Good morning.
Derby Alderman Gino DiGiovanni's federal court appearance scheduled for last week is postponed until Dec. 12 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. A judge signed an order allowing for more time to “review and analyze discovery” in the case. DiGiovanni was arrested in August for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. DiGiovanni said he was part of the crowd but was not part of the attack. He was later elected to office.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
Several major national chains continue to hand out plastic bags to New Yorkers, despite a ban being in effect since 2020. The state Department of Environmental Conservation conducted nearly 400 inspections and gave 117 warning notices to locations throughout the state for using plastic bags and film collection bins. Beyond Plastics has conducted its own review of offending stores, but the nonprofit reports little action from the state.
The commission that oversees Connecticut’s public defender service suspended its diversity director for a misogynistic social media post that drew criticism. Daryl McGraw's Facebook post was a pitch for Paper Chaser Academy, something he described as a means of “transforming hustles” into “legal success.” He was suspended with pay “until further notice, pending consideration of the matter by the commission on or before its next regularly scheduled meeting,” according to public records.
An invasive southern pine beetle has destroyed about 5,000 acres of forest on Long Island. State officials are taking action to minimize the spread through surveillance and removing dead, sick trees. They said the beetle is a significant threat to the Pine Barren region in Suffolk County, which sits above the largest supply of clean drinking water on Long Island.
“Red Cup Rebellion.” Over 200 U.S. Starbucks locations, including a pair on Long Island, walked off the job to take part in the largest strike in a two-year effort to unionize the company’s stores. The Workers United union chose Starbucks' Red Cup Day to walk out because it is among the busiest days of the year. Starbucks has yet to negotiate a union contract with any of the unionized stores. More than 363 company-operated Starbucks stores in 41 states have voted to unionize since late 2021.
Residents are protesting Greenwich Public Schools for removing around 170 tagged trees. In 2016, the district became aware of contaminated soil in the field of Western Middle School. Superintendent Toni Jones said the $20 million plan to remove the trees includes replacing those trees with more than 210 full-size trees with an additional 844 restoration trees. A virtual hearing is scheduled on Nov. 30.
Fentanyl was smuggled into the Suffolk County jail. Three inmates and two women working on the outside, as well as an attorney, are facing charges for their role in a complex scheme to smuggle fentanyl into the Suffolk County jail in Riverhead. The scheme was to deliver documents sprayed with a mixture of water, acetone and fentanyl.
The mother of Thomas Valva rejected a $3 million settlement in a lawsuit against Suffolk County. His father Michael Valva, a former NYPD officer, and his fiancée were sentenced to 25 years to life for murdering his son. Eight-year-old Thomas died of hypothermia when he was locked in their Center Moriches garage in 2020. Justyna Zubko-Valva said she made countless warnings to officials about the abuse and neglect from his father. She called the offered payment “humiliating.”
Hey Jane, a telemedicine reproductive care clinic is expanding into all New England states in response to the growing demand for abortion care services in response to the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Hey Jane only requires a patient's address where the medication can be mailed. In the last year, Hey Jane treated around 300 patients with insurance and 700 uninsured patients in Connecticut.
Yale University professor Ned Blackhawk has won a National Book Award. “The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History” documents the key role of Indigenous people in the political and cultural life of the U.S. Blackhawk, a member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone, is the second current member of Yale’s Department of History to win the national prize.
