DEVELOPMENT SAVED AT OLD HOSPITAL SITE
The cleanup of the former state hospital property in Preston continues thanks to a successful meeting between town officials and the state Historical Preservation Office. Archeological advocates had argued the site should not be developed because of its rich history, but Preston First Selectman Bob Congdon says the town was able to make its case at a meeting Friday that allows development to proceed. Congdon says it’s frustrating to know that remediation of the hospital property has been stalled by archeological concerns, and the fact that land on the site could be home to a species of endangered beetle. He says the hospital property would likely have remained a brownfield for hundreds of years to come if Friday’s meeting with the Historic Preservation Office didn’t go according to plan. The Mohegan Tribe is looking to develop the site into a tourism destination featuring recreation and hotels.
CMEEC CRACKDOWNS GO INTO PLACE
A state law that takes effect Oct. 1st will allow member municipalities to appoint a ratepayer representative to the board that procures wholesale electricity for four local member utilities. The change came in response to public outcry that the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative had stepped out of bounds by hosting all-expenses paid trips to the Kentucky Derby from 2013 to 2016. It also orders a forensic audit of the cooperative’s past five years of finances, and orders CMEEC to provide annual financial reports, including a list of staff and salaries.
GO KART TRACK BEING BUILT AT FOXWOODS
Foxwoods Resort Casino, Sunday, together with racing enthusiast and star of Fast N’ Loud Richard Rawlings, announced an indoor go-karting center is coming to Foxwoods. Construction is set to begin soon and the go-karting center is scheduled to open in early 2018. For more information, visit Foxwoods.com/karting.
ROBOT SUBS UTILIZED
The world’s biggest defense manufacturers are looking at a new market below the ocean’s surface. The U.S. Navy recently opened up a competition for unmanned submarines. Boeing has developed a 51-foot-long vessel to compete for the contract. Lockheed Martin is also competing. The industry is responding to a new school of thought in the upper echelons of the U.S. military. Agencies are looking to use advances in robotics and artificial intelligence as “force multipliers,” with the idea that combat-capable robots will enhance, but not replace, humans in the wars of the future.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ST. JOE’S
Graduates of St. Joseph School in New London were close enough to make it to a celebration of the 80th anniversary of the school’s opening Sunday morning, filling the school’s auditorium with memories of the school’s past and hopes for its future despite a dwindling enrollment. Graduates of the school from the first kindergarten class in 1937 to the eighth grade classes in the 1980s and ’90s were there for the celebration. Nuns have disappeared from St. Joseph as they have from almost all Catholic schools, but one school board member said the commitment to Catholic education hasn’t wavered.
SECURITY DRILLS THIS WEEK AT SUB BASE
GROTON, Conn. (AP) – The Navy submarine base in Groton is planning security drills that will include the firing of automatic weapons loaded with blanks. Officials say the exercises will run Tuesday through Thursday and will test the readiness of Navy security forces to respond to threats to the base and its submarines. The firing of automatic weapons along the base’s waterfront is planned on Wednesday and Thursday between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Exercises also may include simulated emergencies such as a small boat attack or active shooter threat. Authorities say area residents may see increased security activity, increased traffic around the base and brief delays accessing the base. Officials say the public will be informed about the exercise through computer network alert systems and a loud, outdoor intercom.
