Good morning. In just a year, we’ve grown this daily newsletter to thousands of readers. Thank you for reading Sound Bites!
We are taking off from this series during the last week of 2023. But we’ll be back with a bite-sized look at what we’re hearing — if news breaks or next year, whatever comes first!
Enjoy your New Year with these stories:
Long Island-based Clown.com owes years of back wages. A federal lawsuit has been filed by four former clown entertainers against the Elmont company, arguing they are owed back wages for years of work. The lawsuit said Clowns.com disregarded federal and state laws by mischaracterizing employees as independent contractors and avoiding paying them hourly wages and overtime. The plaintiffs allege that Clowns.com lied about the nature of their jobs and did not pay them for all hours worked. They want to expand the lawsuit to class action status, possibly bringing in dozens of present and former employees.
Expanding New Haven’s sanctuary status. Advocacy group Unidad Latina and immigrant rights groups are calling for the city of New Haven to be a "sanctuary city" by law — instead of just by executive order. They said it would help protect residents after a recent controversy involving the city’s Office Registrar of Vital Statistics. Employee Patricia Clark flagged more than 70 immigrant marriages in three months to federal authorities. Clark is on administrative leave while an investigation is underway.
Prosecutors withdrew their appeal in election fraud against a former Bridgeport City councilman. A federal judge has dismissed a charge against Michael DeFilippo. The motion had halted DeFilippo's trial, which was scheduled to begin before a jury on Sept.18. DeFilippo continues to face trials on identity theft and fraudulent registration charges that hold a maximum of five years in prison.
Greenwich’s climate residency plan to combat climate change. Greenwich is preparing to develop a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. The town's director of environmental affairs, Beth Evans, wants to hire a consultant to help synthesize the goals of the Conservation Committee into a more suitable action plan. The committee’s goal is to get a climate action plan approved by the Board of Selectmen.
Connecticut regulators dismiss Fairfield election irregularities. The State Elections Enforcement Commission cleared two Fairfield voting officials of plausible irregularities in the 2022 election. The commission dismissed the case and rejected a previous order to hold election materials. Republican Meghan McCloat’s objection included alleged ballot issues and unsuitable photocopying. The decision finalizes McCloat’s loss in the race for state House.
Sports fans will be permitted to bring along a reusable water bottle to stadiums and arenas around New York City. The City Council passed a law requiring all sports venues in the city to allow ticketholders to bring in refillable water containers as long as they are aluminum or stainless steel and hold up to 24 ounces of water. This includes Citi Field, Yankee Stadium and Barclay's, as well as smaller collegiate venues like Columbia and St John’s. It’s expected to eliminate the use of hundreds of thousands of plastic water bottles at the stadiums every year.
SiriusXM faces lawsuit for cancelation process. New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against SiriusXM Radio, stating the company is "trapping consumers" with a "deliberately long and burdensome" cancellation process. Her office found that SiriusXM requires subscribers to call or chat online with an agent to cancel a subscription and then creates those exchanges to prevent cancellations. According to the attorney general's office, cancellation would take 11.5 minutes via phone and 30 minutes online.
Brookhaven takes action against short-term rental violations. The town will set fines of up to $6,000 for unlawful short-term house rentals starting next year. The town board said the decision was made based on complaints of noise disturbances and other nuisances. They set up penalties for house rentals of less than four weeks and ban separate rentals of property swimming pools. The revised law applies to online short-term rental bookings and bookings through newspapers and other means.
Paid summer camp workers in Connecticut could soon be mandated reporters. The state Office of Early Childhood has recommended a new rule mandating paid summer camp workers of at least age 21 to report any suspected abuse or neglect to state authorities. The regulation aims to increase protection for campers and reinforce the office’s enforcement of a 2022 law. The rule will be required to be voted on in the upcoming legislative session.
