Good morning — After a night of rain-free fireworks, scattered showers are expected throughout Friday and into the weekend. Get ready for warm and muggy weather with temperatures climbing into high 90s.
Heavy rain will likely put a damper on outdoor plans and/or fireworks.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what we’re hearing:
A Bridgeport police officer turned himself into custody on Wednesday. Officer Dani Soto faces 30 charges in connection with domestic violence allegations from a former girlfriend. The 7-year veteran of the force has been on administrative status with pay since May 8 since the woman came forward. According to the arrest warrant, Soto allegedly stalked and harassed her from his police car and through email and text messages.
A proposed rail line in Kings Park would have minimal impact on the environment and nearby community, according to the federal Surface Transportation Board. The 5,000-foot rail line would help waste management company Carlson Corp. transfer construction and demolition debris off of Long Island. The region is looking for ways to manage waste once the Brookhaven Landfill stops accepting construction debris at the end of this year. Two other waste transfer stations have already been approved in Medford and Brentwood. Another is under federal consideration in Yaphank.
Connecticut could raise $92 million a year by taxing mansions and other high-value houses, according to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a national think tank. The report recommends Connecticut put a four-percent tax on all home sales over a million dollars. Senate President Martin Looney has said he will try again next year for a statewide property tax on high-value homes. Republicans and the state’s real estate trade group oppose the measure.
More than 150 employees at a drug rehabilitation center in New Haven are seeking back pay after their boss died by suicide last week. Retreat Behavioral Health has since closed their facilities in Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Florida. Employees have proposed a class action lawsuit to recover wages in federal court in Florida.
The City of Long Beach sued two Queens men who promoted an unauthorized beach party. The planned event in June was expected to attract more than 500 people to the Long Island south shore beach before the city shut it down. Officials want to recoup $24,000 in city costs, as well as staff and police overtime. Last month, police responded to another beach party with more than 2,000 teenagers that became violent.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine has approved a $2.3 billion infrastructure plan to restore roads and bridges, develop new downtown sewer systems and invest in a new jail facility. The spending plan also includes nearly $35 million to purchase new voting machines next year. The three-year plan is nearly $950 million more than the previous plan, and was Romaine’s first plan since taking office in January.
Davis Dunavin contributed reporting...
