Good morning. Seventeen projects to protect open space in 18 municipalities across Connecticut will get funding from $14.5 million in state grants. This includes nearly $3.6 million to six Fairfield County towns and over $745,000 to three New Haven County towns.
The grants are from the DEEP-run Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition Grant Program and the Urban Green and Community Gardens Grant Program. Gov. Lamont said they will counter climate change and give residents equal access to outdoor green spaces.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we’re hearing:
Two Suffolk County men have been charged with the second-degree murder of a Bohemia man. In 2022, 49-year-old Michael Hartmann was in the backyard of his home when two men shot and killed him before fleeing the scene. Following an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department, police charged Christopher Fernandez and Oliver Schor with Hartmann’s death. Fernandez was arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Wednesday.
A New Haven man will go to trial for the alleged murder of his one-year-old daughter’s mother. In 2019, Jose Morales was charged with the murder of Christine Holloway. Police say she died from blunt-force trauma. Their daughter Vanessa remains missing. State Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo said the case was forced to go to trial after Morales and Holloway’s family were unable to reach a compromise. No date is currently set for the trial.
Long Island’s electric grid infrastructure will be upgraded with a $405 million FEMA grant. It comes from the agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Gov. Kathy Hochul said it will make the grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather events like Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020.
A New Haven developer is being sued by residents. Joel Strulovich plans to build a six-story, 112-unit building in the city. Two women say the new building will block sunlight from their homes and disable their solar arrays. The plan was approved by the city’s Plan Commission in 2023. An attorney for one plaintiff says the approval violated the city’s zoning ordinance.
A Ronkonkoma man died after being hit by a Long Island Rail Road train in Manorville on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said 49-year-old Daniel Seagren tried to drive his taxi, carrying one passenger, through downed crossing gates when a train hit his car. Seagren was pronounced dead at the Peconic Bay Medical Center; the unidentified passenger is in serious but stable condition at Stony Brook University Hospital. None of the 46 people on board the train were injured. The MTA is investigating the incident.
