Fairfield, CT
Politics
Self-Driving Vehicles 'Have Long Way To Go' After Fatality, Blumenthal Says Self-Driving Vehicles 'Have Long Way To Go' After Fatality, Blumenthal Says
Self-Driving Vehicles 'Have Long Way To Go' After Fatality, Blumenthal Says In the wake of a fatal crash involving a self-driving Uber car in Arizona, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is calling on Congress to take steps to ensure autonomous vehicle technology can be implemented safely. Uber and other companies have been testing driverless cars for years in Arizona in an effort to move the technology forward. Over the weekend, one of those vehicles operated by Uber - with an emergency backup driver behind the wheel - struck and killed a woman on a street in Tempe, Ariz. Testing on the vehicles has since been suspended. In response to the fatal incident,…

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by Zak Failla
Stamford, CT
News
Blumenthal Seeks Stronger Fight Against Fatal Opioid Epidemic Blumenthal Seeks Stronger Fight Against Fatal Opioid Epidemic
Blumenthal Seeks Stronger Fight Against Fatal Opioid Epidemic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, urged the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to allocate robust federal funding to fight the opioid epidemic in Connecticut, which now ranks 11th among the national drug overdose mortality rate.  On average, nearly three Connecticut residents die each day from drug overdoses, resulting in a record-setting 1,000 overdose deaths in 2017. The recently-passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 authorizes $6 billion over two years to address the opioid crisis. Senate appropriators are currently reviewing requests for…

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by Jon Craig
Stamford, CT
News
CT Congressional Delegation Opposes Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan CT Congressional Delegation Opposes Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan
CT Congressional Delegation Opposes Trump's Offshore Drilling Plan U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), and U.S. Reps. John Larson (CT-1), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Jim Himes (CT-4), and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) wrote Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Wednesday, Feb. 21, expressing opposition to the proposed expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling that could devastate Connecticut’s economy and environment.  Zinke announced in January that the Trump Administration would expand offshore oil and gas leasing to encompass about 90 percent of the United States’ coastal waters.  The congressional letter was submitted as …

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by Jon Craig
Brookfield, CT
News
New Fairfield Dad Deported To Guatemala After Request To Stay Denied New Fairfield Dad Deported To Guatemala After Request To Stay Denied
New Fairfield Dad Deported To Guatemala After Request To Stay Denied A father from New Fairfield was deported to Guatemala on Wednesday, Jan. 31 after federal immigration officials denied his request to stay in the United States, according to multiple news reports. Joel Colindres illegally came to the U.S. from Guatemala in 2004 and has been living and working here since, according to this report by Connecticut News12. He reportedly was granted an emergency stay of deportation last summer,. Family attorney Erin O'Neil-Baker said Colindres boarded a plane Wednesday to Guatemala. O'Neil-Baker told News12 that Colindres has always cooperated with Immigration an…

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by Jon Craig
Westport, CT
Neighbors
Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport
Senators Fight To Save Tax Break For Newman's Own Foundation In Westport WESTPORT, Conn. — Over the past 25 years, Newman's Own Foundation in Westport has donated $512 million to charities. But a provision in ongoing federal budget negotiations could force the nonprofit founded by actor Paul Newman to close its doors due to a disastrous tax. U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) have written to Senate leaders for help for the nonprofit. When Paul Newman died in 2008, ownership of the actor’s eponymous food company, Newman’s Own, was turned over to the nonprofit foundation. It donates 100 percent of its profits after taxes to charity.  Because…

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by Daily Voice
Brookfield, CT
News
Rally Planned To Support New Fairfield Dad Facing Second Deportation Order Rally Planned To Support New Fairfield Dad Facing Second Deportation Order
Rally Planned To Support New Fairfield Dad Facing Second Deportation Order NEW FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Supporters are rallying to help a New Fairfield father of two who is facing a second order to return to his native Guatemala.   A peaceful rally is planned for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Hartford federal building, 450 Main St. in hopes of getting a stay of deportation for Joel Colindres. Colindres, 33, fled death threats in Guatemala in 2004 and is now marked for deportation back to that Central American country on Jan. 31. This is the second time he has faced deportation in the past five months. He was ordered to leave the country last summer but was granted a last-min…

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by Daily Voice
New Canaan, CT
Politics
Malloy Calls For Ban On Bump Stocks In Connecticut Malloy Calls For Ban On Bump Stocks In Connecticut
Malloy Calls For Ban On Bump Stocks In Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's first proposal for the 2018 legislative session would ban the purchase and sale of bump stocks, binary triggers systems, and trigger cranks in Connecticut. “Bump stocks are cheap, they are deadly, and they have no place in our society,” Malloy said. The device, known as a "rate of fire enhancement," was used by the gunman in the deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed over 500 people.  “In Connecticut, we refuse to allow federal inaction to endanger the lives of our residents, despite the best efforts of powerful lobbyists from the NRA," Malloy said…

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by Daily Voice
Fairfield, CT
Politics
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: Situation in Puerto Rico 'Worse Than I Thought' U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: Situation in Puerto Rico 'Worse Than I Thought'
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: Situation in Puerto Rico 'Worse Than I Thought' FAIRFIELD, Conn. —More than 100 days after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said the territory remains “an island in crisis” with more than 50 percent of the population still without electricity. Murphy, who traveled to Puerto Rico with Sen. Richard Blumenthal last week, said he could only imagine what would happen if such a situation was left to languish in Connecticut. “There would be rioting in the streets,” he said Friday at an appearance in Fairfield. Murphy said he and Blumenthal toured a neighborhood in San Juan, the island’s largest city, where many resid…

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by Meredith Guinness
New Canaan, CT
Politics
Blumenthal, Murphy Traveling To Puerto Rico To Assess Hurricane Devastation Blumenthal, Murphy Traveling To Puerto Rico To Assess Hurricane Devastation
Blumenthal, Murphy Traveling To Puerto Rico To Assess Hurricane Devastation U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy will be traveling to Puerto Rico to gather firsthand evidence of the ongoing devastation as they fight to secure comprehensive aid to the island, which was devastated this past fall by a hurricane. The two Democrats from Connecticut will be in Puerto Rico on Tuesday, Jan. 2, and Wednesday, Jan. 3. “This trip will shine a glaring light on Puerto Rico’s continuing humanitarian and economic crisis. We are building a compelling, fact-based case for expanded disaster relief — evidence of the need for both an immediate supplemental disaster relief pa…

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by Daily Voice