NATIVE SON ANNOUNCED
Norwich has named its 2018 Native Son Award winner. Edward Cubanski is a retired U-S Coast Guard Captain who has received numerous service medals and commendations. He was the Coast Guard’s Sector Commander for Long Island Sound when he retired in July 2016. The Saratoga Springs, New York resident graduated from Norwich Tech in 1984, and is a 1988 grad of the Coast Guard Academy in New London. He’s been active in various local civic and community organizations, and is currently the president of the New London Maritime Society. The Norwich Native Son/Daughter award is presented annually by the city’s Rotary and Women’s City Clubs to someone who grew up in the city and achieved success outside the local area. Cubanski will be honored at a May 30th luncheon at the Norwich Holiday Inn.
CREDIT CARD SCHEME
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – A Connecticut woman who admitted to using illegal credit cards to rack up over $46,000 in charges has been sentenced to probation. Annette Cloutier-Maynard’s attorney said at sentencing Monday in New London that the woman was a victim in some ways, as she alleged she got the illegal cards from a man she met online. Cloutier-Maynard says she met a man online who sent her numerous credit cards that were later determined to be fraudulent. She agreed to a plea deal in February and pleaded guilty to third-degree larceny. The judge said Monday that Cloutier-Maynard should have known better than to be conned into committing crimes.
NEWTOWN FAMILIES SUING CONSPIRACY THEORIST
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The families of two children slain in a 2012 elementary school massacre in Newtown have filed lawsuits against right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for claiming the shooting didn’t happen. The defamation lawsuits were filed late Monday in Texas, the home state of Jones’ media company, Infowars. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of Noah Pozner, filed separate lawsuits seeking more than $1 million. Jesse and Noah were among 20 first-grade students gunned down inside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Six educators also were killed. The lawsuits allege Jones’ insistence that the shooting was staged led others to make death threats against the victims’ families. Jones could not immediately be reached for comment.
PILOT VEHICLE TESTING PROGRAM UNDERWAY
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Democratic Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy has announced the launching of the state’s autonomous vehicle testing pilot program. The initiative was created by a 2017 law that will allow four towns and cities to participate in a program for testing of fully autonomous vehicles on their roadways. The state will choose the municipalities for participation from an application process.
The application includes questions about how municipalities will oversee testing, and how local officials will educate community members about safety and road-sharing with self-driving cars. Officials also want to see how applicants will train law enforcement and emergency response personnel to respond to potential traffic crashes. Malloy says self-driving vehicles are the “future of transportation,” and that the state will not be outpaced by others.
