On the brief side...

‘Safe Haven’ Hotline Opens: New York state has established a confidential toll-free hotline to take calls connected with the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, according to state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D–Flushing).

Sometimes called the Safe Haven Law, the measure was enacted to encourage anyone who cannot care for a newborn baby to leave the infant in a safe place rather than abandoning it where it might come to harm. Safe places include hospitals, police stations, firehouses and other areas where a baby up to five days old may be anonymously placed in the care of a responsible person.

Under the law, parents who leave their newborns unharmed in a safe place are protected from being criminally prosecuted for abandonment, Stavisky said.

For more information, call the confidential toll-free hotline at 1-866-505-SAFE (7223). Information is provided in English or Spanish, but the hotline staff can communicate in more than 150 languages through interpreters.

Task Force To Strengthen Managed Care: A task force to develop legislative recommendations "to ensure New Yorkers receive health care based on medical necessity and not on HMO profit motives" has been formed by Democrats in the state senate.

State Senator Daniel Hevesi (D–Central Queens) is urging his constituents to contact him if they believe they have been denied necessary health coverage by an HMO. This information will help guide the efforts of the task force.

The Senate Democratic Task Force on Consumer Health will be holding Public hearings throughout the state to hear from HMO members who believe they have been denied proper coverage.

Hevesi can be reached by phone at (718) 544-9750, by mail at 70-17 Austin St., Suite 2, Forest Hills, N.Y. 11375, or by e-mail at dhevesi@senate.state.ny.us.

Demand Funding For School Health Centers: A coalition of education activists gathered at P.S. 7 in Elmhurst on Monday to demand that permanent funding be made available for School Based Health Centers to ensure healthcare access for all children regardless of family income or immigration status.

Included in the coalition were Carol Gresser, former Board of Education president and presently a Queens borough president candidate, PTA members from P.S. 7, 14, Corona, 86, Jamaica and 220 Forest Hills, IS 145, and Long Island City H.S.; District 14 NYS Nurses Association, the Queens County Black Nurses Association and the Northern Queens Health Coalition.

Corona/E. Elmhurst Family Day: Activities such as kiddie rides, basketball tourneys, tennis and Little League baseball were featured at the 11th annual Corona/East Elmhurst Family Day held last Saturday at East Elmhurst Park.

City Councilmember Helen Marshall, now running for borough president, sponsored the event jointly with Assemblymember Jeff Aubry and the Langston Hughes Library. Marshall said, "Through the years, this event has grown to become one that is eagerly anticipated by both children and adults and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been able to bring Family Day to the East Elmhurst/Corona areas."

Cohen Presents Certificates of Merit At P.S. 144: Students in Class 5-409 in P.S. 144, 93-02 69th Ave., Forest Hills, were presented with New York Assembly Certificates of Merit last Friday by Assemblymember Michael Cohen (D–Forest Hills). The students earned the honors for their presentation and debate on the workings of state government and how a bill becomes a law

...Prince, a black Cocker Spaniel, will receive a New York State Assembly Citation for bravery today from Assemblymember Michael Cohen for saving the life of one of his constituents, 93-year-old Asta Berry, this past winter.

Cohen said Berry had fallen in the snow behind her home on Jan. 21 and was lying face down when Prince, owned by Berry’s neighbor, Tanya Napoli, found her. Prince immediately began barking and howling until help came.

"If it had not been for Prince, it may have been hours or possibly days before anyone would have found Ms. Berry in the snow," Cohen said.

The presentation will be made at about 5:30 p.m. at 89-27 69th Ave., Forest Hills.