Category: Local News

NEW HAVEN, CT) – This afternoon on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University, Governor Ned Lamont led the first meeting of the Governor’s Workforce Council, a historic group of leaders representing the diversity of stakeholders across the state that are involved in education, training, hiring, and economic development. The council was established last month through executive order and is being tasked by the governor to improve the state’s education and training ecosystem and pipeline so that all residents are able to access high quality and affordable training and education that are aligned to the needs of businesses.

 

In forming the council, the governor has brought together some of the most influential and talented education, training, business, nonprofit, government, and labor leaders in the state representing every portion of the pipeline, including K-12 public schools, career and technical schools, higher education, employers, state agencies, and workforce development boards.

 

The governor explained that his goal in creating the group is to take a system designed for the 20th century and bring it into the 21^st century.

 

“By 2025, Connecticut’s economy will need 70 percent of workers to have received some kind of post-secondary training or education. Today, we are hovering around 55 percent,” Governor Lamont said. “Closing this skills and credentials gap is a critical component to growing our state’s economy and will tear down the barriers to economic opportunity that block too many of Connecticut residents.”

 

Governor Lamont’s Executive Order No. 4 requires the council to submit a report to the governor and legislature by January 1, 2021 that makes strategic recommendations to improve the state’s workforce system in a variety of areas, including better coordination, reducing barriers to training, strengthening the bridge from high school into post-secondary training and education, and emphasizing data-driven outcomes.

 

“Having a group of this caliber – including a significant number of some of the state’s finest business, education, nonprofit, and labor leaders – meeting together to  improve our workforce training system is unprecedented,” Governor Lamont said. “To grow jobs, businesses need trained workers who are prepared to meet the demands of new technologies in the workplace. Connecticut rightly has a national reputation for its high quality, skilled workforce, and maintaining that standing is key to attracting new businesses and creating new, good paying jobs.”

 

2019-11-16 @2:40pm–#Milford CT– Firefighters are on scene of a structure fire oon Edgewood Avenue.  The bulk of the fire is knocked down, and firefighters are opening walls to make sure the fire is out and did not extend elsewhere.

 

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Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull today warned Eversource consumers that scammers may have gained access to customer account numbers and have been using this information in attempts to defraud consumers. Complaints to the Office of the Attorney General regarding robocall utility shut-off scams continue to increase and consumers are advised to be vigilant.

The scam involves a “spoofed” call purporting to be from Eversource. In some cases, the scammer may demand to install a new meter and threaten to shut off power if not immediately paid $300. In other cases, the scammer may also demand payment of an alleged overdue balance, and threaten immediate shut off. Threatening service disconnection is a common scam, and fraudsters have previously impersonated other utilities to try to get access to credit card information.

The Office of the Attorney General has begun to receive new reports now that scammers may have access to accurate customer account numbers, making it even harder for consumers to detect the scam. The Office of the Attorney General is working with Eversource to determine how scammers acquired the information.

Attorney General William Tong, state Sen. Christine Cohen, Department of Consumer Protection Deputy Commissioner Arunan Arulampalam and state Rep. Sean Scanlon will hold a forum tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Nathanael B. Green Community Center in Guilford on combating the increase in robocalls. This latest Eversource scam will be among the topics discussed. During the forum, Attorney General Tong and state officials will be joined by representatives from the Connecticut Better Business Bureau and the Connecticut Alliance of Retired Americans, and will discuss ways to avoid falling victim to a robocall, how to report a spam call, the various types of robocalls, and measures the Office of the Attorney General and state legislature are taking to address the issue.

“This scam is widespread and fraudsters may be increasing in sophistication. I am alarmed and concerned that scammers may now have access to customer account numbers. This will make it even harder for consumers to detect and avoid this scam. We are working to determine how scammers acquired this information,” said Attorney General William Tong. “Your utility will never ask for instant payment and cannot threaten shutoff without prior written warning. If you receive this call, hang up the phone and do not pay a cent.”

“If you don’t believe that you owe Eversource money, you probably don’t,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull. “Scammers with even a little bit of your personal or account information can seem incredibly convincing. It’s important to remember that Eversource will never threaten to turn off your power within hours or minutes, and no one should have to give you your account number over the phone. If someone pressures you to pay immediately, don’t fall for it and hang up the phone.”

If you receive a suspicious call regarding your Eversource account, hang up the phone. You can verify the status of your account by contacting Eversource directly at 800-286-2000. You can also contact the Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Unit at 860-808-5420. To report a scam using the Attorney General’s online complaint system, click here.

 

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2019-11-13@3:03pm–#Stratford CT–#Milford CT–#cttraffic–A crash on the Merritt Parkway southbound on the Sikorsky Bridgeport.  No reports on injuries but it will hurt your commute time!

 

2019-11-08@10:47am–#Monroe CT– Report of a 3 alarm fire at the Mobil station at 172 Main Street.  Radio reports say the building is fully engulfed in flames.

 

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