SCHOOL BOARD TO RE-NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS
Norwich’s School Board is hoping through contract re-negotiations, it can find the money it says it needs to properly fund the city’s schools. The panel, after meeting behind closed doors tonight with its attorneys, unanimously approves the 78-million dollars of education money the city council allocated back on June 4th. That’s 4-million short, though, of what the Board of Ed says is needed to run the schools, so it’s asking Superintendent Abby Dolliver to see if the money can be found by re-negotiating all board contracts. Dolliver is to report back to the school board in November on how successful the re-negotiations are. The school board opted not to pursue legal action against the city, something it earlier said it might consider if education funding was inadequate.
TODDLER RESCUED
WATERFORD, Conn. (AP) – First responders have rescued a toddler who fell down a Waterford home’s ventilation shaft and became stuck between the first and second floors. Kristie Mendes tells WVIT-TV she briefly left her son in a room at their home Tuesday morning when she heard screaming. Mendes returned to find 14-month-old Elijah Irizarry inside the vent. Fire officials say the child had fallen about 12 feet into a 90 degree elbow of the shaft. Firefighters used a crawl space beneath the home and took apart the ventilation duct work to rescue the child. The process took about 20 minutes. Elijah has been hospitalized with minor scrapes on his stomach and legs. Mendes says she is buying new tops for all the air vents in her home.
ONLY TWO DEMS IN GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – There will only be two Democratic contenders in the party’s primary for Connecticut governor this summer. Retired Greenwich business executive Guy Smith announced Tuesday he is reluctantly bowing out of the race after being unable to collect enough petitions to secure a spot on the Aug. 14 ballot. The contest for the Democratic nomination will now be between Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, who received the party’s endorsement at the recent convention, and Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim. He collected enough signatures of registered Democrats to petition his way onto the primary ballot. Smith is a former senior executive at the alcoholic beverage company Diageo and former special adviser to former President Bill Clinton. The most recent tabulation of primary petition signatures showed Smith had collected 10,896 of the 15,458 he needed.
STATE NATIONAL GUARD LEADER RETIRING
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The leader of the Connecticut National Guard is stepping down after more than 40 years in the military. Major Gen. Thaddeus Martin, who is retiring next week, has served as adjutant general for the state’s guard since 2005. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says Martin will be replaced by Army National Guard Brigadier General Francis Evon, Jr. of Newington. A change of command ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, July 7 at the William A. O’Neill State Armory in Hartford. During his tenure Martin has overseen the deployment of over 6,000 Connecticut Army and Air Guardsmen in support of military operations around the world as well as relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Maria and Superstorm Sandy.
LOTS OF LYME TICKS
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut officials are warning of unusually high numbers of disease-carrying ticks, especially ones that carry Lyme disease. Goudarz Molaei, director of the state Agricultural Experiment Station tick testing program, tells the Hartford Courant about 40 percent of the 2,600 ticks tested so far are carrying Lyme disease. Molaei said Monday that is a 10 percent increase over results from the past five years. A spokesman for the state Department of Public Health says June and July are peak months for Lyme disease, and about 2,022 cases were reported in Connecticut last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 300,000 people a year are infected with Lyme disease nationwide.
MORE TIME FOR ALLEGED STABBER
A Norwich man accused of stabbing someone has been given more time to hire an attorney. 38-year old Shawn Delcastillo had his case continued to August 1st in New London Superior Court. Delcastillo is charged with first-degree assault, and carrying a dangerous weapon. Police say he got into an argument with the alleged victim during a cookout behind 46 Boswell Avenue in October. Delcastillo then apparently stabbed him in the chest, and ran. He was later arrested, and is out on 150-thousand dollars bond. Medical records show the victim suffered a punctured lung.
E-B BREAKS GROUND IN RI
NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. (AP) – Electric Boat has broken ground on a new $800 million submarine manufacturing facility in Rhode Island. The project site in North Kingstown will house 14 acres of manufacturing space for submarine construction. The company anticipates adding at least 1,300 new jobs over the next decade, bringing its workforce to 6,000. U.S. Democratic Sen. Jack Reed, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, attended the event with Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin. Electric Boat President Jeffrey Geiger was also there. In addition to the new permanent jobs that will eventually be filled, officials say around 600 temporary jobs are being created in the construction phase of the project.
