It’s Saturday. A female East Hampton police officer has filed a federal discrimination complaint. Andrea Kess, who has been on the force for seven years, filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating a top officer had made abusive and sexist comments to her and other female co-workers. In the complaint, she said reporting the behavior to a superior resulted in continued poor treatment.
Kess said she was also passed over for promotion in favor of lesser-qualified male colleagues for sergeant and to the department’s detective division.
Here's a bite-sized look at what else we're hearing:
Connecticut police departments may soon be audited for false tickets. This follows a recent report from a state-funded group that showed departments regularly falsified tickets to downplay how many Black motorists were pulled over. Random auditing will be discussed at the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project meeting on August 24.
Smoking or vaping on or around Westport town-owned properties is now banned. Areas include athletic fields, beaches, pools and playgrounds. It’s in an effort to protect residents, especially kids, from second-hand smoke.
ShopRite in Vernon is using biometric equipment to stop shoplifting. The state Attorney General’s Office is looking into whether the facial recognition tool violates the law, because customers do not explicitly consent.
Property tax levy growth will be capped at 2% in 2024 for local governments, according to state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. It’s the third consecutive year the limit will be 2%.
The Suffolk County Water Authority wants customers to conserve water this summer. According to SWCA, 70% of the drinking water pumped is used for lawn irrigation — and half of it is wasted due to inefficient lawn watering practices. They’re urging customers to use a smart controller instead of a standard irrigation timer to save water.
U.S. Rep. Nick Lalota (R-NY) has introduced a tax credit bill for election workers. The Election Worker Tax Benefits Act would allow the country’s election workers to exempt qualified election worker compensation from gross income on their taxes.
Paumanok Vineyards have won multiple state-wide awards. New York Governor Kathy Hochul awarded the vineyard the Governor’s Cup for their 2019 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. The vineyard was also named the winery of the year.
Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen restaurant opens at Foxwoods today. The restaurant has hired around 100 people — and spent weeks training them. It’s the celebrity chef’s sixth Hell’s Kitchen restaurant.
Items from M*A*S*H are up for auction to support the Alan Alda Center at Stony Brook University. Alda is auctioning off his boots and dog tags worn while portraying Capt. Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce. The auction will take place on July 28 in Dallas.
