By Dee Richard
Congratulations to Phil Ragusa, the Queens County Republican chairman, and his executive board. They have made their choice for Tony Avella’s seat and “Dan’s their man” — Dan Halloran, that is. Congratulations to Phil again, as it must have been a difficult task, as they had several good candidates vying for the job.
We wish to congratulate Halloran on being selected. He is a capable and likeable young man. State Sen. Frank Padavan must also think so, as he agreed to endorse Dan early on. I am sure as time goes by we will hear a lot more about that young man.
While I am congratulating everyone else, it is my turn to be congratulated. My bid on a local condo has been finalized. The process has been taking place since August. I never saw such a mountain of paperwork.
Now starts the non−enviable task of emptying out my house and my close−to−40 years of accumulation of stuff that I just could not live without. Even if I could personally live without all that stuff, I had to save it, as someday I or someone else might have needed it.
Of course, none of us ever really needed anything. I guess it is some sort of an emotional wrench to part with things, as they inevitably remind us of happy occasions from the past. I am sure many of you out there, as you read this, will be nodding your heads in agreement, having gone through similar experiences yourself.
Now it is time to let the games begin — otherwise known as “dumpster time.” The time has come to downsize and have someone else responsible for property maintenance. The prospect is rather daunting, but the only way to do it is to do it. It is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work. How lucky can you get?
This week’s big event was the annual Democratic Women’s Luncheon at Antun’s in Queens Village. They had one of the biggest turnouts ever. An interesting observation is how many more men are attending each year.
Since these ladies are dedicated to getting their candidates elected, most politicians would agree they would have a tough time without them.
Some but not all of their guests of honor were U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, the Queens County Democratic chairman, City Comptroller Bill Thomson, Queens DA Richard Brown, Borough President Helen Marshall and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney. There were close to 500 people present and, as much as we would like to, it is impossible to try and list them or even a portion of them all.
Everyone’s thanks has to go to Jamie and Mary Lou Plunkett, the hardest working ladies in Queens, as they are the ones who put it all together. What a great job they do. Check out the Focus on Queens page, where you will see many of the ladies in the photos.
On March 4, the Queens Village Republican Club held its annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner at Trattoria Lucia in Floral Park. It was a nice affair and the Irish soda bread was the best.
Congratulations — there goes that word again — to Eric Ulrich on being “The Bridge of Life’s” honoree at the Reception House in Flushing. That dinner also had a stellar cast attending, but it appears that once again we have run out of room.
That’s it for this week.
I look forward to hearing from you with information on people, parties and politics or gossip.
I like to receiving your voice mails at 718−767−6484, faxes at 718−746−0066 and e−mails at deerrichard@aol.com.
Don’t forget to check out the Focus on Queens page.
Till next week, Dee.
