HEAT AFFECTING SCHOOL OPENINGS
BOSTON (AP) – The school year has barely started in New England, but some school districts are already canceling classes or sending children home early as the region bakes in excessive heat. The National Weather Service said Tuesday the heat index surpassed 100 degrees in some areas of southern New England as temperatures soared into the 90s and the dew point reached the mid-70s. The service has issued either excessive heat warning or a heat advisory for the entire region except for the island of Nantucket. Public schools in Holyoke, Massachusetts were supposed to open Tuesday, but the first day of school was pushed back until Thursday. Schools in West Haven, Connecticut, and Haverhill, Massachusetts, and some other district dismissed early on Tuesday. Many school districts aren’t scheduled to open until after Labor Day. Closer to home, Norwich schools are scheduled to open tomorrow. Norwich Free Academy today cancelled all outdoor sports practices and games due to the heat.
SON ACCUSED OF INTENTIONALLY BURNING PARENTS’ HOME
A Marlborough man is being accused of torching his parents’ house. 27-year old Reid Keener has been charged with arson, and is being held on 500-thousand dollars bond. He was to appear Tuesday in Manchester Superior Court. State Police believe Keener set fire to his parents’ West Road home early Monday morning. No injuries reported, as the fire was contained to property outside the house. Keener has a history of mental illness.
COMEY TO SPEAK AT UCONN
STORRS, Conn. (AP) – Former FBI Director James Comey will address students, faculty and staff at the University of Connecticut. UConn President Susan Herbst announced Tuesday that Comey will be this year’s speaker at the Edmund Fusco Contemporary Issues Forum on Oct. 15. In a message to the UConn community, Herbst says Comey will deliver remarks and participate in a Q&A session at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. President Donald Trump last year famously fired Comey, who served as director of the FBI from 2013 through 2017. Comey has recently written a book about his life and career. The forum is an annual event that’s privately funded by the Fusco family. Hillary Clinton was paid $250,000 to appear in 2014. UConn officials stressed that no taxpayer or tuition money was involved.
MORE MEDICAL USES FOR POT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A legislative committee has agreed that more conditions can be added to Connecticut’s medical marijuana program. The General Assembly’s Regulations Review Committee voted Tuesday to include eight new conditions for adults and two new additions for adults and patients under 18 that can be treated with the drug.
The new conditions for adults include spasticity and neuropathic pain associated with fibromyalgia; severe rheumatoid arthritis; post herpetic neuralgia; hydrocephalus with intractable headache; intractable headache syndrome and neuropathic facial pain.
The new conditions for adults and patients under 18 include muscular dystrophy and osteogenesis imperfecta. Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull is crediting the agency’s Board of Physicians and the legislative committee for their “thoughtful consideration” of these latest conditions. Now 30 will be covered. The program currently benefits 27,340 patients.
MORE UNCLAIMED PROPERTY
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Money from unclaimed securities, bank accounts and other financial property appears to be piling up. State Treasurer Denise Nappier announced Tuesday that unclaimed property receipts topped $138.7 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. That’s $23 million more than originally projected. It also surpasses the $129.2 million collected in the prior fiscal year. Nappier attributes the higher collections to an unexpected increase in the value of the unclaimed assets. The office is depositing $63.4 million of the unclaimed funds to Connecticut’s main spending account, the general fund, and $11.6 million to Citizens Election Fund, the state’s public campaign financing system. About $58 million of the unclaimed assets has been returned to 18,472 rightful owners.
OLD FORT DISCOVERED IN NORWALK
NORWALK, Conn. (AP) – Archaeologists are marveling at the site of a 1600s Native American fort in Connecticut that was uncovered as part of a rail bridge replacement project. About 20 of them gathered for a tour of the site in Norwalk on Tuesday. They say it’s one of the most important finds in the Northeast in terms of Native American history.
An archaeological firm is removing artifacts for further study as part of the state’s replacement of the 122-year-old Walk Bridge. Experts believe the Norwalk Indians used the fort in the mid-1600s to trade goods with the Dutch. Among the items found were glass and copper beads, iron trade tools, and stone arrow points. Experts say Native Americans were active at the site for millenia, as some artifacts date back 3,000 years.
BRIDGE WORK IN NORWICH
You may encounter some traffic delays over the next four weeks on the 8th Street Bridge in Norwich. Norwich Public Utilities is installing a new 80-foot gas main under the span, which will require one lane to be closed between 7 AM and 3:30 PM weekdays. The existing pipeline was installed in 1966 and needs replacing. The new pipeline will have a larger diameter, allowing more natural gas to flow.
