Good morning. The pastor of the New London church that collapsed last week has begun fundraising to pay for the cost of the church’s demolition.
James Levesque, the founder of The Engaging Heaven Ministries, is crowdsourcing to raise money to reimburse the city for the costs related to dismantling the historic building. Mayor Michael Passero said the costs will be around $100,000 or more. Passero said demolition is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
The building was built in 1850 as the First Congregational Church. Levesque bought it in 2015. No one was injured in the collapse and the cause has not been determined.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona awarded a $2.5 million federal grant to New Haven’s Clifford Beers Community Care Center and Fair Haven School. The grant will support the full-service community schools initiative while providing students with better access to mental health support and other services. U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said the initiative will help staff schools with trained mental health professionals.
Suffolk County is facing over $1 billion in pending legal claims from the past 15 years. The lawsuits include ratepayers being unjustly taxed for a construction bond for several years, the mother of Thomas Valva seeking $200 million for the county’s neglect leading to her son’s death and a motorist challenging traffic ticket fees. According to Newsday, the county expects to resolve most of these claims by paying $615.6 million in lawsuit settlements.
70% of Long Island Rail Road riders are overall satisfied with transportation services. According to results from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s latest survey last fall, rider satisfaction increased by 2% since spring; customers from Jamaica to Penn Station expressed the most satisfaction among LIRR riders. In contrast, overall satisfaction for MTA riders dropped to 52%.
Stamford public schools face criticism after the removal of both Columbus and Veterans holidays. Board members say it was done to shorten the following two school years, which were slated to end in the middle of June. Both veterans and Italian-Americans have pushed back on the decision in an open letter to the school board. The state of Connecticut recognizes both holidays, but not all schools in the state do.
New York has helped compensate over $183 million to Holocaust victims and their families through the state Holocaust Claims Processing Office. The funds are intended to cover unpaid proceeds from European insurers and banks and other material losses from the Holocaust. The office additionally facilitated settlements for over 250 cultural objects that were lost, looted or sold without their owner’s consent.
Dozens of Suffolk County residents rallied near an abandoned Central Islip church to decry hateful graffiti. Graffiti targeting immigrants was found near the church’s chapel last week. Ralliers claimed the graffiti stemmed from hateful rhetoric spread by “MAGA Republican” politicians. Suffolk County hate crimes detectives are investigating the graffiti, which has since been painted over.
The health care provider owned by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe will distribute free doses of Naloxone. The program is part of a national initiative to combat the opioid epidemic. Pequot Health Care has already begun to distribute free doses of the overdose reversal nasal spray kits. The tribal-owned health care provider has been chosen to provide kits to all federally recognized tribal nations across the United States. The program is set to roll out over the next decade with roughly 40,000 free doses of naloxone to distribute.
A Long Island woman was sentenced to 20 years to life for the death of her twin daughters. In June 2019, Tenia Campbell threatened to kill herself and her two-year-old twins. East Hampton police later found Campbell off the Montauk Highway, with her daughters dead from suffocation in her hot car. Campbell pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in December.
Connecticut’s Chapter of Young Democrats rallied at the state Capitol to draw attention to issues that affect Generation Z voters. Dozens of students and young adults spoke to legislators citing social equity, LGBTQ+ support, affordable housing, funding for higher education and increased access to health care as dire issues. The Young Democrats plan to publish their own legislative priority next Wednesday as the next state legislative session begins.
