May 13 / 6:15 pm
Convicted sex-offender hired as high school coach
(Hamden-WTNH) _ The hiring practices of a Connecticut school district are being questioned after a man with a record of sex offenses is hired as a baseball coach. It appears to be an error in judgement by school officials in Hamden, and it has already cost the coach his job.
 Team 8 Investigator Paul Adrian reports.
Psychiatrist says Curtis competent to stand trial for murder
(Bridgeport-WTNH) _ Some say he was getting away with murder. Kenneth Curtis was back in court for a competency hearing Thursday. Years ago Curtis was declared incompetent to stand trial for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
But in 1997, News Channel 8 found Curtis earning A's and B's in college classes.
Now doctors have re-evaluated his condition.
News Channel 8's Verna Collins reports.
Pill Bill passed in House, Abortion measure defeated
(Hartford-WTNH) _ A double victory for pro-choice forces in Connecticut.
The so-called 'pill bill' has passed the house, and a proposed partial-birth abortion ban has failed. The pill bill would require insurance companies to cover prescription birth control. It now goes to the state Senate, which easily passed it last year.
Chief political correspondent Mark Davis reports.
Group appeals Millstone restart decision
(WTNH) _ A Long Island environmental group is appealing a judge's ruling to let Northeast Utilities go ahead with its restart of Millstone II nuclear power plant. Fish Unlimited wants the court to reinstate the temporary order than that blocked NU from starting up the plant. The judge ruled that overfishing, and not the nuclear power plant, was responsible for a decline in winter flounder in the bay. Fish Unlimited and several other plaintiffs are fighting to keep the plant closed until June 15th, the end of the winter flounder spawning season.
Student's violent story appearing in magazine
(Ridgefield-WTNH) _ A student's story about a violent school massacre is causing a controversy in Ridgefield. Lode Star, an annual student magazine, showcases a wide variety of students stories, poems and artwork.
But a story titled "Chapter 21" has a lot of people talking because of its eerie similarities to the massacre in Littleton, Colorado.
The story is about a student gunman who goes on a rampage. The author, Brad Salon, says he wanted to send a message.
Brad Salon/Ridgefield High School Junior: "I've noticed in many cases when students become lonely and disenfranchised they tend to build a systems of beliefs as a defense system, and this series of beliefs often times is indifferent or a predilection to violence."
The school board tried to prevent the piece from getting into the magazine, but the school's editorial staff overruled.
University reconsiders porn class project
(Middletown-WTNH) _ Wesleyan University officials are now taking a closer look at a course that teaches pornography as art. University president Douglas Bennett sent a memo to his faculty questioning the appropriateness of the course work -- students are asked to make films, take photographs, and write poems with pornographic themes. Some students say the university's bowing to public opinion and media coverage of the course.
A spokesman says that's not so, that the class went through the usual approval process but that Wesleyan had no way of knowing every aspect of the curriculum.
Man sentenced to prison for rape in hospital
(WTNH) _ A member of the Mashantucket Pequot tribe is going to jail
in New Hampshire after sexually assaulting a teenage girl in a hospital.
21-year-old Ernest Reels was sentenced to six years behind bars for the rape of a 14-year-old at a substance-abuse hospital where both were patients.
Reels pleaded guilty. He could be out on parole in as soon as two years.
More escapes from Long Lane, Residents concern about location of new facility
(Middletown-WTNH) _ State officials say the escape of 3 teens yesterday from long lane shows the need for a new facility to be built quickly. Lawmakers made the controversial decision this week to move Long Lane uphill to Connecticut Valley Hospital. Opponents say they plan to fight that tooth and nail.
News Channel 8's Judy Chong reports.
DPUC gives preliminary approval to SNET refund
(New Britain-AP) _ Southern New England Telephone faces the prospect of refunding nearly $11 million to its customers. State regulators yesterday approved the refund yesterday, but the spit vote means the full state Department of Public Utility Control will have to review and vote on the matter.
At issue is whether SNET earned too much money and offered customers poor service during last year's employee strike. A final decision on the ruling now probably won't come for at least a month. If the full panel approves the decision, SNET would be forced to issue a $4.69 credit on customer bills.
In addition, state regulators would open a new set of hearings to review SNET's practices for keeping customer service records.
Northeast corner gets chance for own electricity co-op
(Hartford-AP) _ Nearly five thousand dollars in federal money has been given to organize electric customers in northeastern Connecticut into a small rural electric cooperative. The Cooperative Development Institute will use the grant to prepare rural residents for the start of electric deregulation next year. Under state law and beginning in 2000, people will be able to choose their electric companies. Rural residents may not see savings unless they are shown ways to band together to get cheaper rates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday in announcing the grant.
Federal monitors say Connecticut industries cut pollution by 17 percent
(Hartford-AP) _ A new report out by the federal Environmental Protection Agency is a breath of fresh air for Connecticut industries. The EPA said today that manufacturers in the state cut the release of toxic pollutants by seventeen percent over a two-year period.
Connecticut industries cut back from eleven-and-a-half million pounds of toxic pollutants reported in 1995 to about nine-and-half million in 1997. Industries throughout New England reported a twenty percent drop. That far outpaces the national average of a one-percent drop. Companies were required to send their pollutant information to the EPA beginning in 1995 for 650 toxic chemicals released on company property and trucked off-site.
The biggest polluter in Connecticut is still the Pfizer research division in Groton. The company reported a release of more than a half-million pounds of pollutants. State DEP commissioner Art Rocque said Pfizer has cut its on-site releases in half over the last two years. He said overall, toxic releases have been cut by ninety percent in the state over the last ten years. Rounding out the top five polluters in Connecticut are Cytec Industries in Wallingford; Dow North-America in Ledyard, Spongex International in Shelton and Olin Corporation in Waterbury.
Cromwell woman charged with passing forged money orders
(New Haven-AP) _ A Cromwell woman has been charged with passing postal money orders that she knew were forged. Prosecutors say 26-year-old Donica Solomon Wellington illegally removed the money orders from the Fleet Bank Retail Lockbox Department in East Hartford. Authorities say she had help, but they have not charged anyone else in the case. Wellington is accused of passing 20 of the forged money orders in the winter of 1997. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the three counts against her.
Casino expansion underway
(Uncasville-WTNH) _ The Mohegan Sun casino is bursting at the seams. The tribe's $750 million expansion project, known as Sunburst, is underway, promising huge changes for the tribe and its guests.
News Channel 8's Peter Standring has the story from our southeastern newsroom at The Day.
State's chief justice retiring
(Hartford-AP) _ The Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme court is retiring. Justice Robert Callahan has notified Governor Rowland that he will be stepping down as of September 15th. Callahan was sworn in as chief justice on August 29th of 1996. When his retirement takes effect, Callahan will assume senior status and hear oral arguments on a part-time basis. Callahan is a native of Norwalk.
High court allows Medicaid despite trust fund
(Hartford-AP) _ The state Supreme Court says a loophole means a woman with a $630,000 trust fund can receive Medicaid benefits. Medicaid is meant to pay for the care of those too poor to afford their own. The court ruled yesterday that 92-year-old Mildred Ahern should receive Medicaid benefits to offset her nursing home costs because she does not have access to the money in the trust fund. At that time, a loophole in federal law did not allow the principal amount in trust funds to be taken for nursing home care. Mildred Ahern moved into West Hartford's St. Mary Home in January 1990 and used assets including trust interest, Social Security and pension payments to pay for her care. But that money ran out in November 1994. Ahern originally was denied Medicaid benefits because of the money in the trust fund. She took the state Department of Social Services to court and was granted the benefits.
Branford senator told to return campaign cash
(Hartford-AP) _ The state Elections commission says a Branford state Senator must return or forfeit nearly $6,000 in improper campaign contributions.
The ruling yesterday involves state Senate Deputy Minority Leader William Aniskovich. But the commission says there's no evidence that Aniskovich or the treasurer of his committee that raised the money did anything intentional to break state campaign finance laws. Nearly half of the $12,000 raised at a December 1998 fund-raiser for Aniskovich is being returned or forfeited to the state. The elections commission attributes the problems to repeated clerical errors or ignorance of the law.
Students collect goods for Kosovo Refugees
(New Haven-WTNH) _ Teachers in Connecticut say the refugee crisis in Kosovo has really gotten the attention of their students. Young people are hearing about it in school, seeing it on the news, and they want to help. That's just what a group of students in New Haven did Thursday morning, loading up goods that will make the flight to Kosovo very soon.
News Channel 8's Leon Collins reports.
Honda recalls Acura, Prelude, Accord models
(WTNH) _ About 125,000 Hondas and Acuras are being recalled because the front suspension assembly could collapse. The recall involves replacement of
the lower front ball joints, which could wear faster than normal. The models affected were built from 1996 to 1998, and include Acura RL, TL, and CL models, as well as Honda Accord, Prelude, and Odyssey vehicles.
Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by mail and asked to take their vehicles to their Honda or Acura dealer to replace the ball joints.
Recordable DVD
(WTNH) _ Nearly 20-years ago, compact discs changed the music industry forever. And just last year, recordable discs brought yet another change. Now there's a new way to use discs for home video recording.
Consumer Team 8's Anna Sava explains.
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