Free Republic

Human skeletal remains -- possibly belonging to Revolutionary War soldiers who fought in the Battle of Ridgefield in 1777 -- were discovered under the foundation of an early 18th-century house last week. The Connecticut Office of State Archaeology was notified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner about the find on Dec. 2. Subsequent excavations by the state archaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni, with assistance from the Friends of the Office of State Archaeology, Inc. and University of Connecticut graduate students, have yielded two more skeletons. "One has been completely excavated already and is in the medical examiner's office and we're...

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said Friday that it will no longer insure or invest in companies that generate more than 25% of their revenue from thermal coal mining, or more than 25% of their energy production from coal. *snip* "The world needs affordable, accessible energy to support global economic progress and, at the same time, action is needed to mitigate the impact such activity has on our climate," said Chief Executive Christopher Swift.

Cash-strapped Connecticut is grappling with how to pay for transportation investments to prevent more than half of its roads and highways from falling into disrepair in the next decade. The answer, according to Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration, is highway tolls. Like most states in the Northeast, Connecticut previously used highway tolls to raise revenue. The state removed all tolls in the 1980s following a crash at a toll plaza that killed seven people. Now Mr. Lamont, a Democrat, is attempting to persuade a skeptical state Legislature to bring them back. Lawmakers declined to vote on tolls during this year’s legislative...

Just last week, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz dismissed toll opponents as “emotional.” He claimed that they cling unthinkingly to “perceived details” such as that the number of gantries remain unfixed and the amount of revenue actually to be obtained from out-of-staters remains not only undetermined, but undeterminable. He did not mention, but could have, opponents’ continuing concerns about the eventual rate of tolls; about whether a state-wide, shared-sacrifice tolling structure will be authorized by the U.S. D.O.T. as promised, and what happens if it isn’t; and how much gross revenue from tolling will be eaten up by costs, which have...

WASHINGTON - Connecticut Democrats on Capitol Hill for the most part walk a fine line on proposed highway tolls, calling for more robust federal infrastructure spending but sidestepping clear support for Gov. Ned Lamont’s controversial measure. “Once the General Assembly and the Governor come to an agreement on how best to fund state transportation projects moving forward, I will work with state leaders in any manner necessary to further the goal of improving Connecticut’s infrastructure,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee. Recommended Video Lamont’s strongest supporter in Washington by far is Sen....

Jennifer Dulos’ bumbling, estranged husband and his girlfriend handed cops the “big break” in the case — and just in the nick of time, a law enforcement source told The Post on Tuesday. Fotis Dulos had his cellphone with him and turned on when he and gal pal Michelle Troconis allegedly dumped incriminating items stained with Jennifer’s blood in Hartford, Connecticut, trash cans the night of her disappearance, court papers show. And the phone pings led cops to discover that the pair had made more than 30 stops to toss the bags while driving on Albany Avenue — allowing detectives...

United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut John H. Durham indicted former New Haven resident Gary Joseph Gravelle, also known as Roland Prejean, for numerous malicious incidents of intimidation that mentioned use of explosives and bio-toxins, and for threatening to kill President Donald Trump, according to a release from the Department of Justice. According to the indictment, 51-year-old Gravelle has identified as a member of the white separate organization American Knights of Anarchy, or AKA. The indictment charges Gravelle with 16 counts, variously, of maliciously conveying false information about explosives, false information and hoax as well as threats to...

Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz are hailing the Connecticut House of Representatives today for adopting legislation that will raise the minimum wage in the state to $15.00 through a gradual series of increases over the next several years, and then index it to the federal employment cost index. “If our economy doesn’t work for everyone, then it doesn’t work. It’s that simple,” Governor Lamont said. “I’m doing everything possible to engage the business community so they can grow here, relocate or stay and hire Connecticut residents who represent the top workforce in the country. In order to...

I recently had the privilege of representing residents in eastern Connecticut that were opposed to the construction of the proposed state police gun range immediately adjacent to Pachaug State Forest. I personally thanked Gov. Ned Lamont for keeping his word in opposing this project. In politics, you are only as good as your word. That is why Lamont must also keep his word and not institute tolling on cars in Connecticut. Leaders in Hartford are missing the mark when it comes to tolling. They always seek to find alternate revenue sources through taxes or fees before first examining priorities, spending...

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle differ on the approaches to ban plastic bags. Lawmakers met in Hartford on Monday morning to discuss how to go about banning plastic bags in the state of Connecticut. About a dozen cities and towns have banned bags or are considering a ban. Channel 3 met with dozens of people who agree that plastic bags are bad for the environment, but many can't seem to agree on the best way to ban them. A public hearing on a proposed tax on plastic bags heard two bills. One bill would require stores to charge...

A “thin blue line” flag meant to honor law enforcement was removed from the Connecticut State Capitol this week after Democrats complained it might offend Black Lives Matter supporters. The handmade wooden plaque depicting a “thin blue line” flag — an altered American flag with a horizontal blue stripe through the center — was recently donated to the Capitol building by a member of the State Capitol Police. Until this week, it hung in the Police Memorial Hall connecting the Legislative Office Building to the Capitol building, a local NBC affiliate reported. The Office of Legislative Management, which originally approved...

The Hartford Yard Goats are rewriting the lyrics to “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after announcing earlier this month its Dunkin’ Donuts Park will be peanut-free. The Yard Goats, Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, are believed to be the first team to ban peanuts for an entire season. Peanuts are prevalent at baseball stadiums, making it difficult for children with peanut allergies to attend games. The Yard Goats held two peanut-free games last year where the park banned the item and did a deep clean of the stadium.

The chairman of a Connecticut school district's board of education resigned after the board voted to begin each meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Josh Adams, chairman of the New Hartford Board of Education, ( reportedly stepped down) after opposing a vote by his fellow board members. Adams was overruled after telling board members that he would not propose the policy in a meeting, saying he decides on the agenda as chairman. He also said he doesn't pledge allegiance to anything and supports "principles on which the country was founded."

Southington — Oz Griebel, a petitioning candidate for governor who once led the state Transportation Strategy Board, told an audience of construction executives and union members Friday that Connecticut must embrace electronic tolling and higher gasoline taxes to preserve and improve its transportation infrastructure.At a transportation forum for Democratic and unaffiliated candidates, Griebel offered the broadest prescription for how to stabilize and grow a special transportation fund now projected to hit insolvency by 2022, leaving the state unable to borrow money to address a growing backlog of transportation needs.Many of the Democrats, unlike the Republican field at a similar event...

New York City is halting a $9.6 million incentive package offered to Aetna to move its headquarters to the city. The insurance giant announced in June that it would move its headquarters to New York City beginning in late 2018 after nearly two centuries in Hartford, Connecticut. But those plans were put on hold after CVS Health Corp. said in December that it was buying Aetna for $69 billion in a deal that would help the drugstore chain reach deeper into customer health care and protect a key client. At that time, Aetna said all of its locations would be...

Moody’s Investor Service issued a dire warning to lenders Thursday: Hartford will likely default on its debt by November and, if the city does not change course, will run up annual deficits exceeding $60 million through the next twenty years. On Sept. 26, Moody’s downgraded the city’s bond rating to Caa3 from Caa1, reflecting the investor service’s belief that “in the likely event of a default, bondholder recovery will be 65%-80% of principal,” it stated Thursday. Moody’s projects the city’s operating deficits will reach $60 million to $80 million per year through 2036, largely driven by fixed costs, which command...

Connecticut abolished tollbooths more than 30 years ago, and every attempt to reinstate them since has been blown out of the water. But that would have to change, says U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, should his proposed underground highway system in Hartford become reality. For the last eight months Larson has talked to nearly every civic group, news editorial board, local business, municipal government, state agency, and federal office, trying to drum up support for his proposed $10 billion “big dig” project. So far, support has been hit or miss for the plan that would sink interstates 84...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hartford, the capital city of Connecticut, will likely seek to file for bankruptcy if the state does not have a budget in place in 60 days, Mayor Luke Bronin warned on Thursday. The cash-strapped city, like others in the state, has been waiting for clarity on how much state aid it will receive in the budget, which is more than two months overdue. In the absence of a budget, an executive order from Governor Dannel Malloy is guiding state spending, but it severely restricts expenditures. If no state budget is finalized by November, Hartford will be...

Hartford has hired a lawyer as city officials begin navigating the complex system of bankruptcy. The city is facing a $65 million shortfall this year and it remains unclear whether it will receive any additional state aid. Standard & Poor's downgraded Hartford debt to junk bond status late Tuesday, less than a week after the financially troubled capital city hired a New York law firm with expertise in restructuring municipal finances. The Wall Street ratings agency downgraded most city of Hartford outstanding debt to BB, a level that's classified as speculative, also known as non-investment-grade, or junk, from BBB-. That...

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal is continuing to hammer President Trump. At a news conference on Tuesday, with a copy of the Constitution in hand, Blumenthal reiterated that Mr. Trump is blatantly breaking the law by refusing to give up ownership of his organization. “The bottome line is, we have no clue who most of the investors and partners of Donald Trump around the world. We have no accurate or complete knowledge of all those payments and benefits because he has made no disclosure,” said Blumenthal.