State News

Don’t Drink and Gun

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy  applauded the unanimous, bipartisan approval in the General Assembly’s Public Safety and Security Committee of legislation he introduced that strengthens the blood alcohol limits for carrying a firearm as well as for hunting while under the influence.   Under current state laws, the blood alcohol limit for both offenses is 0.1.  However, the limits for drunk driving and drunk boating are 0.08.  Governor Malloy’s proposal conforms all of these laws to 0.08.   “If you are too drunk to drive, you are too drunk to carry a firearm – plain and simple.  Our laws should reflect that.  The unanimous, bipartisan support of the Public Safety Committee shows that this proposal just makes sense. …

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Connecticut State Police’s K9 Asher Received a Bullet and Stab Protective Vest

#MIDDLETOWN CT – March 8, 2016) – Connecticut State Police’s K9 Asher has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. The vest was sponsored by Wagging Tails Pet Sitting & Mobile Grooming of Southington and is embroidered with the sentiment “Donated by Wagging Tails Pet Sitting & Mobile Grooming.” K9 Asher has been assigned to Trooper First Class Jessica Colburn for two years and is currently working at Troop A in Southbury. K9 Asher is a three-year-year-old German Shepard who is trained in all patrol functions including tracking, building searches, evidence recovery, apprehension, obstacles and obedience. K9 Asher is also a Human Remains Detection Dog on the Search and Rescue Team. Vested Interest in K9s,…

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Flags At Half Staff In Honor of First Lady Nancy Reagan

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that – in accordance with a proclamation from President Barack Obama directing flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of First Lady Nancy Reagan – U.S. and state flags in Connecticut will fly at half-staff beginning immediately until sunset on the day of interment. (State of Connecticut Press Release) This report is made possible by:

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Proposal To Reduce Test Time Increase Learning Time

#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy and State Department of Education (SDE) Commissioner Dianna R. Wentzell today announced the implementation of a new step that will reduce testing time and expand learning time for more than 200,000 Connecticut children across over 800 schools.  Changes to the application of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), impacting every student in grades three through eight, is as part of a broader effort to help districts spend less time testing students and more time teaching.   Currently in grades three through eight, there are two components of the SBAC exam.  The first is a computer adaptive test – the portion of the assessment done electronically with adaptive questions based on student responses –…

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News Signage For Parking For People With Disabilities

#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he has introduced legislation designed to modernize the signage that designates reserved parking spaces for people with disabilities.  The updated symbol and language, being called for by advocates internationally, is more reflective of the diverse community of those who utilize the accessible parking spaces.   Under the proposal, the updated signs will only be installed at times when a new accessible parking space is being created or when an old sign is damaged or weathered and needs to be replaced.  As such, the revamped signs will come at no additional cost to taxpayers or businesses.   “For decades, Connecticut has been at the forefront in fighting discrimination against persons with…

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CT Department of Revenue Services Tax Warning

Connecticut taxpayers are being targeted by a new email scam.  On-line thieves posing as the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) are using email to steal taxpayer information.  These phishing attacks appear to originate outside of the United States.   According to DRS Commissioner Kevin Sullivan, taxpayers are receiving email messages about a “Connecticut state income tax verification exercise.”  Taxpayers are then directed to link to a phony website that looks like an official DRS website and asked to disclose confidential information.  Disclosing the information results in identity theft and likely fraudulent income refund claims in the name of the taxpayer.   What taxpayers will see in their email is the following message:   Due to routine check and validation of…

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Is winter over?? The Weatherdogs chime in…

That maybe the questions asked to us Weatherdogs over the next few days but our answer is a big fat NO! You will start to see a lot of hyping and chatting going on with other weather sources about what some may call a huge storm for next week... but this is what we can tell you as of today. A model consensus and almost total agreement as of this morning is showing us that all the ingredients for what could potentially be a good sized East Coast Storm for next week will be in place. Now before we get bombarded with questions it is way too early to do much of any type of forecast. There will be changes…

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Dangerous Cold

Good early Saturday morning... These are some of the warning headlines from the NWS this morning. This will be by far the colds temps we have seen in the last 5-10 years. Heed the warnings... the only good thing is it only lasts for 36 hours and then we will see this polar air exit stage right. Lots of model agreement and disagreement for the Early week storm. Hopefully by late tonight or early tomorrow we should have a better idea of what will happen. Stay warm!!  Tom and Kevin Follow us on Facebook at Valley Shore Weatherdogs 

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State to Help Fund Assessment and Remediation Efforts of Blighted Properties

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that 16 municipalities across Connecticut are being awarded $8.7 million in state grants that will help the communities revitalize and remediate specific properties so they can be put back into productive use and attract new development that will benefit each town and city.   “In a new economic reality, transforming and remediating sites is so important.  We’re on the cutting edge of taking otherwise unusable property and transforming it into new space for businesses and residents.  These strategic investments help towns and cities take abandoned, blighted, and vacant properties, and bring them back to life in order to spur new investments, new development, and new jobs for those in the communities,”…

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