Month: May 2021

2021-05-26@11:38am–Stratford CT– The Weed Man allegedly lost control of his ride, went up on the curb and rolled his truck over near the fire station on Main Street. There were no reported injuries.

#Fairfield CT–Chef and Owner, Sonia Lopez, learned to cook with her mother. She uses only the finest ingredients, to prepare always fresh and homemade, classic pasta dishes with a twist, pizzas, homemade sandwiches, and desserts. Healthier options like gluten-free pizzas, pastas, and cauliflower crusts are available as well. The extensive selection of wines from around the world add to the dining experience.

Located conveniently off of Exit 22, I-95 SGK has ample parking and Sonia looks forward to guests from Fairfield and beyond to enjoy her warm and inviting ambiance. A décor of rustic charm is a perfect space for friends and family to come together and connect over delicious food. Sonia says,“Everyone is welcomed in, including the little ones!”

Hours: Monday 4pm to 9 pm, Tuesday to Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday & Saturday 11am to 10pm.

For more information: Visit www.sgkfairfield.com, Follow on Facebook or call: (203) 292-8668.

#Bridgeport CT–The City of Bridgeport public parks officially open on Saturday, May 29^th for the season.  Seaside Park and Beardsley Park will be open for Memorial Day weekend for residents and visitors with the purchase of a park sticker or day pass.  The Mayor is encouraging all residents to take advantage of all that the city has to offer with its vast waterfront and more than 1,300 acres of public parks.

Seaside Park and Beardsley Park

Annual Passes

• Annual Parking Sticker (Resident Permit) — Vehicle Registered in Bridgeport: $15 
• Annual Parking Sticker (Non-Resident CT Permit) — Vehicle Registered in CT: $130
• Annual Parking Sticker (Special Permit) — Vehicle Registered in CT with proof of current City of Bridgeport property tax bill: $20
• Annual Parking Sticker (Out of State Permit) — Vehicle Registered Out-of-State with proof of current City of Bridgeport property tax bill: $20

Day Passes Available to CT Residents:

• Seaside Park, CT Registration: $30 Weekdays / $40 Weekends & Holidays
• Beardsley Park, CT Registration: $25

Day Passes Available to Out-of-State Residents

• Limited to 20% Capacity
• Seaside Park, Out of State Registration: $50 Weekdays/$60 Weekends & Holidays
• Beardsley Park, Out of State Registration: $30

Park stickers will be available for purchase at the following locations:

• Checkpoint booths at Seaside Park Arches, West Beach and Beardsley Park; Daily 8a-4p
• Parks and Recreation Department, 7 Quarry Road, Trumbull; Mo-Fr 8a-4p

Stickers can only be purchased for the vehicle entering the park with proof of registration. The sticker will be affixed to the windshield by a checkpoint attendant.

If you have an Out-of-Town or Out-of-State vehicle but pay Bridgeport property taxes – please visit the Parks and Recreation Department with a current City of Bridgeport property tax bill to acquire a sticker. These stickers are NOT SOLD directly at the park checkpoints.

Senior Park Stickers

Bridgeport resident senior citizens (65 and older) are eligible for a free lifetime Senior Park Sticker with proof of Bridgeport car registration and proof of age. Senior Park Stickers can only be acquired at the Parks and Recreation Department during office hours.

Pleasure Beach

Pleasure Beach opens Saturday, July 3^rd with Water Taxi Service available 7-days a week for the season. Water Taxi Service to Pleasure Beach begins at 10am and ends at 4pm. Pleasure Beach closes at 6pm. Parking is available street side on Seaview Avenue. Pleasure Beach will be open through Labor Day weekend.   

Splash Pads

• Hours: 10am – 8pm

May 29^th

• Beardsley Park Splash Pad – 1875 Noble Avenue (Upper East Side) 
• Seaside Park Splash Pad – West Beach, 1 Barnum Dyke (South End)

June 19^th

• Beardsley Park Splash Pad – 1875 Noble Avenue (Upper East Side) 
• Newfield-Jessup Park Splash Pad – 104 Eagle Street (East End)
• Puglio Park Splash Pad – 3531 Madison Avenue (North End)
• Went Field Splash Pad – 401 Hanover Street (West Side)
• Alice Street Splash Pad – 1 Alice Street (North End)                 
• Curiale School Splash Pad – 189 Wood Avenue (West Side)
• Columbus School Splash Pad – 275 George Street (The Hollow)
• Ellsworth Park – 58 Ellsworth Street (Black Rock)
• Johnson Oak Park – 55 Hewitt Street (East End)
• Luis Munoz Marin School Splash Pad – 475 Helen Street (East Side)
• Nob Hill – 115 Virginia Avenue (Upper East Side)
• Park City Magnet School Splash Pad – 1526 Chopsey Hill (Reservoir/Whiskey Hill)
• Success Splash Pad – 303 Grandfield Avenue (Boston Avenue/Mill Hill)
• Washington Park Splash Pad – 475 East Washington Avenue (East Side)

Splash Pad Safety Guidelines

• Capacity limit varies per location
• Face covering not required in Splash Pad
• Use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving splash pad
• Properly dispose of any face coverings in the garbage

Fishing

Day and night fishing are both permitted along the city’s waterfronts and piers with a valid Fishing Permit.  Follow all signs posted, and adhere to No Trespassing signs, specifically noted for the breaker at Seaside Park.

For more information, visit the City of Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Department website at Bridgeportct.gov/ParksandRec.

This press release was made possible by:

WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the statement below in response to an antitrust lawsuit brought against Amazon today by Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleging that Amazon has illegally prevented third-party sellers from reducing their prices for products sold on competitor websites.

Two years ago, after Blumenthal pressed Amazon to remove anti-competitive price parity provisions from its contracts with third-party sellers in the United States, Amazon claimed that it would stop enforcing that requirement – only to institute a “fair pricing” policy that similarly restricts competition and raises consumer costs, as outlined in Racine’s suit.

“After I raised concerns about Amazon’s anti-consumer contract clauses two years ago, the company claimed to abandon the abusive policy that forced third-party sellers to raise prices on other platforms and even took a victory lap in the press – and then apparently continued its anti-competitive tactics unabated. I applaud Attorney General Racine for taking strong, decisive legal action today against Amazon’s anti-competitive, anti-consumer tactics and regret that federal regulators failed to act sooner – at great cost to American innovation and consumers,” Blumenthal said. “I call again on DOJ and FTC to aggressively investigate Big Tech’s potential antitrust and competition violations and take necessary enforcement actions to deter other harmful behavior.”

This press release was made possible by:

2021-05-25@11:30pm–#Fairfield CT– #cttraffic– A crash involving a wrong way driver on I-95 northbound near the exit 21.

1:00pm UPDATE: Police said nothing was found. They found no hunter, tested construction equipment at the school spoke with neighbors but nothin was found.

2021-05-25@11:47am– #Southport CT– #Fairfiled CT– Mill Hill School is in Lock In/Out as a precaution. Staff at Regal Care, a nursing home located at 930 Mill Hill Terrace called police saying they heard four gunshots coming from the wooded area. Police are currently in the woods looking for a possible hunter or the source of the gunshots which so far has had no results.

This news report is made possible by:

2021-05-25–#Bridgeport CT– Today, former chief of police AJ Perez began his prison sentence in Gilmer Federal Correctional Institution in Glenville, West Virginia. The chief along with former city personnel director David Dunn, who, pleaded guilty in October. Both were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making a false statement to the FBI. The chief received a one year, one day sentence which allows him to get “good time” credits for sentences over one year.

Former Chief Perez was Mayor Ganim’s driver when he was first mayor in the 90’s. Acting Chief Rebecca Garcia was then appointed acting chief by Mayor Ganim when Perez stepped down. Captains Brian Fitzgerald, Roderick Porter and Steven Lougal filed a lawsuit claiming that the appointment of Garcia to assistant chief is “unlawful and invalid.”

Former Chief AJ Perez is now known as inmate 07860-509.

Artificial Intelligence Use in Insurance

With artificial intelligence (AI) playing an increasingly important role in the insurance industry, the Connecticut Insurance Department is actively engaging with insurers and other stakeholders to protect consumers and ensure the use of AI and Big Data is not discriminatory in any way.

“The Insurance Department is diligently reviewing insurer practices to protect consumers from possible misuse and discrimination,” said Commissioner Andrew Mais. “There is a great deal of work to do, but the agency will stay at the forefront to ensure consumer protection as AI use evolves.”

The Department’s work is based on guidelines for the use of AI established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2020. NAIC members including Connecticut unanimously adopted these guiding principles on artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a framework for regulators to employ when assessing AI use in the insurance industry, as well as to communicate regulator expectations to businesses, professionals, and stakeholders across the insurance industry as they implement AI tools to facilitate operations.

Under these principles, AI use in insurance is expected to be:

• Fair and Ethical: respecting the rule of law and implementing trustworthy solutions.
• Accountable: with responsibility for the creation, implementation and impacts of any AI system.
• Compliant: with knowledge and resources in place to comply with all applicable insurance laws and regulations.
• Transparent: with a commitment to responsible disclosures regarding AI systems to relevant stakeholders as well as ability to inquire about and review AI driven insurance decisions.
• Secure/Safe/Robust: ensuring a reasonable level of traceability of datasets, processes and decisions made and implementation of a systematic risk management process to detect and correct risks associated with privacy, digital security, and unfair discrimination.

As part of the “fair and ethical” tenet, industry is expected to take proactive steps to avoid proxy discrimination against protected classes when using AI platforms.

The Connecticut Insurance Department is engaged with domestic insurers during scheduled annual meetings and supervisory colleges on their AI models and the logic being used in pricing and underwriting. This includes detailed scrutiny of an insurer’s usage of AI and its effects.

This press release was made possible by:

2021-05-24@5:01pm–#Bridgeport CT– Report of a pedestrian struck on Brooks Street. Apparently they refused medical treatement.

This news report is made possible by: