Yale University is being accused of discriminating against students with mental health disabilities, including pressuring some to withdraw from the prestigious institution and then placing “unreasonable burdens” on those who seek to be reinstated. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Connecticut on behalf of current and former students seeks no monetary damages. Rather, it demands changes to Yale’s current withdrawal policies, including the required forfeiture of health insurance and tuition payments, among other rules. The plaintiffs contend Yale needs to implement a process for handling students with mental health needs that’s more accommodating for individuals. Yale's president has said the reinstatement policy has been eased.
They say every vote counts. In one Connecticut town, it really did. A race for a seat in the state Legislature has been decided by a single vote. Nearly 10,600 ballots were cast in the race between Republican Tony Morrison and Democrat Christopher Poulos. After a recount, the final tally stood at 5,297 to 5,296 in favor of Poulos. The Democrat's win was certified Wednesday by state officials. Connecticut is not alone when it comes to razor-thin races. One New Hampshire state House race ended in a tie and now awaits action in the Legislature.
The Connecticut Office of the Healthcare Advocate will offer online Medicare Open Enrollment assistance via Zoom Q&As on Wednesday, Nov. 30, and Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. Medicare open enrollment runs through Dec. 7.
Senators from Connecticut, Vermont and Maine called on the Biden administration Tuesday to bring together federal, state and regional officials to find ways to prevent possible energy disruptions this winter across New England. The region is heavily dependent on natural gas and subsequently impacted by the war in Ukraine and tight global energy supplies. In a letter sent Tuesday, the senators also urged Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to leverage resources within her department to help bring non-fossil fuel energy as quickly as possible to the region and to review any available emergency powers. The DOE says it's closely monitoring winter fuel availability.
A wealthy Connecticut woman whose criminal case file was sealed from public view has been sentenced to one year in jail for secretly recording three people, including a minor, in a manner involving sexual desire. Fifty-four-year-old Hadley Palmer of Greenwich, was sentenced Tuesday in Stamford Superior Court. Her lawyer, Michael Meehan, called the sentence just and said Palmer has taken responsibility for her actions. Judge John Blawie earlier this year sealed Palmer’s case file over objections by The Associated Press. He ruled that the privacy interests of the victims outweighed the public’s interest in open courts. Palmer also must register as a sex offender for 10 years.
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has signed legislation that extends Connecticut’s soon-to-expire 25-cent-per-gallon gas tax holiday for another month. The tax break will then be reduced incrementally over the following five months. Lamont signed the bill into law on Tuesday following a special session of the legislature on Monday. It also increases funding for the state’s essential worker pandemic pay program after so many people applied. However, it also limited who can receive the top benefit of $1,000 to those earning less than $50,000. The legislation also extends free public bus fares through March 30 and adds $30 million in federal pandemic relief funds to the state’s energy assistance program.
MYSTIC — A massive blaze Sunday night dealt extensive damage to the Seaport Marine facility on Washington Street, leveling two buildings and damaging a nearby home, but no injuries were reported after a four-alarm response eventually contained and doused the flames.
Connecticut lawmakers are set to discuss gasoline taxes, heating-bill help, pandemic pay for essential workers and other issues when they convene for a special legislative session on Monday. Gov. Ned Lamont has said he's calling the General Assembly into special session to help Connecticut residents cope with rising prices. Connecticut’s 25-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax is currently suspended through Nov. 30. The Democratic governor wants to keep the tax on hold until the end of the year, then start adding back five cents per month until hitting the prior 25-cent-per-gallon amount in May.
A suburban New York firefighter says his instinct and training kicked in when he spotted a burning car on a Connecticut roadside and went on to rescue the injured driver. Nicholas Perri Jr. was driving home from work and didn’t have firefighting gear when he saw the blazing vehicle on the side of Route 7 near Brookfield early Saturday morning, but he ran in to help. He tells NBC Connecticut that he used every ounce of muscle and adrenaline possible to pull the driver to safety through a passenger-side window. Brookfield volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel soon arrived and took the woman to a hospital.
LAWRENCE + MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Connecticut state legislators are returning to the Capitol to consider extending the soon-to-expire gas tax holiday, increase funding for pandemic payments to essential workers and vote on other initiatives to help residents cope with rising costs. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont issued the first executive order of his second term on Wednesday and called the General Assembly into special session on Monday. Connecticut’s 25-cent-per-gallon gas tax has been suspended since April 1 and is currently scheduled to resume on Nov. 30. Lamont wants legislators to continue the suspension of the full 25 cents through Dec. 31 before incrementally scaling back the tax relief at five cents per month, beginning Jan. 1.
The New Haven Board of Alders has approved a public monument representing the Italian-American immigrant experience. It will replace a statue of Christopher Columbus that was removed in 2020 amid a climate of racial reckoning after the police killing of George Floyd. The vote was held Monday. The Board of Alders vote was held Monday. The Wooster Square Monument Committee announced a new campaign Tuesday to raise the estimated $300,000 needed to commission the sculpture and underwrite the total cost of the new monument. The statue will be created by local artist Marc-Anthony Massaro, who grew up in the heavily Italian neighborhood around Wooster Square.
The holiday travel rush is already on, and it could spread out over more days than usual this year. Travel experts say the ability of many people to work remotely is letting them take off early for Thanksgiving or return home later. Crowds are expected to rival those of 2019, the last Thanksgiving before the pandemic. The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 2.6 million travelers on Monday, surpassing the 2.5 million screened the Monday before Thanksgiving in 2019. AAA predicts that nearly 55 million people in the U.S. will travel at least 50 miles from home this week, an increase over last year and only 2% less than in 2019.
Thirty-five years after the killings of a Connecticut man and his adult son, prosecutors say a man who was long suspected has been convicted. The New Haven state's attorney's office says Willie McFarland was found guilty Tuesday of murder in the deaths of Fred and Greg Harris. They were found, with their throats slashed, in their Hamden home on Aug. 27, 1987. McFarland quickly became a suspect and was questioned soon after the killings, and investigators conducted DNA testing and took other steps over the years. Authorities said his 2019 arrest followed a new round of DNA testing.
A Texas judge says she won't lower a nearly $50 million punishment against Alex Jones that a jury handed down earlier this year over the Infowars host spreading false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The decision Tuesday by Judge Maya Guerra Gamble is another defeat for Jones. Since the August trial in Texas, other judgments against Jones in Connecticut have stacked up to a staggering $1.44 billion. Experts say that sets up what is likely a long fight ahead for Sandy Hook families to try to collect that money. Jones could appeal and has already said he has little money to pay the damages.
STONINGTON — The Stonington Borough Merchants Association will host a Find the Buoy Holiday Scavenger Hunt, to kick off on Small Business on Saturday, Nov. 26, in Stonington Borough.
Authorities say an undercover police officer conducting surveillance in Connecticut was grazed by a gunshot when someone fired several shots at his police car. The shooting happened just after 10 p.m. Wednesday as officers assigned to a multi-agency violent crimes task force conducted surveillance near an Interstate 84 entrance ramp in Waterbury. Police say someone fired into an unmarked police car with two officers in it and the driver was grazed in the shoulder. The injured officer was a Naugatuck police officer. He was treated at a hospital and released. Details including a description of the shooter’s vehicle were not available.
NORTH STONINGTON — Corie Bratter, the fun-loving, carefree newlywed in Neil Simon's "Barefoot in the Park," may be a far cry from Lady Macbeth, but that's just fine by Nora Broderick.
An international nonprofit organization that sets sustainability standards for commercial fishing management has suspended a certification it awarded Maine’s lobster industry over concerns about harm to whales. Representatives for the London-based Marine Stewardship Council said Wednesday that the suspension of the Gulf of Maine lobster fishery’s certificate will go into effect on Dec. 15. MSC’s decision to take away its certification from the U.S. lobster fishery represents the second time a sustainability organization has downgraded the industry’s status this year. Seafood Watch of California placed the fishery on a red list in late summer.
A memorial to the 20 first graders and six educators killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting has opened to the public, a month before the 10th anniversary of the massacre. There was no ceremony Sunday at the site, a short distance from the school. It has become a custom in Newtown on anniversaries and other remembrances of the shooting to mark them with quiet reflection. Relatives of the victims were given a private tour of the grounds Saturday. Paths at the memorial lead to a water feature with a sycamore tree in the middle and the victims’ names engraved on the top of a surrounding supporting wall.
The Ocean Community YMCA will be running a food drive from Nov. 14 to 21. Donations brought to the Westerly-Pawcatuck Branch YMCA, 95, High St., Westerly, will be donated to the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center. Donations brought to the Naik Family Branch YMCA, 1 Harry Austin Drive, Mystic, wil…
Following are the unofficial results of Tuesday’s voting as of Friday. The results will not be official until the state certifies the numbers (*elected):
STONINGTON — Stonington High School Student Government will host a Fall Feast for Veterans free dinner on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 5 p.m., the Stonington High School cafeteria. All current and past members of the armed services are invited to attend at no charge and each may bring a guest.
STONINGTON — Stonington is seeking local veterans who currently reside in, or have called Stonington home, to take part in on camera interviews to share their stories as part of the educational/historical component of the Stonington Veteran Monument Project. The interviews will explore topic…
RICHMOND — The Wood-Pawcatuck Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship Council is offering grants of up to $4,000 available to organizations and individuals interested in protecting, preserving, and enhancing the federally designated Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed. The grant applications must be submitt…
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his company have been ordered to pay an extra $473 million to families and an FBI agent for calling the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax. The punitive damages imposed by a Connecticut judge Thursday bring the total judgment against him in a lawsuit filed by the victims’ families to a staggering $1.44 billion. The Infowars host is vowing to appeal the case and is calling the punitive damages award “ridiculous." Twenty children and six educators were killed in the shooting. Victims' relatives testified they've been threatened and harassed for years by people who believe Jones' lies about the shooting.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes has won a third term representing Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, fending off a challenge from former Republican state Sen. George Logan and resisting a red wave that hit neighboring New York. National Republicans had hoped to flip the western and central-Connecticut district, banking on voter discontent over the economy and high inflation. Hayes focused heavily on abortion rights, arguing that Logan couldn’t be trusted on the issue despite promising he wouldn’t support a national ban. Hayes also touted her record of passing legislation and delivering funding to the district, including money for police departments.
A group of commercial fishermen is asking the Supreme Court to stop the federal government from making them pay for workers who gather data aboard fishing boats. The fishermen harvest Atlantic herring off the East Coast and are opposed to a 2020 rule implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that requires the industry-funded monitoring. The monitors are workers who collect data on board fishing vessels that are important for informing regulations. The fishermen, who are with Loper Bright Enterprises of New Jersey, have made the case the requirement makes fishing financially unsustainable. They’ve lost in lower court rulings, and filed a petition with the high court on Thursday.
A deeply personal collection of love letters a smitten Bob Dylan wrote to his high-school sweetheart in the late 1950s is up for auction. Boston-based RR Auction says the 42 letters totaling 150 pages were written to Barbara Ann Hewitt between 1957 and 1959 by a Hibbing, Minnesota, teenager still known then as Bob Zimmerman. They pour light on a period in the folk-rock icon’s life for which not much firsthand information is available. The auction runs until Nov. 17. In the missives, Dylan foresees changing his name and selling a million records.
A wave of blue in the newly aligned 41st Connecticut House District seat carried Democrat Aundré Bumgardner to an easy victory over challengers Robert Boris and James "Jake" Dunigan Tuesday night to win the open seat.
A number of polarizing issues in the national spotlight, expanded use of mail-in ballots and early voting have all played a role in increasing voter participation in the 2022 midterm elections, and officials in southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut said they are expecting an…
After months of campaigning, we're finally here: Election Day 2022.
LAWRENCE + MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Connecticut Democrats are seeking to maintain their control of the state’s major elected offices and the General Assembly. Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking a second term in a rematch against Republican businessman Bob Stefanowski. Two-term U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal faces first-time candidate Leora Levy. Republicans are hoping to win at least one of the five Democratic held U.S. House seats, focusing heavily on the 5th Congressional District. Voters will also be asked to decide whether to amend the state constitution and give the go-ahead for state lawmakers to consider an early voting bill as early as next year.
STONINGTON — The New England Science & Sailing Foundation will hold its Annual Benefit on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Hilton Mystic, 20 Coogan Blvd. This year’s benefit theme is ‘through students’ eyes’ and will be filled with NESS student stories and the impact donors hav…
A Connecticut man who was linked to the sexual assaults of four women in 1984 by information on a genealogy database has been convicted of all eight kidnapping charges against him. A state jury in Hartford took less than an hour of deliberations Wednesday to unanimously convict Michael Sharpe after a five-day trial that started last week. He faces 25 to 100 years in prison when he sentenced on Jan. 9. The 71-year-old Sharpe, a former charter school group executive, had been free during the case but was detained on a new $2.5 million bond set after the verdicts.
Connecticut's 41st House District will need to carve out its new identity in the coming election, with the realigned district including Stonington Borough and Mystic for the first time and the retirement of Democrat Joe de la Cruz leaving a three-way race for the open seat.
The general manager of Boston’s troubled public transit system, who shepherded the agency through the pandemic when ridership plummeted and has faced calls to resign during a federal safety review, announced he sill step down early next year. Steve Poftak in a letter Tuesday to employees of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said that his last day on the job will be Jan. 3, just days before a new governor is sworn in. The letter did not say what his plans were. Poftak took over in December 2018.
LAWRENCE + MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
MYSTIC — A restaurant along the Gold Star Highway has been shut down due to damage and several people were left with various injuries that were deemed not life-threatening after a car drove through the window early Sunday afternoon.
STONINGTON — Dana Robinson Campbell, an artist and printer, was not surprised to discover that ink ran through her blood. She was surprised to learn it also ran through her bloodline.
LAWRENCE + MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
STONINGTON — Superintendent of Schools Mary Anne Butler said that after seeking additional legal counsel and working with the union, teachers, families and students, she will recommend that Pride flags be allowed to remain in classrooms.
STONINGTON — The Board of Education and Stonington school administrators met with representatives of the Stonington Education Association Wednesday as the district seeks a final resolution over a parent's complaint about flags supporting the LGBTQ+ community in classrooms and a subsequent di…
STONINGTON — The New England Science & Sailing Foundation will host a virtual Experiential Learning in Alternative Education Workshop on Saturday, October 22, from 9 a.m. to noon. The virtual workshop and access to the NESS B-WET Tacklebox is free to educational professionals, funded by …