Good morning. Coastal Connecticut and Long Island saw flurries over the weekend with up to a foot of snow in Litchfield County.
The National Weather Service warns another storm system will likely bring more heavy rain and strong winds to the region Tuesday into Wednesday. The danger for coastal and inland flooding is high, given the saturated soils and elevated streamflows combined with urban and poor drainage.
Utility crews are still working to restore power to communities with outages due to fallen tree limbs and debris.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what we’re hearing:
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine will seek to cut taxes and fees, according to proposals outlined on Friday at the Long Island Association. Romaine, a Republican, wants to “limit or do away” with the county levy on oil, propane and natural gas used to heat homes. He also wants to reduce the cost of visiting county parks and beaches, as well as overhaul administrative fees attached to traffic and parking tickets charged to drivers
Connecticut’s public university system has offered to pay employees to retire in an effort to cut costs amid a $140 million budget deficit. The Connecticut State Colleges and University system offered the first buyout program for state workers in over a decade on Friday. Any buyout would require union approval. CSCU has tried to replace federal pandemic relief funds that boosted the system over the last few years to combat declining enrollment and rising staffing costs.
Five years after Jennifer Dulos went missing, a criminal trial is expected to begin this week. Michelle Troconis will stand trial on Thursday for the 2019 death and disappearance of Dulos. She is the former girlfriend of Fotis Dulos, the estranged husband to the New Canaan mother of five. He died by suicide in 2020 while facing murder charges. Troconis has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder and other charges.
The Federal Aviation Administration has greenlit the Midway Crossing convention center in Ronkonkoma. According to the FAA, planned development won’t impact air traffic coming to and from Long Island MacArthur Airport. The approval paves the way for the Town of Islip and Suffolk County to work with developers to build the complex, expanded terminal and pathway to the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma station.
More than 700 drivers were fined last year for speeding through construction zones in Connecticut. 2023 was the first year that speed cameras were set up near work zones. Nearly 25,000 drivers received written warnings, with several hundred receiving fines of at least $75. The goal is to reduce the thousands of crashes that happen near these sites. At least 10 people have died due to crashes in work zones since 2020.
Professional women’s hockey made its Connecticut debut in Bridgeport. The brand new Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) played Friday night at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport. The league is made up of six teams — three based in Canada, and three here in the U.S. The New York team will split its home games between Bridgeport and UBS Arena on Long Island. On Friday, New York got bested by Toronto, 3-2, after shutting out the Canadians earlier in the week.
