16 THE COURIER SUN • JANUARY 5, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH CHERYL GALLAGHER RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ EMILY DAVENPORT KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA, SUZANNE MONTEVERDI CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS editorial PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER STAFF REPORTERS CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: [email protected] for advertising e-mail: [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2016 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. WINTER SUNSET IN BAYSIDE // PHOTO BY PAULIE COCONUTS VIA FACEBOOK Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! To submit them to us, tag @queenscourier on Instagram, visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS or email [email protected] (subject: Queens Snaps). THE HOT TOPIC Giving families justice The second day of 2017 marked five months since Howard Beach resident Karina Vetrano was found murdered in a local park. Even with this passage of time, her killer remains at large. Authorities are now looking at an enhanced DNA testing technique which may help detectives find Vetrano’s killer at long last and solve other cold cases. We believe this method ought to be considered, but on the condition that it doesn’t come with any unintended consequences for innocent people. Early on in the investigation, there was some hope that genetic evidence found at the crime scene would help lead detectives to Vetrano’s killer. Forensic investigators were able to create a DNA profile from that evidence and search it through local and national criminal databanks. However, there were no matches to any existing DNA profile. Over the years, the use and analysis of DNA evidence has helped police across the country solve cold cases, find criminals guilty beyond reasonable doubt and exonerate those wrongfully accused of committing a heinous crime. This has led Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown to ask that the state Commission on Forensic Science authorize the use of familial DNA testing in New York state. Nine other states across the country already use this technique to help solve cold cases. Familial DNA testing allows forensic investigators to further examine DNA profiles in databanks that closely resemble an unidentified DNA profile recovered from a crime scene. Once a partial match is found, it may indicate that the DNA belongs to a relative of the perpetrator. There are some groups, however, that have reservations about the use of familial DNA screening. One of them is the American Civil Liberties Union, which through its Illinois division in 2011 indicated that the method could violate the privacy of relatives of convicted felons. It may also inadvertently allow private industries the ability to discriminate against individuals found to be genetically linked to a convicted criminal. No family of a crime victim should be denied justice, nor should the family of a criminal be denied a home or a job because they happen to be related to a criminal. We believe the state should authorize the use of familial DNA testing, but expressly restrict its use to law enforcement agencies. Rather than letting a little-known commission make the decision, however, we urge the State Legislature to immediately draft and pass legislation on familial DNA testing in New York state. STORY: Bayside chef wins big on ‘Chopped’ television cooking competition SUMMARY: Maria Petridis, chef and owner of Maria’s Mediterranean Seafood and Grill in Bayside, earned the title of “Chopped Champion” on the hit Food Network competition show “Chopped.” REACH: 55,007 (as of Jan. 3, 20 17)
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