MIDDLETOWN:
The Finance and Government Operations Commission decided unanimously on Wednesday to approve a $30,000 stipend for bulky waste disposal around the city. The funding comes in response to a Public Works complaint that they have no way of disposing of the bulky trash (objects like broken refrigerators and mattresses) that Mayor Giuliano had instructed them to remove without additional funds. –Middletown Eye
The Community Health Center (CHC) received a $40,000 grant to improve electronic health records. As one of only five grants awarded throughout the nation by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the center plans on using the funds to implement a national model for hypertension control, particularly focused on minority groups. Patients will be able to monitor their blood pressure at home and access their health records. The grant acknowledges CHC’s past success with electronic health records. –Middletown Eye
Firefighters rescued a cat from a kitchen fire at a Green Road home Monday. The blaze, beginning at 2:20 p.m., took firefighters just over an hour to subdue. Although the kitchen is heavily damaged and investigators are looking into the fire’s cause, no humans or animals were hurt. –Middletown Press
HARTFORD:
According to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, Connecticut’s 2008 poverty rate increased faster than any other state. The rate shows a particularly detrimental trend in child poverty. Hartford saw an increase from 31.2 percent of families living in poverty in 2007 to an increase of 33.5 percent last year. The Speaker’s Task Force on Children and the Recession held its first meeting Tuesday to discuss immediate remedies and anti-poverty programs. -Hartford Courant
A 28-year old clothing shop owner was shot in the thigh and robbed Tuesday. Police report the victim was closing his store at 11 p.m. when two suspects in black shirts and ski masks approached him. The victim ran, heard a gunshot and fell before the suspects took his money, ring, and watch. The suspects have yet to be apprehended. -Hartford Courant
Gilberto Vargas, a 36-year old Hartford resident accused of shooting a 19-year old to death in August, told police he had been hired to shoot, but not to kill, the victim. Vargas had been given $500 to shoot Hector Torres in both legs, but Torres died of multiple gunshot wounds. Vargas, charged with murder and capitol felony, could face the death penalty or life in prison. -Hartford Courant
NEW HAVEN:
New Haven resident and 17 year veteran police Sgt. Harold Setzer was charged Wednesday with seven counts of illegally selling or transferring firearms. One of those guns, a Sig Sauer pistol, was used in five New Haven shootings between December 2008 and June 2009. Setzer turned in his police service gun and badge and has been on paid leave since July. In addition to the firearm charge, Setzer faces counts of manufacturing a bomb, and illegally possessing an assault rifle, explosives, and fireworks. Police say Setzer owned nearly 160 guns. He faces bail of $50,000. -New Haven Register
The 85-year old community playhouse, The Little Theater, will soon see better days thanks to $5.7 million from the City Planning Commission. The theater will undergo a yearlong renovation extending the structure’s classroom and performance space, as well as an overall modernization of the building. After being gutted and renovated, the theater will install new electrical, mechanical and fire safety systems. The project will be completed by November 2010. -The New Haven Independent
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