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Print This E-mail Link Send Letter Send Correction Groton (AP) - Connecticut's Episcopal Diocese has filed a lawsuit against the leadership of the Bishop Seabury Church, demanding it turn over control of the church property after voting to leave the national church in a dispute over theology and the appointment of a gay bishop. The Rev. Ronald Gauss was suspended from Bishop Seabury on May 3, when the diocese appointed another priest, the Rev. David Cannon, to take over. Rev. Gauss and 12 former and current church leaders were served this week with the lawsuit, which was filed in Superior...

Gov. M. Jodi Rell has signed into law Senate Bill 604, An Act Concerning Hate Crimes, which makes it a crime to display a noose as a way of harassing or threatening someone. "Connecticut simply will not tolerate bigotry or racism," Rell said. "Let this bill send that message loud and clear. Using a noose -- a symbol of the racially motivated lynchings during the late 19th and first half of the 20th century -- to intimidate anyone because of their race or any other characteristic is a repugnant and cowardly act. No one should be subject to that kind...

HARTFORD, Conn.: A man alleges that police entered his home illegally and ripped a catheter from his body during a child pornography investigation that led to the arrest of two neighbors. Andrew Glover, 60, of New Britain filed a notice with the city Thursday that he intends to pursue a federal civil rights lawsuit. He accused the officers of inflicting severe injuries as he was recovering from intestinal surgery in February. Glover's lawyer, Paul Spinella, said police entered Glover's apartment Jan. 30 and Feb. 28. Glover wasn't involved in child pornography, has not been charged and has no criminal record,...

Wallingford (WTNH) _ A Durham homeowner says bullets from a Wallingford gun range are hitting his house. Today, officials from the state, the gun range, and News Channel 8 trekked into the woods to find out more. Pat Dinatalia built a multi-million dollar home in the woods of Durham. He loves wildlife, and has seen deer, elk and even a bison on his 130 acre property. What Pat doesn't love are the bullets piercing his house. One has hit the siding, another his garage door. "I have sat out here on a Saturday or Sunday and had bullets whizzing over...

New Haven (AP) -- Congressman Joe Courtney is trying to help a Chinese woman get a visa to visit her dying father in Connecticut. State Department officials say Hai Hong Liu failed to qualify for a visa because she did not demonstrate strong enough ties to China that would compel her to return. Her father was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver as he walked across Route 32 in Montville on April 14. He's at Yale-New Haven Hospital and doctors have asked the family's permission to take him off life support. But the family wants to include his daughter in...

New Haven (WTNH) _ New Haven Mayor John DeStefano is expected to announce severe and sweeping cuts in city services this afternoon. Because state revenue is declining so fast the governor struck a deal with the Democratic leadership in the general assembly not to open up the state budget. That leaves communities who need funding for early childhood reading programs, nursing homes and services are on their own. New Haven’s mayor joined others earlier this week to express their anger. “You’re going to see incidents and things happen over the coming year that are all going to come back to...

Plainfield (WTNH) _ It's called going "AWOL" or absent without leave. A Plainfield man is facing desertion charges, which is a crime punishable by time in a military prison and dishonorable discharge. Davis Schriener, 20, is behind bars for skipping out on basic training. "Now basically his life is ruined," Michelle Franco, Schriener's mother, said. Franco says her son came home in March after leaving Fort Knox, Kentucky and after she says he was shown pictures of the realities of war. "He wants to help people. He doesn't want to be in the position of killing people," Franco said. Schriener...

The Gathering of Eagles, a patriotic organization dedicated to honoring our men and women in uniform and those who are honorable veterans, announces our latest event in honoring the graduates of the Coast Guard Academy by welcoming their families and supporters to their graduation ceremony on May 21, 2008. We will be in front of the entrance on Mohegan Ave, at the intersection of Williams and Mohegan from 7 AM to 1 PM that day, waving flags, carrying patriotic signs and singing patriotic songs in an effort to welcome the families to what is a most honored event; the graduation...

New Haven (WTNH) _ Sex. It's everywhere. Online, on the radio, on TV and on the minds of your children. "I don't think oral sex is real sex," said Georgia Wetmore of New Haven, a peer educator who works with Planned Parenthood of New Haven. "I think most teens believe that." "As long as you don't let yourself out more, to get yourself a name as a slut or a dog or something, you're cool," said Domenia Dickey of New Haven, another peer educator. "We're still learning. We're still curious. We have hormones," Georgia Wetmore, another peer educator, said. "I...

Bridgeport (WTNH) _ Mayor Bill Finch says he has a plan that will save the health clinics in Bridgeport schools. Proposed budget cuts would have closed the health centers, leaving the most vulnerable students without proper healthcare. To keep them running, but with less money, Finch says they are outsourcing the work. "The model that we're proposing would have the health centers operated by an outside entity," Mayor Finch said at a morning press conference. The outside entity will most likely be a hospital or health center. A newly formed committee will be reviewing proposals within the next three weeks....

We Shall Overeat by: Deborah Lambert, May 06, 2008 THE SKINNY ON FAT STUDIES Academia has latched onto a new and powerful victim group by introducing “Fat Studies” on several American campuses. But . . . does this subject area qualify as a scholarly endeavor—or is it merely a sob-sister counterpart to “Women's Studies?” To author/commentator John Leo, these courses fall into the category of gripe sessions that push “identity politics, the airing of grievances and demands for protection from the oppression of the non-fat world.” Stephen Balch, who heads up the National Association of Scholars, agrees, and was quoted...

The state Senate gave final — and unanimous — legislative approval Monday to a tough new bill requiring drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions connected to global warming, and the GOP leader in the Senate said he expects Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell to sign it into law.

The [Connecticut] state Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill aimed at reducing the pollution that causes global warming. Senators voted 35-0 in favor of the legislation and sent it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The House of Representatives approved it earlier. If she signs it into law, Connecticut will be the fifth state to adopt mandatory limits on global warming pollution. The state passed legislation back in 2004. But that law, which established benchmarks for air pollution reduction, was voluntary. The new bill would require total emissions to be capped at 10 percent below 1990 levels by...

Hartford (AP) _ The state Senate has given final legislative approval to a bill aimed at reducing the pollution that causes global warming. Senators voted 35-0 in favor of the legislation and sent it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. The House of Representatives approved it earlier. If she signs it into law, Connecticut will be the fifth state to adopt mandatory limits on global warming pollution. The state passed legislation back in 2004. But that law, which established benchmarks for air pollution reduction, was voluntary. The new bill would require total emissions to be capped at 10 percent below 1990...

Bridgeport (WTNH) _ Struggling homeowners looking for help because of foreclosure have a new savior to turn to. Most people pray their homes will be safe from foreclosure and now there's help in a program called Homes Saved by Faith. "We have to intervene to save people from foreclosure," said Rev. McKlusker of the Shiloh Baptist Church. More than 350 churches in Connecticut are partnering with banks and housing groups so they can stop the tidal wave of foreclosures. There are have been about 14,000 in Connecticut, with the majority of those in Bridgeport. "We need to get banks to...

New Haven (AP) -- Some New Haven aldermen are backing a "bad boy clause" as a city ordinance to punish city employees convicted of crimes by cutting off pension benefits. The Board of Aldermen's Finance Committee is recommending the proposal under which the city would revoke or reduce pension payments and post-retirement medical benefits, The New Haven Register reported. The idea was first proposed more than a year ago, but has gained much support in recent weeks. Recently, former police Lt. William White was awarded a $91,000 annual pension as well as medical benefits although he has been convicted of...

Greenwich (AP) _ Greenwich Schools Superintendent Betty Sternberg has barred recruiting by Boy Scouts while classes are in session, drawing criticism from town officials and Boy Scouts supporters. According to Greenwich Time, she says activities other than instruction are a disservice to students. School officials also say that no other organization has had such access, and they have offered after-school alternatives arrangements. First Selectman Peter Tesei, who serves on the board of the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said Sternberg does not understand the community. He also criticized her judgment. Before the current school year, Boy Scouts...

Danbury (AP) -- Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton told a Danbury church congregation that the immigration policy in the city is unfair. Sharpton is criticizing the way Danbury officials have handled the illegal immigration issue. Nine men who were nabbed after an undercover officer offered laborers work are being deported. Sharpton says he doesn't lie to people and then deport them. Sharpton was the guest speaker Sunday at New Hope Baptist Church and told the group that he plans to get arrested in New York on Wednesday. He says the action is part of a civil disobedience demonstration to...

By Brian Koonz THE NEWS-TIMES DANBURY - After blasting President Bush and the nation's immigration policy Sunday, the Rev. Al Sharpton said he plans to get arrested in New York on Wednesday as part of a civil disobedience demonstration to protest the Sean Bell verdict. Sharpton, the Brooklyn-born civil rights activist, said he plans to get arrested at One Police Plaza at 3 p.m. to protest last month's acquittals of three New York police detectives in the 50-shot barrage that killed Bell, who was unarmed. Sharpton revealed his arrest plans, the cornerstone of a six-site demonstration, at New Hope Baptist...

Erik Youngdahl and Michelle Garcia share a dorm room at Connecticut's Wesleyan University. But they say there's no funny business going on. Really. They mean it.

Joseph F. Pisani, who ushered The Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time into the digital age while wearing bow ties and surrounding himself with vintage typewriters, has left as editor of the newspapers. A replacement has not been named, and Pisani declined to comment for this story. "The nucleus of the team Joe built and worked with is still there and will continue," said John Dunster, publisher of The Advocate and Greenwich Time. "Finding a replacement for him will be important within the company but also for the communities. . . . He will be hard to replace." Dunster echoed the...

Folks, I want to invite all Freepers and Lurkers in good standing to attend the rally to welcome the families of the graduating cadets of the Coast Guard Academy on May 21, 2008. Vice President Dick Cheney will be the honored speaker.

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   Renewed Attack on Privacy of Gun Buyers   Friday, May 02, 2008   This week, anti-gun U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) registration legislation that would invade the privacy rights of law-abiding gun owners.Cosponsored by like-minded Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Charles Schumer (D-NY), S. 2935 would, among other things, require the FBI to retain records of cleared firearm transactions for at least 180 days.  Current law requires...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Patients who believe they suffer long-term problems from Lyme disease are claiming victory over a national doctors group. The Infectious Diseases Society of America has agreed to review its guidelines, which say there's no evidence long-term antibiotics can cure "chronic Lyme" disease — or even that such a condition exists. The agreement settles an unprecedented antitrust investigation by Connecticut's attorney general over the matter. The doctors group makes clear that current guidance for treating Lyme disease remains in place. But that didn't stop claims of success by the attorney general and people who believe they suffer long-term...

Danbury (AP) -- Danbury police say they've arrested four Ridgefield teens after a video of six teens vandalizing a 112-year-old mansion turned up on the Internet. Police say the teens allegedly vandalized Hearthstone Castle and then posted the video of it on YouTube as well as a Web site created for bored Ridgefield children. A Danbury detective has used the video to charge three 17-year-olds and an 18-year-old with third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree criminal trespass. The video shows a group kicking in rotten floorboards inside the 112-year-old former residence in Tarrywile Park, which was purchased by the city in...

Hartford (AP) _ A bill that mandates certain employers provide their workers with sick leave has cleared a major hurdle. The Senate passed the bill Thursday night, on a 20-16 vote, despite concerns raised by some Republicans that the legislation could hurt business, lead to higher property taxes, and is ill-timed given the poor economy. But Sen. Edith Prague, a Democrat from Columbia, says the bill is about helping human beings, not businesses. She says there are about 631,000 workers in the state without paid sick time. Many, she says, have to go to work ill, unable to risk a...

WEST HARTFORD - Instead of going to second period this morning, Conard High School sophomore Danielle Deptula led a walkout of about 85 teens in protest of the Iraq War. "I think a lot of people probably don't care about the war, but that's what we're trying to do now -- make our country aware that the youth, who is eventually going to run this country, does care about the war and our relationships with other countries," said Deptula, 16, as she began the two-mile trek to West Hartford Town Hall, where students held an outdoor protest rally. Conard junior...

New Haven (WTNH) _ Citizen bike patrols may soon be canvassing the Elm City with more than just bikes. They may take to the streets packing guns again. Folks living in Edgewood Park area say the sound of summer is back. "In this neighborhood we've had quite a few of the shootings," one neighborhood resident said. Now one neighborhood activist is asking for better police protection. "Visible presence means visible presence. Two offices on bicycles from four to midnight," Eli Greer of the Edgewood Park Defense Patrol said. Greer is best known for organizing controversial armed bike patrols last summer,...

Through fiscal gimmickry and malfeasance, our state "leaders" have amassed long-term debts totaling $54.2 billion, even while their constituents suffer the heaviest tax burden in America. Their state budget is poised to begin yet another bust cycle. The sums they waste and the dollars they devote to patronage every year are staggering. Yet they still fancy themselves as fiscal gurus, so much so that they want you to trust them with your nest egg. As the legislative session winds down, majority Democrats are pushing a state-sponsored 401(k) plan for the private sector. The program would be designed to serve people...

Here's the problem with Chris Matthews playing footsie with the idea of running for US senator from Pennsylvania. When I hear him say something nowadays, I often can't help but wonder whether he means it, or is just trying to position himself for a possible run. Take this evening's Hardball, during which Matthews went off on Joe Lieberman, castigating him as a "terrible" running-mate for Al Gore in 2000. Kiki McLean, a senior Clinton advisor, was Chris's guest. She mentioned that she had served as an aide to Lieberman in 2000, and to Gore when he was the Veep candidate...

Two horrifying crimes have exposed serious weaknesses in Connecticut’s criminal justice system. But a “three strikes and you’re out” law proposed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell and Republicans in the Legislature would do more harm than good. Last July two recently paroled men broke into a home in Cheshire and tortured and murdered three people. Last month a man who served more than eight years for assaulting a 5-year-old — and had been out on probation for less than a month — broke into a New Britain home. He accosted two women, wounding one and killing the other. Republicans, led...

Hartford police officers recovered about 400 illegally acquired firearms last year. Those weapons didn't pop up out of thin air. People who owned or had access to legal firearms either lost them or sold them to convicted criminals, the mentally ill and other people who were unauthorized to own guns. Many violent urban crimes and college campus shootings could be prevented if Congress would pass laws to impose foolproof methods of stopping legal guns from getting into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, efforts to pass such laws are often thwarted by the powerful National Rifle Association gun lobby on grounds that...

Should the state create a 401k plan for self-employed residents and small businesses?

Harvard looks to Yale as arts model A team of Harvard officials looked to Yale as a model for the arts in a visit to campus on Monday. Several members of the Harvard Task Force on the Arts, including students and faculty, traveled to New Haven to examine up-close Yale’s way of organizing and supporting the arts on campus. Task Force members, who toured Yale facilities and met with graduate and professional school deans Monday, said the visit highlighted the differences between the arts at the two universities, particularly in how they are financed and divided between undergraduate and graduate...

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Frustrated by the paralysis in Washington over combating climate change, Gov. Schwarzenegger and officials from 17 other states signed a pledge Friday to pressure Congress and the next president to quickly adopt aggressive limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. "Washington is asleep at the wheel, and we can't wait for them," Schwarzenegger told a large crowd at a Yale University climate conference that included three other governors, the premiers of two Canadian provinces and officials from Mexico and Europe. The 18 states represent more than half of the U.S. population, and state officials said their declaration would help...

Waterbury (AP) -- Students who pass Advanced Placement tests at Wilby High School in Waterbury will be getting hard cold cash rewards. The students who pass their final AP tests next year will earn $100 for themselves for every test they pass. The cash rewards are part of a new program to expand student participation in Wilby's Advanced Placement program. It's funded by a $451,113, grant from the National Math and Science Initiative. In applying, Wilby Principal Robyn Apicella committed to doubling the current 112-student enrollment in AP classes. The grant will not only pay out the cash rewards, but...

Should students receive cash incentives for scoring well on final AP tests?

Hamden (WTNH) _ A brother and sister face multiple charges in connection with dehydration death of a 23-month-old toddler who was being punished for wetting the bed, police said. Sharon Patterson, 39, and her brother Robert Patterson, 31, are expected to be arraigned today in the death of Amari Jackson. Amari Jackson was dropped off by his mother at a Putnam Avenue apartment in Hamden, apparently for a play date. But he stayed for two weeks and police say Sharon Patterson began using some questionable and cruel babysitting tactics -- not allowing him to drink any liquids. "Part of the...

New Haven (AP) -- A new report shows Connecticut's middle class and poor families pay a higher percentage of their income in state sales and local taxes than the wealthiest families. The report by Connecticut Voices for Children is based on an analysis of state and local tax data, the New Haven Register reported. The report says the wealthiest Connecticut families pay 4.7 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Middle-class families pay 9.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes. The report shows the poorest 20 percent pay 10.9 percent. Opponents of increasing taxes for...

While conservatives inside the administration are unhappy about intervention in markets, President Bush seems content with how the Federal Reserve and Treasury cooked up the deal with erstwhile colleagues in Wall Street. There is little conservative or Republican about the administration's approach to the fiscal crisis, as reflected in Room G-50. Uncritical Democratic senators were not even inquisitive. The closest a senator came to asking who set the price for JPMorgan was this apologetic question from Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd: "There's just reports -- I want to share them with you -- that JPMorgan Chase would make an offer of...

     Connecticut Is For Lovers – And Murderers April 10, 2008 In a game of one-upmanship, Connecticut has decided that it is a state for both lovers and murderers.  But, please, hate crimes need not apply. Connecticut and its Democrat controlled Judiciary Committee, which “has been at the helm for 22 years and...has written all the laws governing crime and punishment” never saw a hate crime bill they didn’t love. The Democrats have seen to it that if someone even “intends to intimidate or harass a person...because of their actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity...

Please mark the date and make reservations now!  NJRTL will hold their Annual Banquet Dinner on Friday, April 11, 2008,  from 6:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Sheraton at Woodridge Place, Islin, NJ, (732) 634-3600 located about 1 mile from the Garden State Parkway. They are very pleased to announce that their featured speakers for this year's Banquet are: Judge Andrew Napolitano, NJ Superior Court Judge and Fox News CommentatorDr. Alveda King, Founder of King for America, Inc., and Silent No More Awareness Campaign, Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney GeneralPlease call their office to reserve tickets now and consider hosting a table...

WASHINGTON - Federal investigators have found that Sen. Joe Lieberman's re-election campaign caused its Web site to crash on the eve of the August 2006 primary, a collapse he had blamed on supporters of Democratic challenger Ned Lamont. "In short, the server that hosted the joe2006.com Web site failed because it was overutilized and misconfigured," according to an Oct. 25, 2006, e-mail included in FBI documents obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. "There was no evidence of (an) attack." Investigators added that, once reported by the media, the accusations by Lieberman's campaign helped overwhelm the Web site on primary day,...

Charged With Forging Transcript, Recommendation. With straight A's and a strong recommendation from a Columbia professor, Akash Maharaj had no trouble transferring to Yale. He managed to get through a full year at the university before anyone realized that his application was a fraud. Students had already gone home for the summer when Yale quietly revoked Maharaj's admission last spring and pressed criminal charges. Now living in New York City, the 26-year-old native of Trinidad is charged with forging his Columbia transcript and deceiving Yale to collect $47,000 in financial aid. The unusual story of how a young man faked...

Bridgeport (WTNH) _ Connecticut's economy may be in a slump but business opportunities are opening up in Bridgeport right now. The city is getting serious about making sure minority contractors get their share of lucrative projects. In Bridgeport, often times, race stopped contractors from getting big jobs and crippled business. Now, the city is looking to even the score. Erron Simmonds, of E.B.S. Investments, has been a contractor in Bridgeport for half a decade. But getting big contracts in the Park City has not been easy. "I believe that the larger businesses in this general area are owned by people...

Waterbury (WTNH) _ A long-standing symbol in the Waterbury skyline has come down. The Waterbury Holy Land cross has stood for decades, a monument to faith and a landmark for Waterbury. The 50 foot cross was part of Holy Land and Anthony Proto grew up next to it. "We used to come here as kids, myself and my brother, and we used to help John Greco and his brother carry materials and help him build the place up here actually," Proto said. Waterbury lawyer, John Greco, built Holy Land in the 50s and 60s and it had miniature versions of...

NORWICH, Conn. — U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said Friday he has no interest in being vice president on the McCain ticket or in accepting a cabinet post should the Arizona Republican win the presidency in November. “I’m not supporting John with the hope of getting anything else,” Lieberman said at a meeting of the Norwich Bulletin’s editorial board Friday afternoon. “When I decided to endorse him I didn’t think he’d win (the Republican nomination).” Lieberman, a former Democrat who sits with the Senate’s Democratic Caucus, has endorsed McCain and has campaigned extensively with him. He has been widely rumored...

HARTFORD, Conn. - Former Republican senator and Connecticut independent Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. endorsed Barack Obama's presidential bid Friday, saying the Illinois Democrat "has the smarts, quite frankly, to do a damn good job." Weicker, 76, said Obama's positive outlook, vision for the country's future and common sense made him the obvious candidate to endorse. "Even though I'm almost 77 years old, I want a fresh start and a young start for this country," Weicker said. "I think we've had enough of the old-timers in both parties." Weicker, a former U.S. congressman and senator, was elected Connecticut's governor in...

Milford (AP) -- An East Haven man has been charged with shoplifting after he allegedly tried to blame his toddler son with the theft. Twenty-nine-year-old Louis Fallon was nabbed at a handicrafts shop at the Westfield Connecticut Post Mall Wednesday The charges involve a wooden box worth $32.95 in a bag attached to the rear of the 23-month-old child's stroller. Fallon allegedly told police the child swiped it without his knowledge. But police say it would have been physically impossible for the toddler to lift the box. Fallon then allegedly tried to blame his wife. Police say he later told...

DANBURY -- Keeping an eye on unusual activity in your neighborhood can often be the best prevention against a home invasion or other crimes, local law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Responding to renewed concerns raised by a Sunday home invasion in New Britain -- when two women having morning coffee were attacked by an intruder -- police said keeping an eye on your environs can often be your best defense. "People have to be alert," Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said. "Our best eyes and ears are our residents. They know better than anyone if something appears out of place."...