HUGHES JURY STUMPED
After signaling to court officials that they are having trouble reaching a verdict, yesterday the jury at the Dante Hughes’ murder trial in New London Superior Court completed a second full day of deliberations. Defense attorney Walter D. Hussey moved for a mistrial but the judge denied the motion. The jury foreman reported they agree Hughes is guilty of something but can’t decide what. The panel will resume deliberating this morning. Hughes is accused of murdering Joey Gingerella in the parking lot of Ryan’s Pub on Dec. 11th 2016.
RASH OF CAR THEFTS AND BREAK-INS
Car thefts typically increase in the summertime. Those, and break-ins have been on the increase in Colchester and Salem and officials are asking residents to exercise caution. State police spokesman Sgt. Eric Haglund at Troop K, in Colchester, said there has been one car theft and three break-ins in Colchester this month and five break-ins in Salem. Haglund said other cars may have been rummaged through without police being notified. In 2016, over 7100 cars were stolen in Connecticut. About 37 percent of them were not recovered.
TEST SCORES STEADY
Compared to public high schools across the state, Marine Science Magnet High School in Groton had the highest share of students meeting or exceeding the benchmark on the English Language Arts portion of the SAT, at 93.3 percent. Data released Wednesday show most of the region’s school districts saw minor drops in average SAT scores, with the exception of two local magnet schools. The other was the Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut in New London. The data released by the Connecticut State Department of Education reflected scores from the 2018 Connecticut SAT School Day when 37,922 students took the test in March for a participation rate of 95.2 percent.
BOND COMMISSION APPROVES EB MONEY
Electric Boat will receive $20 million from the state for dredging. The process will support the launch of submarines from a new dry dock and manufacturing superstructure being built in Groton. Eight million more dollars will be for workforce training programs to support the submarine builder. The $28 million was approved by the state Bond Commission on Wednesday and represents a portion of the funding announced by Gov. Malloy in New London, back in May.
BASE GETTING NEW PARK
As part of an effort to improve its energy resiliancy, the Groton Sub Base has broken ground on a 7-point-4 megawatt fuel cell park. Captain Paul Whitescarver says the project is expected to be completed this spring. As the fuel cell park is being constructed, the Navy will continue its efforts to develop a micro-grid for the base. The project is being overseen by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.
VETS PROJECT GETS FUNDING
Easterseals Capital Region & Eastern Connecticut has received a $615,000 grant-in-aid from the state as part of a $1.8 million project to build a comprehensive veterans service center within its existing Norwich facility. Easterseals also is seeking private donations to fund the project. They’ve also received a $1 million commitment from Stanley Black & Decker. Plans are for an 18,000-square-foot, Veterans Rally Point, where veterans can relax and interact with one another in a safe space while having access to services such as mental health and job counseling. The center would serve many of the states 200,000-plus veterans who live in Eastern Connecticut.
