HOUSE APPROVES CASINO BILL
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The Connecticut House of Representatives has narrowly approved legislation that creates a process that could eventually lead to a new, $500 million casino in Connecticut, possibly in Bridgeport. The bill passed on a 77-73 vote Friday. It now awaits action in the Senate, where its fate is questionable. Under the proposal, two state agencies are required to develop and issue a request for proposals from casino developers. The agencies would then evaluate the responses and present them to the General Assembly for consideration. The bill has pitted lawmakers from one corner of the state against the other. Bridgeport and New Haven legislators led the charge for the legislation, while those from southeastern Connecticut opposed the bill, saying it risks two tribal casinos and the state’s share of slot machine revenues.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES INTO BOY’S DEATH
Waterford police continue to investigate the death of a five year old boy in the town. They say the child had been reported missing for two hours Thursday afternoon before his mother called 9-1-1. The boy was found unresponsive in a car parked at 3 Maple Avenue in the Quaker Hill area around 2:45 PM. Responders were unable to resuscitate him. Police have confirmed the boy’s last name was Bosselman. Town records say the home is owned by a Christopher Bosselman. The state Department of Children and Families has been notified. Results of an autopsy haven’t been released.
NEGLECTFUL DANIELSON MOM PLEAD GUILTY
The mother of three young children who were found severely neglected by state police in Danielson in July, 2016 could face as much as 30 years behind bars when she’s sentenced June 29th. Donna Rodeheffer pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of risk of injury to a child. State police say they found the 6-year old-, 5-year old, and 3-year old in their Broad Street residence with serious physical, mental, and social problems. The children’s father, and their two uncles have already pled guilty to charges of possession of child pornography, with the father also admitting to child neglect. They’ve all been sentenced. The children’s grandmother awaits trial.
SKAKEL GETS NEW TRIAL
The Connecticut Supreme Court has vacated Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel’s murder conviction and ordered a new trial in connection with a 1975 killing in wealthy Greenwich. The court issued a 4-3 ruling Friday that Skakel’s trial attorney, Michael Sherman, failed to present evidence of an alibi. The decision reversed the court’s previous ruling that reinstated Skakel’s conviction after a lower court had ordered a new trial. Skakel is a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel Kennedy. He was convicted of murder in 2002 in the bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley in their wealthy Greenwich neighborhood in 1975, when they were teenagers. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison, but another judge granted him a new trial in 2013, citing mistakes by his trial lawyer.
HARASSMENT MEASURE PASSES HOUSE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Legislation to update Connecticut’s sexual harassment and sexual assault laws in light of the (hash)MeToo movement now awaits action in the House of Representatives. Early Friday morning, the Senate voted 31-5 in favor of the package, initially pushed by the Senate Democrats. The bill expands sexual harassment training requirements for employers, eliminates or extends the statute of limitations for various sexual assault crimes, and expands the length of time to file sexual harassment complaints with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, from six months to a year. The latest version of the bill scales back parts of the original proposal. For example, it no longer includes language barring settlement agreements that prohibit a party from disclosing information about sexual harassment and sexual assault. The session adjourns on Wednesday.
GIANT TUMOR TAKEN OUT
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) – Doctors at a Connecticut hospital say they removed a 132-pound tumor from a woman’s abdomen, and she is expected to recover fully. The ovarian tumor was diagnosed after the 38-year-old woman reported rapid weight gain of about 10 pounds per week over a two-month period. The doctors at Danbury Hospital announced Thursday that the five-hour surgery was completed successfully in February after extensive planning by a team of 25 clinical specialists. The tumor was benign, but because it was sitting on a major blood vessel doctors say they were concerned about the patient’s heart. The patient was also malnourished because the tumor was sitting on her digestive tract. Pathologists have been conducting genetic tests on the tumor to learn why it grew so quickly.
METS BID HARVEY GOOD-BYE
NEW YORK (AP) – Former New York Mets ace Matt Harvey of Mystic is about to become a former Met altogether after refusing a minor league assignment. The Mets will designate him for assignment tomorrow, giving the ballclub seven days to trade him or release him. Harvey is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA in four starts and four relief appearances this year, leaving him 9-19 with a 5.93 earned run average in two-plus seasons since helping New York win the 2015 National League pennant.
