Good morning.
Revolution Wind — off the coast of Narragansett — would be the first offshore wind farm for both Connecticut and Rhode Island. It is expected to generate 400 megawatts to Rhode Island’s utility grid and more than 300 megawatts for Connecticut. This will power over 250,000 homes and help each state reach its climate goals of replacing greenhouse gas emitting sources with renewable energy.
Developers Eversource and Ørsted cleared the regulatory hurdle with the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on Tuesday. This means onshore construction of the turbines will begin in the coming weeks with offshore construction expected to begin in 2024. Revolution is expected to be completed by 2025.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Embattled Rep. George Santos has yet to file a financial disclosure report that was due on Sunday. Santos (R-NY) claims he has a “30-day grace period” to file but if the deadline lapses, he will face a $200 late fee. He already has two charges against him for making false statements on reports he filed in 2020 and 2022 as part of his 13-count indictment.
Two officers were stabbed at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown. The officers were escorting an inmate when he stabbed them in the neck and torso with a makeshift sharpened toothbrush. The officers were treated for their wounds while the inmate was transported to restrictive housing at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
Connecticut mortgage rates are at a 21-year-high, preventing many would-be homebuyers from purchasing their first house. Nationally, mortgage rates reached a record high of 7.09% on a 30-year mortgage, the highest rate since 2000. Mortgage rates have been steadily increasing since 2021, as families fled the crowded cities for open spaces suburban homes during the pandemic.
The Cold Spring Harbor Central School District will pay $14 million to settle two lawsuits. Two former students sued the district through the state Child Victims Act after they were allegedly sexually abused by now-deceased teachers in the 1980s. The district will pay a total of $4.5 million within the next 60 days but will need to secure funding for the remaining $7.2 million. School officials claim these settlements will best preserve academic offerings to students.
A blogger who threatened Connecticut judges was arrested. Prosecutors hope to convict Paul Boyne on charges of felony stalking. Boyne, formerly of Glastonbury, now living outside of Washington D.C., was already charged with nine counts of felony stalking and nine counts of electronic stalking from posts online that were so vile, most media outlets cannot reproduce them.
Gun deaths among teenagers and children are on the rise in the U.S. According to a study conducted by Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, there was a near 42% increase in the adolescent mortality rate due to guns from 2018 to 2021. Black children accounted for 67% of gun-related homicides while 78% of suicide by guns involved white kids. Most firearms deaths occurred in Southern and Midwestern states.
Limited Liability Companies may soon have to identify their owners in a New York public registry. The New York State Legislature already passed the LLC Transparency Act in June — now awaiting signage from Governor Kathy Hochul before the bill can take effect. The law would create a public database of LLC owners and business owners’ addresses.
Sikorsky Aircraft will collaborate with NASA and DARPA to develop reliable flight automation software. This is in response to self-automated air taxis and private helicopters becoming more popular. Developers and pilots will use two specialized helicopters to simulate potential air conflict scenarios to test the software.
The historic Harborside Inn on Block Island was engulfed in a fire last weekend. While the hotel remains standing, it suffered significant damage to the point that local officials expect the inn to be torn down by the end of the week. The 144-year-old hotel was up to date with fire codes, but the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Sharks in Long Island Sound are using fishing lines as opportunities to get easy meals. Several fishermen have reported instances of reeling in heads of striped bass after sharks ate the bodies of the hooked fish. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection claims this a good sign as it shows local threatened shark species recovering due to improved water quality and fishing industry regulations.
