On this date last year most of the state was in a severe drought running a nearly 12 inch year to date rainfall deficit.
A much different situation this year and much of that reason is thanks to a very wet October.
This year we're running an over 3 inch surplus from January 1st until today (November 2nd.)
The City of New Britain is threatening legal action against Pan Am Railways after asking them to reimburse the city for the thousands of dollars it cost to deal with a December 2016 derailment.
The derailment cost the city just over $78,000. New Britain city officials told NBC Connecticut that Pan Am Railways wanted to settle for $38,432, which totals the approximate cost of the city’s emergency response, equipment and overtime, after a Pan Am train derailed on Columbus Boulevard.
Part of a settlement states that Pan Am, who was at fault for the derailment, would remove the rest of a brick wall that was damaged.
After the city said they reached an agreement with the railroad company, they were supposed to receive half of the money in September and the other half in October, but the city said they have not received a dime.
"They originally agreed on the settlement price of and now they’re turning their back on that and saying we’ve changed our mind. Well, you promised us that you would reimburse us and now you’re changing your mind? We want to know why," Mayor Erin Stewart said.
"They have a deadline of November 15 to pay up the amount of money that they owe us and if not, we’ll be moving forward with a lawsuit for the damages that we had to incur," the mayor continued.
Prior to the settlement agreement, Stewart said it took getting state senators involved so that the city could hear back from Pan Am.
Pan Am chose not to comment.
Power crews made a lot of progress getting the lights back on after major storms pounded Connecticut on Sunday and into Monday.
More than 180,000 customers were in the dark at the height of the storm and there are still families without power four days later.
Ledyard was one of the towns hit hardest by the winds and rain. While a majority of residents have their power back up and running as of Thursday afternoon, it doesn’t mean all wires are cleared from the road.
In fact, some parents who live on Overlook Road in Gales Ferry have to travel about a half mile to get their kids to the bus stop.
Ledyard School Districts’ superintendent said the buses will not drive over wires, even if they’re not live.
"I expected when they took the tree down they would at least remove the power lines, at least to the side of the road, so that buses and cars could pass," Kris Viviano, who lives on Overlook Road, said.
The street only has one way in and one way out. For a couple of days, the majority of residents were trapped on their street because of storm debris.
Viviano has been walking about a quarter mile to and from the temporary bus stop every day to get her twin 6th graders to make sure they don’t touch one of the downed wires.
"Very frustrating," 11-year-old Luca Viviano said.
But the family said they appreciate the school and bus drivers being extra safe.
The family has also been spending every night at grandma's to stay warm while their power was out. However, on Thursday, day four of darkness, power was restored to their home.
It’s something neighbor Vincent Coronis was extremely excited about.
"I left my job and came home," Coronis said. He spent the day catching up on laundry and dirty dishes.
Downed wires blocked Coronis’ driveway after Sunday’s storm. The ones outside his home and on the street don’t belong to Eversource, but crews taped them off Thursday.
On Shewville Road in Ledyard, clean-up continued for 87-year-old Edward Gladue and his grandson. Gladue was dealing with six downed trees and said he is planning on taking down two more trees so they don’t fall over during the next big storm.
MetLife is laying off 61 workers in Bloomfield.
“After evaluating how to service a portion of our business we will not be retaining, the decision was made to eliminate the roles currently servicing this business. As a result, approximately 61 positions are being eliminated at our Bloomfield, C.T. site, effective December 31, 2017. These decisions are not a reflection on the valuable contributions of the affected employees, and all will be eligible for severance pay and benefits, including outplacement services,” Kayla Goodwin, from MetLife global communications, said in a statement.
A pedestrian was struck at the entrance of a Stop & Shop in Meriden on Thursday night.
Police are at the grocery store located at the corner of East Main and Broad streets.
The extent of the victim's injuries is not clear.
No other details were immediately available.
The O'Brien Stem Academy in East Hartford will be closed on Friday.
Officials said there will be no classes on Nov. 3 because of a blocked sewage pipe.
No other details were immediately available.
New Britain police are investigating after a trick-or-treater found a razor blade in the packaging of a strawberry wafer.
Police said they were alerted about the razor blade in the Halloween treat because children at a school were talking about it.
The razor blade was in the packaging the wafer was in, according to authorities.
No additional information was available.
The University of Hartford is taking swift action in the wake of a disturbing incident between two students.
Former freshman Brianna Brochu is accused of tampering with her black roommate’s possessions, including putting blood on her backpack and moldy clam dip in her lotion, among other allegations.
"It really should not have come to this level," freshman Parker Morano said.
The university administration agrees. University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward is engaging in a student dialogue with the hope of coming up with concrete answers.
"We are going to review our practices, review our process, review how the whole thing unfolded," Woodward said.
The victim, Chennel Rowe, shed some light on the situation in a Facebook Live post that has been seen hundreds of thousands of times.
"While I’ve been here I have been getting sick, not knowing why I’ve been getting sick," Rowe said on the Facebook post.
While some students said the situation could have been addressed sooner, Woodward insists the university acted swiftly by launching an investigation the moment it came to light.
"The victim and the university found out about the situation at the same exact moment in time," Woodward said. "Within five minutes of that moment of time, our safety and security team people were at her room."
Woodward calls the situation a "wake up call" and "a chance to do better." Through open dialogue and educational sessions, Woodward hopes to tackle the difficult topic of race with the hope of creating a positive from this negative situation.
On Wednesday night, university leaders met with the Brothers and Sisters United Student Group, who held a multicultural meeting about the incident to allow students and speakers to talk about race on college campuses.
"The black community, right now, we are really hurting because for us we just look at ourselves and we think wow this could have been us," sophomore Jade Baker said.
"There is an awful lot to do to fix the way people feel and that is what I am interested in," Woodward said.
Brochu is no longer a student at the university and she is facing charges of breach of peace and criminal mischief. In court on Wednesday, West Hartford police asked the judge to add a charge of intimidation based on bigotry and bias.
Woodward said he has met at length with Rowe and offered whatever support from the university she may need.
Hartford police said they are searching for suspects involved in a hate crime related assault that happened on Wednesday.
The victim told police he was walking west on New Britain Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on Halloween when four unidentified teenagers starting yelling remarks about the man's sexual orientation, Hartford police said.
Police said the victim became afraid for his safety and began running. The suspects caught up with him and hit him multiple times with closed fists.
The teens ran off. The victim sustained injuries but did not require medical attention.
No other details were immediately available.
Barbara D’Occhio was out $832 after she paid Meriden-based Silver Mill Tours for a now-canceled September bus trip for two to the Adirondacks. For weeks, she struggled trying to get her money—or even a phone call—back.
"If she just called and said, 'I’m working on it, I’m a little short of money, just be patient with me'," said D’Occhio. "It was the fact that she never answered my calls."
She told NBC Connecticut Responds she paid the full amount back in July, after seeing an ad in the paper.
"It was a little expensive," D’Occhio said. "But I said, 'Let’s just go'."
In August, Silver Mill sent her a letter saying not enough people signed up. The company offered to refund or rebook D’Occhio and her husband for a different trip.
"All the trips were to baseball games in New York and Massachusetts, and things like that," D’Occhio said. "I was not one bit interested."
After agreeing upon the refund, D’Occhio waited six weeks, leaving voicemails and speaking with receptionists. Her last call was to NBC Connecticut Responds.
When Responds reached out to Silver Mill Tours, the owner said she had no comment but decided to send D’Occhio a check for all $832.
A masked gunman opened fire in an Uptown Starbucks coffee shop Thursday night on Chicago's North Side, killing one man and wounding two other people, including a 12-year-old boy, authorities said.
The shootings occurred about 8:15 p.m. in the 4700 block of North Broadway Street, police said.
The 12-year-old was shot in the groin and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in critical condition, police said. The boy's condition later stabilized.
The wounded man, who police said was in his 20s, was shot and took himself to Weiss Hospital. His condition was not immediately known. Another man, also in his 20s, was shot and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The man killed was identified Friday morning as 28-year-old Sauvignon Watkins of Chicago's Avalon Park neighborhood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
Chicago police Cmdr. Marc Buslik, of the 19th District, told reporters outside the Starbucks the shooting was possibly preceded by a botched drug deal between the shooter and the man who died in the coffee shop. He said the deal might have occurred on Wilson Avenue east of Broadway Street.
The man was chased into the Starbucks by the shooter, who was wearing a mask of some sort and dressed in dark clothing, Buslik said. The shooter opened fire inside the coffee shop, he said, fatally striking the man. The two others who were wounded were standing near the man who was killed, police said.
Buslik said police believe the wounded boy and man knew the dead man but did not elaborate on their relationship.
"We believe that the three victims did know each other," he said, adding that he did not know if either of the men were the child’s father.
A person who answered the phone at the Starbucks location calmly said he was not allowed to talk to media.
Starbucks spokesman Reggie Borges said the company was "dismayed" by the shooting.
"We are working with law enforcement to better learn specifics of what transpired and support our customers and partners," he said. "We hope to provide updates as soon as we learn more.”
A statement on the company's website Thursday said the store would be closed Friday morning "as we focus on our local store partners, ensuring they have the support they need."
Kendra Nance said she was walking by the coffee shop with her boyfriend when they heard gunshots.
"I thought it was firecrackers," she said. "But when I seen people coming out, they started crying … I seen blood everywhere … I seen a dead body."
No one was in custody and Area North detectives were investigating.
Route 10 in Cheshire is closed after a crash involving three tractor-trailers and one car. Two people have been taken to the hospital and the road will likely be closed until at least 8 a.m.
Five people were involved, three from the tractor-trailers and two from the car. No information was immediately available on the extent of injuries.
Police are at the scene investigating the multi-vehicle crash near the intersection of Highland Avenue and Interstate 691.
The Cheshire Police Department Traffic Division is responding to the scene and police are encouraging people to avoid the area.
The lockdown is over at Enfield High School, according to the superintendent, who said a parent contacted the school and said one student threatened another.
The students believed to be involved were location and there were no weapons, according to the superintendent.
Police said a female student got into an argument with another and communicated with that student overnight that she was going to enlist her boyfriend to harm the other student.
The student who received the threat told school officials what happened when she arrived as school.
Police found the student who was suspected of making the threat within 10 minutes and police said they were looking for the boyfriend.
No one at the school was in danger, police said.
The superintendent’s office said they found the students involved and there were no weapons.
The superintendent said there was an incident around school arrival time, they are looking for a student and there is no immediate threat to students or staff.
No additional information was immediately available.
Check back for updates.
Twin 67-year-old sisters from Texas and Arizona died after being swept into the ocean by a massive wave in Mexico.
Barbara Thomas, of McKinney, and Beverly Skrimpsky, of Scottsdale, were hit by the rogue wave while vacationing in Cabo San Lucas on Sunday.
The twins were lifelong best friends who traveled the world.
"They're special people. Anybody that knew them loved them," said Steve Thomas, Barbara's husband of 45 years.
Thomas said he went looking for his wife and her sister when they didn't return from a morning walk on the beach and ended up running for his life.
"All of a sudden a five foot wave was a 10 foot wave, it was a 15 foot wave, it was a 20 foot wave all in the matter of time that it took for me to just tell you that. That's how fast it happened," Thomas said.
Thomas said he knew something was wrong when he spotted one of the women's sandals on the shore.
Security notified him when he returned to his rental house that the coast guard found the women in the water, he said.
"It's hard," Thomas said. "When you have somebody that you love that much that they've been your life your whole life."
It wasn't the first time an accident like this happened recently.
Steven Urycki, of Illinois, died after being swept into the ocean the week before.
"A guy dies five days before this and nobody says a word?" Thomas asked.
He said he had no idea the threat of a rogue wave even existed and hoped that sharing the story prevents others from meeting the same fate.
"I've lost the love of my life just because she's out walking on the beach," he said.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is warning travelers to Cabo about dangerous wave conditions with strong currents, rip tides and rogue waves.
"Not all hazardous beaches in this area are clearly marked. Swimmers, waders and even people simply walking along the beaches have been washed into the ocean by rogue waves," the warning says. "Some have drowned and others have disappeared."
The University of Hartford is starting a student NAACP chapter in the wake of a disturbing hate crime incident between two students.
University of Hartford President Gregory Woodward has been speaking with students in the hopes of coming up with answers.
“The harsh reality is that racism in America is right here on our campus. We are a reflection of the society at large. It is disturbing and inexcusable and is not spoken about nearly enough. We must all speak up, speak out, and be relentless in our pursuit of a more inclusive environment for our students. Acts of racism, bias, or other abusive behaviors will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form on this campus,” Woodward said in a statement.
The victim, Chennel Rowe, shed some light on the situation in a Facebook Live post that has been seen hundreds of thousands of times.
"While I’ve been here I have been getting sick, not knowing why I’ve been getting sick," Rowe said on the Facebook post.
While some students said the situation could have been addressed sooner, Woodward insists the university acted swiftly by launching an investigation the moment it came to light.
On Wednesday night, more than 400 students, faculty members, administrators, alumni, representatives from the NAACP and community leaders held a student-run multicultural meeting about the incident to allow students and speakers to talk about race on college campuses.
“There is clearly work to be done at our University. That work has already begun,” Woodward said in a statement Thursday. “Last night, more than 400 students, faculty, administrators, alumni, representatives from the NAACP, and community leaders attended a student-led meeting. They voiced concerns, asked questions, and offered suggestions for steps we can take to address real issues of inclusivity on our campus. One initiative we are immediately putting into place is to begin a student NAACP chapter at UHart. We will continue providing opportunities for students to make their voices heard. I will do whatever is needed to make this campus welcoming to all, including meeting on a regular basis with students to keep this issue at the forefront of our thoughts.”
Woodward said the meeting that hundreds of people attended was the first moment of optimism he’d had “since learning of the heinous incident.”
He said the university community is ready to come together and fight to make a change.
Brochu is no longer a student at the university and she has been charged with breach of peace and criminal mischief. On Wednesday, West Hartford police asked the judge to add a charge of intimidation based on bigotry and bias.
Woodward said he has met at length with Rowe and offered whatever support from the university she may need.
Fitchville Road in Bozrah will be closed for much of the day after a water main break Friday morning.
The water main break is in the area of 163 Fitchville Road.
The road could be closed until 6 p.m. or 8 p.m.
Rates will be going up for Eversource and United Illuminating customers in Connecticut.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority released information Friday on the new rates after Eversource and UI recently submitted proposed winter cycle rates.
As of Jan. 1, Eversource's residential generation rate will go up from 8.01 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 9.08 cents/kWh.
Eversource said the average residential customer using 700 kilowatt hours of electricity each month will see an increase of approximately $7.45 per month on the supply portion of their bill. Each customer’s total bill depends on how much energy they use, their rate category, and weather conditions.
UI's residential generation rate will change from 7.6 cents/kWh to 9.66 cents/kWh.
The Standard Service generation service rates for other residential and business customer classes are also set to change with the new rate effective from Jan. 1 to June 30.
A Florida woman was arrested Thursday for riding a horse while intoxicated, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Donna Byrne, 53, was charged with a DUI and animal neglect for putting the horse in danger of being injured or killed, the department said. According to officers, she smelled of alcohol, had watery, red eyes and was staggering while saddled on the creature.
Byrne was riding the horse on Combee Road near North Crystal Lake Road in Lakeland when officers responded to the scene. An onlooker initially reported the incident to police, saying Byrne looked like she was confused or in danger.
After arriving on scene, officers conducted a field sobriety test and found that Byrne had a breath alcohol level of .157 and .161. The legal limit in Florida is .08. Byrne was then arrested and the horse was transported to the Polk County Sheriff’s Animal Control livestock facility.
Byrne has previously been charged with five felonies and 10 misdemeanors, including cruelty to animals, drug possession, probation violation and criminal traffic.
More than 1,800 people in Madagascar have contracted plague in what the World Health Organization deemed an "unusually severe" outbreak, but it's unlikely to spread beyond the island, NBC News reported.
The infection is easily treated with antibiotics if caught early enough and is now rare in developed countries, but it's an ongoing problem in Madagascar, where 187 people have died in the latest outbreak.
"Based on available information and response measures implemented to date, WHO estimates the risk of potential further spread of the plague outbreak at national level remains high," according to a WHO report.
Screening for the disease has been stepped up at airports, the agency said, which will help stop people from bringing the infection beyond the island's shores.
What's better than sleep? And extra hour of it.
It’s that time of the year clocks "fall back" an hour, marking the end of daylight saving time. The change takes place at 2 a.m on Sunday, Nov. 5.
When you go to bed on Saturday night, don’t forget to turn your clock back an hour. But don't worry about about electronic devices like cellphones. By default, they are set to automatically update the time as it changes.
In observance of the biannual switch in time, here are some things you may not have known about this event.
It Has an Impact on Your Health
Switching into and out of daylight saving can disturb people’s sleeping routines, making them more restless at night, according to U.S. News and World Report. However, morning people tend to be less bothered by the changes. Studies have shown that during the first week of daylight saving time there is a spike in the number of reported heart attacks. Some experts suggest, according to the report, that the loss of an hour’s rest may make people more vulnerable to an attack. Nonetheless, when people get an extra hour in the fall, the incidents of heart attacks are less than usual.
When Was DST Implemented
Before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which established a uniform daylight saving time, local governments could start and end daylight saving time as they desired. For five weeks a year Boston, New York and Philadelphia were not on the same time as Washington, D.C., Cleveland or Baltimore. Different daylight saving times also caused confusion for travelers going from the Midwest to Northeast.
In 2005, President George W. Bush extended the daylight saving time for an extra four weeks through an energy bill. Since 2007, daylight saving time has begun on the second Sunday of March, ending on the first Sunday of November.
Not All States Observe DST
Arizona and Hawaii are the only two states that do not observe daylight saving time. Indiana did not observe the practice until 2005. The American territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands also do not participate.
Some states have tried to get rid of daylight saving time but haven't been successful. In the last year alone, 14 state legislatures have debated bills aimed at revising how we keep time. In March, the Utah state legislature rejected a bill that would have ended daylight saving time.
Founding Father Did Not Come Up with DST
According to the History Channel, Benjamin Franklin did not come up with the idea of daylight saving time; he only suggested a change in sleep schedules.
Englishman William Willett is the one who suggested in 1905 that the United Kingdom move its clocks forward by 80 minutes between April and October, so people could enjoy the sunlight. He published "The Waste of Daylight" and spent much of his fortune and time promoting the idea.
Don't Trust Automatic Time Changes
It's good to confirm if your phone or other electronic devices have changed to the correct time. In 2013, iPhone customers experienced a daylight saving time bug. Some users saw two different times displayed on their calendar app, which was apparently caused by a change that moved daylight saving time back a week in 2007. In 2010 iPhones had another problem in which the phones did not correctly change alarm schedules when daylight saving time ended, causing some European iPhone users to wake up late for work, while Australians were woken up early.
DST is Singular Not Plural
By the way, it's "daylight saving time," not "daylight savings time."
