BRIDGEPORT, CT – The City of Bridgeport is celebrating Black History Month during February 2025 and recognizes this year’s theme: African Americans and Labor. This year’s theme is set to highlight African Americans within the workforce and the significant roles African Americans have held since July 2, 1964 when The Civil Rights Act made employment discrimination illegal. “Bridgeport is a culturally rich community that places a strong emphasis on inclusivity, and I believe it’s essential to highlight our African American communities as much as we can, especially in the ways they contribute to our workforce,” said Mayor Ganim. “There are countless stories to share—whether they reflect joy, pain, or love. This year’s Black History Month theme is vital for African American communities to share their life experiences with the world.”
As this month puts creativity underneath the Black History Month microscope, there are many City-wide events for residents and visitors to attend throughout the month of February, listed below. All are encouraged to visit any of these events while keeping up with the City of Bridgeport social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates on other events happening this month.
Bridgeport Public Library: Black History Month-specific events will be held throughout the month; visit https://bportlibrary.org/calendar/ to check the calendar for different library branch locations
February 18th: Black History Month Career Panel at CT State Housatonic
February 24th: Bridgeport Public Schools Student Debate
February 25th: Black History Month Small Business Pop-Up Market
On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 11:57 PM, Bridgeport officers responded to a ShotSpotter activation reporting five rounds fired in the 1000 block of Park Avenue. A concerned citizen also contacted the Emergency Operations Center, reporting gunshots and seeing a male in the backyards of the area.
Upon arrival, officers canvassed the area and noticed freshly pressed shoe prints in the snow despite active snowfall. Following the footprints, officers tracked them to the backyard of a residence in the 100 block of Herkimer Street, where they discovered 18-year-old Giovanni Gonzalez hiding.
Further investigation led officers to retrace the footprints, where they recovered a Sig Sauer P226 firearm equipped with a 20-round 9mm high-capacity magazine. The firearm was seized as evidence.
Gonzalez was taken into custody and charged with Carrying a Pistol Without a Permit, Theft of a Firearm, Possession of a Large Capacity Magazine, Interfering with an Officer, and Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm. He was transported to booking for processing.
On January 30, 2025, at 9:41 PM, Norwalk Combined Dispatch received multiple calls reporting gunshots in the area of North Taylor Avenue. Callers also reported seeing groups of individuals fleeing the area and hiding in a nearby parking lot. Patrol officers responded, secured the crime scene, and searched for suspects. Officers located 26 shell casings, consisting of 21 .40 caliber casings and five 9mm casings. A bullet hole was also found in the glass window of an apartment at 14 North Taylor Avenue. The bullet penetrated the window, entered the apartment, and was found approximately ten inches above a bed.
The Detective Bureau took over the investigation, interviewing witnesses, examining evidence, and reviewing surveillance footage. Detectives identified Anthony Palacios as one of the suspects involved in the shooting. They applied for and were granted an arrest warrant for Palacios, as well as a search warrant for his residence.
On February 12, 2025, Norwalk detectives executed the search warrant and arrested Palacios at his residence. He was charged with Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree, Violation of a Protective Order, and Illegal Discharge of a Firearm. Palacios was held on a $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on February 26, 2025.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111. Anonymous tips can be submitted online at www.norwalkpd.com or by texting “NORWALKPD” followed by the message to TIP411 (847411).
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is urging the Connecticut General Assembly to approve legislation he is proposing this session that will implement the largest expansion of preschool access in Connecticut history, enabling thousands of additional children to enroll in high-quality, early childhood education services, which have been unattainable for many families.
“I want Connecticut to lead on early childhood education, and that means making preschool affordable and accessible for all of our kids,” Governor Lamont said. “Access to early childhood services is massively important to the state’s success, not only because these programs provide valuable tools for children that will lead them to professional achievements in the future, but also because being able to enroll your child in care right now means that parents can join the workforce and earn an income that supports their family. Connecticut has an opportunity to make an investment in our future by expanding access to affordable preschool.”
The governor’s proposal includes depositing a portion of the state’s anticipated surpluses over the next several years into a brand-new fund known as the Universal Preschool Endowment. The endowment will be seeded by $300 million from the fiscal year 2025 surplus, and in the following years any unappropriated surpluses from the General Fund will continue to be transferred into it. The endowment will be managed by the Office of the Treasurer, and the commissioner of the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood may expend up to 10% of the balance of the endowment in any fiscal year.
The proposed use of the endowment aims to expand affordable preschool options for families by:
Making preschool available at no cost to families earning up to $100,000 per year;
Limiting the cost-share for families earning between $100,000 per year and $150,000 per year to a maximum of $20 per day;
Creating 20,000 new preschool spaces by 2032;
Reducing the cost to families for approximately 19,000 existing preschool spaces; and
Being simple, easy to access, and flexible to meet family needs.
“Governor Lamont’s historic action to establish a Universal Preschool Endowment will make preschool more accessible, affordable, and for many, free,” Connecticut Early Childhood Commissioner Beth Bye said. “It will stabilize the early care and education industry by increasing compensation for teachers and staff. This investment builds on the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Care, which brought together voices from across child care providers, businesses, government, and parents to provide a roadmap to guide ongoing investments in early education.”
“Governor Lamont’s proposal for universal preschool will make Connecticut a national leader among states because of its comprehensive approach to supporting children and families,” Walter Gilliam, executive director of the Buffet Early Childhood Institute, said. “It supports early learning and allows working families the ability to work. The focus on quality of care and options that meet family needs also stands out. Perhaps the most unique feature is that it protects the care of infants and toddlers while creating universal preschool for our threes and fours.”
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today urged lawmakers to back legislation proposed by the Office of the Attorney General to combat “shrinkflation” and price gouging contributing to unaffordable grocery bills for Connecticut families.
“Grocery prices are unaffordable and only getting more expensive. We need strong laws to go after the manufacturers and packagers who are taking advantage of this crisis to pad their profits,” said Attorney General Tong.
Click here for Attorney General Tong’s testimony on both proposals.
SHRINKFLATION
The term “shrinkflation” refers to packaging tricks deployed by manufacturers to try to hide the fact they are reducing packaging sizes to raise prices. For example, a manufacturer who reduces the volume of peanut butter in a jar by adding a dimple to the bottom of the jar. Or a bag of chips or box of crackers packed only half as full as it once was. In many cases, consumers only realize they have been a victim to shrinkflation after they get home and realize the groceries that always fed their family no longer go as far.
Legislation proposed by the Office of the Attorney General would require food manufacturers, packagers and wholesalers to provide a clear and conspicuous notice for at least twelve months when reducing the quantity, amount, weight or size of a product without making a corresponding reduction to the price.
The legislation would apply to essential groceries covered by federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program regulations, including baby formula, breads, cereals, dairy products, meats and fish, non-alcoholic beverages, seeds and snacks.
PRICE GOUGING
Attorney General Tong also sought support today for legislation to strengthen Connecticut’s woefully inadequate price gouging statute.
Price gouging is against the law in Connecticut—but only during declared civil preparedness and public health emergencies. And the Office of the Attorney General can only enforce that limited statute at the retail level, and not further up the supply chain where price gouging more typically occurs. During the pandemic, many state investigations of alleged price gouging behavior revealed that although the retail price of the item in question had increased, sometimes dramatically, the retail seller was not responsible for that increase. Rather, the cost of the item charged by the wholesaler to the retailer had increased, forcing the retailer to raise the price at the point of sale. In many cases, Connecticut retailers reduced their normal mark-ups in an effort to keep retail prices lower. Amending the price gouging statute to apply up and down the entire supply chain will better protect consumers by expanding and strengthening our ability to combat price gouging behavior.
The proposal would also add an additional trigger to the price gouging statute, giving the Attorney General, after consulting with the Department of Consumer Protection and Department of Economic and Community Development, the ability to issue a notice of an “abnormal economic disruption.”
Price gouging authority activated by the proposed abnormal economic disruption trigger would be limited to consumer necessities—defined as products purchased by the state in order to ensure public health or safety of its residents, including food, diapers, baby formula, pharmaceutical products and prescription drugs.
This trigger would allow the Attorney General to bring price gouging investigations, for example, when there is a baby formula shortage like we saw in 2022 after a large American manufacturer halted production due to contamination concerns or intravenous fluid shortage as we saw this fall in the wake of flooding in North Carolina.
A day-long standoff on Sable Street ended safely after Norwalk Police took 34-year-old Deval Pendergrast into custody on the evening of February 10, 2025. The situation began that morning at 9:19 AM when Norwalk Combined Dispatch received a complaint of a disturbance on Sable Street. Officers responded and spoke with a female victim who reported that Pendergrast had assaulted her, throwing her down a flight of stairs and striking her in the head with a dumbbell. The victim was able to escape the home and was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
After the assault, Pendergrast barricaded himself inside the residence and refused to exit. The Emergency Services Unit responded, and Crisis Negotiators attempted to encourage a peaceful surrender while detectives secured an arrest warrant from Stamford Superior Court. At approximately 9:15 PM, members of the Emergency Services Unit arrested Pendergrast inside the home. Authorities confirmed this was an isolated incident and there was no ongoing threat to the public.
Pendergrast has been charged with Assault in the Second Degree, Violation of a Protective Order, Unlawful Restraint in the Second Degree, and Disorderly Conduct. He is being held on a $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on February 11, 2025. Anyone experiencing domestic violence is encouraged to seek help by calling the Domestic Violence Crisis Center hotline at 203-588-9097 or dialing 911 in an emergency. Additional tips can be submitted to the Norwalk Police Tip Line at 203-854-3111.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) have introduced legislation aimed at protecting immigrants seeking essential services from immigration enforcement actions. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act would prevent federal immigration officers from making arrests, conducting interviews, or carrying out surveillance at locations such as hospitals, schools, and courthouses.
Blumenthal emphasized the need for these protections, stating, “Allowing ICE to invade spaces where people access health care, education, justice, and prayer is cruel and unnecessary, as well as a threat to public safety. When people are too frightened to seek medical care or report a crime, the entire community suffers.”
Espaillat, a longtime advocate for immigrant protections, criticized the rollback of previous safeguards under the Trump administration. “Donald Trump has prioritized attacking immigrant families and creating fear throughout our communities,” he said. “This bill will ensure that people can access essential services without the looming threat of deportation.”
The legislation formally codifies long-standing Department of Homeland Security policies that were rescinded by the Trump administration. It expands the definition of “sensitive locations” to include medical facilities, schools, places of worship, courthouses, social security offices, polling places, labor union halls, rape crisis centers, and homeless shelters.
The bill has garnered significant congressional support, with 53 co-sponsors in the House and Senate. It is also backed by over 580 advocacy organizations, including the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families at CLASP, stressed the importance of these protections. “Without them, parents may be too afraid to take their children to school or a doctor’s appointment,” she said. AFT President Randi Weingarten called for swift passage of the bill, stating, “Schools and hospitals should be safe and welcoming places. This legislation is necessary to reverse a policy that is both cruel and un-American.”
The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act now moves to Congress for further consideration.
