COAST GUARD CAPTAIN REMOVED
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) – Coast Guard officials have temporarily removed a captain from a top post in Connecticut, citing a loss of confidence in his ability to command. Officials announced Friday that Capt. Andrew Tucci was removed from command of Sector Long Island Sound in New Haven, a post that oversees all Coast Guard activity in southern Connecticut and northern Long Island in New York. He was reassigned to the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center in New London until further notice. The Coast Guard did not say exactly why Tucci was reassigned. Lt. Cmdr. Karen Kutkiewicz says there is an internal investigation and no discipline has been imposed. She would not elaborate. Cmdr. Kevin Reed, the deputy commander of Sector Long Island Sound, has been appointed to the command position.
PONEMAH GETS STATE MONEY
Money for Phase Two of the Lofts at Ponemah Mill project has been approved by the state bonding commission. The 6-point-1 million dollar loan will go towards adding 121 housing units to the former textile mill complex in Taftville. 74 of those units would be affordable housing. Phase one of the project, consisting of 116 apartments, was completed in November.
OVERDOSES OVER 1,000
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut’s chief medical examiner says annual drug overdose deaths in the state have topped 1,000 for the first time. Dr. James Gill announced the 2017 total Friday at a legislative hearing in Hartford. He says a preliminary count shows 1,040 people died from overdoses, a 13 percent increase from the 917 deaths in 2016. Gill says the powerful opioid fentanyl continues to play an increasing role in deaths. Of last year’s deaths, 675 involved fentanyl, up from 483 in 2016. Gill says figures for heroin-related deaths have not yet been compiled. Gill says a 300 percent increase in overdose deaths over the past five years has swamped his office and caused it to lose full accreditation status because each medical examiner is performing too many autopsies.
FOUNDATIONS MONEY
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A Connecticut panel has awarded funding to launch a new not-for-profit insurance company that will manage state dollars that will help homeowners with crumbling foundations. The State Bond Commission approved $350,000 Friday in start-up money for the Connecticut Foundations Solutions Indemnity Company. The entity, scheduled to sunset in 2022, will manage $20 million-a-year in state funds. An estimated 30,000 or more homes in eastern and central Connecticut could have foundations failing because of the presence of an iron sulfide that reacts naturally with oxygen and water, causing concrete to crack and crumble over the decades. As of Friday, the Department of Consumer Protection had received 682 homeowner complaints. Friday’s funding will cover the initial capital and professional services of a superintendent to begin operating the new indemnity company.
GROTON SCHOOL PROJECTS BEING REVIEWED
Groton officials are now re-evaluating the best plan to renovate its schools. The town had planned to convert the two existing middle schools into elementary schools, but now may tear down the existing buildings, and put new ones in their place. A new middle school will also be built. The town would have to prove to the state that renovating instead of building new is more cost-effective. Groton would receive state reimbursements to cover part of the construction costs. Work on the new middle school is expected to start later this year, while the start date of the elementary school project depends on whether it will be a renovation or new construction.
ROOF PROJECT CONSIDERED IN BOZRAH
Bozrah residents are expected to decide at a February 27th town meeting whether to appropriate 1-point-45 million dollars to replace a deteriorating roof at the Fields Memorial School. The actual cost to the town would be about 535-thousand dollars due to state reimbursement. An architectural survey indicates the roof is 27 years old , and is leaking in spots. The town meeting begins at 7 PM at the school.
NIGHTCLUB FIRE ANNIVERSARY GATHERING POSTPONED
WEST WARWICK, R.I. (AP) – A ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of a Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 people has been postponed because of an expected snowstorm. The Station Fire Memorial Foundation announced the postponement Friday. The service had been planned for Sunday at a park built at the West Warwick site of the Feb. 20, 2003, fire, which injured 230 people. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the area and says heavy snow is possible and travel conditions are expected to be difficult from Saturday evening until Sunday morning. It says 4 to 8 inches of snow could accumulate. A foundation spokeswoman says the ceremony will be rescheduled for May 20. The blaze began when pyrotechnics for the rock band Great White ignited flammable foam installed as soundproofing.
RI LAWMAKER URGED TO RESIGN
Rhode Island’s Senate president is calling on a lawmaker to resign after he was arrested on charges of video voyeurism and extortion. Democratic Senate President Dominick Ruggerio says in a written statement Friday that based on what is known at this time, Republican Sen. Nicholas Kettle should resign immediately. Ruggerio says “it is deeply troubling that a member of the Senate has been indicted on charges of video voyeurism and extortion.” He says he won’t comment further until the indictment is unsealed and more information is released. Kettle is the Senate minority whip and represents the towns of Foster, Scituate, West Greenwich, and Coventry. . His lawyer calls the video voyeurism charge “nonsense” and says he doesn’t know what the extortion charge is about. Earlier this week, the head of the Senate page program was called to testify before a grand jury.
