A witness on the scene of an accident this afternoon on Gulf Street, Milford, said two people in the car apparently died.
The witness, who asked not to be identified, said the vehicle hit a telephone poll and split in half.
The accident took place near the fishing pier on Gulf beach shortly before 4 p.m.
Police have the area near the accident cordoned off and the vehicle is covered with tarps.
We will post more details as we get them.
Archive for February, 2010
Car crashes into pole on Gulf Street, Milford
Stop and Shop, union talks head to deadline
Contract negotiations between the Stop and Shop grocery chain and its five union locals have continued today. Federal mediators are at the table.
Stop and Shop has 240 stores in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The contract under negotiation covers 36,000 employees and would run through 2012.
The union locals have set a deadline for a tentative agreement of midnight tonight before they would go on strike. A 24-hour notice of a strike is required under their contract.
Victims of explosion remembered
The six workers killed in a Feb. 7 explosion at the Kleen Energy Systems power plant in Middletown were remembered by about 500 mourners at a memorial service not far from the damaged facility.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell and U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd were among those at the service Saturday at St. Mary Czestochowa Parish.
The Rev. Marek Masnicki said such services are a time to reflect on how short life is, but that God sees us outside of time. He said Christ emphasized that sorrow will turn to joy.
A federal safety investigator said a volatile natural gas and air mixture large enough to fill a professional basketball arena had accumulated in tight quarters before the explosion at the power plant, which was under constuction and nearing completion.
(From The Associated Press)
Himes doesn’t want Rangel’s money
U.S. Rep. Jim Himes says he will give to charity contributions made to his campaign by Rep. Charles Rangel, who was admonished by a House ethics panel this week.
“I admire Mr. Rangel for his decades of leadership on civil rights and his service in the armed forces and in Congress,” Himes said. “But as elected officials, we must live up to the highest ethical standards. Given this admonishment by the Ethics Committee and the other allegations pending against him, I have directed my staff to donate to charity the campaign contributions received from Mr. Rangel.”
A spokeswoman said the amount involved is $2,000.
Rangel was admonished by the House ethics panel for violating rules by letting corporations pay for his Caribbean trips. Rangel said the report from the committee exonerated him by saying there was no proof he — as opposed to his staff — knew about the corporate-financed trips.
Rangel still is under investigation on various other alleged ethics missteps.
Stratford Mourns death of long-time political activist Sylvia Guberman
Sylvia Guberman, the fiesty, outspoken political activist from Stratford who told Bill Clinton in her own kitchen 30 years ago he would “some day be president,” has died at age 74.
Guberman died late Wednesday night with family by her side after fighting a lenghty and very tough illness with the same bull-dog determination she had for years fought political opponents.
Guberman, who worked with Clinton three decades ago on local campaigns while he attended Yale University and lived in Milford, had in recent years become disillusioned with the local Democtract party.
During the 199o’s she, along with the late Town Council Chairman Ray Voccola, was among the leaders of the former United Democrats of Stratford — a political action group established after some Dems became fed up with the leadership of then Democratic Town Committee Chairman Richard Miron.
But Guberman’s love and devotion to her family, including two sons and a daughter, and grandchildren Jason, Matthew and Lily, was her biggest joy of all.
Look for a more in-depth story on Guberman in Monday’s Connecticut Post.
Chemical Safety Board reports on power plant explosion
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents, gave an update today on its ongoing investigation into the accident at the Kleen Energy Plant in Middletown earlier this month.
Board officials, during a press conference in Middletown this morning, said there are “multiple potential sources” for the cause of the blast that killed six people and injured 27.
Officials also said they are looking into measures that would prevent any similar accidents from happening in the future.
The CSB is an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents. The agency’s board members are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical accidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems.
Witness lists released for upcoming Botti corruption trial
NEW HAVEN — Shelton Mayor Mark A. Lauretti heads the list of prominent Valley politicians and developers who will be called as witnesses in the upcoming bribery and corruption trial of Shelton developer James Botti.
The list was made public during jury selection Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Besides Lauretti the witness lists include Robert Scinto, a major Shelton developer; Alvaro DaSilva, a Shelton developer who was formerly the chairman of the city’s Inland/Wetlands Commission; Leon Sylvester, a former Planning & Zoning Commission member and former superintendent of schools; Chris Jones, a former alderman and member of the zoning commission, who ran against Lauretti in the last mayoral race; Danny Orazietti, a city restaurant owner and former member of the zoning commission; and Jason Perillo, a state representative who was formerly an alderman and zoning commission member.
Also on the witness list are Shelton Detective Ben Trabka; Fire Marshal Jim Tortora and Building Official Elliot Wilson, who recently pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to lying to federal investigators and to a federal grand jury about gifts he accepted from two developers.
Wilson, 66, admitted that he “received items of value from developers in Shelton who sought to influence (him) in connection with his official duties.”
Wilson was the third person convicted as a result of an ongoing federal corruption probe in Shelton.
In November, Botti was convicted of structuring bank deposits in order to avoid IRS notification.
Botti’s father, Peter, pleaded guilty in June to structuring charges and will be sentenced April. He is on the prosecution’s witness list.
Nine men and 7 women were chosen for the jury Wednesday. Botti’s corruption and bribery trial is expected to begin on March 8.
Botti, 46, is facing charges of conspiring to defraud Shelton residents, bribing a public official, and mail fraud by depriving Shelton residents of an honest government.
The public official has been identified as Shelton Mayor Mark A. Lauretti by Botti’s attorney, William F. Dow, III, during court hearings.
Jury selection begins in Botti’s bribery and corruption trial
Jury selection in the upcoming bribery and corruption trial of Shelton developer, James Botti, began today in New Haven before Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Haight, Jr.
By the lunch break, roughly 40 of the 113 prospective jurors had been eliminated for a variety of reasons.
Botti, 46, of Maple Avenue, Shelton, was convicted in November on two charges of structuring financial transactions with banks, credit unions and credit card companies at amounts under $10,000 to avoid having them reported to the IRS.
On March 8, he is expected to stand trial on charges of conspiring to defraud Shelton residents, bribing a public official, and mail fraud by depriving Shelton residents of an honest government.
The public official has been identified as Shelton Mayor Mark A. Lauretti by Botti’s attorney, William F. Dow, III, during court hearings.
Jury selection should be concluded today and the trial is expected to last three to four weeks.
Weather condidtions and accidents on the turnpike caused a delay in the start of today’s proceedings.
