MIDDLETOWN:
-Yesterday morning at around 10:30 a.m., a seven-car crash at the William and High Street intersection resulted in the death of one man. It is not clear if the death occurred prior to or as a result of the accident. (The Middletown Press)
-Associate Professor of Government Douglas C. Foyle’s educational expertise will now reach further from Middletown with his election to the Glastonbury Board of Education. He was the only Democrat and non-incumbent elected. Foyle has taught government at the University for 11 years where he focuses on international relations and foreign policy. (The Hartford Courant/The Wesleyan Connection)
-When Rite-Aid moved further down Main Street, its former location was left vacant. The building, on the corner of Main and William Streets, won’t be empty for much longer. Bought by BL Companies and leased by Da Vita Corporations, the site will soon house a dialysis center for patients with kidney disease. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special exception for this use. The developer plans to use about 15 percent of the space for retail, 15 percent for office space, and the remainder for patient treatment. (Middletown Eye)
-With all the buzz surrounding Massachusetts’ decriminalization of the possession of a limited amount of marijuana, a Connecticut man forgot that the new law doesn’t apply everywhere. Christopher Glidden of New London attempted to smuggle marijuana into the Middletown Superior Court in August. Glidden returned to the courtroom last Tuesday, to be sentenced. He was charged with drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia which carries a sentence of a year in jail. Glidden must submit to random drug testing, attend substance abuse treatment, and perform 35 hours of community service within the first 10 months of his probation. (The Middletown Press)
HARTFORD:
-Proving that performance art and architecture don’t always make the best combination, the Connecticut Science Center is suing their architect, the acclaimed Pelli Clarke of Pelli Architects, Inc. The lawsuit alleges the firm “substantially and repeatedly” breached its contract and that Pelli’s architectural plans for the center were “incomplete, ambiguous and flawed.” State inspectors noticed in November 2007 that the roof was sagging significantly. To fix it, the roof had to be removed and shored up, a process that took 30 tons of additional steel and nearly six months to complete. The Science Center says it cost them more than $10 million to fix all the problems associated with the new building, and they want their money back. (Hartford Advocate)
– Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez will face two criminal charges in a combined trial scheduled to start in May 2010. Perez, who is the focus of an 18-month state investigation into allegations of corruption at city hall, was arrested twice this year: in January on bribery-related charges and in September on charges relating to attempted extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. (The Hartford Courant)
– A controversial new federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will award Hartford $500,000 as part of an anti-gang initiative. The grant made news earlier this month because an internal police memorandum that said the City suffered from a “gang infestation,” with more than 4,000 members in about 130 gangs. The problem, the police memo said, was especially acute at the City’s middle schools. Targeting the youth population, the program will pay 60 kids who successfully complete a youth/police training component of a city-sponsored mentoring program $100 each. Each of the mentors in the program will get $350 to pay for things like movies, museum visits, and sporting events for the children. City officials say the program is likely to begin early next year. (The Hartford Courant)
NEW HAVEN:
-President Barack Obama gave a shout-out to the New Haven Federation of Teachers contract Wednesday in a speech outlining federal stimulus money for school reform. New Haven hopes to obtain part of the more than $4 billion fund to be made available to states to reform public schools. “Across this country, different groups are coming together to bring about change in our schools… In places like New Haven, educators and city leaders have come together to find a smarter way to evaluate teachers and turn around low-performing schools,” Obama said in his address given at a Wisconsin Charter School. (The New Haven Register)
-New Haven Police Chief James Lewis says he wants his entire force to have Tasers. The New Haven Police Department began using Tasers, which disrupt voluntary control of muscles, after a series of police shootings in 2004, which prompted the City to form a task force to explore less-than-lethal weaponry. Lewis argued that Tasers are easier to carry and less dangerous than the heavy clubs that police now use. Lewis said New Haven has been the only place he has worked where the distribution of Tasers has been delayed by public scrutiny, and hopes to be able to move forward and equip his team without much further delay. (The Yale Daily News)
– The Nathan Hale School reported that nearly 100 students were absent Monday and are potentially infected with the H1N1 virus. While absenteeism is up slightly across the district, Nathan Hale appears to have been particularly hard-hit. School spokeswoman Michelle Wade said schools have reported about 86 percent attendance in recent days, down from the 90 percent average last week. (The New Haven Register)
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