Results tagged “connecticut”

Tis the season to chop down thriving trees! This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree hails from Easton, Connecticut and will be arriving at 30 Rock today. The Daily News reports that the 76-foot Norway spruce is 50 years old and was growing in the yard of teacher Maria Corti. Once the tree is set up in its new temporary home, it will take about two weeks to decorate, with the official lighting ceremony on December 2nd.

The family of a woman who was severely mauled by a chimpanzee plans to sue Connecticut for $150 million. A lawyer for Charla Nash, who remains at the Cleveland Clinic after 200-pound chimp Travis chewed off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids, says, "We believe the evidence will show that the state, acting through the Department of Environmental Protection, failed to adequately address a serious public safety issue that resulted in tragic consequences for our client." (A DEP biologist had warned about Travis before the attack.) Connecticut's attorney general is reviewing the suit and told the Courant it was a "horrific tragedy" but the lawsuit "seems unprecedented in size." Nash's family is also suing Travis's owner for $50 million, but her lawyer is trying to limit her damages by calling it a worker's comp claim.

From the Courant: "A man dressed as a ninja waving nunchucks on a street corner this morning was arrested and charged with breach of peace, police said...Police said Garland Eastman, 30, of 335 Center Road, was yelling about wanting to beat up U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, among other diatribes, but he became polite and cooperative after officers started pulling out their bean bags and taser guns."

While her husband Vince might be given "no chance in hell" if he were to run for public office, former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon is being treated like a serious candidate after announcing that she will run for the Connecticut Senate seat now held by Democrat Christopher Dodd. McMahon is a good friend of CT Governor Jodi Rell, who nominated her for the the State Board of Ed earlier this year. McMahon's publicity stunt candidacy is being sold as a self-funded fiscally conservative but socially left-leaning outsider, that at least one political expert says "could improve the image of the party" in the state. The announcement gave McMahon's fellow Republican challengers a chance to make corny jokes about not expecting "smackdowns" and whether she was "a welterweight," despite that having no connection to WWE lure. Everyone expects McMahon to take heat for raunchy WWE programming, but no outlets mentioned what a liability her promotion of state gang activity may be through her son Shane's "Mean Street Posse" from the rough terrain of Greenwich, CT.

Last night, a Connecticut advertising executive surrendered to the police after a frightening standoff in which he kidnapped his wife, demanded a priest come and give her last rites, and then asked for a judge to re-marry them. Around 8:30 p.m., Nancy Tyler managed to leave the South Windsor house that ex Richard Shenkman was supposed to turn over her as part of divorce settlement, but the Post reports, "Dozens of gunshots and explosions were then heard at the home, which was soon engulfed in flames." Shenkman, who had asked police to shoot him, finally gave up around midnight. He also made his demands through a reporter for the New London Day, who previously covered his wife and him, and seemed to confide in the reporter: "If I wanted to do a murder/suicide, I could have done it three years ago. I've never hurt her in my life. I do want Nancy to walk out of here. I don't trust the cops. They have screwed up so much in the arson (case) and all that stuff." Police are at the home today investigating whether the home really had all the 65 pounds of explosives Shenkman said it did. He will probably be charged with kidnapping, arson, and reckless endangerment.

Yesterday, NJ blogger surrendered to Connecticut authorities, who claimed his blog post incited injury to state lawmakers and a state employee (he promised to include their addresses) by urging readers to "take up arms and put down this tyranny by force" against them. According to the AP, Harold Turner was upset "over legislation that would have given lay members of Roman Catholic churches in Connecticut more control over their parish's finances." The bill was withdrawn in March, but Turner wrote on June 2, "It is our intent to forment direct action against these individuals personally. These beastly government officials should be made an example of as a warning to others in government: Obey the Constitution or die." Turner's Blogspot blog was removed by Blogrer; Courant's Capitol Watch adds, "Turner, who has been identified as a white supremacist and anti-Semite by several anti-racism groups, hosts an Internet radio program with an associated blog." Turner's lawyer said the defense will focus on the First Amendment.

Since Connecticut has banned the ownership of exotic animals—including gorillas, chimps, orangutans, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, ocelots, bobcats and other big, wild cats, wolves, coyotes and bears—as pets, the state is offering a one-day amnesty program that will allow people to bring in their exotic and illegal pets to a zoo without repercussions. The Connecticut Post reports, "All animals collected become property of the DEP... homes will be found for the animals, though probably not at the zoo. Most of the pets will likely go to wildlife sanctuaries or other agencies equipped to handle them." The director of the Beardsley Zoo, where owners can turn in their pets on July 25, Gregg Dancho said he's seen monkeys hanging out in kitchen and people walking mountain lions, "A lot of times, this is impulse buying." Oh, this reminds us of Ming, the tiger found in a Harlem apartment nearly six years ago.

Connecticut's General Assembly voted yesterday to ban chimpanzees, as well as other primates, as pets. This comes nearly three months after a Stamford woman was severely mauled by her friend's pet chimp—Charla Nash "lost her nose, lips, eyelids, hands and bone structure in her mid-face and suffered significant brain, eye and tissue injuries in the attack." The Hartford Courant reports, the "bill would add only gorillas, chimps and orangutans to the list of wild animals already prohibited under existing state law: lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, ocelots, bobcats and other big, wild cats — as well as wolves, coyotes and bears." An earlier version of the bill, which included animals like "baboons, kangaroos, wolverines, hyenas, elephants, hippos, alligators, crocodiles, rattlesnakes, cobras and pythons," was stalled because apparently ferrets are related to wolverines, causing concern among ferret owners. Last month, Nash's family said on the Today show that she will need at least two more years of hospital care.

We were dazzled by the story of Georgette Clemons, the Connecticut bride who jumped out of the car taking her to her reception in order to warn a family that their Bridgeport home was on fire. Now it turns out she's downplaying her act of kindness: The initial Connecticut Post story mentioned that she ran into the burning home to get the occupants out but now the Conn. Post says, "Clemons said Monday that instead of pulling the woman who was inside the house to safety, she and her friend coaxed the woman to come out" from the porch (she also says the friend went into the foyer; her husband was in another car). At any rate, 16-year-old Lowell Eitelberg, who was playing video games in the house during the time of the fire, told the NY Post: "Whenever you think of something like this happening, you don't imagine the person who's going to save you in a situation like this to be dressed in the nicest clothes they'll ever wear in their life. If someone was caring enough to ruin the best day of their life to save me, it's the most incredible thing." And his mother told Clemons, "Mazel tov!" adding, "I told her to go back to her festivities, but she stayed and helped."

Hooray for Georgette Clemons, a literally newlywed bride and hero. The Connecticut Post reports that Clemons was being driven to her wedding reception with groom Charles Clemons when she spotted a North End home on fire yesterday afternoon in Bridgeport, CT. She yelled at the car's driver to stop and headed to the house—"charging through the thick curtain of smoke in a wedding dress." The car's driver said, "I don't know what she was thinking, she had just got married." Clemons yelled for the home's occupants to get out and eventually headed in, "The woman was yelling about her animals and didn't want to get out so I had to pull her out." The home's residents, including humans, two dogs and two ferrets, made it out and Clemons also warned neighbors. Though her dress is blackened from the smoke and her "shoes got messed up," Clemons told the CP, "What are you going to do? At least the people are OK."

A middle school in Connecticut has raised eyebrows with its strict "no touching" policy prohibiting students from any type of physical contact with one another—from pushing and shoving to "hugging and horseplay." Students may face detention, suspension or even expulsion if they are caught sharing some personal space. The policy began being enforced because of several recent groin-kicking incidents, including one that put a student in the hospital. Twelve-year-old Patrick Abbazia said, "I even have a couple of teachers who've pulled me aside and said, 'Don't high five, I'll have to report you,'...I feel less safe walking through the halls than I did when people were pushing." Abbazia felt so strongly that he waged a protest against the rule by showing up at school with his arms wrapped in duct tape. His father supported him saying, "He is using his freedom as an American citizen to protest. Those are the kind of people who get ahead in the world."

Yesterday, the Connecticut Working Families Party organized bus tours of AIG's Wilton office as well as the homes of various AIG executives, just as Connecticut Attorney General said, based information he received, the bonuses given by the bailed-out firm were around $218 million, $53 million more than previously reported. Protesters yelled "Bail out Main Street, not Wall Street" outside the office," while holding signs like "Dude, Where's My Life Savings?"

The Connecticut woman who was viciously mauled by her friend's 200-pound chimp underwent surgery yesterday. The family of Charla Nash thanked people for their support, noting that she made "some good, but small progress." Her twin brother Mike Nash said, "It should be known that people who were complete strangers to us prior to this have selflessly offered their assistance to our family, and we are eternally grateful."

With a friend clinging to life after her pet chimpanzee mauled her, Sandra Herold tearfully told My Fox NY, "It's just been hell. There's no other way to explain it." Herold, a Stamford CT resident, tried to stop Travis the 200-poung chimp from attacking her friend Charla Nash by hitting him with a shovel and even stabbing him, but it wasn't until the police arrived and fatally shot the animal that Travis stopped. Herold was in shock, "He didn't have anything but love until this freak accident." She told the Post, "It was very difficult to do this, but I had to save my friend. I am so sorry for what happened to Charlie. She is my dear friend."

A 200-pound chimpanzee, who was a beloved sight in his Stamford, Connecticut neighborhood, was shot by police officers after he attacked his owner's friend. The Post reports that owner Sondra Herold, 70, was having trouble containing her pet Travis: The Stamford police said that Herold "gave him Xanax in tea to quiet him, but the chimp grabbed the keys to open the kitchen door, went outside and started banging on car doors to indicate he wanted to go for a ride." So Herold called friend Charla Nash for help.

Who said preteens don't know how to party? Oh that's right—nobody. Well, a few Connecticut middle schoolers really stepped up to the plate and turned their school bus into a booze cruise on wheels, selling mixed drinks to the other students on board for two dollars each. The Norwalk tween trio used juice, iced tea and Gatorade as mixers, but there was no confirmation of our suspicion that Miley Cyrus thermoses were turned into shakers. School officials are playing party patrol and disciplining the students without police intervention after being tipped off by parents. They claim that none of the students on board the party bus became intoxicated. Which makes us wonder: have these kids already built up a preteen tolerance or were these drinks watered down, thus officially making the junior bartenders the greatest young entrepreneurs since the Olsen twins?

A month after the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the gay marriage ban, the Constitution State began offering same-sex marriage licenses today. The first couple to get a license was Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman, who, the NY Times reports, were one of eight couples "who successfully sued the state to allow same-sex marriage." The Hartford Courant asked some residents for their opinions and many were pretty nonchalant--one said, "I don't think it's a big deal... I think the economy is a lot more important." Rep. Michael Lawlor (D-East Haven) said, "[Today] will come and go, and I think what kind of puppy Barack Obama will get will be a much bigger topic of conversation in Connecticut than the fact that several dozen couples will get married."

After the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned the same-sex marriage ban, opponents have set their sights on demanding a constitutional convention. The AP reports groups, including Catholic Bishops, are looking for support for a convention, which is on this November's ballot. However, Conn. State Rep. Mike Lawlor explained, "It is a very elaborate, months-long process in which a group of people basically rewrite the whole state constitution. It costs millions of dollars and requires a special statewide election," and says it's easier put amendment on the ballot--if the Assembly does so. But Conn. State Sen. Andrew McDonald is doubtful the Assembly will tackle an amendment, "I continue to expect a bipartisan effort to eradicate any remaining vestiges of discrimination."

The highest court in Connecticut ruled 4-3 in favor of gay marriage. The majority opinion found the state's "understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection." Connecticut is the third state to allow same-sex marriages (it's allowed in Masachusetts and California).

Seems like 50 Cent doesn't want to put another dime into his ex-girlfriend and their son's living situation. Fitty (real name Curtis Jackson) allegedly bought the $1.5 million Long Island home (pictured) for Shaniqua Tompkins and their 10-year-old son, but now the rapper is sending them to the streets.

With rumors buzzing that Governor Spitzer will resign in light of his involvement with a prostitution ring, the residents of New York could very well join the residents of Connecticut and New Jersey in the "My Governor Resigned Due to Scandal Club."

With the writers' strike looking like it'll wrap up this week, Crain's points us towards another problem for New York's entertainment industry.

Has the Super-real estate market finally encountered economic kryptonite? Manhattan's housing market has seemed utterly impervious to any hint of real estate meltdown, even as other boroughs have suffered mortgage foreclosures at four times the national average. But one can't pass a Chase bank branch or a Duane Reade before coming across yet another building going up or being retro-fitted as luxury condos. The New York Times has an article today indicating that the gilded age of upper-crust real estate may be losing its luster.