NORWICH FIREWORKS NOW SUNDAY
Norwich’s annual holiday fireworks display over the city’s harbor has been moved to Sunday evening. Officials with the Norwich Events Organization say the forecast for potential heavy thundershowers Friday evening prompted the postponement. Activities will begin at Brown Park at 5 PM with food trucks, music, and other vendors. The fireworks will be shot off around 9 PM.
AGREEMENT WITH WATERFORD THERAPIST
A civil settlement agreement has been reached between a Waterford psychologist and state and federal law-enforcement officials. They’re saying that Arlene Werner will be paying more than 126-thousand dollars in light of allegations that she billed Medicaid for services she didn’t provide between January 2011 and July 2016. Officials also claim Werner falsely billed Medicaid for family therapy sessions, which have higher reimbursement rates, while she actually only provided services for individual members. Werner has been suspended for two years from participating in the state program that includes Medicaid.
HIGH-TECH JOBS PROMISED FOR CT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – A global financial technology firm is relocating its headquarters to West Hartford, marking the second announcement from state officials this week about high-tech jobs in Connecticut. Seven Stars Cloud Group Inc., or SSC, plans to transform the former 58-acre University of Connecticut branch campus after the property is ultimately sold for $5.2 million and the necessary approvals are complete. SSC Executive Chairman Bruno Wu says the $238 million project, dubbed Chain Valley, is expected to create 330 jobs over the next five years. The company is receiving a $10 million state loan for renovations to existing buildings on the campus. The loan may be forgiven if the job targets are reached. State and local officials on Monday announced a new fuel cell-based, high-speed data park being developed in the city.
VFW POST COMMANDER IS NOW LEAVING
WALLINGFORD, Conn. (AP) – A day after voicing support for a Veterans of Foreign Wars leader in Connecticut convicted for bigotry crimes as a Ku Klux Klan member, the group says it does not tolerate racism and the man has resigned. The VFW national commander said Tuesday that Scott E. Palmer stepped down as senior vice commander of Post 591 in Wallingford. A national VFW spokesman said previously it did not have concerns about Palmer’s service. The Record-Journal newspaper reported that Palmer was among several Klansmen arrested as a part of a hate crimes investigation in the 1990s. Palmer was convicted of intimidation for punching a customer outside a gay bar. Palmer did not respond to calls seeking comment. The local VFW’s Facebook page says they removed Palmer. Officials there deferred questions to the national VFW.
SUB BASE TO NOTE NATION’S BIRTHDAY
At noon tomorrow, July 4th, the Groton Sub Base will be marking our Nation’s 242nd birthday. The Saluting Battery from the Naval Submarine Support Facility’s Weapons Department will commence a 21-gun salute. The Saluting Battery will fire a single round volley at 30-second intervals until the 21-gun tribute is completed. The salute will take place at the Naval Submarine Support Facility Weapons Compound. The gun salute event is not open to the public.
WORLD WAR II AIRMAN TO BE BURIED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The remains of a U.S. airman from Connecticut whose plane was shot down over France during World War II are being returned to his family for burial. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. John H. Canty, of Winsted, was 22 when his plane was shot down on a nighttime bombing mission in June 1944. All eight crewmembers were killed. The crash was in German-held territory and U.S. forces were not able to recover the crew at the time. His remains were identified in December by scientists who used DNA analysis and other evidence. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said Tuesday that Canty will be buried July 10 in Arlington National Ceremony with full military honors.
FLAGS LOWERED
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Flags across Connecticut are being lowered to half-staff in honor of the five Capital Gazette newspaper employees killed by a gunman who attacked their newsroom. Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy says flags will be lowered for one day until sunset Tuesday, in line with a presidential proclamation for flag displays across the country. The five employees were killed Thursday by a gunman holding a grudge against the Annapolis, Maryland, publication. In response to the shooting, Malloy said last week that he stood in solidarity with “every journalist who fights day in and day out for the truth and for accountability of those in power.”
RI MAYOR NOT UPSET ABOUT TOILET PAINTING
NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – A Rhode Island mayor says he’s not bothered by an unflattering public mural of him wearing a crown and sitting on a toilet that stems from a long-simmering dispute over the building he’s called unsafe. North Providence Mayor Charles Lombardi has been involved in a dispute with building owner Anthony Farina over the structure described by the mayor as a “health hazard.” Lombardi tells WPRI-TV while the painting doesn’t bother him, he says Farina should question how he’s representing himself to the community. Paul Morse, the mural’s artist, says he has nothing against the mayor but was hired to specifically paint Lombardi on a toilet and wearing a crown. Farina did not respond to a request seeking comment.
BRING IT IN, TAKE IT WITH YOU AT RI BEACHES
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – You can have that hot dog and bag of chips on the beach; just don’t leave the trash in the sand. Officials in Rhode Island are urging beachgoers to keep state beaches clean. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management says Tuesday it’s asking Rhode Islanders to help prevent trash from becoming harmful marine debris by carrying out what they carry in to state parks. With temperatures expected to be over 90 degrees on Wednesday. The agency says it expects three times as many cars vying for the 8,000 parking spaces available at eight state beaches on the Fourth of July. The agency warns drivers to expect traffic congestion at entrance booths, and recommends having payment and vehicle registration ready.
