HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut lawmakers are making some small progress in reaching a possible agreement on a new state budget. The General Assembly’s Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee unanimously approved a revenue package Thursday with no tax increases. Despite that, it’s clear bad feelings between Democratic and Republican leaders remain. The two sides exchanged barbs over whether an alternative, two-year, $40.3 billion Republican budget proposal, also released Thursday, raises taxes. While Senate and House Republican leaders contend their “Confident Connecticut” plan does not rely on tax increases, Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff is calling it “half-baked.” He says it ultimately increases local car and property taxes. Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano disagreed, saying, “enough is enough, get to work.” Democrats halted action Tuesday on a spending bill, blaming the lack of GOP support.
HERNANDEZ HAD NOTHING
BOSTON (AP) – Court records show the estate of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez currently has a dollar value of zero. The former New England Patriots tight end took his own life last week in prison. The Boston Herald reported that Hernandez’s fiancée and her lawyer said in an affidavit filed Wednesday in probate court that Hernandez’s estate is currently worth “$0.00” with “no monies available and no identifiable personal assets.”
But there is an offer to buy Hernandez’s house – worth nearly $1.3 million. The mother of a man Hernandez was convicted of killing in 2013 has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit seeking any proceeds from the sale. Hernandez was serving a life sentence when he hanged himself April 19, five days after he was acquitted in a 2012 double slaying.
TRIBAL CASINO ON THE VINEYARD?
BOSTON (AP) – The state of Massachusetts and a Martha’s Vineyard town are appealing a court decision that could pave the way for a Native American tribe to build a casino on the resort island. The appeal filed in the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal in Boston this week asks the panel to reconsider a decision handed down earlier this month. The appeals court had reversed a lower court decision by concluding, in part, that the federally-recognized Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe exercised sufficient government powers on its lands to be considered a sovereign tribal nation that can conduct certain gambling under federal law. The tribe wants to turn an unfinished community center into a gambling hall with hundreds of electronic betting machines. Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais dismissed the appeal as last-ditch procedural efforts.
NEW HOSPICE OFFICIAL
A local oncologist has been named the new Medical Director of the Norwich-based Center for Hospice Care of Southeastern Connecticut. Doctor Vanessa Johnson has been practicing at Eastern Connecticut Hematology and Oncology in Norwich. She’s also on the medical staffs of Backus, Day Kimball, and Lawrence and Memorial Hospitals.
UNIT 3 OFF A BIT
A small leak in a heater unit means Unit 3 at the Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford is generating only 88-percent of its power output. Plant officials say the leak was found Tuesday, and the power decrease was ordered. Welding repairs on the heater are expected to be completed soon, at which time Unit 3 will be ramped back-up to full power. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say they’re aware of the repair work, and have no concerns.
