CONTRACT FOR NEW NL POLICE CHIEF
A four-year contract has been approved for New London police chief Peter Reichard. The contract was passed this week by the City Council, and runs through the end of June, 2021. He’ll be paid a base salary of $124,500 in the first year of the agreement, retroactive to July 12th. He’ll be required to live in the city, and will have yearly performance reviews. Reichard was named chief by mayor Mike Passero last Friday. He’s been deputy police chief since 2012, and acting chief since Margaret Ackley’s retirement in January.
LOCAL HAITIANS COULD BE FORCED TO LEAVE
After a magnitude 7 earthquake in 2010 left around 230,000 dead in Haiti, an estimated 58,000 Haitians arrived in the U.S. in an attempt to resume their lives under what is known as Temporary Protected Status. The program allowed thousands to live and work in the country temporarily. Homeland Security announced earlier this week that the program would be rescinded, calling for the 58,000 to return to Haiti by 2019 or face deportation. According to the Center for American Progress, roughly 1,200 Haitians with reside in Connecticut, and Norwich has long been home to a thriving Haitian community. Monday’s decision could send thousands of local Haitians back to their home country.
SOCCER GAME TAUNTS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Officials at a Connecticut school say a group of students directed racial taunts toward the opposing team at a girls soccer playoff game. The Hartford Courant reports officials at Windsor High School launched an investigation after a parent complained of St. Joseph High School fans singing the Toto song “Africa” at their players Nov. 7. Half of the Windsor players are students of color. Windsor Superintendent Craig Cooke says he confirmed the taunts after a series of interviews with students. He says he issued a complaint to officials with the state Interscholastic Athletic Conference. Conference director Karissa Niehoff says she has not seen the complaint yet. But she says the school could be fined or prohibited from competing if found in violation.
CT WOMAN CHARGED IN DISTRACTED DRIVING FATALITY
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. (AP) – A Connecticut woman who police say was distracted by a GPS device faces vehicular homicide charges in connection with a crash in Massachusetts that killed a couple enjoying a Sunday drive in their classic car. The Berkshire Eagle reports that 24-year-old Chelsea Lundeberg, of Ellington, Connecticut, pleaded not guilty this week to charges stemming from the September 24 crash in Lenox that took the lives of 60-year-old James Kelly and 69-year-old Patricia Kelly. Police say Lundeberg ran a stop sign and struck the Stockbridge couple’s 1963 Chevrolet Corvair convertible. Police say Lundeberg was “so distracted” by the GPS that she didn’t see multiple intersection warning signs, including a stop sign with a red flashing light. Police found no evidence that Lundeberg was impaired. Lundeberg’s attorney questioned the timing of the charges.
