🌱 Botched Robbery, Attempt To Flee Country + Shake A Paw Banned

Hey, neighbors! It's me again, your host of the Merrick Daily.

First, today's weather:

Breezy in the morning. High: 39 Low: 36.

Here are the top four stories today in Merrick:

1. A Freeport man was arrested trying to flee the country after a botched robbery at the Roosevelt Field Mall on Dec. 7. Bernardo Dezil, 22, tried to leave Clientele without paying, pulled out a handgun, and fled. He was caught trying to board a plane to leave the country and arrested. (Patch)
2. Shake a Paw, a Long Island pet store with locations in Lynbrook and Hicksville, is now banned from selling puppies. Last week the state attorney general sued the store for allegedly selling sick puppies to customers and hiding it. (News 12)
3. Due to the rise of omicron-variant coronavirus cases, Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital is stopping visits to the emergency departments in Oceanside and Long Beach and its infusion center and limiting hours in other areas. One healthy adult parent or caregiver will be allowed to accompany a pediatric patient in the emergency departments. (LI Herald)
4. The name of the 30-year-old woman who died in a Sunday's crash in Old Westbury has been released. Karla Maricela Donaire-Florez of Glen Head and an 18-year-old driver collided on Jericho Turnpike. (Daily Voice)

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Today in Merrick:

• Project Hope, Freeport Memorial Library, 1 p.m.

From my notebook:

• Outgoing Nassau County Executive Laura Curran tells CBS New York she's confident she made a positive impact during her time in office and that "fear and anger" over bail reform led to her ousting. (CBS New York)
• Maureen Wolf, age 68, was last seen leaving her Farmingdale resident on Fulton Street on Dec. 1 but has been found, this Tuesday. (Daily Voice)
• Merrick Library said, "Libraries need your help! There is a bill on Gov. Hochul's desk today that would be a game-changer for public access to e-books. It would require publishers to sell commercially available e-books to libraries for lending." (Facebook)
• Nextdoor Neighbor, South Merrick - West: "Holidays tipping: Would anyone know if the trash collection crew is the same as the recycling one?" (Nextdoor)

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• New Year's Eve Parties (December 31)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to start this Thursday! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with a new update.

— Jackie