ROUGH WEATHER COMING
BOSTON (AP) – People across the East Coast are preparing for a major Nor’easter to hit the region. Heavy rain, intermittent snow and high winds with gusts exceeding 50 miles per hour are expected as the storm moves up the Eastern seaboard, beginning in Connecticut late Thursday evening. The governor of Massachusetts says he’s activating 200 National Guard members to help with the storm. The U.S. Coast Guard is advising boaters to exercise “vigilance and extreme caution.” Authorities recommend residents of coastal communities be prepared to evacuate if necessary in advance of Friday morning’s high tide. Rain is expected to begin in Connecticut and Rhode Island on Thursday. The National Weather Service says both states will be under flood and high wind watches from Friday to Sunday morning.
LOCAL MAN CHARGED WITH HAVING POSSIBLE BOMB-MAKING MATERIALS
A Lisbon man has been arrested after police found potential bomb-making materials and several firearms earlier this year at his Kinsman Hill Road home. 37-year old Eric Gervais was charged today, after police seized an unregistered assault weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, several handguns, high-capacity magazines, and ammunition. Military manuals explaining how to make improvised explosives were taken, along with anti-government publications. Gervais was previously charged just over a month ago in connection with several domestic violence incidents. He was to appear in court today on the latest charges.
CONVICTED MURDERER COURT DATE POSTPONED
The man convicted of killing his neighborhood friend and his friend’s mother will have to wait to see if his prison sentence can be shortened. The attorney representing 39-year old Michael Bernier requested a delay as he seeks a reduction in his client’s 60-year jail term. Bernier was convicted of killing his classmate David Cluny and his mother, Elaine, in their Norwich home, when Bernier was 15 years old. Court rulings and state regulations say Bernier could become eligible for parole after completing 30 years behind bars, which will happen in 2023. Attorneys in the case will now appear in court March 9th.
OLD LYME HOUSE FIRE
Fire has caused extensive damage to an Old Lyme home. Crews were called to 9 Bayberry Ridge Road around 11:45 this morning. Smoke could be seen as far away as the Baldwin Bridge. The flames were confined to the basement and the first floor of the one-and-a-half story home. Water tanker trucks had to be brought in, as there were no hydrants. Fire was knocked down by 1 PM. Two occupants and three dogs escaped. The two people were taken to a local medical center as a precautionary measure. An investigation is underway.
BIPARTISAN GUN PROPOSAL BEING STUDIED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham say they’re working together on federal legislation modeled in part after a Connecticut law allowing authorities to temporarily restrict troubled people from having access to guns. Blumenthal is a Democrat and Graham is a Republican. Blumenthal called the proposal Thursday “a major legislative breakthrough” that differs from other bills introduced since the shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead. The bill allows law enforcement and family members to petition a court to restrict access to guns by people considered an imminent risk to themselves or others. Evidence of that risk must be presented. Connecticut’s law passed in 1999 following a mass shooting at the state’s lottery headquarters. A handful of states, including Indiana, have similar laws.
ECONOMIC RECOMMENDATIONS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – An advisory committee charged with finding long-term solutions to Connecticut’s fiscal problems is out with a package of recommendations, including major changes to the state’s tax code. Suggestions from the bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth include increasing the state’s sales tax, gasoline tax and business tax; slashing the income tax; repealing the estate tax and raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. The committee also recommends the implementation of electronic highway tolls. The committee was formed last year by lawmakers in response to the state’s budget crisis and includes mostly current and former business executives from across Connecticut. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, says he hopes the report leads to a meaningful conversation about “bold ideas for growing our economy and building stronger communities.”
SUIT FILED AGAINST WHITING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A man who says his brother was abused at Connecticut’s only maximum-security psychiatric hospital has filed two lawsuits against several hospital staffers. Albert Shehadi filed state and federal suits on behalf of his brother, William, a patient at the Whiting Forensic Division in Middletown. The state lawsuit says William Shehadi “was subjected to brutal and inhuman psychological, emotional, and physical torture” by hospital staff. Thirty-seven employees have been either charged or suspended. The suits seek unspecified damages. The state case also seeks better monitoring of Shehadi’s care. He’s been at the facility since he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1995 killing of his father. A spokeswoman for the state attorney general says the office is reviewing the suits and had no further comment.
LANZA DOCUMENTS REQUESTED FOR RELEASE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A newspaper lawyer has urged the Connecticut Supreme Court to allow reporters to examine some of the belongings of a man who killed 20 first-graders in Newtown in 2012, including a spreadsheet ranking mass murders and a violent story he wrote as a child. Justices heard arguments in the case Thursday. A decision isn’t expected for several months. The Hartford Courant and state Freedom of Information Commission are appealing a 2016 lower court ruling that said state police don’t have to release documents that belonged to shooter Adam Lanza. The 20-year-old Lanza also killed six educators and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School after killing his mother at their Newtown home. Courant lawyer William Fish told the court that Lanza’s motives are of important public concern. State officials oppose releasing the documents.
