There’s nothing like a good snow storm to start your week. Don’t let the morning’s sun fool you – Long Island and parts of Connecticut are in for a storm with only a few official weeks of winter left. Long Island is to receive up to five inches of snow, and parts of Connecticut due for anywhere from five inches to a foot of snow. Stay warm, and stay safe.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s payroll tax and housing proposals are worrying Long Island Democrats. The payroll tax, which is geared towards New Yorkers in the highest tax bracket, would go towards the MTA payroll levy. Hochul’s push for growth in housing stock, which would mean over 38,000 new housing units for Long Island, is also worrying legislators.
An insurance company owner in Fairfield has pleaded guilty to committing to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud in federal court. In all, Anthony Riccardi has committed to an insurance fraud scheme worth upwards of $40 million. The statement provided by the Southern District of New York’s Attorney Office states that conspiracies had been ongoing since 2015. Riccardi’s charges carry a maximum potential sentence of 30 years in prison.
A student at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain was found unresponsive Sunday. University President Zulma R. Toro said that while police are investigating the death, an official cause has not yet been identified. Police were first notified of the incident on Sunday morning after receiving a 911 call from the student’s residence hall.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $28.4 million to Connecticut to protect water quality. This funding comes from President Biden’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. The EPA said nearly half of the funding will be accessible as grants or principal forgiveness loans helping underserved communities in the state. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) echoed Connecticut’s need for the funding: “Connecticut has mounting, critical needs for improving the quality of our waters, including sewer treatment facility upgrades to prevent the discharge of dangerous pollutants into our rivers and lakes."
Norwich Public Utilities will receive $1.6 million in federal funding, geared towards two critical infrastructure projects. The first project will connect a gap more than 1,200 feet in diameter between the Groton and Norwich water systems in order to strengthen water resiliency, and the second project will work to reline sewer mains in the area to improve water quality in the Shetucket and Thames rivers. This project was announced in December 2022.
Tawheed Brennen is suing the Nassau County Police Department for unlawful arrest and police brutality. Though the notice for the $1 million lawsuit claim was filed on Friday, the incident had taken place in early April 2022, in which Brennen returned to a grocery store where he forgot his book bag after shopping. The police detained him outside for the contents of his bag, which included a pocket knife, Airsoft gun, and anti-anxiety pills. Bodycam footage shows the detective involved putting his hands on Brennen’s throat, pulling his hair, and cursing at him, who did not appear to be resisting arrest.
West Haven’s finance director is leaving the position after only one year holding the role. The reason for the move is yet to be determined; while the official statement from the West Haven office stated that Scott Jackson “decided to move forward in his public service career,” City Hall employees cite a police presence in the building on Friday, when Jackson announced his stepping down. The announcement comes approximately one year after Jackson’s predecessor, Frank Cieplinski, was fired from the role. The city has been under strict oversight for mismanaging federal COVID-19 relief funding.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker rounded out this year’s Black History Month celebrations Monday by unveiling “Lucretia’s Corner,” a renaming of the corner of Orange and Elm streets to honor the city’s first Black resident of record in the New Haven Colony. Elicker said in a statement that, “Lucretia was enslaved by Theophilus Eaton, the first governor of New Haven Colony, working and residing on Eaton’s estate, which would now be located at the corner of Orange and Elm Streets.”
Suffolk County police officers and Brentwood paramedics helped deliver a baby on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway over the weekend. A Woodbury couple was on their way to Katz Women’s Hospital in Queens around 2 a.m. Sunday when they had no choice but to pull over, just before exit 53. Mom delivered a baby girl in their car’s backseat just minutes after help arrived. Both are in healthy condition.
