Good morning. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont wants smartphones out of classrooms. His proposed bill would require the state Board of Education to develop and continuously revise a model policy on student smartphone use. He suggests schools adopt a similar procedure to Manchester’s Illing Middle School, where students lock their phones in Yondr pouches for the day.
Attorney General William Tong visited the school with Lamont on Tuesday. School board chairman Chris Pattacini told the officials the pouches still allow children to bring in their phones in case of emergency and teaches kids how to manage cell phone addiction. Twelve-hundred pouches can cost a school $30,000.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Connecticut personal care assistants to receive pay increase. Workers will see a 26% raise by 2026. The state’s Personal Care Assistant Workforce Council and the New England Health Care Employees Union reached a new three-year contract this week. Assistants will also get up to 50 hours of paid time off. According to union president Rob Baril, this new contract will benefit 12,000 direct caregivers.
Several Long Island residents have been arrested in connection to the discovery of human remains in Bethpage State Park and West Babylon. A group of high school students found a severed arm on Thursday. Suffolk County Police later found a severed head, legs, arms and a torso in the area. The remains belong to a 59-year-old woman and a 53-year-old man. Police searched an Amityville home on Monday, but found no further remains.
Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission wants transparency in local races. Commission Executive Director Michael Brandi wants the commission to oversee municipal files and reports. Brandi told the General Assembly that the current filing systems restrict residents and reporters from easily accessing materials. If approved, political candidates would have to file their campaign finance statements electronically through eCris. Brandi said this would make local documents available to the public, and increase local election transparency.
Another Farmingdale parent sues the school district after his daughter suffered injuries from a September bus crash. Christopher Malanga filed the lawsuit in Nassau County Supreme Court on Tuesday. This is the fourteenth suit related to the crash, which killed two teachers and injured over 20 students. Malanga additionally accused bus company Regency Transportation and driver Lisa Schaffer of negligence. He is seeking unspecified damages.
Bridgeport resident sentenced to 18 years in prison. Lawrence Moore attempted to fatally shoot a Stamford police officer in 2019. Officer Bryan Cooper was undercover during a drug deal and arrested Moore once he ran out of bullets. Moore pleaded guilty in January to attempted murder, criminal possession of a firearm and possession of narcotics.
Cuomo subpoenaed over COVID-era policy. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has again been accused of dangerously exposing nursing home patients to COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic. Before the end of May, he must appear before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic. In 2020, Cuomo required nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients while hospitals were overwhelmed. The subcommittee said this led to the deaths of thousands of senior citizens. Cuomo denied the accusation.
Bridgeport City Council settles with injured resident. 74-year-old Jonathon Johnson was struck by a Bridgeport police car while crossing the street in 2020. He suffered a fractured leg, broken rib and contusions. Johnson will receive $280,000 from the city as a part of the settlement.
