Good morning. Fourteen absentee ballots were left unopened in Bridgeport’s primary election redo for mayor, according to Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas’s office. Bridgeport Town Clerk’s Office made copies of the inner and outer envelopes of the absentee ballots received for the January mayoral primary and found the ballots mistakenly mixed among the envelopes. Even with the ballots found, election results remained the same, keeping incumbent Joe Ganim as the winner.
In addition, Lamond Daniels has exited the Bridgeport mayoral race. Daniels claimed the election was “unwinnable” for him and refused to endorse any remaining candidates. Independent candidate John Gomes and Republican candidate David Herz will face Ganim in a special mayoral general election on Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
President Biden approved New York’s request for a major disaster declaration after heavy rains in September. The declaration is in response to over eight inches of rain flooding areas in Nassau County, Westchester and Brooklyn, inflicting severe damage to infrastructure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide funding to local governments and nonprofits to support recovery and reconstruction efforts.
FEMA will reimburse Connecticut $1.7 million for COVID-19 medical supply warehouses. Between April and July 2022, the state Department of Correction used several warehouses to provide residents with face masks and other pandemic-related medical supplies. FEMA has awarded almost $1 billion worth of Public Assistance grants to Connecticut to reimburse pandemic-related expenses to date.
Young parents are struggling to acquire large-family homes. According to a report from brokerage website Redfin, Baby Boomers own 28% of the nation’s large homes, while Millennial and Gen. Z families own only a combined 14.3%. In New Haven, Conn., Boomers own over 29% of large homes while Millennial families own 12%. Many Millennials have resorted to renting instead due to Boomers refusing to move, lack of homebuilding and rising mortgage prices.
Two Long Island school districts face lawsuits in connection to a scandal over falsified vaccine records. Two families in Franklin Square and Cold Spring Harbor are seeking a court order to permit their children to return to school. The students are among nearly 700 students on Long Island with falsified records from Baldwin-based midwife Jeanette Breen. The state mandates that barring some medical exemptions, children must be fully vaccinated before they are allowed to attend school.
A former East Patchogue fire chief has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit. Nicole Pannhurst served as fire chief of Hagerman Fire Department for one year in 2021 before she was removed following a vote of no confidence. Pannhurst claimed assistant fire chiefs and other firefighters repeatedly and intentionally ignored her orders and withheld information due to her gender. The fire department denied the allegations.
A complaint was filed against the Connecticut chapter of No Labels. The campaign finance reform committee End Citizens United filed the complaint with the state Department of Consumer Protection. They argue No Labels misused their nonprofit status to launch a third-party presidential ticket from the No Labels Party. United wants to see the state revoke the political organization’s nonprofit status.
The NYU-Lagone medical system opened a Garden City ambulatory center. The $170 million, 260,000-square-foot project was built within a former Sears building. Over 800 medical staff are expected to operate from the center and are estimated to care for 400,000 patients annually. It will provide cardiology, endocrinology, and vascular surgery, among other services.
