Good morning. State Attorney General William Tong is suing seven Connecticut cannabis businesses for illegally selling high-THC products. Each entity may face up to a $5,000 fine for violating the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
The businesses include:
- Shark Wholesale Corp. in Bridgeport
- Star Enterprise 74, LLC, in New Britain
- RZ Smoke, Inc., in Suffield
- Greenleaf Farms in New London
- Smoker’s Corner in Norwich
- Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke in New Haven
- Planet Zaza in East Haven
Many of the high-THC products were sold in packaging designed to appeal to children, causing them to become exposed to 100 times the maximum adult serving amount, according to Tong. Since 2021, the Connecticut Poison Control Center has received 400 calls regarding cannabis exposure in kids, with most requiring hospital treatment.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Calverton Aviation & Technology is suing the Town of Riverhead for canceling a $40 million contract. Riverhead had planned to sell over 1,600 acres of land in order to build a cargo jetport on the property. Town officials voted unanimously to nullify the contract in October after the company attempted to seek financial aid to build the facility. The company is seeking to fulfill the contract and receive compensation for monetary damages.
Jennifer Farber Dulos was declared dead by a probate court judge. The New Canaan mother of five was last seen dropping off her children before police found violent evidence of her disappearance in 2019. Her mother petitioned to have Dulos declared dead in order to protect her family's assets. Dulos’ body remains missing. Her late husband’s girlfriend, Michelle Triconis, is on trial for conspiracy to commit murder this week. She pleaded not guilty.
Long Islanders want an environmental review halted of a proposed $4 billion casino-resort. Las Vegas Sands hopes to build an entertainment complex and casino at the former Nassau Coliseum. Opponents of the casino seek to halt the Town of Hempstead’s review until a state appellate court determines if Sands has a right to even study the site after a judge struck down its lease.
A Connecticut state trooper was hospitalized for minor injuries after being hit by a reckless driver. The unnamed trooper was assisting with a traffic call on I-91 in Meriden on Tuesday when Luis Sanchez Jr, 20, of New York, crashed into the trooper’s car. Sanchez was issued an infraction while the trooper received medical treatment at Hartford Hospital.
The Bay Shore company was previously fined $10,000 for six safety violations prior to a trench collapsing on an employee on Monday. Lauro Pacheco was working in an excavated dirt trench for Darius Masonry Inc. when it collapsed and killed him several hours later. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Darius Masonry, which may face fines and citations if it failed to comply with OSHA workplace safety standards.
Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel wants Frontier Communication investigated for its poor quality of customer service. The state office alleges Frontier repeatedly failed to file exception reports and failed to meet state quality of service standards since 2015. The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority is considering the request.
Nassau County denied its $1 million contract Discover Long Island, the region’s longtime tourism promotions agency. Instead, Nassau’s tourism industry will be promoted by Glen Head’s marketing firm RRDA LI Inc. The decision was made after the county Legislature approved spending $10 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds on Nassau’s 125th anniversary celebrations this year. Meanwhile, Suffolk County will continue using Discover Long Island to promote its tourism.
A Shelton couple was sentenced for allowing minors to consume alcohol that ultimately led to the death of a 17-year-old. Paul and Susanna Leifer hosted a party in 2022 where high schoolers got drunk and later stabbed Jimmy McGrath to death at another location. The Leifers will no longer be able to host parties and are ordered to complete 50 hours of community service each. They were sentenced to two years of accelerated rehabilitation.
A lawsuit against Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta was withdrawn in a Connecticut Superior Court. A Stratford couple sued Meta in 2019 for allowing sex offenders to assault their 15-year-old daughter through the use of social media. They withdrew the lawsuit after placing most of the blame allegedly on Snap Inc.’s Snapchat app.
A small plane emergency landed at the Groton-New London Airport on Tuesday. The twin-engine Piper PA-34 safely landed without its landing gear. No injuries to its two occupants were reported. No exact cause for emergency landing has been determined, but the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
