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Parkland Survivor Vows to Use 'White Privilege' to Spotlight Gun Violence

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A survivor of last month's shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead said he and fellow students must use their "white privilege" to offset the racial disparity in the way news media covers gun violence.

Speaking during a Twitter Q&A livestream Monday with fellow Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, senior David Hogg said Parkland shooting survivors must use their platform to make sure the stories of other students across the country who experience gun violence are also heard.

"There is a lot of racial disparity in the way that this is covered. If this happened in a place of a lower socio-economic status or a place like a black community, no matter how well those people spoke, I don't think the media would cover it the same," Hogg said. "We have to use our white privilege now to make sure that all of the voices — all of the people that have died as a result of this and haven't been covered the same can now be heard. It's sad, but it's true.”

Hogg called the disparity in news coverage the "greatest obstacle" the #NeverAgain movement faces. 

Fellow student-turned-activist Cameron Kasky said Stoneman Douglas received widespread coverage because "we are an affluent community," and acknowledged the disproportionate effect gun violence has on people of color as well as those living in poorer communities.

"Despite what happened at [Stoneman Douglas], I still walk to school some days and I don't have to worry about that kind of thing, and there are communities that do," Kasky, 17, said. "So we feel responsible to properly represent our friends in these other communities."

He continued, "We are all bound by the same awful thing and we have all stared down the barrel of these guns and we have to represent those [people] that, unfortunately, were ignored." 

Fellow students Emma Gonzalez, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin and Ryan Deitsch also joined Kasky and Hogg in the livestream event.

The remarks come just two days after other Parkland students visited Chicago Public School students to brainstorm ideas for the March for Our Lives demonstration that will be held in the Windy City on March 24. 

The Chicago Sun Times reported that at a press conference following the meeting, students highlighted the high rate of gun violence in the city, where more than 2,700 shootings took place in 2016. 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ex Model Sues to Break Silence on Alleged Trump Affair

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Former Playboy model Karen McDougal filed a lawsuit Tuesday to be released from a 2016 legal agreement prohibiting her from discussing an alleged affair with President Donald Trump, NBC News confirmed Tuesday.

The lawsuit was first reported by The New York Times.  

McDougal filed suit against American Media Inc, the company that owns The National Enquirer. According to the New York Times, McDougal was paid $150,000 by the company, whose chief executive is a friend of Trump's, and required to remain silent.

"AMI lied to me, made empty promises, and repeatedly intimidated and manipulated me," McDougal said in a statement. "I just want the opportunity to set the record straight and move on with my life, free from this company, its executives, and its lawyers."

McDougal is the second woman to step forward, along with porn star Stormy Daniels, alleging an intimate relationship with Trump.

Also on Tuesday, NBC News confirmed Daniels had taken a polygraph in 2011 supporting her assertion of an affair with Trump. The polygraph showed Daniels was being truthful when she said she had unprotected sex with Trump around July 2006. She took the polygraph at the request of InTouch magazine, which interviewed her in 2011 but didn't publish the content until this year.  

Polygraph results are not generally admissible in court.

Trump spokespeople have denied that he had a sexual relationship with Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford.

McDougal and Daniels are both arguing their agreements are invalid.

Meanwhile, a Manhattan Supreme Court judge ruled Tuesday that a defamation lawsuit filed by former "Apprentice" contestant Summer Zervos, can go forward. In 2016, Zervos accused Trump of groping and pressing his groin against her during a 2006 encounter. Trump later suggested she fabricated the incident.

“In Clinton v Jones the United States Supreme Court held that a sitting president is not immune from being sued in federal court for unofficial acts,” Justice Jennifer Schecter wrote in a ruling released Tuesday, citing the sexual harassment suit that led to the 1998 impeachment of then-President Bill Clinton for lying under oath about his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

“It left open the question of whether concerns of federalism and comity compel a different conclusion for suits brought in state court. Because they do not, defendant’s motion to dismiss this case or hold it in abeyance is denied,”  Schecter ruled.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Cambridge Analytica Suspends CEO Pending Probe

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The chief executive of Cambridge Analytica claimed his company ran all the digital operations for the Trump campaign and used a secret email system where messages self-destruct, according to a new report from NBC News' U.K. partner ITN Channel 4 News.

The new article and video were posted Tuesday afternoon. The CEO, Alexander Nix, was suspended with immediate effect, the company said.

In the video posted by Channel 4, Nix is heard saying the company did much of the work behind Trump's campaign, which resulted in a shocking upset victory over Hillary Clinton in November 2016.  Nix also ripped into House Intelligence Committee members who interviewed him as part of their investigation into Russian election meddling, and talked about using "proxy organizations" to "put information into the bloodstream to the internet." 

Cambridge Analytica said in a statement that it was not under investigation and "there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the company."



Photo Credit: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Concordia Summit

Weight Restrictions in Place for Cribari Bridge

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The state is limiting the weight of vehicles that can cross the 133-year-old William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge in Westport because of structural deterioration, and that will prohibit some emergency vehicles from crossing the truss bridge, according to Westport officials.

Westport officials said the Connecticut Department of Transportation notified them Monday that only vehicles weighing less than 40,000 pounds, or 20 tons, will be permitted on the state-owned and maintained bridge, which goes over the Saugatuck River.

“(R)esidents should be aware that this limitation does not impact a majority of the vehicles that cross the Cribari Bridge, including school buses,” First Selectman Jim Marpe said in a news released.

Marpe said some emergency vehicles and town public works vehicles that exceed the weight limit will have to take the Post Road or Interstate 95 to provide service to the west side of the Saugatuck River.

“I have been conferring with Fire Chief Robert Yost, who assures me that public safety will not be compromised as a result of this re-routing. While there may be a slightly increased response time, it will remain within the Federal safety parameters for effective emergency management,” Marpe said in a statement.

Westport officials said the notification from the state DOT says the decision to impose the restrictions was the “result of the ongoing structural engineering evaluation and inspection of the load capacity of the 19th Century truss bridge.”

They said the bridge has an overall rating of poor and the weight restriction is mandated based on “the structural deterioration of the pier piles and pile bracing structure.”

They said the DOT is evaluating measures to take to eliminate this restriction and the department is in the preliminary engineering study phase for the bridge to determine a scope of rehabilitation work required going forward.

Westport officials said the trusses are being checked for load carrying capacity to determine whether more immediate repair is needed.

The bridge, which was completed in 1884, is now named in honor of William F. “Crowbar” Cribari, a World War II veteran born in 1918 who was a Westport Police officer and often directed traffic through the heart of the Saugatuck section of Westport and across the Bridge Street Bridge, which is now named for him. He died in 2007 at the age of 88, according to the DOT.




Photo Credit: Connecticut Department of Transportation

Student Witnessed Shooting at Md. High School

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Student Terrence Rhames, 18, witnessed the shooting at Great Mills High School in Maryland as he waited for his first class to start Tuesday morning.

Cops Know Risks of Firing Guns in Schools: Official

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Being an armed officer in a school is a difficult job that requires being ready to kill a student, an official from a national organization for school-based law enforcement officers said Tuesday.

Mac Hardy, interviewed hours after a teenage gunman shot a girl in a Maryland school before dying following a confrontation with a school resource officer, said an officer might have to fire on someone he or she knows through encounters at the school.

“You have to do it with the intention to save lives, and sometimes that’s by taking a life,” said Hardy, director of operations of the National Association of School Resource Officers.

In the latest school shooting, a teenager armed with a handgun shot and critically wounded a girl inside Great Mills High School. A school resource officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, confronted the gunman in less than a minute and shot at him.

The suspect, identified as 17-year-old Austin Rollins, was killed though authorities did not provide details. A 14-year-old boy was wounded but it was unclear how.

Rollins and the girl had a prior relationship but authorities did not say whether that was the motive.

St. Mary’s County Public Schools Superintendent James Scott Smith said the school resource officer did his job exactly the right way, but “we still have tragic loss of life, we still have somebody in critical condition.”

Gaskill, a deputy for about six years who has SWAT training, has been assigned to that school as its sole officer since August.

“This is a tough guy,” Gov. Larry Hogan said. “While it’s still tragic, he may have saved other people’s lives.”

Hardy’s group recommends against arming teachers as President Donald Trump proposed following last month’s shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed by a former student.

Many experts in gun violence and school safety immediately called the idea a bad one. Hardy said teachers should be allowed to teach without having to take on the responsibility of carrying a weapon and possibly having to kill a student.

The National Association of School Resource Officers, based in Hoover, Alabama, notes that law enforcement officers practice frequently under simulated high-stress conditions. Firing in a school is extremely risky, with the chance that innocent students or staff could be wounded or killed. Officers firing at a range have an accuracy of about 75 percent with a handgun, while in a real shooting, that drops to 17 percent, Hardy said.

“I can’t just fire randomly,” he said. “I’ve got to know what’s behind my target. What’s this round going to do if I miss? Who is it going to strike?”

“I have to live with that if an innocent student is struck by my round,” he said.

However, because some states already permit teachers to carry arms, the group also offers recommendations for arming teachers, from requiring psychological testing to ensure they are capable to providing instructions on storing their firearms and keeping control of them during a fight. Armed teachers should always take a defensive not offensive posture, he said.

The group trains school resource officers and though there is no formal count, it estimated for a National Public Radio interview earlier this month that there were between 14,000 and 20,000 officers in about 30 percent of the country’s schools. 

Hardy, who retired last year after 18 years in the schools in Hoover, describes the job as being a combination of law enforcement officer, informal counselor and classroom guest speaker. The goal is to break down barriers between law enforcement and students, and build relationships so that students can feel free to share problems or concerns. School resource officers have to like kids, and have empathy towards those who are struggling and for whom school is a safe place, Hardy said.

“We can’t even imagine sometimes what these kids are going through when they leave the school,” he said.

He recalled the shocked parents of a student who had posted a photo of what appeared to be a real gun on social media. It turned out to be an airsoft gun, a realistic replica used in sports, but the parents were at first disbelieving, he said. In another case, a student had made threats to kill other students but lacked an access to guns, he said.

After the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, law enforcement officers changed tactics for confronting an active shooter. Previously they would set up a secure perimeter and move methodically, while now they try to stop the shooter as quickly as possible.

Since the Columbine shooting, the number of school resource officers has increased, though not every organization supports the expansion. There is no evidence that their presence means safer schools, Marc Schindler, the head of the Justice Policy Institute, told NPR’s “All Things Considered” on March 8. He said that research shows that it also results in higher rates of suspensions, expulsions and arrests, especially for students of color.

“In fact, the data really shows otherwise — that this is largely a failed approach in devoting a significant amount of resources but not getting the outcome in school safety that we are all looking for,” he told NPR.

While the deputy in Tuesday’s shooting is being praised for his quick response, the school resource officer in Parkland is accused of staying outside the building where the shooting was taking place. Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scot Peterson did recommend that the shooter, 17-year-old Nikolas Cruz, be committed involuntarily for a mental evaluation, but there is no evidence that he was, according to The Associated Press. Peterson has since resigned.

Since the Parkland shooting, the survivors have been taking on the National Rifle Association and are demanding changes from politicians, with some unprecedented success. They are planning marches in Washington, D.C., and across the country on Saturday to demand that their lives become a priority and mass shootings are ended. They are calling them March for Our Lives.

In Maryland on Tuesday, Sheriff Tim Cameron told NBC Washington that despite the fast response of the school resource officer, two students were still shot.

“You train to respond to this and you hope that you never ever have to,” he said. “This is the realization of your worst nightmare — that, in a school, that our children could be attacked. And so as quickly … as that (school resource officer) responded and engaged, there’s grievous injuries to two students.”

This story contains material from the Associated Press.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Assisted Suicide Debate Returns to Connecticut

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A select few states allow for doctors to prescribe medications to patients that would lead to their death.

In Connecticut, the practice is currently illegal, but advocates for "aid in dying" as the practice is known, want the state to allow it.

"It’s meant to provide an option for those who have tremendous suffering," Rep. Andy Fleischmann, who sponsored the legislation, said.

Fleischmann said he only started to seriously consider the idea of aid in dying when he began to spend time in cancer treatment centers as he fought the disease.

The measure would allow doctors to assist a patient in their death only if the patient has been provided with a terminal diagnosis.

Opponents say the safeguards spelled out, like those requiring family members sign off, are not enough to avoid abuse. They also say such laws cheapen life.

"I would argue that the bill could never have enough safeguards to make it alright to license doctors to prescribe lethal drugs as a treatment and grant immunity to the people who help you kill you yourselves," Peter Wolfgang, the executive director of the Connecticut Family Institute, said. "It opens up way too many doors and leads us down a very destructive path in the state of Connecticut."

Wolfgang said he fears family members who may be beneficiaries of someone’s demise looking to take advantage of a situation.

Cathy Ludlum, who was born with spinal muscular atrophy and is confined to a wheelchair, said providing an option of whether to end your life in a medical setting blurs the entire issue.

"People think this is about choice but once assisted suicide is available it distorts choice and there’s no way around that no matter what safeguards they put in place. You don’t know what’s going on at home," she said.

Karina Danvers from West Haven has a different a view. She’s been fighting HIV and AIDS for the better part of 30 years and she’s been told on more than one occasion that the end could be coming sooner than she’d like.

"It’s about choice," Danvers said. "It’s about my choice."

The odds of passage during the 2018 Regular Session appear to be slim, as the issue hasn’t been considered by lawmakers since 2015, and the issue was not raised as a priority by either party.

"I have been living for almost 30 years. I have taken every toxic medication you can think of to stay alive, so I don’t just want this legislation so I can do myself in. If it ever gets to that point, it means that it’s got to mean something big," Danvers said.

WhatsApp Co-Founder: Time to Delete Facebook

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Amid the turmoil of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton on Tuesday told his Twitter followers to delete Facebook, CNBC reported.

"It is time. #deletefacebook," he tweeted.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. Acton remained with the company for several years before quitting to start the Signal Foundation earlier this year. His WhatsApp co-founder, Jan Koum, still leads the company and sits on Facebook's board.

Facebook has come under fire this week after reports emerged that political data analytics company Cambridge Analytica accessed thedata of over 50 million users of the social media network without their permission.



Photo Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Sison, File

Connecticut Could Become 6th State to Raise Tobacco Age to 21

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The push to raise the age for purchasing tobacco in Connecticut to 21 from 18 is coming from young people.

More than a dozen sixth graders from Scotland, Connecticut, visited the state capitol to tell lawmakers they don’t think anyone should be able to purchase tobacco until they turn 21.

Olivia Martinez Chavez spoke for the class and says they think it has to do with maturity and brain development.

"When you’re 18 your brain is still developing and 21 you can gamble and drink, so you should be able to smoke, too, at that age," she said.

Connecticut would join a handful of other states that limit tobacco sales to those over the age of 21. Currently, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Maine and New Jersey set their ages at 21, with New Jersey and Maine putting it into effect last year.

Sen. Mae Flexer, one of the Democrats sponsoring the bill, said she thinks if the state can stop early tobacco use, then it could be better for health outcomes later.

"Studies show that people who choose to start smoking start smoking before the age of 21 so this is a critical step in preventing smoking throughout our state," Flexer said.

The tobacco industry did not provide any testimony in opposition to the bill, whereas numerous healthcare providers and those who represent them voiced their support for raising the age to 21. Those groups included the Connecticut Hospital Association, the American Heart Association and the Connecticut Medical Society.

15-Year-Old Accused of Stealing Wallet in Hamden

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A 15-year-old was arrested for allegedly stealing someone's wallet in Hamden a couple of months ago, police said.

Hamden police responded to the Warner Street area around 5 p.m. on Jan. 12 for a reported robbery. 

Investigators said a man was seen buying items at a local service station with a $100 bill before he was approached by someone trying to sell marijuana. The man agreed to buy the weed and entered an undisclosed vehicle with four other people inside.

The victim told police they were driving to Warner Street when he was "pistol-whipped" and his wallet was stolen. He said he was able to escape by "jumping out of a moving car" and sustained a broken ankle, according to Hamden police. 

An investigation into the incident led to the arrest warrant for a 15-year-old Winchester resident who was taken into custody on Mar. 18.

The teen faces charges that include robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny and unlawful restraint. 



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

4 New London County Towns Looking to Regionalize Animal Control

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Four New London County towns are looking into tying together their animal control facilities as budget cuts continue.

The towns of New London, Waterford, East Lyme and Montville entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to start looking into sharing the costs and operations. 

Animals would be housed at the new Bates Wood Park building that was rebuilt after a tree destroyed it during Superstorm Sandy.

"We can’t just simply protect our own turf. We have to start sharing services in order to basically survive and still be able to provide those services to our taxpayers," New London Mayor Michael Passero said.

Animals from Waterford and East Lyme are already at the New London facility because the water froze in the Waterford building this winter. Waterford First Selectman Dan Steward said his town has already been working with and housing East Lyme animals for about 50 years.

The towns are looking for a cost estimate on the regionalization and attorneys from all four communities are working on an interlocal agreement, according to Steward.

"Interlocal agreements are very difficult. Which is part of what causes us to have agita with regionalization because it’s all about who’s going to do what. Who’s going to pay what bill and how’s it all going to work," Steward said.

Steward said his town has looked into other sites before but state agreements never came to fruition. The town raised over $200,000 to build a new facility. That money would be directed toward the New London facility to help expand the kennel run, he added.

"We figured that this would be an opportunity to all get a quality, up to standards, up to code facility and share cost and share the work," Montville Mayor Ronald McDaniel said.

McDaniel said his animal control facility requires hundreds of thousands of dollars of work to be brought up to code.

The cost or savings of regionalizing haven’t been punched out, yet. Steward said it might not pocket him much money, but he and Passero said it will save a lot when it comes to helping the community in a job where someone needs to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We’ve called animal control and no one’s around because they don’t have a lot of hours so we’ve had to call the police," Karen Stewart, who lives in the Oakdale section of Montville, said. 

In tune with sharing services, Passero said he and Steward are in talks of having their towns share dispatch services in Waterford.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Illinois Gov. Primaries Set Stage for Battle of the Billionaires

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The stage is set for the already-expensive race for Illinois governor to become the costliest gubernatorial election in U.S. history. 

J.B. Pritzker won the Democratic primary Tuesday while incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner survived a challenge from the right to hold on to the Republican nomination. Both are billionaires who have dug deeply into their own pockets for their respective campaigns, to the tune of a combined $120 million this cycle alone. 

A venture capitalist and heir to the Hyatt fortune, Pritzker is the fifth-richest person in Illinois, according to Forbes, which estimated his net worth to be around $3.5 billion.

Pritzker’s immense personal fortune allowed him to entirely self-fund his campaign, pouring more than $69.5 million into his committee in the months leading up to the primary Election Day.

That cash bought Pritzker a massive field operation and, perhaps most significantly, hours of advertising airtime, inundating television airwaves to tout his endorsements and vowing to “stand up” to President Donald Trump and Rauner, a message that lifted him to primary victory over five other candidates, including businessman Chris Kennedy and State Sen. Daniel Biss. 

Rauner, who spent a record-breaking $65 million on his entire 2014 campaign and reloaded his committee with another $50 million in December 2016, defeated conservative challenger state Rep. Jeanne Ives in the GOP primary Tuesday.

Rauner bought plenty of airtime as well, running ads even before he announced his re-election campaign, then pivoting to attack Pritzker well ahead of primary election voting. 

Now, with the primary behind them, two of Illinois’ wealthiest businessmen-turned-politicians can turn their full attention to one another.

With seemingly endless wealth at their disposal, the gloves will certainly come off in the battle of the billionaires, which may very well surpass the most expensive gubernatiorial race in the nation's history - California’s roughly $280 million campaign in 2010.

Railroads Announce Service Changes Due to Storm

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Amtrak, Metro-North and Shoreline East have all announced service changes due to Wednesday’s impending storm.

Metro-North announced it would operate a reduced schedule and warned riders that if conditions deteriorated, they may suspend service complete. For specific information, check your service line on their website. 

Amtrak also modified its schedule, canceling multiple runs between Washington D.C, New York and Boston. The railroad will waive change fees for customers looking to change their reservations during the modified schedule. Get details on their website.

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ShoreLine East is also reducing its schedule, canceling some AM services. Check on their website to see if your train is running. 

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Photo Credit: NBC 7
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People Partook in Free-Cone Day Despite Forecast for Nor’easter

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Despite the promise of yet another nor’easter, people in Wallingford were adamant Tuesday of welcoming the first day of spring the New England way. 

Dave Biller walked out of Dairy Queen with ice cream for himself and his daughter, and a new life lesson: You can’t change the weather, but you can make it a little sweeter. 

“The ice cream is on the house for spring, but the sprinkles and the chocolate … that you have to pay a little extra for,” Biller said. 

The little extra is the snow that’s expected Wednesday. 

“I’m just looking forward to the warmer weather and getting to go outside more,” Sara Ilnicki, of Cheshire, said. 

She and her brothers got their free cones at three different Dairy Queen locations. 

Ken Lloyd, of Wallingford, however, joined in out of spite. 

“It’s too much,” Lloyd said. “I want to start growing my vegetables and it’s just ridiculous.” 

He might’ve been the only person in line who was thinking about vegetables. 

Sarah Songur and her family drove to Wallingford’s Dairy Queen from Middletown and her young cousin was content with the ice cream dripping on her jacket mid-bite. Songur tried her best to feel the same. 

“I was sitting here and I was shaking,” Songur said. “I’m [thinking], wow, free cone day… but it’s really cold out.” 



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Tweed-New Haven Supporters Push to Expand Runway

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Tweed-New Haven Regional Airport officials are hoping to expand their runway, and supporters of the idea argue a bigger runway could mean more business for the whole state.

“We need Tweed in order to grow our region economically that ultimately grows our state,” said New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.

Harp is among those pushing to lengthen the airport’s runway by a thousand feet, to allow more regional jets to take off from Tweed and head to places like Washington DC, Chicago and Florida. Currently, the airport only offers commercial flights to Philadelphia from American Airlines.

“It is a wasted opportunity. There are opportunities for regional meetings, for national meetings that we don’t get here in New Haven simply because people can’t get in and out of here quickly,” Harp said.

The airport’s present general statute limits the length of the runway, limiting what types of planes can fly and forcing travelers in the area of travel to Bradley International Airport or New York airports for more desirable flights.

House Bill 5537, a bill regarding solar facilities at municipal airports currently before the General Assembly’s Planning and Development Committee could abolish the restriction on Tweed. Airport officials made the argument for expansion in front of the committee Monday.

But some airport neighbors are opposed to growth at Tweed.

"I looked it up and it’s not cheap. At all, by no means. So I’m always going to Hartford or JFK. I don’t travel from here,” said Rosemarie Albanese, who lives nearby. “Their headlights are literally in my window all the time,” she added.

Albanese lives just down Burr Street. She has concerns about the potential noise and structural impact of more flights at Tweed. She also remembers an August 2013 plane crash, where a plane approaching Tweed went down in East Haven, crashing into a home and killing four people.

“It’s scary, having the plane crash right there and then bigger planes? No,” she told NBC Connecticut.

Other neighbors are undecided on the issue, agreeing that the airport could be a key to growth in the region, but wondering what a bigger Tweed could mean of their personal lives.

“I’d want to know how many flights are going to be added and in terms of timing and how much more traffic they anticipate,” Barb Hedberg said.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

3 Students Arrested Separately at Stoneman Douglas HS

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Two Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students were arrested for allegedly bringing weapons to the Parkland school on Tuesday while another student faces charges over an online threat.

Police say that 18-year-old Jordan Salter pulled a two inch knife out of her clothing - which the public defender siad was to defend herself from what Salter called an "aggressive boy" who allegedly approached her after an argument in which she threw an iced coffee at him.'

"My daughter's never been in trouble, she should've never had a weapon," said her father, Scott, during a Wednesday bond court hearing. Salter was given a $12,000 bond and ordered to stay away from the school.

A second student allegedly had a 9-inch knife in his backpack that was found after school officials were alerted to it on Tuesday by a student who saw it during a school bus ride on Monday - while a separate Stoneman Douglas student faces a misdemeanor charge for making a threat on social media.

"A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy responded to the school to investigate a tip and interviewed the 10th-grader about photos he shared on Snapchat," BSO said in a statement. "In one image, the teen displays a gun in his waistband. In a second image, he shows off bullets. The detective said both photos had threatening messages; one message was directed to a person named 'Josh.'"

The teenager was held under Florida's Baker Act and taken to a facility for a mental health evaluation.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Newington Homeowner Concerned Utility Pole Needs Replacing

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A Newington homeowner is concerned a utility pole outside her home is one storm away from falling down, and despite reporting it, no one has fixed it.

Lamontagne said they first noticed the pole outside their home on Robbins Avenue was leaning last summer, but it wasn’t until this winter that they became concerned about its condition.

“It blows with the breeze,” Lamontagne said.

Lamontagne and her son Evan nervously watch the slanted, swaying pole outside their house.

“It’s just a matter of when it’s going to come down and it’s going to hit my house and my vehicles and I can’t get anyone do anything about it,” Lamontagne said.

The family first reported the pole to Eversource.

“They came out, took a look at it and said you definitely do have a problem; it’s rotted at the bottom. You need a whole new pole, and it has to be done right away. However, there’s nothing we can do about it because it’s not our pole,” Lamontagne said.

She then Frontier, who told her they would send a crew. But two weeks passed, and as far as Lamontagne knows, no one showed up.

Lamontagne said she called Frontier multiple times, but the pole still wasn’t repaired. So she contacted NBC Connecticut, and we contacted Frontier.

A Frontier representative said they were not aware of the problem until we contacted them. A crew came out to do a safety check on Tuesday, and said the pole was not rotted, but it is old and top-heavy. The company plans to replace the pole next week, and said for now, the situation is safe.

“It makes me feel a little better, but at the same time, being in the house and watching it sway like that doesn’t make me feel too safe,” Lamontagne said.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Staples Student Accused of Threatening to Shoot Teacher Arrested

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Westport police have arrested a Staples High School student who is accused of threatening to shoot a teacher last month and said he had thoughts of executing a mass shooting.

The investigation started on Feb. 27. School officials called police at 9 a.m. that day after one student overheard another who was making threats to shoot a teacher, police said. When officers arrived, school administrators were questioning the student accused of making the threat.

Police said that based on the information school administrators learned, they determined the student did have thoughts of executing a mass shooting at the high school.

When authorities went to the student’s home, they found several weapons, including firearms locked in a safe, police said. The weapons belong to the student’s father, but officers could not confirm at the time whether all of the firearms were accounted for.

Police said they were working to get inside another home that is out of state, where the child’s father had several other firearms.

Westport Police Department Detective and Youth Bureaus investigated and police obtained a warrant.

On Tuesday morning, the boy turned himself in at police headquarters and has been charged with second-degree threatening. He was transported to the Juvenile Detention Center in Bridgeport.

Police have not released his name because of his age.





Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Owners of Wood-n-Tap to Buy Former Apricots in Farmington

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Hartford Restaurant Group, which manages the Wood-n-Tap restaurants, plans to buy the former Apricots in Farmington and take on the restaurant's debts. 

Apricots, which was open for 25 years, has been closed since October. One of the owners said late last year that they were dealing with a family illness and planned to renovate and reopen in January, but that did not happen. 

On Tuesday, an auction was held at the property.

Jennifer Swerdlick, the owner of Restaurant Equipment Paradise, said the owners hired her company to handle the auction. 

“We basically just go one by one and auction everything off and in two hours we sell everything,” she said. 

Everything inside the restaurant was sold during the auction, but Restaurant Equipment Paradise was not sure whether there would be an auction at all when they arrived and found police. 

“We got here this morning and there was a police officer here and someone from the town. I guess there were some tax issues with the property,” said Ken Pesce, who was assisting with the auction. 

According to the Farmington tax collector, Apricots owed more than $5,800 in business and personal property taxes. 

“I guess whoever is buying the building is stepping up,” Pesce said. 

Hartford Restaurant Group plans to purchase the Apricots property within weeks and pay the other $41,000 that Apricots owes in outstanding charges and taxes upon the final sale. 

“Our goal is to make sure that we can take care of these situations so the Howards can move on with their life and take care of their health without having this extra burden on them,” the company said in a statement. 



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Greenwich Postal Carrier Accused of Stealing Gift Cards from Mail

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A postal carrier in Greenwich is accused of stealing gift cards that were being shipped in the mail to residents and has been arrested.

Police said they arrested 43-year-old Ismail Laksabi, of Norwalk, after a three-month investigation.

Laksabi, a mail carrier, is accused of stealing gift cards that were being sent to Greenwich residents.

Police obtained a warrant charging Laksabi with sixth-degree larceny, credit card fraud and additional charges and bond was set at $25,000.

Laksabi remained in custody as of Wednesday morning, according to police, and he’s due in court on March 28.



Photo Credit: Getty Images
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