Good morning — The estate of a Connecticut dancer who died after eating a mislabeled cookie containing peanuts has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
Órla Ruth Baxendale, 25, died Jan. 11 after eating a cookie sold by Stew Leonard’s and suffered an anaphylactic reaction. A spokesperson for Stew Leonard’s said they could not comment on pending litigation. Wholesaler Cookies United did not respond to an email seeking comment Friday evening. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary and punitive damages.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
Five more Long Island towns have challenged a state law that would move local elections to even-numbered years in New York. The towns of Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip, North Hempstead and Smithtown are all Republican led. They joined Suffolk County and Hempstead Town in a lawsuit that argues lawmakers violated the state constitution. Nassau County also filed a similar lawsuit.
Connecticut is producing more wine than it did before the pandemic. Last year, the state produced 1.7 tons of grapes per acre. That was a slight dip in grape production compared to the year before because of unpredictable weather. Data from the USDA shows Connecticut is growing 64% more grapes than in 2019 — for more bottles of wine.
A former Stratford police officer will not face decertification. Maxwell Bernstein retired from the force in 2022 after an internal investigation into his refusal to commit a 23-year-old man who was believed to be in psychiatric distress. Bernstein’s lawyer says the decertification effort was a “smear campaign to intentionally muddy the waters” of his lawsuit against the police department for religious discrimination.
Paier College of Art in Bridgeport is under scrutiny for not having any faculty hired for the fall, according to the state Office of Higher Education. Last summer, State Attorney General William Tong sued Joseph Bierbaum, who owns both Paier College and Stone Academy, for allegedly deceiving students and misusing funding after Stone Academy abruptly closed its doors, leaving nursing students without expected degrees. Tong said Paier College was being funded in part by Stone Academy tuition, with funds being transferred over by the schools’ owner.
Long Island ranks as New York’s top region in the number of jobs created by industrial development agencies (IDA), according to the latest report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. County, city and town IDAs reported a record $132 billion in value from more than 4,300 renewable energy, housing development, and other active projects in 2022 — an increase of $5 billion from the year before. The projects added 47,500 temporary and permanent jobs to Long Island. In exchange, IDAs granted companies more than $1 billion in combined tax breaks.
Ørsted says it would give $2 million to a pair of nonprofits if Connecticut moves forward with its newest wind farm proposal. The money would benefit Thames Valley Council for Community Action and Community Renewal Team to support workforce development and low-income energy assistance funding. Ørsted wants to use State Pier in New London for its Starboard Wind project off Rhode Island.
Eda Uzunlar and Terry Sheridan contributed reporting…
