Free Republic

A gay couple who adopted nine boys have been accused of sexually assaulting two of the children.But another adopted son of George Harasz and Doug Wirth insists his two fathers are innocent, and says his siblings have a disorder in which troubled foster children lash out at adults who try to connect with them.  Married 'fathers' Harasz and Wirth, who say they consider caring for hard-to-place children a personal challenge, adopted three sets of siblings, all boys, since 2000. George's two biological children and their mother also live at the large Victorian home in Glastonbury, Connecticut.       Accused: George Harasz,...

UConn interim athletic director Paul Pendergast said he was impressed with the way the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce begins its functions with the Pledge of Allegiance and how Hartford radio icon Brad Davis uses it on his WDRC show. And in the year of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Pendergast thought employing the Pledge of Allegiance before UConn basketball games would be a worthwhile tribute to the nation and enrich the university. So it has been used since the beginning of the season before the National Anthem. "I've noticed each time we do it there has...

A couple who have adopted nine boys through the state Department of Children and Families since 2000 and run a dog breeding business out of their Glastonbury home have been charged with sexually assaulting two of the boys, police said.

<p>George Harasz and Doug Wirth were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon by Glastonbury police. Harasz was charged with assaulting two children and Wirth with assaulting one, police said.</p> <p>But one of the couple's children said Wednesday night that the charges were baseless and that Harasz and Wirth were innocent.</p>

A West Hartford woman confined to a wheelchair plans to file a complaint with the Department of Justice and the town, claiming the town's emergency shelter could not accommodate her wheelchair during the storm. Sharon Denson says she couldn't get her wheelchair up to the shelter and the elevator didn't have power. Denson, who has been in a wheelchair for about 8 years due to muscular dystrophy, met with a member of the fire department who said some firefighters could carry her up. But she says that was not a reasonable solution given what could have gone wrong. "I was...

Is a fist a dangerous instrument? Lawyers spent some 50 minutes Monday arguing the question in the state's highest court as justices interjected questions. Richard Condon Jr., a senior assistant public defender, argued that Steeve LaFleur should not have been convicted of first-degree assault with a dangerous instrument. A jury found him guilty of the charge after a trial; LaFleur, who turned 36 Monday, is serving an 18-year prison sentence for the crime.

A 23-year-old man charged with killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter appeared before a judge Friday. Police arrested Fredy Alexander Chingo Riz, of Willimantic, on Thanksgiving Day. State police began an investigation Wednesday night after the victim, 3-year-old Athena Angeles, was taken from her home at 112 Hope Street in Willimantic to Windham Memorial Hospital in cardiac arrest. She died at the hospital. Thursday, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner concluded the toddler died of blunt abdominal and chest trauma and ruled the death a homicide, police said. Chingo Riz, an illegal immigrant here from Guatemala, admitted to police he...

What's the matter with Pennsylvania? That question, or the implication of it, was embedded near the end of my last post looking at whether President Obama faces an "Ohio versus Virginia" choice in plotting a path to reelection. While all this political geography is still fresh in my mind, before the latter is benumbed by the Thanksgiving repast, I figured I ought to take up the question more directly.  Here's the deal: polls at this point are of course to be taken with big rocks of sea salt, but there was a disconcerting one for Obama yesterday showing him tied...

NEW YORK – A doctoral candidate in Yale University's American Studies Program is teaching a course in "nightlife culture" that includes DJ lecturers, a field trip to New York nightlife hot spots Le Bain and the Boom Boom Room and a discussion titled "Looks, Doors and Guest Lists: Getting Past the Velvet Rope."

A typo has led to the election of the wrong man to a finance board in Derby, Conn. James J. Butler was the highest vote-getter, winning 1,526 votes for the 10-member Board of Apportionment and Taxation, which monitors the town's finances. However, his father, 72-year-old James R. Butler, was the candidate nominated by Democrats. The News Times of Danbury and New Haven Register report that he said he wants the job and that his son is not interested in public office.

Connecticut Light & Power's president and CEO, Jeff Butler is resigning, Northeast Utilities has confirmed. Northeast Utilities' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Charles W. Shivery, said Thursday the utility company has accepted Butler's resignation, effective immediately. Butler came under fire from his handling of the massive power outages during a freak October snow storm that left more than 800,000 CL&P customers without power, some for as long as 12 days. Noreen Cameron of West Hartford said one of the worst mistakes CL&P made was saying 99 percent of their customers would have their power back on the Sunday following...

They marched, yelling chants and holding signs, Occupy Hartford protesters filled the streets of Hartford under heavy police guard. Police on foot, in cruisers and on horses were present to keep the peace as a group made their way down Farmington Avenue and to the Broad Street on ramp to Interstate 84. Some even got arrested for blocking the on ramp, something the group said they planned to do as an act of civil disobedience. In the end police arrested 12 people. Earlier in the day, Matt O'Connor, whose union backs the protesters, said the demonstration was a rallying cry...

"The driver involved, Elgio Ramirez-Aguilar, 27, of 264 Blatchley Ave., New Haven, allegedly had a blood-alcohol content that was about three times the legal limit at the time of the crash. Ramirez-Aguilar was charged with driving under the influence, failure to grant right of way at an intersection, operating a motor vehicle without a license and failure to insure ... "

One person is dead and two are wounded in three shootings police investigated today. It’s too early to tell if the shootings were related, police said. Andre Kelly, the city’s 30th homicide victim of the year, was found dead of a gunshot wound by a friend on the first floor of a multi-story building at 536 Whalley Avenue. No further information was available about Kelly, whose body was found at about 7:20 p.m. Police officer David Hartman, spokesman for the department, said the apartment that Kelly was found in is located at the rear of a building that includes a...

Sen. Joe Lieberman was treated like an outcast back in 2008 when he broke from the Senate Democratic Caucus and openly opposed Barack Obama’s bid for the White House. Asked last week if he’d back Obama in 2012, the Connecticut independent said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” This time around, there may be more Liebermans. A number of moderate Democrats like Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar and liberals like Sen. Bernie Sanders are declining to give their unqualified support for the president, saying they’re either too focused on their own races or are calling on the White House...

‘Star Wars’ actress: Date with Sen. Dodd brought wild questions from Sen. Kennedy Holy Obi-Wan Kenobi! “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher claims the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) asked her some pretty frank questions while dining out with the star and former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.). According to published excerpts from Fisher’s new book, “Shockaholic,” the entertainer, best known for her role as Princess Leia, was fresh out of her first stint in rehab and on a date with a then single Dodd back in 1985. Kennedy joined the pair at dinner in D.C.. Fisher writes, “Suddenly, Senator Kennedy, seated...

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he does not feel there will be push back from Connecticut Light & Power as lawmakers look to implement changes to prevent long power outages in the future. “I think they are a greatly humbled entity and, rightly so, and I would expect a willingness to embrace best practices that are brought to their attention and I would expect they would invest in those best practices. If they fail to do so, they do so at their own risk,” Malloy said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. CL&P has been making progress on restoring power...

Nearly 12 per cent of households in Los Alamos have assets worth $1m or more. The northern New Mexico town of Los Alamos has been revealed as having the highest concentration of millionaires in America. The town, which is home to a government nuclear weapons lab, topped a report after it was found that more than one in ten households is home to a millionaire. Report findings state there are 885 millionaire households among the population of Los Alamos of around 18,000. ... Los Alamos saw off competition from Naples, Florida, which was second, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, which was third...

In Massachusetts, it’s not so much a double standard. It’s that Democrats are held to virtually no standard at all. Would Scott Brown have been elected U.S. senator if he had driven off a bridge and left a woman to die in the car? Most likely, he would be serving time instead of having a shrine built in his name. ... Do you think there would be demands for Brown’s resignation if his partner was caught running a brothel in his basement like U.S. Rep. Barney Frank’s was? Certainly, there would be a congressional investigation if Brown’s romantic interest was...

The Asylum Hair Salon, in Canton, has filed a lawsuit against Connecticut Light & Power for losses suffered during the power outage. Attorney Edward Jazlowiecki said the salon is the only plaintiff, however if other plaintiffs who suffered losses emerge, the suit can be prosecuted as a class action suit. The salon's suit was filed in Hartford Superior Court on Friday.