POWER STILL OUT
MYSTIC, Conn. (AP) – Several people remain without power in Connecticut as crews work to clean up trees and utility lines felled by a powerful nor’easter. Eversource says it hoped to restore all of its customers by the end of the day on Sunday but there was still 31-hundred customers in the dark this morning. Authorities said a number of roads in the state remain closed because of debris from the storm.
A hotel in Mystic remains closed after a section of the building’s roof blew off Friday night during the storm. No one was injured and about 30 guests from the Mystic River Inn were relocated to a nearby hotel.
Many of the guests were Eversource employees who had been deployed to the area to help with power restoration.
TRIBES TO START DEMOLITION
EAST WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) – Two local Indian tribes that are proposing a jointly run casino in East Windsor are planning to participate in a demolition ceremony in the town. Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler also plan to make an announcement at Monday’s event marking the demolition of the former Showcase Cinemas, the proposed site of the $300 million casino. The two federally recognized tribes are planning the casino to compete with a new MGM Resorts casino scheduled to open in Springfield, Massachusetts, in September.
The General Assembly’s Public Safety Committee, meanwhile, has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on a bill sought by lawmakers from Bridgeport and New Haven that calls for a competitive process for developing a casino.
REID & HUGHES BUILDING ON AGENDA TONIGHT
The preferred developer for the Reid & Hughes building in downtown Norwich already has an estimated $500,000 in financing for initial stabilization work on the building but is awaiting a decision by the Norwich Community Development Corp. for the final $100,000 needed for the project. The city council will hear a progress report at 7:30 tonight on that effort, with a resolution to proceed with the development agreement or accept a notification to terminate. The council has been split on its support for the Women’s Institute’s plan to renovate the building into 20 apartments and street-level commercial space.
TRANSFER STATION MAY GO PRIVATE
Saying it’s about misuse, Bozrah First Selectman Glenn Pianka says he’s considering the idea of privatizing the town transfer station. Pianka says residents have not been getting charged correctly for disposing of bulky waste, causing the town to take a financial hit on the transfer station’s operations. Costs to operate the dump increased 17 percent over last year. The increase is attributed to the pay-as-you-throw bag program. Pianka says he’s waiting to hear back from two companies, Willimantic Waste Paper Co. and the Bozrah-based Sterling Superior Services for more information on privatizing.
A FIRST FOR STONINGTON
The town of Stonington will become the first municipality in the state to join the Connecticut Land Mobile Radio Network. The agreement comes as the town replaces the police department’s aging radio system, an upgrade that will also allow officers to talk directly to other police and fire department and ambulance companies. Police officials say the upgrades provide the “interoperability” between agencies that has become increasingly important with incidents such as school shootings and terrorist attacks happening across the country.
MORRIS RETIRES
East Lyme native and Fire Marshal Dick Morris has retired. Morris volunteered in the Niantic Fire Department as a teenager, and discovered he couldn’t get enough of the fire service. He became fire inspector in 1986 and was hired in 1990 as the full-time fire marshal. Chris Taylor will become the new fire marshal.
