TRANSIT SUMMIT IN NL
Civic leaders and community members gather in New London to discuss how to improve transportation in Connecticut. New London Port Authority chairman Scott Bates says it’s critical for the state and the country to make long-term infrastructure investments. Tuesday’s panel discussion was hosted by Senator Chris Murphy, who says he wants to see improvements made to the Northeast Rail Corridor. Panelists also talked about the need to fix existing roads and bridges and offer more alternative methods of transportation. The event was held at the Lyman Allen Art Museum.
BLUMENTHAL TESTING SEMI-AUTONOMOUS CARS
COLCHESTER, Conn. (AP) – U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal says more safeguards should be added to federal legislation allowing the gradual introduction of self-driving cars across the country. The Democrat wants the bill before the Senate to ensure people can manually override a highly automated vehicle. He’s also calling for all the data and safety evaluations of such vehicles to be made public, and to apply the legislation to cars already on the roads with auto pilot functions. Blumenthal on Tuesday experienced how two semi-autonomous cars already on the market operate while visiting the Consumer Reports test track in Colchester. Blumenthal says he learned firsthand that a human being needs to override the auto pilot in order to avoid certain objects. In his case on Tuesday, it was a car parked along the track.
PLAINFIELD MAN CHARGED IN RI CRASH
SCITUATE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island State Police have arrested a Connecticut man in connection with the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian in Scituate in December. Police on Tuesday said 26-year-old Clyde Horne, of Plainfield was charged with failing to stop for an accident involving death. Police say Horne was the driver of a car that struck 40-year-old Demetrio Tem-Temaj, of Providence, at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 29. Authorities say the driver left the scene without reporting the crash. Investigators, based on evidence left at the scene, determined that the victim had been struck by a red Chevrolet Cruze. The suspect vehicle was found at a Norwich, Connecticut, body shop on Jan. 3. Horne surrendered to police today.
THINK I’LL LEAVE NOW…
A Norwich man is expected to be re-arrested after leaving New London Superior Court Tuesday before his scheduled appearance. 21-year old Shahaim Chisolm was already facing a raise in his bail, and jail time, after violating his probation. When the judge called Chisolm’s case, his public defender said Chisolm had left the courthouse. The judge ordered him re-arrested, and raised his bail. Chisolm had previously been ordered not to use illegal drugs and submit to random drug testing, after being charged in a January, 2014 home invasion.. He was also arrested last July for violating probation, and was told then he would get a suspended jail term if he stayed out of trouble.
MEMORIAL FUND FOR DEAD TROOPER
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Memorial funds have been set up to help the family of a Connecticut trooper killed in a highway crash last week. The Connecticut State Police Union announced Tuesday that it created the Kevin Miller Memorial Fund and proceeds will go to Miller’s ex-wife and their two children, ages 13 and 10. Union officials said donations also can be made through a GoFundMe webpage. Forty-nine-year-old Miller died while on duty March 29 when his cruiser rear-ended a tractor-trailer on Interstate 84 eastbound in Tolland. Authorities said the truck was in the right lane going up a hill and traveling slower than other vehicles. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. A funeral service for Miller is set for Friday at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.
MALLOY MAKES JUDGE NOMINATIONS, BUT NOT YET TO SUPREME COURT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has nominated Judge Ingrid Moll to serve on Connecticut’s second-highest court. He also named 11 people to serve as trial court judges. The Democratic governor announced his pick of Moll for the Appellate Court on Tuesday. The West Hartford resident has been a Superior Court judge the past four years, after having worked at a Hartford law firm. Moll will take the Appellate Court spot previously held by state Supreme Court Justice Maria Arujo Kahn, if approved by the legislature. Among the Superior Court judge nominees is James Spallone, chief legal counsel for the state House of Representatives Democratic Caucus. The nominations come a week after the state Senate rejected Malloy’s chief justice pick, Andrew McDonald. Malloy says he will soon name another chief justice nominee.
BYSIEWICZ IS RUNNING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz says she’s now officially running for governor. The Middletown Democrat on Tuesday announced she has filed paperwork needed to seek the party’s endorsement. She was previously exploring a possible run. Bysiewicz says she’ll “fight for good-paying jobs to keep our children in Connecticut,” pay equity for women, health care for everyone and cleaner environment. She is one of the better-known candidates or potential candidates in the 2018 gubernatorial race, which has attracted about two dozen contenders. Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is not seeking a third term in office. Bysiewicz served as secretary of the state from 1999 to 2011. A former state representative, she previously ran for governor, attorney general and the U.S. Senate. She’s currently a lawyer in private practice.
CT INVOLVED IN FIGHT AGAINST CENSUS QUESTION
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut state officials have joined a coalition of attorneys general and cities in filing a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump Administration from demanding citizenship information in the 2020 Census. The states argue that demanding citizenship information would depress Census turnout in states with large immigrant populations, directly threatening those states’ fair representation in Congress and the Electoral College as well as billions of dollars in critical federal funds for education, infrastructure, Medicaid and more. State Attorney General George Jepsen says the move creates a “chilling effect” in immigrant communities. Today’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It is led by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and, in addition to Connecticut, includes over 16 states, several cities, and the District of Columbia.
MINOR TANNING BAN
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The Rhode Island Senate has passed a bill that would prohibit people under 18 years old from using tanning facilities in the state. Rhode Island law already requires minors to have written consent from parents to use a tanning facility, but this law would remove that option. The bill includes an exemption for minors with a prescription for “ultraviolet radiation treatment.” The legislation was sponsored by Democratic Senate Majority Whip Maryellen Goodwin. Goodwin says evidence of the dangers of tanning is overwhelming, citing data from the Skin Cancer Foundation that shows one tanning session before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma by 75 percent. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives, where Democratic State Rep. Mia Ackerman is sponsoring companion legislation.
