Good morning. Long Island’s five medical marijuana dispensaries want to sell retail pot at their locations. However, local regulations may stand in their way to serve recreational customers.
Sunnyside in Huntington Station, MedMen Inc. in Lake Success and Curaleaf in Carle Place are located in towns that prohibit the establishment of recreational shops. The Botanist and Columbia Care are prohibited due to local zoning restrictions.
To help rectify these issues, the state Office of Cannabis Management proposed allowing medical dispensaries to open a hybrid location to sell recreational products. Dispensaries are limited to only one hybrid shop per county, and licensing costs about $5 million each.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Connecticut ranks high for income and educational disparities, according to a study released by the Yankee Institute, a fiscally conservative think-tank. Conducted by the Connecticut Center for Educational Excellence, the study found that school funding had no apparent effect on academic performances. Instead, positive environmental factors, such as parental involvement and teacher support, lead to improved educational outcomes. The institute recommends the state establish enhanced economic opportunities for low-income families struggling to support the education of their children.
New York’s Warehouse Worker Protection Act began taking effect on Monday. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law last December. It protects workers at distribution centers from disciplinary action or termination if they fail to meet demanding work quotas or are not provided proper breaks. It will also require warehouses to disclose work speed data, to inform employees about their job performance and rights in the workplace.
Officials installed speed cameras near an I-95 construction project in East Lyme. The project began in April as a test for the Speed Safety Camera Program to determine the viability of speed cameras in work zones. Since then, over 2,700 vehicles drove faster than 15 mph over the speed limit. Warnings were issued to about half of drivers. Offenders received a $75 ticket for speeding; repeat speedsters are fined $150. The program's goal is to reduce drivers and construction worker injuries and fatalities.
Southern Connecticut State University employees are concerned about layoffs. Despite a new two-year state budget that will provide universities with $1.1 billion, SCSU is faced with a $116 million budget gap for the 2024-25 fiscal year. SCSU plans to implement a hiring pause to save close to $5 million and will consider suspending some programs over the next two years.
Sandwich chain Subway will move its headquarters from Milford to Shelton in September. This move was announced last June. The new 90,000-square-foot headquarters will provide modernized workspaces including fitness centers, medical facilities and childcare centers. Subway also has a dual headquarters office in Miami. The company was founded in Milford in 1965.
A 17-year-old Hamden boxer is a two-time national champion! Brianna Alers won the 2023 Junior Olympics in Texas. Four months ago, she became the National Silver Gloves Champion. Alers began boxing when she was 11 and said she wants to use her success to advocate for more girls to take part in “tough sports.” Her next goal is to win the Junior Olympic boxing trial in December so she can make it in the 2024 U.S. Olympic team.
Plants performing as well as bones? UConn researchers have made bone treatment breakthroughs with the use of plant-based molecules to perform bone grafts. According to a study from the Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering, the researchers used the plant molecule forskolin to successfully regrow bone tissue in rabbits. Dr. Laurencin hopes this molecule will help make the procedure more affordable and lead to the possibility of growing replacement limbs on amputees.
