COUNCIL APPROVES GROTON SCHOOL PLAN
The Groton Town Council Tuesday supported sending a revised ordinance to referendum, in December, that would allow the town to build two new elementary schools on the existing middle school sites. The state already approved the plan since it would actually be less expensive than to renovate the middle schools into “like new” elementary schools. The revised ordinance will next head to the Representative Town Meeting and if the town body doesn’t veto it, the measure moves to a referendum Dec. 11th.
FAMOUS FORMER WEATHERMAN OPENS UP ABOUT ADDICTION
Spencer Christian, known to a generation as the weatherman on ABC-TV’s “Good Morning America,” told about 200 people Tuesday, he had a double life, one in which a serious gambling addiction had threatened to overtake him. Christian was a keynote speaker yesterday during the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling’s 15th Annual Conference at the Hilton Mystic hotel. The 71-year-old Christian described his struggles with compulsive gambling for some 30 years, but was able to finally stop for good without professional help. He said he endorses Gamblers Anonymous and programs like it. He said he was “saved” by the support of the loved ones with whom he’s restored relationships and that writing a book “You Bet Your Life” was cathartic. It’s estimated that one percent of Connecticut adults have a gambling problem.
PROSECUTION RESTS
After hearing testimony from the medical examiner who performed an autopsy on the victim and a retired state police detective who had processed the New London crime scene, prosecutors rested the state’s case against accused murderer David McKeever Tuesday. McKeever is pursuing an insanity defense and elected to be tried by a panel of three judges rather than a jury. He’s charged with fatally stabbing his longtime partner, Delma Murphy, at their home on Cole St., in New London, on Nov. 18, 2015. The trial will resume on Monday, Oct. 29th.
MAN PINNED
New London firefighters responded to Willett’s Avenue and rescued a man when he was pinned between two vehicles in a driveway on Tuesday. The unidentified man was pinned after a van loaded with ladders rolled backwards, striking a car parked in the driveway and pushing it into the garage. The man was transported to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. His name and condition were not released.
MCDONALDS REOPENING THIS MORNING
The McDonald’s restaurant at 109 Salem Tpke. in Norwich will host a grand re-opening ceremony at 10 o’clock this morning. They will be joining thousands of McDonald’s nationwide with a new décor, modern equipment, including a self-order kiosk, and table service. Local political dignitaries and local state legislators will be on hand to unveil the new upgraded facility. Following the ceremony, there will be a check donation made to the Thomas Mahan Elementary School across Route 82 from the restaurant, and to the Norwich Police Benevolent Association.
EL COSTCO MOVES FORWARD
Proposed plans for a Costco in East Lyme are moving forward. The Costco will serve as phase one of the retail component proposed for the Gateway Commons development off of exit 74. Gateway developers have built 280 apartments near Exit 73 as part of that development, and want to add an additional 120 rental units to be built out in coming years. The proposed almost 159,000-square-foot Costco store, with an on-site gas station, was approved by both zoning and inland wetland commissions earlier this year. The store is expected to break ground in 2019.
