Good morning — Early voting began Saturday in New York’s third congressional district. Republican Mazi Pilip is challenging Democrat Tom Suozzi to fill the remainder of expelled Congressman George Santos’s term.
Suozzi represented the district for six years before leaving to challenge Governor Kathy Hochul in the 2022 gubernatorial primary election. Pilip is a two-term Nassau County legislator from Great Neck who emigrated from Israel.
The special election in Nassau County and Queens is set for next Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
A complaint alleging mishandled absentee ballots in Bridgeport’s primary election redo was referred to Connecticut’s elections watchdog agency. Hearst Connecticut Media obtained an email sent to the Secretary of the State’s office from election monitor Peggy Reeves ahead of the Jan. 23 Democratic Party primary election. Reeves said “they had received reports of people who indicated that they did not have to put their ballots in the mail or dropbox because others came to pick up their ballots for them,” which is illegal for political operatives or campaign workers in Connecticut.
Nassau County Police killed a 19-year-old Massapequa man who allegedly pulled a weapon on them. On Friday, police were responding to a 911 call about a suicidal man. They found David Clements with three guns outside his house. When he allegedly refused to drop his weapons, and pointed a gun at officers, police shot Clements. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office is investigating.
The first six months of Connecticut’s data privacy law revealed 30 complaints from consumers sent to State Attorney General William Tong’s office, which issued six violations to businesses that were not in compliance. The Consumer Data Privacy Act went into effect last July in an effort to give consumers more control over the personal data collected by businesses online. This includes requiring businesses to be transparent about how data is used, and allow customers ways to opt out, edit or delete their data.
A federal judge rejected an effort to stop New York’s cannabis licensing process. The lawsuit was filed by entrepreneurs who claimed the state’s licensing rules unfairly discriminated against out-of-state residents. The judge said the lawsuit impeding the troubled rollout of New York’s recreational marijuana market was more detrimental than appropriate. The state still faces more legal hurdles in its licensing process. Fewer than 60 licensed dispensaries have been allowed to open across the state.
Vince McMahon is under federal investigation over sexual assault allegations and sex trafficking, according to the Wall Street Journal. McMahon, former executive of World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford, resigned last week from the WWE after a former employee filed a lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing her. McMahon denies the allegations. An editorial from Sports Illustrated has called on Connecticut Attorney General William Tong to open a criminal investigation.
Almost 200,000 Connecticut households might be losing their internet this year, according to the Federal Communications Commission. The federal Affordable Connectivity Program is expected to run out as soon as April and will stop taking new applicants. More than 23 million U.S. households rely on the program to help pay for their internet. In Connecticut, the federal program has provided the state with almost 100 million dollars in support.
New vulnerabilities in Suffolk County’s computer system were discovered by a third party contractor in December. The county’s IT staff have implemented a program to help close the network’s vulnerabilities and link Suffolk to a state-operated security operations center to monitor for potential cyberattacks. The vulnerabilities were detected in a standardized cyber-penetration test put in place after Suffolk was crippled by a ransomware attack in 2022.
