Good morning! Keep an eye out for an invasive tree spreading rapidly across the region.
The Amur corktree has thick bark, bright yellow wood and produces small grape-like fruit at the end of summer. The tree was brought over from East Asia in the 1850s for cityscape trees in urban areas, but can quickly displace local fauna with its fast-growing, cold temperature tolerant saplings and lack of local predators.
The tree has been spotted in Canaan, Warren and Hartland, Connecticut, as well as 14 states, including New York.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Over 3,000 Bridgeport city employees were not paid Friday due to an issue with Webster Bank. Webster sent a memo to city workers obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media that said the bank was unable to process payroll checks because of an undisclosed issue. Some customers have complained to the state attorney general’s office about problems they experienced since Webster Bank acquired Sterling Bancorp for $10 billion last year and updated its systems in late July.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney wants New York to ban the drug known as “tranq." Xylazine is typically used by veterinarians to sedate large cattle to treat pain. However, Tierney warned in a New York Post op-ed that drug dealers are mixing tranq with other illegal drugs. Xylazine is not a controlled substance, so dealers can sell tranq without prosecution.
New York plans to control artificial intelligence operations in the state. Governor Kathy Hochul wants to gather a group of artificial intelligence experts to better utilize and control the state’s AI services. Meanwhile, New York lawmakers have proposed legislation to create a temporary state commission to regulate AI. The bill was passed by the state Senate in June and awaits review from state Assembly.
A Suffolk County Supreme Court judge dismissed a lawsuit to block East Hampton Village from building pickleball courts. The lawsuit claimed a pickleball court would create so much noise that it would ruin the quality of life and disrupt neighbors trying to relax in the nearby Herrick Park. The judge said the challenge was moot after plans to install the court were abandoned by village officials shortly after the suit appeared in April.
Tree worker accidents and deaths are on the rise in Connecticut. The bucket of a Plainville tree worker fell nearly 30 feet last week, inflicting severe head injuries. In July, two more people were injured in a chainsaw incident in Southington. Another tree worker fell to his death after his safety rope was cut in Sharon. Six tree workers have died in New England so far this year.
Nassau County will pay $6.3 million in total to the towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead to settle a lawsuit. The litigation dealt with who had to cover costs to have students attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. Nassau originally passed that cost to towns themselves, but that might have violated state law which mandates the county to pay some of the costs for students to attend state schools in New York City. FIT is part of the State University of New York system.
Three more alleged members of the New Haven gang “Exit 8” were indicted. The trio were charged with conspiring to engage in a pattern of racketeering activity, including drug trafficking, murder and attempted murder. They join six other alleged gang members who were indicted on additional charges including vehicle theft and with committing at least three murders and 16 attempted murders since June 2018. They face up to 20 years in prison.
A former Connecticut state representative is going to federal prison. Victor Cuevas will serve eight months for attempting to defraud a New Haven probate judge candidate in 2017. A Hartford District Court judge additionally sentenced Cuevas with three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay almost $6,000 in restitution. Cuevas was released on a $100,000 bond, but will report to prison on Sept. 5.
Equinor and BP want to renegotiate offshore wind contracts with New York. The developers will construct the Empire Wind 1, Empire Wind 2, Beacon Wind and Sunrise Wind projects. They seek to bump the price tag, claiming that inflation, supply chain issues and drawn-out governmental approvals have made the projects problematic and won’t meet their return threshold. Despite this, development on the projects remains on track, with construction expected to begin in early 2024.
The FBI is investigating a ransomware attack on Prospect Medical Holdings, which caused two Connecticut hospitals to close their facilities. Eastern Connecticut Health Network and Waterbury Health reported a systemwide outage, temporarily closing elective surgery and outpatient services. The attack began on Thursday, but exact details for the demands are unclear.
UConn’s men’s basketball team is on a winning streak in Europe after they won their first in three games on Saturday. Huskies scored 132-66 against the French team Le Cannet Basket. The team will play against a Spanish Select Team in Barcelona for their final foreign game on Tuesday.
