DOUBLE-STABBING IN NORTH STONINGTON
State police are investigating a reported double stabbing along Route 2 in North Stonington. They say two men in a pick-up truck that apparently belongs to a handyman services business in Rhode Island, stopped on the eastbound side of the highway between the Holly Green Shopping Center and the Bellismo Grande Hotel around 3:30 this afternoon. Authorities say the two males got out, were arguing, and stabbed each other. Both were taken to Backus Hospital in Norwich with non-life threatening injuries. State police are interviewing witnesses, and are investigating.
RFP’S FOR SEASIDE
After three and a half years of study and taking public comment, the state today starting requesting proposals be submitted by developers interested in turning Waterford’s Seaside property structures into a park lodge. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen says four 1930’s era buildings designed by famed architect Cass Gilbert need to be preserved and transformed. The land would be operated by the state as a park but the lodge would be privately run. Whalen admits the structures are in tough shape and would take upwards of $35 million to transform into a first class lodge. She says proposals are due July 27th. The property used to be a hospital for tuberculosis patients and is next to Harkness State Park.
EXPO CENTER TOUR
Things are moving along nicely during the construction phase of the new Expo Center at Mohegan Sun. President and General Manager Ray Pino says the center will host functions that attract people from across the country. Elected officials and the media were given a tour of the site today. The Expo Center will feature 125-thousand square feet of open space, a 20-thousand square foot ballroom and 15 meeting rooms. The first event at the facility will be the Barret Jackson car auction in June.
VOTE IS DONE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The Republican leader of the Connecticut Senate is rejecting a request by Democrats to hold another vote on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s now-defeated nominee for chief justice of the State Supreme Court. Senator Len Fasano said Wednesday the “vote is done” and he looks forward to learning who Malloy nominates next. Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff publicly urged one of the he 19 senators who voted Tuesday against the confirmation of Associate Justice Andrew McDonald to make a motion to reconsider the 19-16 vote. All 18 Republicans and one Democrat voted against the Democratic governor’s nominee. Looney says he doesn’t make the request lightly, calling it “an extraordinary and historic action” needed to “ensure that partisan politics does not infect the judiciary.”
LOCAL CAREGIVER GUILTY OF ABUSE
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A Danielson woman has been found guilty of abusing disabled patients. Forty-two-year-old Linda Proietti is guilty of one felony count and two counts of misdemeanor patient abuse in a health care facility. She was employed as a certified nursing assistant by the Zambarano unit of the Eleanor Slater Hospital in Pascoag, Rhode Island. The state Attorney General’s office says Proietti physically assaulted one immobile non-verbal male patient, and verbally abused a non-verbal female patient diagnosed with Huntington’s disease during a five month period in 2015 and 2016. Proietti will remain free on a $5,000 bail until sentencing, which is scheduled in May. She was not available for comment. Health professionals in the Zambarano’s unit treat 120 long-term patients who suffer from psychiatric and chronic medical conditions.
ACCUSED MURDERER, ARSONIST TO GET NEW LAWYER
A Norwich man accused of murdering his pregnant wife and setting their Franklin Street apartment on fire now needs a new attorney. 41-year old Patrick Antoine appeared Wednesday in New London Superior Court, where he was scheduled to decide whether to accept a plea deal. His public defender, Kevin Barrs, though, asked to withdraw from the case, citing some-quote-trust issues. The judge granted the request, and Antoine will have a new attorney when he’s next in court on April 12th. Antoine is accused of fatally stabbing his wife, thinking she was a voodoo princess, and then torching their residence in June, 2016.
WILD RIDE
A teenager is accused of driving a stolen vehicle Monday, and sending it airborne in Norwich. State police say 19-year old Antwane Ifill was on Route 2 eastbound in the Yantic area, weaving in and out of traffic while speeding. They say he lost control of the car just after 2 PM on a curve in the highway, went airborne, and hit a cliff side, before ending back on the highway. He received minor injuries. He faces numerous charges, including marijuana possession. His last-known addresses are in Windsor, and Grafton, Massachusetts.
LOCAL PRESERVATIONIST HONORED
A consultant for the Norwich Historical Society is receiving a statewide honor. Regan Miner will be receiving the Mimi Findlay Award from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation at an April 5th ceremony in Newtown. Miner is being recognized as a young preservationist who has done much to promote Norwich’s historical assets, including securing grant funding, overseeing building rehabilitation and renovation, and coordinating numerous activities.
