A Tale of Three Cities

MIDDLETOWN:

-While Wesleyan students prepared for the two extra days of sleep and rest known as Fall Break, Middletown continued to be as happening a place as it always is. A homeless hooker was arrested on Oct. 19 after offering an undercover officer oral sex in exchange for $20. Mikaela Waters, 40, was picked up on the corner of Main Street and Rapallo Avenue. Inside the officer’s car, Waters allegedly asked if the cop wanted oral sex, to which he replied “yes.” According to the report, the cop then took her to a parking lot where she was arrested. During the booking process, Waters admitted to police that she is addicted to crack cocaine, and that she was “hooking” to support her habit. Waters has previously been arrested for drug violations according to police, and will appear in court on Nov. 10. (The Middletown Press)

-The Middletown Teen Theater production of “The Crucible” has been rescheduled in order to unveil a new and edgier production, “Who’s Afraid of the Swine Flu?” Rather than trap innocent souls in a room of nasally afflicted audience members and cast watching witch trials amped-up on DayQuil, the conscientious high schoolers have postponed their performances until further notice. The rampant H1N1 virus struck the school system and, especially, the cast. No “makeup” dates have been announced. (Middletown Eye)

-Three churches in Middletown have joined the 350 carbon emissions campaign. South Church, the First Church of Christ, and the Church of the Holy Trinity each rang their bells 350 times at 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, adding to a chorus around the globe of communities committed to reducing carbon emissions. The number 350, in parts per million of CO2, is what environmental scientists project as the level at which human life on earth is sustainable. Above that humans will have difficulty sustaining a healthy existence. Currently the number stands at 389 parts per million. (Middletown Eye)

HARTFORD:

-Maybe the robbers were hard pressed to check their e-mail, or maybe they were alarmed that the number one reason people now enter libraries is to go on the Internet, either way Hartford Public Library Blue Hills Avenue Branch found itself three computers short Wednesday morning. The back door had been pried open and a small amount of cash taken, in addition to three PC’s valued between $1,200 and $1,500. Police are still on the search for the suspects. (The Hartford Courant)

-According to the Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, the state is already $388.5 million in deficit for the current fiscal year. Rell received a report last week that shows that revenue from the sales, income, inheritance, cigarette, and insurance company taxes have all dropped. The state’s share of slot machine proceeds from the two tribal casinos has also fallen. Meanwhile, 2,600 Connecticut businesses, a record number, filed papers to dissolve from July to September. Rell announced that she will prepare a new plan to reduce the state budget spending and help account for some of the debt. (WTIC Radio News)

-The killer of 21-year old football player and University of Connecticut (UConn) junior Jasper Howard has been charged with murder. Three hundred people filed out of the Student Union ballroom at UConn on Oct. 18 after a frustrated student who was not allowed to enter the dance pulled a fire alarm. During the commotion, John W. Lomax III and Hakim Muhammad left the area, got knives out of a car, and returned to the scene stabbing two football players. Howard was mortally wounded. Muhammad, being tried as an accomplice to murder, is set to appear in court on Nov. 20 while Lomax has been handed a $2 million bail and a court hearing date of Nov. 13. (The Hartford Courant)

NEW HAVEN:

-It takes a rare and remarkable soul to spend the weekend driving through New Haven handing out quilts, towels, and coats to the homeless. And yet that’s exactly how unemployed security guard Andy Marx spends his Saturdays, car parked and wares spread across the roof and hood in a kind of impromptu tag sale. Marx buys what he thinks the homeless might need, but mostly finds ways to get the items donated, filling his car with sheets, sweaters and shoes. A survey conducted statewide last year found that there are about 4,000 homeless people in Connecticut, only one-third of whom are employed or have some kind of work. Currently on the lookout for a job himself, Marx plans to keep up his good work as long as he can and hopes to get sponsored by a nonprofit organization so he may rent storage space for more items. As he drives around New Haven, if Marx spots a homeless person, he stops and passes out water, chips, and a jacket, if needed; he doesn’t ask for names or other information. “I like to keep it simple,” he said. (The New Haven Register)

-Homeless man Bryan Neff collided with a moving car last Friday evening as he exited a Rite Aid Pharmacy. Neff was pronounced dead around 1:45 a.m. Saturday due to head injuries suffered in the crash. A local character known to frequent parks and cause little disturbance, Neff and his friends had an odd habit of drinking mouthwash. Neff had just purchased a bottle of generic mouthwash from Rite Aid moments before he was hit. “It is a myth that you can’t die from a low-speed collision with a car,” Police Officer Kenney said. “It’s how you fall and how you land.” (The New Haven Independent)

-Ten residents picked up in a city raid two years ago by U.S. immigration officials are suing the federal agents for alleged illegal home entries and unlawful arrests. Almost two dozen Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials swept through a predominately Latino neighborhood on June 7, 2007, arresting 29 residents and charging them with living there illegally. The current suit claims the raid was conducted in retaliation to New Haven’s public safety policy aimed at integrating illegal immigrants as a way to encourage cooperation with police. A woman, one of 29 people originally arrested, has been granted asylum, while one man opted for voluntary departure. The rest are awaiting verdicts from the Board of Immigration Appeals. Their cases are eventually expected to go before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. (The New Haven Register)