for her dog.
Earlier last week, reports surfaced that the former State Sen. Shirley Huntley, who pled guilty to embezzling close
to $90,000, used tax payer money from a sham nonprofit to go on shopping sprees for her pet poodle.
While on a shopping spree at the Tanger Outlets in Riverhead, the embattled legislator helped herself to taxpayer’s
dollars, showering herself and her dog with lavish presents.
Rhino Removal
A Queens man was busted last week for his alleged involvement in a Rhino smuggling ring.
Qing Wang, a Queens resident, was among the three men arrested for their alleged involvement in the ring.
According to a release from the U.S Department of Justice, Wang had a role in smuggling libation cups carved from
rhinoceros horns from Hong Kong to New York.
Wang would purchase the cups in the United States and send them to Zhifei Li, another person who was arrested
for being in the ring, in Hong Kong.
According to the release, there is a tradition in China that drinking from a cup made out of the horns would bring
good health and is highly coveted by people who collect the cups.
The population of Rhinoceros has steadily decreased since the 1970s because of the demand and premium that
are placed on its horn.
The species is considered endangered and are protected under the U.S. and international law.
Rhinos everywhere are safer now...
Flag On The Plane
When a defensive end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tried to board a flight this week, it looked like all of his muscles were
working fine after a grueling football season. All of them, except for maybe his brain.
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Da'Quan Bowers |
NFL lineman Da’Quan Bowers was stopped at LaGuardia Airport for attempting to bring a .40-caliber handgun onto the plane
in his carry-on bag on Feb. 18. Needless to say, he was stopped by police and flagged for holding.
As a result, Bowers was charged with second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, a felony that carries a prison sentence
of up to 15 years, if convicted. Bowers said he had legally bought the weapon in Florida, but conceded that he didn’t have a
license to carry it in New York.
We think the problem was less about the fact that he didn’t have a New York gun permit and more about the fact that he
tried to bring a gun onto an airplane. That sort of thing tends to annoy the TSA!
Help Wanted
Last week, the Queens Tribune and Press of Southeast Queens advertised for an open reporter position here.
Despite a stated preference for "local candidates" in the job ad, resumes quickly began to come in from all over the country,
but two emails in particular caught the eye of our hiring manager.
Over the weekend, we received two resumes from reporters from MuscatDaily, a daily newspaper in the Sultantate of Oman's
capital city.
We imagine the daily commute to Queens from the Southwest Asian nation may be a bit rough.
And you thought the Van Wyck was bad...
QConfidential is edited by: Michael Schenkler. Contributors: Joe Marvilli, Marcia Moxom Comrie, Steve Ferrari, Megan Montalvo, Natalia Kozikowska, Mike Nussbaum. You can reach us by email at Conf@QueensTribune.com.
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