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By Michael P. Mayko

BRIDGEPORT — A federal judge Monday barred Enfield from conducting graduation ceremonies for its two public high schools at a Christian church.

U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall reached the decision after a May 25 visit to  First Cathedral Church in Bloomfield, where she saw numerous religious symbols, sayings and artificats.

While the Enfield School Board said it would require First Cathedral to cover up or modify most of the symbols, Hall noted that same request was made in the past and not accomplished. As a result she determined “that casts some doubt over the likliehood the Board will be successful this year.”

The 51-page decision comes after hearings last week on a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United on behalf of two Enfield High School graduating seniors and their parents. One of the seniors is described as “agnostic” and maintains it would be “difficult if not impossible for me to attend my own graduation if it were held at First Cathedral.”

The second, a practicing Jew, feels she would be subjected to “Christian beliefs … through its scriptures and symbols.”

Parents of the students said they would be deprived of a “once in a lifetime opportunity” if their children chose not attend their high school graduation.

The judge noted that an alternate site — the Springfield (Mass.) Symphony Hall — was available at a much cheaper price.

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A kidnapping suspect from Bridgeport was chased by police through parts of Massachusetts before his SUV was finally stopped and the man arrested in New York, a Springfield, Mass., television station reported this afternoon. A woman passenger who police said had been kidnapped by the man was taken to a hospital.

The chase started in Holyoke, Mass., when officers noticed a 1999 Toyota Rav 4 they had been told to be on the lookout for, WWLP reported.

The suspect refused to stop, and police chased the SUV on to the Massachusetts Turnpike.

State police put down stop sticks on the highway, but the suspect kept driving on the rims of the car, making it to New York before being forced off the road and taken into custody. 

Police had been searching for 39-year-old Eric Stiggle, Jr., of Bridgeport, after he allegedly attacked and abducted his estranged wife, 31-year old Sara Decoster, at a Wilson Street apartment Sunday morning.

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Connecticut did not receive a penny of the $400 million set aside in the health care law to reward hospitals that are low-cost Medicare spenders, The New York Times reported today.

You’re probably thinking, “Good Lord, not again.”

You may recall that in the first round of funding for President Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative, Connecticut got zip. In the most recent round of national transportation grants, Connecticut got nada (like we don’t have highways and mass transit here).

This latest shutout, though, appears to be a bit different. The health care money was designed to help those hospitals whose officials could make a case they had been chronically underpaid by Medicare, as The Times noted.

All told, the $400 million is to go to 415 hospitals in 273 counties, with New York and Virginia leading the pack, with 12 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Presumably, Connecticut’s exclusion from the list is evidence that state hospitals were receiving more equitable Medicare reimbursements, which are based on diagnoses and reflect other factors, such as local pay rates and whether a hospital is a teaching facility.

Connecticut was not the only state that failed to receive any of the health care funding.

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MONROE — Police this morning said a body found in a local pond is that of a 17-year-old girl who had been reported missing to Newtown police.

The victim’s name is being withheld pending notification of family. Monroe police are continuing to investigate.

The girl’s last known location was a residence in the area of Northbrook Drive, police said. Passersby reported a suspicious object floating in a nearby pond, and it was determined to be the body of the missing girl, police said.

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Police say that a pregnant woman and her grandmother were both stabbed to death early Sunday at their apartment on Iranistan Avenue, Bridgeport. Police have arrested the alleged perpetrator, who is the boyfriend of the younger victim, according to Lt. Jim Viadero, police spokesman. That person has been charged with two counts of murder.

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Police say that a Bridgeport woman was stabbed and abducted by her husband earlier today. Police say Eric Stiggle, Jr. has a violent history and could be dangerous. They say he may be in a 1999 white Toyota SUV with Connecticut registration 115-DEE. Police also say Stiggle may have stabbed his wife “multiple times” and she might be in need of medical treatment.
The incident took place around 10:30 a.m. today on Wilson Street.
Anyone with information on this case should call Bridgeport Police at 203-579-3816.

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Ansonia police are investigating the report of missing 15-year-old city girl identified as Shelly Dutan, according to Lt. Andrew Cota, police spokesman.
Shelly was reported missing by her mother when she did not return home on Friday evening. Police said Sunday morning that the girl is still missing.
Shelly is approximately 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about . She has dark colored eyes and was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt, blue shorts, black belt and white sandals.
Police said she has been seen by friends in the area, but no noe knows where she is at this time, and she has not contacted her family. Anyone with any information can contact the Ansonia Police Department at 203-735-1885.

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Gov. M. Jodi Rell today announced that she has signed legislation designating March 30 of every year “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” a special day to honor veterans who served in the Vietnam War.
Substitute House Bill 5352, An Act Proclaiming March 30th to be “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day,” passed unanimously in both the state House of Representative and the state Senate.
“The deep divisions within our nation at the time of the Vietnam War were reflected in the way men and women in uniform were treated when they returned from that conflict,” Rell said in a press release Sunday morning. “Few were truly welcomed home – and far too many were actually insulted or abused.
“Fortunately, our appreciation for the sacrifice and service of our Armed Forces has evolved,” the governor said. “Today – no matter where people stand on the current missions, including Afghanistan and Iraq – there is a far wider respect for our troops. I see it in the send-off ceremonies, homecomings and everyday interactions between our military and civilians.
“However, the veterans of the Vietnam era never received this level of respect – and they should have,” she added. “I am proud that this legislation ensures we will give to them the same respect, honor and appreciation we show to the men and women in uniform today.”
Under the bill, “welcome home” ceremonies are to be held annually at the Capitol in Hartford and elsewhere, as designated by the governor, to mark the day.