Good morning. New York charter bus riders could be required to wear safety belts at all times. State legislators proposed a bill that would require riders eight years old and older to wear seat belts or face a $50 fine.
The bill is in response to a September bus crash that killed two teachers and injured over 20 students from Farmingdale High School. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, 19 people die in charter bus crashes each year on average.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Court cases challenge the legality of retail cannabis in Connecticut. The Stamford Neighborhoods Coalition sued the city after its zoning board permitted cannabis sales. Meanwhile, two Hamden residents were charged with selling unlicensed cannabis products with illegal amounts of THC. Both cases allege the state violated the federal Controlled Substances Act by regulating cannabis sales. State Attorney General William Tong will address both cases.
Hundreds of sex abuse survivors reject settlement with Diocese of Rockville Centre. The Diocese proposed a $200 million “final offer” to survivors in November. It would give the 600 survivors $100,000 each. The Diocese motioned to dismiss the proceedings on Friday after survivors called the settlement inadequate. Each survivor's cases are expected to go back to civil court.
Ten protesters were arrested Monday at Pratt and Whitney’s Middletown plant. Protesters want the company to stop supplying aircraft to Israel in its war in Gaza. The individuals blocked the main entrance by sitting in the road with locked arms. A car was also used to block access to the facility. Local police arrested the protestors following repeated requests to move out of the road. They were charged with disorderly conduct.
Connecticut could investigate alleged racial profiling by Bridgeport police. A lawsuit to prevent the state from opening an investigation has now been dismissed. The Racial Profiling Prohibition Project found numerous traffic stops by city police went unreported. The state Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities later alleged these stops were instances of racial profiling made by white officers.
Long Island chronic absenteeism rates have doubled since 2020. Nearly one in five students on Long Island are chronically absent from school, according to a study by New York state. That means the student missed 18 days or more of school in one year. Only about one in 10 students were chronically absent in the 2019 school year. Almost a third of students nationwide were chronically absent in the 2021-22 school year.
Bridgeport detectives were only docked two paid holidays for death notice delays. Two detectives failed to notify the families of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Rawls after both women died on the same day in separate incidents in 2021. An internal investigation found the detectives did not follow protocol. A CT Insider complaint forced the city to reveal its punishment. The attorney for the two families called the situation a “mockery.”
Gillibrand calls for $24 million for police child care. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) proposed a bill to provide child care for children of police, and set aside $3 million to open child care centers. According to New York’s Independent Budget Office, nearly 3,000 officers resigned or retired in 2023, while only 2,300 were recruited. NYPD officers often work overtime and have nontraditional schedules, making child care arrangements difficult.
New Haven has a new head of housing code enforcement. Mayor Justin Elicker has picked Liam Brennan, the former inspector general of Hartford and Elicker’s opponent in the 2023 mayoral primary. Reforms will aim to improve the city’s residential rental licensing program, anti-blight efforts, and more.
