BUDGET VOTE EXPECTED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says a new state budget being finalized by lawmakers would cut hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, not increase the sales or income taxes and restore hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to cities and towns. Legislative leaders say they expect to vote on a tax and spending plan Thursday night, which would end a months-long impasse over a new budget for a two-year cycle that began July 1. Lawmakers are grappling with an estimated budget deficit of $3.5 million. The budget agreement between the Democratic governor and Democratic lawmakers also includes a new tax on monthly cellphone bills, reduced state income tax credits, and higher taxes on tobacco products. Republicans are criticizing the Democrats’ plan and have offered their own proposal.
NORWICH WOMAN SENTENCED FOR TRAFFICKING COCAINE
A Norwich woman will serve one year behind bars for trafficking cocaine. 35-year old Marybeth Harvey is sentenced Thursday in New Haven Federal Court, and will also be under supervised release for four years following her jail term. Court documents say Harvey was part of a cocaine distribution ring in the area.. Harvey also has to surrender some 48-hundred dollars in cash. She pleaded guilty back in May to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. The sentencing was announced by the U-S District Attorney’s office in Connecticut.
PLAINFIELD BALLOT MAY BE SHORTER
Plainfield voters may now only find four names listed on the November ballot for first selectman. Town officials say former first selectman Kevin Cunningham has failed to qualify to be on the ballot, because his paperwork submitted to the town clerk wasn’t notarized. Cunningham claims he was told by the clerk Friday that everything was in order. He says he’ll decide by the end of this week if he’ll be a write-in candidate. Those who will be on the ballot are Republican Vickie Meyer, Party-endorsed Democrat Cathy Tendrich, Fellow Democrat Hector Rodriguez, and Libertarian Dan Reale. Incumbent Paul Sweet is not seeking re-election.
SETTLEMENT SOUGHT IN FATAL SCHOOL STABBING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The mother of a Connecticut teenager stabbed to death at her school has offered to settle lawsuit allegations against the city of Milford and its school district for $23 million.
Lawyers for Donna Cimarelli-Sanchez filed the offers Wednesday in Milford Superior Court. The city’s lawyer did not immediately return a message seeking comment Thursday. Sixteen-year-old Maren Sanchez was killed by a fellow student at Jonathan Law High School in April 2014. Police said the killer, Christopher Plaskon, was upset that Sanchez rejected his prom invitation. Plaskon, now 20, is serving a 25-year prison sentence. Cimarelli-Sanchez filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Plaskon, his parents, the city and the school district. Probate court documents show Plaskon and his parents recently agreed to settle the lawsuit allegations against them for $1.6 million.
GETTING WARM OUT THERE
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – A group of scientists says summer is getting longer in the waters off New England. They say the warming of the Gulf of Maine has added up to 66 days of summer-like temperatures to the body of water. The Gulf of Maine stretches from Massachusetts to Nova Scotia and is warming faster than almost all of Earth’s oceans. University of Maine Professor Andrew Thomas is the lead scientist. He says the expansion of summer-time temperatures has significant ramifications for issues such as storms and commercial fisheries. Rising water temperature can disrupt ocean ecosystems. It also can provide more hospitable waters for hurricanes, which feed off warm water. Thomas says the scientists used 33 years of satellite data to identify seasonal trends.
