An oil spill shut down a good chunk of the roads in downtown New London for hours.

The streets of downtown New London became slippery and then dusty as crews, under the guidance of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, covered them with an oil absorbent.

At about 9.30 Wednesday morning officials say a hydraulic line blew on an All Waste garbage truck. DEEP says it leaked about 65 gallons of hydraulic oil. It forced the shut down of streets mostly around the post office and town hall.

Thin paths of the oil covered several streets in New London because the garbage truck driver drove around not realizing what had happened, officials said. New London was able to keep those roads open to traffic by putting down sand.

"By the location of the leak and the engine, the noises and everything, he just didn't hear it," said New London Fire Marshal Calvin Darrow. He called it the largest hydraulic oil spill he's ever had to deal with. "It's very slippery. It's not motor oil. It's hydraulic oil. If we get any rain it's going to make the situation worse. Plus, it'll track it down to the waterways," said Darrow.

Fortunately the weather held and the DEEP reported that the leak had no impact to the environment.

But it did impact a local business at the corner of Washington and Methodist Street. The leak blocked the Thames Barber Shop Parking lot and all day owner Louis Pica, who has been in business for nearly 50 years, saw his customers just keep on driving.

"This has never happened before. What can I do about it? Nothing I can do," said Pica.

Finally one man in need of a haircut did show up but had to do a bit of maneuvering to reach the shop.

"I did a little bit of jumping. It's a bit dangerous in these shoes, but I leapt over the oil and got over it unscathed," said Sebastian DeSantis.

A representative from All Waste told NBC Connecticut that the company will cover all costs. Officials estimate that will easily be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

The representative added that this is the first time in his 15 years of being with the company that this has ever happened.

Bridgeport police are looking for the person they said gunned a man down in the Mill Street section of the city on Wednesday night.

Pablo Aquino, a 27-year-old resident of the area, was shot on Pixlee Place, less than 100 yards from the Hall School/ A private car brought him to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police are searching for Jose Miguel Torres, 36, who is considered armed and dangerous, investigators said.

Anyone who knows where he is or sees Torres is urged to call police right away at 203-581-5201 or call 911. Callers can remain anonymous.

A Long Island middle school teacher says he was forced to resign after he appeared on TV as a reality show extra in an episode where he peels off his shirt and frolics with women in a swimming pool.

Stefan Serie, 30, says he had to resign from Merrick Avenue Middle School last month because of the appearance on "Princesses: Long Island," a Bravo show.

Parents and students rallied before a board district meeting Wednesday, urging the school to reinstate Serie. 

"He's a really good coach and teacher," said Rayven Flanks, a blind ninth-grader who says Serie urged him to stick with the school's wrestling team. "He has encouraged me over the years in wrestling and in general life to never give up on my dreams." 

Serie got a letter a week after the June 2 episode aired, telling him he had to report to the school district office.

He was urged to resign, he says.

"They rescinded my tenure, took it away, and said if I do not give them a resignation letter in two days, that I would not receive unemployment benefits," said Serie, who has worked as a teacher for eight years.

His lawyer, Joseph Lipada, said his client was "never given a coherent reason as to his termination." 

Serie said a producer friend approached him about the show. He did not take part in the drinking or fighting shown in the episode, and had no interest in taping another. He said he regrets going on the show and wants his job back. 

The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District said in a statement that Serie's resignation was accepted on July 9, but declined to discuss further details.

"If you can be fired for taking your shirt off in a pool, then I don't think too many people would have jobs," said Serie. 

Parent Jeffrey Fein agreed. 

"Whether you agree with the subject matter of the TV show, he still doesn't deserve to lose his job over it," he said at the rally. "He didn't do anything illegal."

Serie and his attorney says they are prepared to file a federal lawsuit to get his job back. 

On Wednesday afternoon a third victim publicly came forward claiming Mayor Bob Filner sexually harassed her.

Special Section: Mayor Under Fire

Morgan Rose, who works as a psychologist in the San Diego Unified School District, told KPBS that Filner tried to kiss her at a meeting in January 2009.

Rose was working for an organization called America’s Angel Campaign when she met with Filner when he worked as a congressman, she told KPBS. The meeting was to help bring the issue of her organization to a national stage.

After their first meeting, Filner allegedly asked Rose for a private meeting, according to the interview. They met at a Marie Callender’s near his office, where Finer allegedly told Rose he had forwarded information about her campaign to Michelle Obama.

Rose said Filner then attempted to kiss her four separate times throughout the conversation and moved to sit next to her at the restaurant.

“He tried to move my face towards his to kiss me on the mouth,” Rose told KPBS.

She said she asked him to continue the meeting, but Filner allegedly told her he wouldn’t move until they kissed. Rose has since reported the incident to the sheriff’s department hotline.

She is the third person to publicly come forward this week, following Irene McCormack Jackson and Laura Fink.

After being accused of sexually harassing employees earlier this month, Filner released a videotaped statement admitting he needs help, but he has yet to respond directly to specific allegations.

Timeline: Bob Filner’s Term as Mayor

San Diego Democratic leaders are holding a meeting Thursday night to discuss recent allegations.

On Wednesday Filner appointed Lee Burdick, a woman, as his new chief of staff. 

Burdick said she supports the mayor's agenda of putting neighborhoods first.

“I am taking on this responsibility fully aware of the allegations and concerns confronting the Mayor and the City at this moment in history," she said in a prepared statement. "After serious introspection, I must step forward to help the City through these challenging times."

The San Diego City Attorney's office said Burdick is in charge of enforcing a rule that Filner does not meet with women alone.

A federal jury in New Haven found the former chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot nation guilty of embezzlement on Wednesday.

Michael Thomas, 45, was convicted of charging more than $100,000 in unauthorized personal expenses to the tribe.

"These fraudulent expenses continued even after they were discovered and he was told to stop," said Deirdre Daly, Acting U.S. Attorney from the District of Connecticut.

According to prosecutors, between October 2007 and April 2009, Thomas used a credit card issued to him by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to pay for satellite TV service, satellite radio service, computers and to pay for a car service to transport his mother to and from kidney dialysis treatments.

The charges were personal and not for official tribal business, prosecutors said.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation runs the Foxwoods Resort and Casino on its reservation in southeastern Connecticut.

Thomas faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine when he is sentenced on Oct. 22.

An emergency dispatcher in Hartford, Conn., is under investigation after he allegedly made a racial slur over a police radio.

The emergency dispatcher was caught on tape saying: "That's going to be 198 Fairfield Ave., same code again 71, arguing with (N-word) neighbors over trash cans."

The dispatcher corrected himself after making the racial slur inside the Hartford Public Safety Complex as he sent a police officer to Fairfield Avenue on Monday.

Ericka Mitchell, of Hartford, said the landlord was arguing with her neighbor, who is African American, over trash cans and the neighbor dialed 911.

The emergency dispatcher accused of making that slur was put on paid leave Wednesday and is now under investigation. 

"My heart feels like it's at my feet right now. That is definitely labeling and it's wrong," Mitchell said. "To me that person should never have a job.”

The recent incident comes months after a Hartford police sergeant made racial slurs over a police radio as he described people on the street.  He was disciplined and the police chief put him on permanent desk duty.

“It shows disrespect for the taxpayers who pay the salaries of the public service workers in the City of Hartford,” City Councilwoman Cynthia Jennings said. 

Jennings said the recent problems could make minorities reluctant to call 911 and trust Hartford's dispatcher and emergency responders.

"It brings about a question how people are being treated of different races and nationalities," Jennings said.

She said after this week’s alarming dispatch call, there could be some changes at the Public Safety Complex. 

“We need to take a closer look at who is being hired and who is doing the hiring,” Jennings said.
 
Officials at the dispatch center said the worker in question had never made a derogatory statement at work before Monday. 

They added, when he made that racial slur, a few African American employees were right by him and heard it.  They apparently weren’t offended and just thought he mispronounced a word.

The dispatcher is a civilian employee and not part of the Hartford Police or Fire Department.

A teenager who made headlines four years ago for impersonating a Chicago police officer has again been arrested and charged with posing as a cop.

Vincent M. Richardson, now 19, was charged Wednesday with one count of felony false personation of a peace officer, authorities said. He was arrested a day earlier after he went into the VCG Uniform store, in the 5000 block of West Irving Park Road, and posed as an Englewood District officer wanting supplies, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office.

A salesman recognized Richardson from his other brushes with the law and called police, leading to Richardson’s arrest, another store employee said.

Unlike the first time he committed a similar offense as a 14-year-old, Richardson, of the 6300 block of South Marshfield Avenue, is now charged an adult.

In 2009, Richardson made national headlines when he sauntered into the Grand Crossing District station dressed from head to toe in a regulation uniform, fooling officers into assigning him to traffic patrol -- his true identity only discovered toward the end of the shift.

• March 2009: Fake Kid Cop Drove, Made Arrest

Then-Mayor Richard Daley fumed over the incident, calling for heads to roll.

Months after that ordeal, Richardson dressed up as a businessman and pretended to take a test drive at a South Side car dealership before driving away with a Lexus.

In 2010, Richardson was sentenced to juvenile prison for pushing his mother and stealing his uncle’s car while the older man watched television.

A year after he was charged as an adult in a gun case.

Richardson received one year in prison for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to court records.

A New York lobsterman who fell off his boat and was missing for nearly 12 hours was rescued by the Coast Guard about 40 miles from the vessel, floating in the ocean using his rubber boots as a raft. 

Jonathan Aldridge was last seen Tuesday night on the 44-foot lobster vessel Anna Mary. Rescuers began searching for him when a colleague sounded the alarm Wednesday morning, officials said. 

Coast Guard crews from across New England coordinated to search more than 780 square miles of ocean. 

A helicopter crew spotted Aldridge in the choppy ocean waves about 43 miles south of Montauk -- at first just a flash of white floating in the water, briefly disappearing before his motionless body returned to view, video shows.

He was plucked from the ocean around 3 p.m. in a rescue caught on video by the Coast Guard. 

He wasn't wearing a life jacket when he fell off the back of his boat while moving a cooler.

Aldridge was released from a hospital in Cape Cod, Mass. Thursday morning and was on his way back to his family on Long Island.

His father, John Aldridge Sr., said when the family got the call that he was alive, "we just fell apart, the whole house. There was 40 or 50 people here, it was just amazing."

The elder Aldridge said his son is sunburned and has a sore throat, and has some pain under his arms from where he clung to his boots.

"Other than that, he was in good shape," Aldridge said.

His dad isn't surprised his son held on that long.

"He is that type of person," he said.

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Chicago Police Department documents, some of them marked as confidential, were found this week in a trash bin in a Wisconsin cemetery.

The manager of Prairie Home Cemetery, in Waukesha, just west of Milwaukee, said the binders contained photos of crime suspects and descriptions.

"The contents had what looked to be a publication of some sorts that said 'police confidential,'” explained manager David Brenner.

He said there were between six and eight of them, each about two inches thick.

"These were records from 2001 [and] 2002, just lots and lots of these," he said.

Chicago police officials said the reports don't contain any sensitive information but it still wasn't clear Wednesday evening who threw them out. A department spokesman said the documents appear to be old reference material, possibly study guides for police sergeants.

Anyone with information about the binders should contact the Waukesha Police Department at 262-524-3833.


 

It doesn't take a genius to know that if you don't schedule an appointment at an Apple Genius Bar, chances are you will have to wait for help.

That did not go over well with one customer, who walked into an Apple store with her baby and requested "new parts," according to a viral video. She threw a tantrum while others in the store looked on.

“I was told by Apple care that I could walk in the store and get the parts,” the unidentified woman yells in a high-pitched voice at an Apple store employee while banging her baby stroller with her hand.

An American TV actress, Porscha Coleman, filmed the rant on her phone at the Grove Apple store in Los Angeles and uploaded it to her Vine account last month, according to The UK Independent.

The short clip has gone viral.

Coleman added this caption to the video: "This lady is goin OFF in the Apple Store! LOL U don’t have an appointment, lady!"
 

Check out the Vine video here:

Flanagan Brothers, Inc., an aerospace company in Glastonbury, is slated to receive a $2.5 million loan from the state to help with an expansion plan, according to the governor’s office.

Flanagan currently has two sites—25 Mill Street and 911 New London Turnpike—and plans to consolidate them into a new building at 81 National Drive in Glastonbury.

The company started as a home business, making copper bowls and jewelry, and has grown over decades. http://www.flanaganindustries.com/Company/History.aspx

It currently has 88 employees and plans to add 20 new jobs.

The Department of Economic and Community Development will provide a $2.5 million loan at 2 percent for a term of 10 years as part of a $6.5 million expansion project, which is intended to help Flanagan meet increasing work orders from Pratt and Whitney and General Electric.

The company plans to make improvements to the new building to accommodate their heavy machinery and will purchase $3.5 million in new machinery and equipment.

They will also create 24 construction jobs and 29 support jobs.  If the company retains its existing 88 employees and creates another 20 jobs within two years, it will be eligible for $1.25 million in loan forgiveness.  
 
“The aerospace sector is poised for significant growth over the next decade and Connecticut’s aerospace industry is perfectly positioned to provide a large share of the components that will be needed,” Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement. “Supporting high-tech manufacturing growth and expansion here in our state means more good paying jobs with good benefits, and means Connecticut stays competitive in the global marketplace.”

Funding will be voted on during the next State Bond Commission meeting on July 26.
 

Garth Harries was named superintendent of New Haven public schools in a Board of Education election meeting Monday night.

Harries currently serves as the Assistant Superintendent for Portfolio and Performance Management. He has previously served as the architect of the New Haven School Change Initiative, which aims to improve the city’s graduation rate and ensure that students are properly prepared for college, according to school officials.

He was one of three finalists selected at a Superintendent Finalists Community Forum held Saturday. The community meeting drew a crowd of 200, including parents, teachers, students and community members, school officials said.

“Garth Harries has demonstrated a passion for this community, innovative leadership around school reform and a commitment to collaboration that is unmatched anywhere in this country. I am confident he will lead this school district in a bold new direction,” said Board of Education president Dr. Carlos Torre.

Torre said the board considered each finalist’s strengths and weaknesses, in addition to community feedback, in making their selection. The board voted unanimously to appoint Harries for a one-year term while a contract is negotiated.

Harries will replace former superintendent Dr. Reginald Mayo, who retired after 21 years as superintendent and 46 years with the district.

Police are investigating a reported home invasion on Campbell Avenue in West Haven this morning.

A woman told police that she was leaving for work when two armed men wearing masks confronted her, hit her in the face and forced her inside the house.

Police said the intruders confronted another person in the house and took around $10 and fled in a white vehicle.

A woman who identified herself as the landlord said the tenant was hurt during the incident and her injuries are believed to be minor.

Police were going door-to-door this morning on Campbell Avenue, speaking to anyone who might have information.

Police ask anyone with information to call, text a tip or use any of the West Haven Police apps to submit information.  Any and all information can remain anonymous.

Officer candidates braved the unusually chilly and wet July day on Thursday to train in Niantic and ultimately acquire the skills they will need for the National Guard.

Candidates from Connecticut, the rest of New England, as well as New York and New Jersey reported to Officer Candidate School at Camp Niantic this morning before the sun came up and they are pushing themselves to the limit.

"It was a little tough." David MacFarland, of Brooklyn, Connecticut, said.

The candidates here for Phase One Officer Candidate School are part of a more than yearlong program that includes extensive training and stress and endurance drills.

"Everybody has a job to do in the military and this is their opportunity to show that they can perform these basic soldier tasks," Captain Jonathan Norton, the platoon training officer, said.

One of the exercises on Thursday is called the lines of knowledge, which requires candidates to demonstrate how they can retain information.

"It's a challenge because we incorporate stress," Norton said.

Those taking part in the exercise said this is only a small part of the officer candidate school.

"Land navigation was pretty tough. We were out there for four or five days, walking around the woods for eight hours or so," MacFarland said.

Sara Graham, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, said that no matter how challenging the training is, she plans to stick it out.

"The females have a rare opportunity, where we started with over 100 candidates and only 11 females and now were down to seven, so it's an opportunity to prove ourselves even more," Graham said. "We’re doing exactly everything that the males are doing. We carry the same weight, so I think that's kind of a motivator."
 

At Johnny's Rec Room, a senior arcade in Pompano Beach, Fla., two former frequent customers walked in and then right out when they heard about the new rules.

Fliers let seniors know they're now paying for "amusement only," paying for time to play instead of for prizes like grocery store gift cards and prepaid credit cards.

Gale Fontaine, the owner and the President of the Florida Arcade and Bingo Association, has had to adjust to comply with a new state law that banned internet cafes in April. Senior arcades have been an unfortunate casualty of that law, Fontaine explained.

"When they [legislators] were asked why they were changing the way they play the games, they said they wanted to slow the play down. This lady is 94 years old," Fontaine said pointing to a regular customer. "How much more do we need to slow it down?"

The law went into effect roughly a month after nearly 60 people were arrested in connection with a racketeering investigation.

Woman Leaves 4 Kids Alone to Go Clubbing: Cops

Business owners hope the changes are just temporary, as they fight to amend the state law that's changed how they operate and which they say could ultimately shut them down for good.

Over at Oasis Super Arcade and Bingo in Lauderhill, employee Patty Mantesta faced a nearly empty store Wednesday evening.

"Three people since 4 o'clock," she said.

It was dinner time, usually a busy time for the arcade, but there were no takers.

The arcade's owners have had to retrofit machines to accept coins in order to comply. It's a gamble to try to stay afloat and has cost $50,000. Florida state law says they can no longer offer gift cards, so they've gotten creative. Customers earn tickets to buy prizes like towel sets, and earrings. The prizes are suggested by the customers themselves, but many don't love the change.

"How can he stay in business with the few people that come in?" Mantesta asked.

While some seniors are just happy to see these arcades open their doors once again.

"This is our life. Who is it harming?" asked a woman who explained the location serves as a place to socialize and stay busy.

Publix is Putting Service First in Super Market War: Forbes

Others say they may not return.

"I could go to Boomer's or Chuck-E-Cheese's and get more for my money," said a customer who didn't want to give her name.

Attorney Micheal Wolf is working on both political and legal fronts. He said mainstream arcades should be playing by the same rules.

"This law applies not only to Senior arcades and internet cafes, but also to what we would call mainstream arcades--including Boomer's Dave and Buster's and Chuck-E-Cheese's," he said.

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New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner admitted Thursday to having online sexual relationships with as many as three women after he resigned from Congress, while a new poll showed his support has eroded following the latest revelations this week.

Weiner stammered and hesitated as reporters pressed him for the number of women he messaged since the 2011 resignation, saying at one point "there were a few," then promising "it's not dozens and dozens." He tried to duck the question by saying he wasn't sure what some would consider an inappropriate relationship.

He finally admitted "I don't believe I had any more than three," in addition to the six he had already admitted to in 2011. Weiner said Thursday he was in therapy and does not consider the problem an addiction.

"I sought help, I got help, I sought the help of my wife, and like problems that people have, this one, thankfully, is behind me," he said.

The new NBC 4 New York/Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll released Thursday found Weiner's favorability rating among registered Democrats has tanked since June, from 52 percent to 30 percent, according to the poll conducted Wednesday. Over that same period, the percentage of Democrats who said they had an unfavorable impression of Weiner spiked from 36 to 55.

His lead over City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has also evaporated; 25 percent of Democrats said they'd now vote for her in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary, and 16 percent said they'd back Weiner. A poll conducted last month had Weiner leading Quinn 25 percent to 20 percent.

"These new revelations have cost Anthony Weiner the lead in the Democratic field," said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. "His negatives are at an all-time high."

The reversal puts Weiner among a pack of contenders for the second spot in a runoff, which is looking increasingly likely, as no single candidate appears able to break the 40 percent mark. Weiner is now in a statistical tie with Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and former Comptroller Bill Thompson, who are both at 14 percent.

In the back of the pack are current Comptroller John Liu at 7 percent, Bronx pastor Erick Salgado at 2 percent and former City Councilman Sal Albanese at 1 percent.

The poll questioned 551 registered Democrats, with a plus or minus 4.2 percentage point margin of error. See the full poll here.

A significant number of Democrats, 19 percent, remain undecided.

The poll focused on the Weiner revelations, which centered on a woman coming forward this week to say she had an online sexual relationship with Weiner, who used the name Carlos Danger, a year after he resigned from Congress. 

Last month's poll showed 59 percent of Democrats saying Weiner deserved another chance. After this week's news, that number dropped to 47 percent, with 45 percent saying he didn't have the character to be mayor.

Weiner's campaign did not immediately comment.

Democrats were split on whether Weiner should drop out of the race, as several candidates and newspapers have demanded. The poll found 43 percent of Democrats said he should quit, and 47 percent said he should keep running, numbers within the 4.2 percentage point margin of error.

Weiner has vowed not to drop out. 

The poll also found that 46 percent of Democrats said the sexting scandal mattered a great deal or a good amount to them when it came to deciding who to support. More than a third -- 35 percent -- said the scandal didn't matter to them at all.

The day after the press conference, Weiner told supporters in an email that he won't abandon his campaign for mayor and promised the scandalous behavior is in the past.

"These things I did, as you have read in the papers, didn't happen once. It was a terrible mistake that I unfortunately returned to during a rough time in our marriage," he wrote. 

While Weiner struggles in the mayoral race, comptroller candidate Eliot Spitzer does not seem hindered by his own sex scandal -- revelations of his involvement in a prostitution ring -- which forced him to resign as governor in 2008.

This week's poll showed that Spitzer has widened his Democratic primary lead over Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

Spitzer leads Stringer 49 percent to 32 percent, the poll found. An earlier poll had Spitzer leading 42 percent to 33 percent.

"These are two campaigns headed in different directions," Miringoff said. "Spitzer is doing well. And Weiner is floundering."

A part of the Opa-locka Executive Airport was evacuated on Thursday after depleted uranium was detected inside a 55-gallon drum and a wooden pallet.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Department of Environmental Protection were on scene at the airport _ located at 14201 NW 42nd Avenue _ trying to find a contractor to correctly dispose of the Uranium 238.

Someone had dismantled an old airplane and used the containers to dispose of the parts, said Mara Burger, DEP spokeswoman. The plane dates to the when uranium was used on the outside of aircraft for navigational purposes, she said.

The plane had been chopped up and the aluminum parts with uranium on them were put into the drums, Burger said.

One container is half full and the other is three-quarters full.

Burger said there will be an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Authorities were tipped off to the situation from anonymous caller to the state watch office run by the Department of Emergency Management.

The airport is a reliever airport to the Miami International Airport, which offers aircraft maintenance and repair services. It is also the base of the U.S. Coast Guard air and sea rescue station.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue evacuated a 150-foot perimeter to assess the hazard, spokesman Arnold Piedrahita tweeted.

The aircraft was slated for demolition, but had not yet been sent off.

Authorities said there were no injuries.

Stay with NBC6.com and NBC 6 South Florida for updates.

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Rubber Avenue in Naugatuck will be closed for several hours because of a water main break.

The road will be closed between Andrew Avenue and Hoadley Street through the evening commute, according to police.

Utility crews are at the scene. 

Drivers should avoid the area and use alternate routes.   
 

Flash flood warnings are in effect in parts of New London and Windham counties and firefighters in Norwich are dealing with street flooding in Niantic.

Among several streets that are flooded is West Town Street in Norwich.

The flash flood warning remains in effect until 3:45 p.m. for central New London County and until 5 p.m. for Windham County.

If you take photos of flooding, send them to photos@nbcconnecticut.com.

Check the interactive radar.

There was not a single nay vote on Wednesday night at the Newtown Municipal Center as residents approved taking $750,000 from the state to rebuild Sandy Hook Elementary. 

Students were moved to the Chalk Hill School in Monroe after the shooting. Earlier this month, a panel determining the fate of the school voted to build a new school at the site of the former Sandy Hook Elementary.

"It was swift. I've never seen a room that had more people that were in unison with a goal," said Skeff Bisset, whose two daughters attend Sandy Hook Elementary.

He was one of nearly 200 Newtown parents and residents to approve $750,000 from the state to allow the Sandy Hook school project to go forward.

Newtown's First Selectwoman, Pat Llodra, said this $750,000 will go to projects including design, site preparation and removal of an oil tanker from the property.

Llodra said this gives Newtown the resources it needs to continue to plan.

"[This] is evidence of the level of support we have in the community for rebuilding the school, recreating our Sandy Hook school, bringing those kids back into our community and our school," Llodra said.

Bisset said her daughters want to go back, but having this go forward helps the community heal.

The hope for Bisset's daughters and others in Newtown is to get students back to Sandy Hook by 2016.

In May, Newtown officials voted to tear the original school down and build a new one in the same spot.

Llodra said the town couldn't have done things like design without this $750,000 grant. That money is part of a $50 million state funding package for the Sandy Hook building project. 

"I'm very excited it's unanimous," Llodra said.

However, some parents couldn't get into the room because it was so full. 

"There are people still lined up outside the door who can't come in to voice their opinion," Kevin Fitzgerald, of Newtown, said, noting that he's satisfied with the decision but, "it makes a lot of people say, 'Wait a second. Is this how we should plan on spending $50 million of Connecticut taxpayers money?"

Others we spoke to said this is the room where all the meetings are held. 

"And if it's important, you get there and be there," George Ferguson, of Newtown, said.

Next up for the Sandy Hook Project is a referendum on the total amount, $50 million, that is expected to cover the total cost of the project.