State News

ELDERLY SCAM THWARTED, ARREST MADE

On February 6, 2024, the Fairfield Police Department arrested Bin Sun) of Brooklyn, NY on charges of Criminal Attempt at Larceny 1st Degree following a reported scam targeting an elderly resident. The investigation began when the victim received an email earlier in the day, purportedly from "Geek Squad," falsely claiming a $525.00 purchase. To dispute the charge, the victim called the phone number provided in the email and spoke with a male who claimed to be a member of Geek Squad. Believing the interaction to be legitimate, the victim unsuspectingly provided bank account information and granted remote access to her computer, under the false pretense of receiving a refund. The scammer manipulated the victim into believing a fictitious refund of…

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STATE REPRESENTATIVE JENNIFER LEEPER, STATE SENATOR TONY HWANG, FIRST SELECTMAN BILL GERBER BACK CONNECTICUT SITING COUNCIL’S VOTE AGAINST UI RAILROAD TRANSMISSION LINE UPGRADE PROJECT AS PROPOSED

  Council voted unanimously against project in its present form  FAIRFIELD, CT – State Representative Jennifer Leeper (D-Fairfield), State Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield), and Fairfield First Selectman Bill Gerber today supported the Connecticut Siting Council’s unanimous vote against the United Illuminating (UI) Railroad Transmission Line Upgrade Project as proposed.   During Thursday’s Siting Council finding of fact meeting, the Council examined the submitted evidence and made a preliminary non-binding opinion on UI’s proposed project in Docket 516. Not one commissioner voted in support of UI’s project as proposed. Four commissioners, including the Chairman, supported the perspective that the new monopoles should be moved to the north side of the tracks, so as to avoid the creation of a second transmission corridor in such a congested region. One…

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ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG ANNOUNCES $350 MILLION SETTLEMENT WITH MULTINATIONAL MARKETING FIRM PUBLICIS OVER ROLE IN OPIOID EPIDEMIC

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has announced a groundbreaking $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health, a global marketing and communications firm, to resolve investigations into its alleged role in the prescription opioid crisis. Connecticut, part of a ten-state executive committee leading the investigation, will receive nearly $4.44 million from the settlement to address the opioid crisis, along with $332,000 covering the costs of the extensive multistate inquiry. Publicis agreed to the settlement terms, acknowledging the harm caused by its conduct. The firm will publicly disclose thousands of internal documents related to its work for opioid companies like Purdue Pharma and cease accepting client work connected to opioid-based Schedule II or other Schedule III narcotics. The settlement follows revelations in…

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ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG RELEASES REPORT ON CONNECTICUT DATA PRIVACY ACT

In Hartford, CT, Attorney General William Tong released a comprehensive report outlining the efforts of the Office of the Attorney General in educating consumers and businesses and enforcing compliance with the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (CTDPA) since its enactment on July 1, 2023. Mandated by the Act, the report, issued no later than February 1, discloses the number and nature of violations, the status of cured violations, and any relevant matters deemed significant by the Attorney General. The CTDPA, among the nation's first and most robust consumer privacy laws, empowers consumers with rights to access, correct, and delete data, opt-out of personal data sale and targeted advertising. The report highlights actions taken since the law's inception, including over a dozen…

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GOVERNOR LAMONT UNVEILS FIRST LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL OF 2024: ELIMINATE LICENSURE APPLICATION FEES FOR CERTAIN EDUCATION, CHILDCARE, AND HEALTHCARE WORKERS

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the fiscal year 2025 budget adjustment proposal that he will present to lawmakers when they meet in February to convene the next legislative session will include a recommendation that licensure application fees required for workers to obtain certain jobs in the education, childcare, and healthcare fields be eliminated. The governor said that he is proposing the change in an effort to encourage workers looking for employment to seek jobs in fields in which there is a significant need to fill available openings. The proposal will save these workers about $3.5 million annually. “Right now, there are many job openings in essential fields that employers need to fill, and by eliminating these…

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$30,000 Worth Of Ice Cream Along With Truck Stolen

In a story we told you about while it was still breaking: Travis Jones, 35, was taken into custody on Monday night for the theft of an ice cream truck containing frozen treats valued at $30,000 from a business on Post Road, according to the West Haven police. Jones was apprehended on Interstate 95 in Milford after the truck was pulled over by state troopers and members of a Bridgeport police task force, as reported by West Haven police. The incident unfolded at approximately 9 p.m. on Monday when West Haven police received a 911 call reporting the theft of an ice cream truck from a Boston Post Road business, said Sgt. Patrick Buturla in a news release on Tuesday.…

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Arrest made in fatal hit and run accident

On 01/06/2024 at approximately 12:15 AM, the Shelton Police were dispatched to the area of Howe Ave and White St on a report of a pedestrian lying in the roadway. Responding officers located an unresponsive female, later identified as 64-year-old Stephanie Peterson. Peterson was transported to Bridgeport Hospital, where she was later pronounced deceased.An investigation by Shelton Detectives and the Accident Reconstruction Team revealed that Peterson was stuck by a vehicle who evaded the scene. During the investigation the operator of the vehicle was identified as 19-year-old Ariela Treysler of Trumbull. An arrest warrant was later obtained for Treysler. On 01/25/2024 Treysler was arrested and charged with felony Evading Responsibly and released on a $50,000.00 bond. Treysler was given a…

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ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG SUES 28 CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS FOR KNOWINGLY CONTAMINATING CONNECTICUT WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND HARMING PUBLIC HEALTH WITH TOXIC PFAS “FOREVER CHEMICALS”

Companies Knew Decades Ago that PFAS Chemicals Cause Significant Harm to Human Health Remediation in Connecticut Alone to Cost Billions of Dollars (Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today filed two lawsuits against 28 chemical manufacturers responsible for knowingly contaminating Connecticut waters and natural resources and harming public health with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals.” The two complaints seek to hold the companies responsible for dangerous PFAS chemical contamination from two sources—aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) used in firefighting, and chemicals used in manufacturing and added to consumer products, such as food packaging, cookware, carpeting, upholstery, clothing, and cosmetics, to make products resistant to stains, water, and heat. Today, nearly all humans have PFAS in their blood. PFAS chemicals are toxic and…

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GOVERNOR LAMONT ANNOUNCES $12.1 MILLION IN SMALL CITIES GRANTS AWARDED TO EIGHT MUNICIPALITIES TO MODERNIZE AND REHABILITATE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila-Mosquera Bruno today announced that the Connecticut Department of Housing is awarding $12.1 million in grants to eight municipalities for upgrades that will modernize and rehabilitate housing for low and moderate-income individuals, as well as community infrastructure. The grants are being awarded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Small Cities program, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Eligible projects are required to be in a municipality with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents. “These grants go a long way in improving neighborhoods so that we can make our communities more attractive and encourage economic growth…

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MURPHY, COLLEAGUES TO INTRODUCE RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF U.S. SOCCER’S BID FOR THE 2027 WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and other members of Congress on Thursday announced that they will introduce a bipartisan, bicameral concurrent resolution in support of the United States Soccer Federation's bid for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, which would be hosted jointly by the United States and Mexico. The full text of the Senate Concurrent Resolution can be read here. The full text of the House Concurrent Resolution can be read here.  Murphy is leading the resolution along with U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). U.S. Representatives Darin LaHood (R-Ill.-16), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.-2), Don Bacon (R-Neb.-2), and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.-14), are also leading the resolution from the side of the House…

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