Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Orlando Morel, one of cadets graduating from the Coast Guard Academy today, was saved by the service when he was six years old
One of the cadets graduating from the Coast Guard Academy today is repaying the service for saving his life when he was six years old. According to the Huffington Post, Orlando Morel and several other migrants from Haiti were heading to the United States on a small wooden boat when the vessel got lost. Suffering from lack of food and water, Morel and his fellow passengers were rescued by the Coast Guard. Morel was sent to Cuba after his rescue, and later reunited with his ill mother at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. He was adopted by Louise Jackson, who was serving in the Navy and acting as Morel's mother's translator, after his mother died. Morel was inspired to serve in the Coast Guard, and will be part of the 131st commencement …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Water Street Parking Garage trompe l’oeil debuts as part of downtown New London mural project
The first mural in New London's "City Canvases" project will be unveiled on Wednesday. "Cabinet of Shells," a 40-foot trompe l’oeil, features a three-dimensional image of shells from Indonesia, India, and Mexico. The piece was created by graphic designer Peter Good along with Jan Cummings, Kirsten Desnoyers and Jesse Good. The mural, located on a tower on the Water Street Parking Garage, will be revealed in a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Speakers will include Peter Bergstrom, director of the Department of Economic and Community Development, along with Mayor Daryl Finizio, Hygienic Art president Vincent Scarano, and State Senator Andrea Stillman. The event will begin at 11:15 a.m. with a performance by the Kaze Taiko drumming group …
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is the conference's keynote speaker
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is set to be the keynote speaker at Thursday's Connecticut Conference on Tourism, which will be held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. According to the press release, the day-long conference will cover Malloy's vision for Connecticut tourism and will cover insight on how to improve business using travel trends, international travelers, group travel and conferences, partnerships, online marketing strategies and hospitality. “This marks a dramatic turning point for the tourism industry. The Governor and our legislature understand the importance of tourism as a significant revenue generating vehicle for Connecticut," Randy Fiveash, state tourism director, said in the press release. Every state dollar …
Citizens’ oversight board approves City Council recommendation of approximately $83.1 million budget for fiscal year 2013
A proposed $83,092,657 budget for the 2013 fiscal year advanced another step on Monday as the Board of Finance approved the recommended appropriations in a 3-1 vote. Four people from the five-member citizens’ oversight board were present to pose questions to representatives from the Finance Department. Finance Director Jeff Smith said he will be updating city councilors with the actual 2012 fiscal year figures versus budgeted amounts until that year ends on June 30. I think we’ve been doing our best to hold our expenditures back, but there are some places we simply can’t,” said Smith. Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered right to your inbox or smartphone every day with our free newsletter. Simple, fast sign-…
Monday, May 14, 2012
East Lyme's First Selectman will challenge Madison's Daria Novak for the Republican nomination
Capitol Watch, The Hartford Courant's state politics blog, is reporting that East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica is running for the Republican nomination for the 2nd Congressional District. According to the blog, Formica will compete against Madison's Daria Novak for the GOP nomination, now that Rep. Chris Coutu has decided to seek a seat in the Senate. Rep. Joe Courtney currently occupies the 2nd Congressional District seat that both Formica and Novak hope to take over. Capitol Watch says that Formica announced his candidacy in a press release and that he will be visiting East Lyme, Colchester, Enfield and Vernon to officially announce the news on Tuesday. “It’s time we look at where we are as a country and take immediate action to …
City Council appropriates funds for survey to determine cost of combining emergency communications with Waterford
A communications company will survey New London’s emergency radio systems as part of an analysis of the costs that would be involved in joining Waterford’s new emergency system. The City Council has approved $2,500 to be paid to Tactical Communications—a Guilford company specializing in radio systems for emergency services, municipalities, and businesses—from the Veolia Water private dedicated contribution fund. The money will be used to conduct a needs assessment on New London’s equipment. The city has approved a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Waterford. The memorandum is not an official agreement with Waterford, but says that Waterford will agree to include New London on its new $6.5 million emergency communications system …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Go fishing on May 12--no license required!
Go fish! Pack your tackle box and grab your fishing rod--The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has announced that Saturday, May 12 is "Free Fishing Day!" Residents and non-residents are invited to fish in Connecticut without a license on Saturday, DEEP's website says. “We view this as a great opportunity for experienced anglers to get a family member, friend or acquaintance outdoors and introduce them to the sport of fishing,” DEEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty said in the article. “This year we are offering a free day of fishing in the spring, when anglers can take full advantage of the nice weather, all the trout that we’ve stocked throughout the state, and all the other great fishing opportunities available in …
New London Board of Education votes 4-3 to hire for interim administrative positions
Two people in the Central Office of the New London Public Schools were approved for interim administrative duties in the district on Thursday. In separate 4-3 votes, the Board of Education approved both an assistant superintendent for the district and assistant principal for New London High School, both on an interim basis. The latter vote is part of restructuring in the high school that replaces two academic dean positions with a second assistant principal position. Kate Ericson, who has been employed as the district’s supervisor of instruction and assessment, will serve as the assistant superintendent during the summer. The academic deans in the high school will fill the assistant superintendent positions, with Lawrence Washington in the…
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Five states and the District of Columbia offer a full gamut of rights to gay people, according to The Guardian.
In the wake of North Carolina's decision to amend its Constitution to ban same sex unions, The Guardian website has created a model looking at gay rights in each state. According to the graphic, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, along with Washington state, Iowa and the District of Columbia, have the most rights afforded to gays. Connecticut allows: Connecticut prohibits: Also, Connecticut's hate crime laws include crimes committed based on gender identity or sexual orientation. In addition to comparing states' level of gay rights, the Guardian graphic allows you to log in through Facebook and see what rights are afforded in the states where all your Facebook friends live.
Department heads say city will see significant savings from bringing two departments together
Mayor Daryl Finizio announced today that he intends to consolidate the Department of Public Works and Department of Public Utilities, saying the move will result in more efficient operations and significant cost savings over time. “As we plan to improve our infrastructure, we intend better cooperation among our infrastructure departments,” Finizio said. “We don’t want to pave a road, only to rip it up months later to do utility work.” No jobs will be eliminated and no offices will be moved as part of the consolidation. The administration consulted with the City Council on the proposal and hopes the consolidation can be completed before the start of the 2013 fiscal year on July 1. Under the consolidation, Public Utilities Director Joe …
Sue P.
3:07 pm on Tuesday, May 15, 2012
I agree. I have to tell you something funny about a dead tree in front of my house. It was obvious to the guys cutting the branches that the tree was dead. But in order for them to cut a dead tree down they have to go to the tree warden and then to the shade committee. Do we really need a tree warden and a shade committee in a small city? I trust the guy actually cutting the tree down to tell me … more ›