TROOPER FUNERAL
EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Police from across the country gathered in Connecticut for the funeral of a state trooper killed in a highway crash last week. The service for Trooper 1st Class Kevin Miller was held Friday at the Rentschler Field football stadium in East Hartford. Miller’s family and friends were joined by hundreds of police officers on a cold, snowy April day. The 49-year-old trooper was a 19-year veteran of the force who also served in the Marines. He died on duty March 29 when his cruiser rear-ended a slow-moving tractor-trailer on Interstate 84 in Tolland. The cause remains under investigation. Trooper David Piela said Miller was a Marine, a trooper, a friend and amazing father to his two children, ages 10 and 13. Burial plans were private.
GROTON ASSAULT
A man remains held on 5-thousand dollars bond after being accused of assaulting a woman in Groton over a disagreement regarding child care. Local police say 36-year old Scott Brown, whose address isn’t known, was in a Hickory Drive residence arguing with two adults there about the care of his child, whose in the custody of the two residents. Police say Brown threatened to kill himself with a knife, and injured a woman there when she tried to take the knife away. Police say Brown had to be tasered before being arrested. He’s due in court May 9th.
LAMONT GETTING UNION SUPPORT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Greenwich businessman and Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ned Lamont is receiving signs of early support from organized labor, leading an unofficial straw poll of Connecticut AFL-CIO delegates. Lamont was one of five Democratic contenders who spoke Friday at the union organization’s multi-day political convention. When delegates reconvene June 22, they’re expected to make endorsements for U.S. Senate, 5th Congressional District, various General Assembly seats and potentially governor, attorney general and treasurer. Gubernatorial candidates will need support from two-thirds of the delegates to receive the AFL-CIO’s endorsement. Lamont received 48 percent Friday.Final considerations for endorsements won’t happen until Aug. 31, the last day of the convention. Convention delegates on Friday did endorse the four incumbent Democratic U.S. House members seeking re-election, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and Comptroller Kevin Lembo.
NL LITTLE LIBRARY
A special gift for the New London Police Department. The FBI Citizens Academy Alumni Association has presented the force with a so-called Little Free Library. It’s a public bookcase that will be placed inside the lobby of the New London PD. Police Chief Peter Reichard says it’s a great way to promote children’s literacy. Reichard says he’s hoping the Little Free Library will encourage children to visit the police department not just to find a good book, but to chat with officers.
TAX CREDITS FOR LOCAL HOUSING PROJECT
A planned affordable housing complex in Montville received a big boost Friday. Oxoboxo Lofts received more than 1-point-4 million dollars in Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits. The project will convert an historic mill complex in the town to a 72-unit facility. The award is a part of more than 8-million dollars worth of tax credits for various low-income housing projects throughout the state.
FLU EPIDEMIC SUBSIDING
THOUGH THERE’S STILL ABOUT A MONTH LEFT IN FLU SEASON, CONNECTICUT– FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON— RECORDED NO NEW FLU-RELATED DEATHS LAST WEEK….. BASED ON THE STRENGTH OF THE VIRUS, STATE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSIONER DOCTOR RAUL PINO SAYS THEY WERE PREDICTING UP TO 300 DEATHS THIS YEAR, COMPARED TO THE 131 TALLIED BY HEALTH OFFICIALS. HOWEVER, PINO SAYS OFFICIALS ARE STILL BRACING FOR A SURGE IN THE INFLUENZA-B STRAIN OF THE VIRUS— WHICH LARGELY AFFECTS CHILDREN.
