Good morning — Almost 50,000 veterans in a dozen states, including Connecticut and New York, were notified of a data breach in connection to medical appointment postcards.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs sent two mistaken mailings in December. The postcard error came from the Xerox company, which is the official vendor. Affected veterans were notified in mid-January.
The VA said that no social security numbers, dates of birth or additional identifying information were divulged in the mix-up.
“We, at VA, regret any preventable disclosure of sensitive veteran information and take appropriate action to inform and protect impacted individuals as quickly as possible,” a VA spokesperson said. “Additional time was required to identify the affected individuals and complete notifications, resulting in the delay in informing the public."
Xerox said in a statement: "We regret any inconvenience this may have caused to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its members.”
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
MTA delays its launch of $15 toll. Due to a New Jersey lawsuit, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority told a federal judge that it plans to start charging motorists who enter Manhattan below 60th Street in the summer. The MTA and the U.S. Department of Transportation are in federal court to resolve the pending litigation before congestion pricing could go into effect around June 15.
A Stratford Church tried to stop the building of a cannabis dispensary. A state Superior Court judge rejected the lawsuit, allowing for the development of the town's first cannabis dispensary to continue. The church argued that a dispensary would create economic loss to the church, as well as higher taxes and increased costs with public health and safety. The church plans to appeal under the "automatic standing" rule, which applies the same scrutiny of alcohol sales to cannabis sales under local zoning.
The Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood will convert a former school into 140 affordable apartments. The sisters agreed to partner with the nonprofit Concern Housing to redevelopthe former Academy of St. Joseph buildings. Half of the apartments will become income-restricted, and the other half will be supportive housing units. The development requires a zoning change and could open to residents as early as 2026.
Bridgeport City Council has approved a $45,000 settlement for a police captain who filed a federal discrimination lawsuit. Lonnie Blackwell said he was harassed, ridiculed and retaliated against due to his leadership role in the Bridgeport Guardians, the minority officer organization. He was a contender to replace Police Chief Rebecca Garcia, losing out to another officer. This is the second settlement between city officials and Blackwell.
New York released 15 draft safety standard recommendations for battery energy storage systems. The proposals include having emergency personnel available for dispatch within 15 minutes in case of fires and requiring annual local first responder training for every installation, among others. Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state should adopt these recommendations to ensure that energy transitions are done safely and responsibly after three fires last year, including in East Hampton.
A developer withdrew their application to transform a historic Gales Ferry site. Gales Ferry Intermodal LLC wanted to create a quarry operation at Mount Decatur, a historic fort of the War of 1812 era. The decision by leading company Cashman Dredging & Marine Contracting Co., sought to address concerns over the potential impact to public health, noise from rock blasting, increased truck traffic, loss of bird habitat, and the degradation of a historic site.
Explicit video disrupts New London meeting. The city Board of Finance was abruptly adjourned after a video was streamed during the presentation featuring a man performing an explicit sex act. The meeting was hosted by Finance Director David McBride and attended by several finance board members. Police are investigating the incident, and the city is planning additional resources to monitor and block such content.
Three Connecticut residents are charged in a bribery and extortion scheme. Federal prosecutors said 70 current and former New York City Housing Authority employees demanded $2 million in bribes from contractors, accessing $13 million in no-bid contracts. If convicted, they could serve up to 10 years in prison on bribery charges and up to 20 years on extortion charges.
Water line damage causes an outage of hydrants during ammonia leak. Bethpage firefighters responded to an ammonia leak at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center. Firefighters had to bypass the park's hydrants and connect to nearby ones on the street. Fire officials blame the town for not receiving any notification from the town that three of the four hydrants had been impacted by water line damage. The rink reopened last week.
A LEGO convention is coming to Brentwood. The Brick Convention is set for October 19-20 at the Suffolk Credit Union Arena in Brentwood. The event features merchants, displays, life-size figures, creator appearances, train sets, kits, Star Wars-themed creations and Lego botanical arrangements. Proceeds will go to Creations for Charity, which donates Lego sets to children worldwide.
