GRISWOLD FIRE VICTIMS
The two people killed in a Griswold house fire last week have been identified. 61-year-old Janet Lindquist and 66-year-old Kenneth Lindquist died after an early-morning fire at their home at 70 Kenwood Estates back on December 20th. State police say the house fire is related to an abandoned car fire in Glastonbury later that morning. Detectives say they’ve developed a person of interest in the case, but no arrests have been made.
COCAINE SNORTER
A Ledyard woman has been accused of trying to snort cocaine inside a police station while waiting to be booked on unrelated charges. Police say Nicole Hunter was charged on Christmas Day with possession of narcotics, interfering with an officer and disorderly conduct. Police had arrested Hunter after a confrontation at her home in Ledyard while investigating a report of an erratic driver. They say the vehicle involved matched the one in Hunter’s driveway. Police say Hunter was in a waiting area of the police station when she pulled cocaine wrapped in paper from inside her clothing and tried to snort it. She’s due in court on January 8th.
PROPERTY TAXES
Governor Dannel Malloy does not plan to sign an executive order requiring pre-payments of local property taxes, a move that would let residents deduct the payment from federal taxes. Ben Barnes, Malloy’s budget director, told municipal leaders today it’s impractical to mandate that municipalities accept pre-payments because communities have not yet set tax rates for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1. Also, he says property tax collection is a local, not a state, matter. New York’s and New Jersey’s governors signed orders requiring municipalities to accept pre-paid local taxes before a $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions goes into effect next year.
REPORTER DEAD
Longtime WCBS Newsradio 880 (WCBS-AM) reporter Fran Schneidau, whose distinctive voice could be heard delivering Connecticut news for 39 years, has died. The New York-based station announced her death on Wednesday. Schneidau, who retired in February, was 79 years old. Once a stockbroker on Wall Street, Schneidau began her radio career at WICC-AM in Bridgeport, before moving to WCBS in 1978, where she would become the Connecticut bureau chief. Earlier this year, Governor Dannel Malloy proclaimed February 3rd as “Fran Schneidau Day” in Connecticut.
