Happy Friday! Stay inside as dangerously cold wind chills arrive this weekend. You can click here to learn more about the warming centers in your area.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what we are hearing:
- Long Island’s graduation rate rises slightly to 92.6% for the class of 2022. A year ago, the graduation rate was 92.2%. Rates for certain districts, including Hempstead and Wyandanch, saw significant increases.
- One-third of paid leave claims in Connecticut were denied in its first year. The majority of denials were due to missing documents. The Connecticut Paid Leave Authority plans to update their website to resolve issues.
- U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (D-CT) introduced legislation to ban marketing of guns to children. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to create rules preventing gunmakers from advertising to youth.
- Riverhead, alongside Qatar and Malta, was highlighted as one of the top 50 best places in 2023 to travel by Forbes Magazine. Forbes encouraged visitors to check out the Long Island Aquarium and stop by the famous 20-foot tall duck-shaped “Big Duck” building.
- A partnership of seven nonprofit agencies has launched to conquer the affordable housing crisis across eastern Connecticut. The Center of Housing Equity and Opportunity in Eastern Connecticut will open in mid-March to help coordinate a response toward improving housing affordability in the region.
- A group of alumni has offered to purchase St. Bernard School in Montville. This is in response to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich’s plan to sell the school and its 113 acres to aid in funding its proposed bankruptcy plan. The group’s offer is being taken under consideration and continues to grow as more interested donors contribute.
- A Long Island waiter now faces up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of first-degree manslaughter in 2020. Prosecutors said the waiter used a broken vodka bottle to fatally stab a busboy in an argument over tips at a Hicksville restaurant.
- The town of Southampton plans to purchase the development rights to John Steinbeck’s former Sag Harbor home. The sale will use over $11 million from the Community Preservation Fund, with an additional $2.3 million from the Sag Harbor Partnership. The author’s former property will be handed over to a new nonprofit and used as a writer’s center for the University of Texas.
- Long Island University has opened a $26 million College of Veterinary Medicine Learning Center. The state contributed over $12 million in funding for the program. The school is one of four Northeastern veterinary schools.
