V.P. AT COAST GUARD COMMENCEMENT
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence says the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s 2018 graduating class is needed more than ever, given the threats the U.S. faces from drugs and terrorism. Pence delivered the keynote address at Wednesday’s ceremony at the campus in New London. He credits President Donald Trump with investing in the modern technology needed by the Coast Guard and other military branches. He promises that “this commander in chief will always have your back.” Pence also praises the Coast Guard for its lifesaving efforts during last year’s string of devastating hurricanes. The president and vice present typically each address the graduating class at one of the federal service academies on a rotating basis. About a dozen protesters held signs outside the academy gates.
PATH COULD BE CLOSED FOR ACADEMY
THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS VOTED TO START THE CHARTER REVOCATION PROCESS FOR PATH ACADEMY— AN ALTERNATIVE HIGH SCHOOL IN WILLIMANTIC… STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER DIANNA WENTZELL SAYS OFFICIALS FOUND THE SCHOOL WAS OPERATING UN-AUTHORIZED SATELLITE LOCATIONS IN HARTFORD AND NORWICH, AND DISCOVERED IRREGULARITIES IN STUDENT RECORDS, INCLUDING INFLATED ENROLLMENT NUMBERS. CHOOL OFFICIALS CALL THE MOVE DISAPPOINTING, AND VOW TO FIGHT IT. THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION COULD MAKE A FINAL DECISION AT ITS JUNE 19th MEETING, BUT HAS UP TO 30 DAYS AFTER THAT POINT.
CARMAN COURT DOCUMENTS RELEASED
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – A man accused by his family of killing his millionaire grandfather in Windsor in 2013 says in court documents he went home after they met for dinner, went on a midnight ice cream run, played on his computer and then headed out for a fishing trip with his mother. Nathan Carman has been called a suspect in the shooting death of real estate developer John Chakalos, who was found dead the next day. No one’s been arrested. He’s also been questioned about when his boat sank with his mother, Linda Carman, aboard near Rhode Island in 2016. She’s presumed dead. Carman’s denied involvement in either case. Carman’s response to lawyers about his activities in the hours surrounding Chakalos’ death was unsealed Wednesday. His aunts sued in New Hampshire accusing him of both deaths to collect inheritance money.
U-T-C EXPANDING
A major Connecticut employer is planning to expand its presence in the state. Farmington-based United Technologies Corporation says it’ll be adding some two-thousand jobs over the next five years, part of an overall increase in its national workforce of 35-thousand employees. U-T-C Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes says the parent company of Pratt and Whitney, U-T-C Aerospace, and Otis Elevator, has added three-thousand jobs in Connecticut over the previous three years. He says U-T-C also plans to build a 60-million dollar research facility in East Hartford. He credits the recent federal tax breaks for companies for the planned business expansion.
NL SEARCH AND SEIZURE
Three people have been arrested in connection with a search and seizure drug arrest in New London. Police say they found Heroin, Tramadol, digital scales, a loaded semi-automatic pistol, ammunition, a ballistic vest, and 3-thousand dollars cash when they searched an apartment at 239 Nautilus Drive Tuesday evening. 48-year old Michelle Tillman and 39-year old Lamar Fluker, both from the Whaling City, along with 25-year old Christopher Garcia of West Haven, all face narcotics possession charges. Tillman also faces a couple of charges of failing to appear in court.
HERNANDEZ’ FORMER FIANCEE PREGNANT
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – The former fiancée of the late New England Patriot player Aaron Hernandez says she is expecting a baby. Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez made the announcement in a post on Instagram on Tuesday. She says she and her daughter with Hernandez, Avielle, are “blessed” to be expecting a baby girl. She did not say who the father is or when she is due, and asked for privacy. Aaron Hernandez was a top player for the Patriots before being arrested in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of Jenkins Hernandez’s sister. He was convicted of murder in 2015. In April 2017, he was acquitted of the 2012 killing of two men in Boston, but days later committed suicide in a Massachusetts prison. His murder conviction was erased after his death.
