HERSBT STEPPING DOWN
UConn President Susan Herbst has announced she will step down after the 2018-19 academic year. Herbst, who has led the state’s flagship university since 2011, did not give a reason for her decision in a message to the university community, only saying she felt it was the “right time for a change.” The 55-year-old Herbst, UConn’s 15th president, is the first woman to hold the job since the school was founded in 1881. Her tenure has included major investment in capital improvements at the school, including the $1.5 billion Next Generation UConn and $864 million Bioscience Connecticut initiatives, which funded major construction on the school’s campuses and at UConn Health.
JAIL FOR DANIELSON DAD
The father of three severely neglected children in Connecticut has been sentenced to eight years in prison. 25-year-old Nicolas Emory was sentenced last week after pleading guilty under the Alford doctrine to possession of child pornography and risk of injury to a minor. His brothers, James and Jason Emory, have been sentenced to five years in prison each for child pornography possession. The men were arrested after officers found the children at their Danielson home in 2017. Police say the children, ages 3, 5 and 6, were unable to communicate with adults and were still wearing diapers.
LOCKDOWN AT KELLY
Kelly Middle School in Norwich was placed on lockdown today. There’s no official word on why the lockdown went into effect, but the alert was lifted shortly after 2:20 this afternoon.
SENATOR CALLS OUT UTILTIY
Senator Richard Blumenthal is asking Eversource to reconsider a proposed 15.8% increase in natural gas rates over three years. He says the company doesn’t need the money given its windfall from federal tax reform. Blumenthal says the request is a mockery of consumer interest. But Eversource officials claim the higher rates are needed to improve the natural gas distribution system.
