The title of the former state hospital property in Preston has officially been transferred to the Mohegan Tribe. Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown joined town officials and Governor Dannel Malloy on Wednesday to formally sign the contract allowing the tribe to acquire the 388-acre site. Brown says he’s looking forward to developing the property in the coming years. The tribe is proposing several attractions for the hospital property, including an outdoor theme park, an indoor water park, year-round skiing, hotels, senior housing, and a marina. Brown says final cleanup of the site is expected to take about a year. He says initial development should begin in late 2019.
TRUMP TO SPEAK AT COAST GUARD COMMENCEMENT
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump will deliver the commencement address to graduates of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy next month. White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced Trump’s participation in the May 17 ceremony in New London on Wednesday. Each year, the president delivers the commencement address at one of the U.S. military service academies. It will be Trump’s second time addressing graduates during commencement season this year. He’s scheduled to deliver the keynote address at graduation exercises at Virginia’s Liberty University on May 13.
LAWSUIT AGAINST HERNANDEZ MOVING AHEAD
A lawyer who represents the mother of the man former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was convicted of killing says she’s moving forward with a wrongful-death lawsuit. Hernandez hanged himself Wednesday in prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the 2013 slaying of Odin Lloyd. Lloyd had been dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée. Attorney Doug Sheff represents Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward. He says a judge has already found Hernandez was liable in Lloyd’s death. He says all that’s left for a judge or jury to decide is the amount of damages to be awarded to Lloyd’s family. Sheff says the lawsuit will proceed against Hernandez’s estate. He says he has placed liens on Hernandez’s Massachusetts home, estimated to be worth $1.3 million. No date has been set for the civil trial.
PRESIDENT WELCOMES PATS
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump Wednesday congratulated the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots at the White House. Trump hosted the five-time champions on the South Lawn and declared that “no team has been good this long.” The president drew some parallels to the team’s 25-point comeback against the Atlanta Falcons in February to his own political upset win. Trump saluted a number of individual players but did not mention superstar quarterback Tom Brady, whose friendship he repeatedly touted during his campaign. Brady notified the White House that he was dealing with a “personal family matter” and did not attend the ceremony. More than two dozen players did not attend the ceremony. Several had said beforehand that would not show for political reasons. Trump made no mention of the death of former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was found dead early today in a Massachusetts prison where he was serving a life sentence for murder. Authorities say the 27-year-old hanged himself in his cell.
GOVERNOR PRAISES DROP IN NORWICH SCHOOL ABSENTEEISM
The Norwich school district has seen a considerable drop in chronic absenteeism. Governor Dannel Malloy made that announcement during a visit to the Mahan Elementary School on Wednesday. The rate of chronic absences at Mahan alone has fallen from 8-point-2 percent to 2-point-3 percent in the past year. Malloy says it’s part of a statewide trend. Norwich Superintendent Abby Dolliver says her district has made significant headway by utilizing Alliance and Priority grant funding to establish an effective system designed to make sure students come to school on a regular basis.
LEGALIZED RECREATIONAL POT STILL ALIVE IN CT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Bills legalizing recreational use of marijuana didn’t clear any legislative committees this session, but that doesn’t mean the issue is entirely dead. House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said Wednesday he’s “sure we’ll caucus it many times within the budget process.” After the General Assembly’s two budget-writing committees vote out tax and spending proposals next week, lawmakers will have to negotiate a final budget agreement with the governor that addresses a projected $1.7 billion deficit in the new fiscal year. There are estimates that legalized recreational marijuana could generate $243 million in annual revenue by the third year in operation. However, Aresimowicz says lawmakers have been reticent to make large policy changes for only fiscal reasons, acknowledging he’s not sure if there’s enough support among House Democrats to pass the concept.
