Persistence Pays Off: Rower Has Sights Set on Gold in Tokyo 2020 Olympics

After being cut from the U.S. women’s rowing team before the Rio 2016 Olympics, rower Kristine O’Brien wasn’t sure if she should try again for Tokyo in four years’ time. But, after receiving encouragement from her family and coaches, O’Brien decided to devote another four years to training — in hopes of representing the United States in the next Summer Games.

St. Bernard’s New Bocce Court Is a Big Hit

When Kevin Costner’s character heard the whispered statement “If you build it, he will come” in the 1989 classic “Field of Dreams,” he took it as a direction to build a baseball diamond in his Iowa cornfields. The famous quote certainly applied to St. Bernard Church in Mill Basin/Bergen Beach after about 60 people attended the June 28 ribbon-cutting ceremony of the parish’s new bocce court.

Pair of TMLA Grads All the Buzz

Doing what you love in the comfort of your home is one thing, but doing it in a national talent show competition elevates that passion to a whole new level. The Northwell Health Nurse Choir, made up of 18 local frontline nurses, knows that feeling extremely well after singing a mash-up of Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me” and Ben King’s “Stand by Me” and receiving the highly desired Golden Buzzer on this season of America’s Got Talent.

Best Friends’ Special Bond Rewarded With Surprise Gift During Graduation

Eighth-grade graduates Izabella (Izzy) Gamarra and Grace McKenna have gone through life side-by-side, and their journey together isn’t over. The pair became friends in kindergarten at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Bayside and have been inseparable ever since — especially after Izzy was diagnosed with a golf ball-sized brain tumor, at age 7, before starting second grade.