May 18 / 11:00 pm
Chief promises to combat racism in police department
 (Hartford-WTNH) _ Hartford police chief Joseph Croughwell says racism is a sin, and it's illegal. In an effort to improve race relations he says it's time to eliminate it from his department and the Hartford community.
And Chief Croughwell has even more plans for fixing a department that some say is beyond repair.
 News Channel 8's Ned Berkowitz.
Rowland meets with community in wake of Aquan Salmon shooting
(Hartford-WTNH) _ Boos and cheers greeted Governor John Rowland at a community meeting in Hartford Monday night focusing on the police shooting of 14-year-old Aquan Salmon. About 300 people showed up at Mt. Olive Baptist Church Monday night to ask the governor how to solve serious issues within the black community.
Here's more of the story.
Truck accident snarls I-95 traffic for hours
(Norwalk-WTNH) _ A tractor-trailer accident caused a backup on I-95 from Norwalk all the way to Greenwich.
 State police are saying very little about the accident, which happened between exits 13 and 14 northbound at about 9:30 am. The truck somehow went completely off the highway and into a wooded area. Crews were working all morning, afternoon, and past dusk to pull the truck back onto the road. With the help of three wreckers, the truck was dragged to the side of the road at around 8:00pm.
There's no word on the condition of the driver.
Mall owners promise investment in downtown New Haven, If.....
(New Haven-WTNH) _ A company that owns two malls in Meriden and Milford is putting up big bucks to try to stop the proposed Long Wharf mall.
Westfield America is offering to invest as much as $50 million to improve downtown New Haven.
But, there's a catch. Westfield will only spend the money if, and only if, downtown merchants lobby against plans for the Long Wharf mall.
News Channel 8's Kristen Cusato reports.
Brother continues search for plane piloted by brother and friend
(Lebanon, New Hampshire-WTNH) _ It's been almost two and a-half years since their plane disappeared without a trace. Patrick Hayes and Johann Schwartz were the pilots of a Lear jet. It was supposed to be a short flight from Connecticut to New Hampshire but the pair never made it. The brother of one of the pilots will never give up until he's solved the mystery of their disappearance.
News Channel 8's Christina Hager reports.
Report suggests improvements in ambulance service
(Hartford-WTNH) _ For the past three months a state committee has been investigating and reviewing the way ambulance crews get to you when there's an emergency. One of the big problems has been response time.
The state is now recommending improvements for ambulance service across the state, improvements that may save lives.
News Channel 8's Leon Collins reports.
Car insurance reform bill dies
(Hartford-AP) _ Like a cranky car engine on a cold morning, a proposal to revamp the car insurance system has sputtered and died in the state House of Representatives. The proposal by several urban legislators would have ended the practice of basing car insurance costs primarily upon where car owners live.
Rather, the proposal would have required insurers to use other factors, like driving history and experience and the number of miles driven annually. Supporters of the idea say it's a matter of fairness. They say insurance companies discriminate against city dwellers by charging them more.
But opponents of the bill say it wouldn't solve anything. They say similar systems in other states have failed to bring rates down. The issue may start up again next year. Legislative leaders say they'll study the car insurance system this summer, with plans to introduce a new bill next year.
Questions surround motive of lake heritage bill
(WTNH) _ Are some state lawmakers trying to restrict your use of one of Connecticut's lakes?
 Some campers are worried a proposal aimed at saving lakes may actually be aimed at keeping them out. The lake in question is Lake Waramaug, bordered by the towns of Washington, Warren and Kent. The proposal would have the state Department of Environmental Protection actually turn more control over to the towns, and that's what campers fear.
Chief capitol correspondent Mark Davis has the story.
Lawmakers take dim view of laser pointers, approve ban
(WTNH) _ We may be seeing a lot less of those laser pointers in the hands of children around the state. The Connecticut house unanimously passed a bill which bans the sale of the pointers to anyone under the age of eighteen.
Some state leaders say they've become a distraction in schools, and police fear them because they don't know if the light is being used to aim a weapon at them.
Rowland urges Pataki veto of Commuter Tax Bill, AG considers lawsuit
(New Haven-WTNH) _ Lawsuits may fly in Connecticut if New York cuts a commuter tax for its own residents but keeps the ride costly for Connecticut and New Jersey residents. The New York state legislature has repealed the city's tax on New York state commuters. Governor George Pataki has promised to sign the tax cut.
News Channel 8's Judy Chong reports.
Hartford man found guilty in burning death
(Hartford-AP) _ A 61-year-old man was convicted Tuesday of murder and arson in the 1996 burning death of a 44-year-old city woman. Jearline Blakley was burned on Dec. 22, after spending the night at the apartment of Alston Williams. Williams apparently became angry when she tried to leave, police said. He poured a jug of lighter fluid on Blakley, lit several matches and threw them on her, police said. Blakely died six weeks later after suffering severe burns over 50 percent of her body. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced June 25. He could get life in prison.
Violent crimes drops in two big cities
(WTNH) _ New Connecticut crime numbers are out, and they show violent crime is down in two of the five biggest cities in the state.
According to new FBI statistics, violent crime in Bridgeport is down 20-percent, and down five percent in New Haven. Hartford, Stamford and Waterbury all show slight increases in violent crime.
Serious crimes include murder, forcible rape, robbery, motor vehicle theft and arson. The murder capitol of Connecticut is Bridgeport, where 32 people were killed last year.
Bill boosts Customs anti-child pornography activities
(Washington-AP) _ U.S. Customs officials pursuing Internet sex predators and other cyber-criminals would triple under a spending bill a House panel is considering Tuesday. The measure, promoted by Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., would boost spending for Customs' Child Pornography/Child Sexual Exploitation Program from $2.4 million to $10 million in 2000, allowing it to increase its current staff of 26 by 50.
Here's the full story.
Pratt and Whitney offering more early retirements
(East Hartford-AP) _ Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney has struck a deal with the Machinists union to increase the number of employees eligible for an early retirement package. As the Asian economic slump continues, Pratt is looking for ways to trim its work force and announced last fall that it planned to cut about a thousand jobs, largely through retirements. Some 920 of the 6,600 workers at Pratt facilities in Cheshire, East Hartford, Middletown, North Haven and Rocky Hill qualified for the original retirement offer.
Under the new deal with the union, an additional 260 workers will become eligible. Among the additional workers are those who were not previously eligible but would have qualified for the offer by the end of the year. The company also agreed to reduce the seniority requirement from 25 years to 10 years of pension-credited service. The offer is also being re-extended to those workers who qualified previously but decided not to take early retirement.
Two critically injured in stabbing
(East Hartford-WTNH) _ One man has been arrested for a stabbing that has left two men in critical condition. Shortly before 9 p.m. Monday East Hartford police arrived at 235 Main Street where they found two men on the ground with multiple stab wounds. Mark Haslam and Kenya Eastmen, both 32, are both in critical condition at Hartford Hospital. One suspect, identified as Bernard Wiggs, is under arrest, and police are questioning another suspect. There's no word from police on a motive for the stabbing.
Teenager injured in crash
(North Haven-WTNH) _ A teenage driver is in serious condition this morning after colliding into a telephone pole. It happened Monday night at the intersection of Peck Street and Broadway in North Haven.
Police say the car, driven by a 17-year-old girl, struck a curb and blew out a tire. The car then hit the pole. The driver, whose name has not been released, is being treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Report says more Connecticut kids are slipping into poverty
(Hartford-AP) _ More Connecticut children are slipping into poverty and living in single-parent households, even as the dropout rate for teenagers improves. A new national study by Kids Count, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed that the welfare of Connecticut's children was ranked 12th best in the country. In a 1990 survey, the private children's charity ranked Connecticut second best overall. In the new report, which uses data from 1996, Connecticut met or beat the national average in all 10 measurements _ child poverty, single-parent households, underemployment, teen delinquency, high-school dropouts, teen pregnancy, teen deaths, child deaths, infant mortality and low birth-weight babies. But the state has nevertheless lost ground nationally. The study showed more Connecticut children are living in poverty, even though the state continues to have the highest per-capita income in the country. Between 1985 and 1996, the percentage of Connecticut children in poverty increased 42 percent, while the nation as a whole saw a 5 percent decrease. However, the study also shows that 17 percent of Connecticut children are living in poverty, compared with 20 percent nationwide.
Here are more details.
Casino slots rake in second best haul ever
(WTNH) _ Connecticut's two gambling casinos eclipsed the $100 million mark for slot machine revenues in April, making it their second most lucrative month ever. Foxwoods reported a net slot win of $60.6 million last month, while Mohegan Sun's slots earned $42.3 million. Last July was the first time the combined slot revenues surpassed the $100 million mark. The casinos contributed a quarter of that profit - a total of $25 million - to the state.
Special probation request denied for cop charged with larceny
(New Haven-AP) _ A judge has rejected a New Haven police captain's request for special probation on charges involving counterfeit video tapes.
The judge turned down James Sorrentino's request for accelerated rehabilitation yesterday, saying the accusations contribute to a lack of public confidence in the police department. Sorrentino is charged with larceny and conspiracy to commit larceny for allegedly stealing counterfeit video tapes from a police evidence room and returning them to a Kmart store for credits. Sorrentino has pleaded innocent. Prosecutors say there were at least a dozen times between January and May 1998 when Sorrentino returned children's videos to the Kmart store where he moonlighted as an extra-duty police officer. Prosecutors say each time he turned in a tape, he received anywhere from eight dollars to $64 in store credit.
Hartford's 'Candy Man' dies
(Hartford-AP)_ Peter Stone, a cerebral palsy victim who sold candy and gum from a red wagon and became a downtown Hartford fixture known as the Candy Man, has died. He was 55. Stone, a Hartford native, opened his candy stand in 1963. He moved into the lobby of the Civic Center Mall when it opened in 1975. He died of cancer yesterday.
Treatment for irritable bowl
(WTNH) _
There may be a new treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.
it affects one in five people, the majority of them women. Even though it's widespread a lot of folks have never heard of IBS.
Health Team 8's Susan Hiland reports.
Government sues unknown defendant accused of junk e-mail scam
(Washington-AP) _ Imagine getting an e-mail telling you your order was processed and your credit card would be billed $375 only you never ordered anything. So you call the number in the e-mail to cancel the order, and wind up making an overseas call that connects you to a sex line. That scam is really out there. And now, the government is out to stop it. The Federal Trade Commission is suing the person responsible. Trouble is, officials don't know who that person is. So the defendant in court papers is listed as unknown, though they hope to have an ID in days. Investigators say it's tough to crack down on people sending out junk e-mails, known as spam. Perpetrators often move from one online address to another, using fake information.
Protecting yourself against job scams
(WTNH) _ This month nearly two million college graduates will enter the job market. Knowing the proper job-seeking steps will help them make money instead of losing it, by not falling victim to a job scam.
Consumer Team 8's Anna Sava reports.
Butterfly garden dedicated in honor of Seymour Girl
 (Derby-WTNH) _ A butterfly garden is being dedicated to a girl from Seymour.
12-year-old Laura Cournoyer died in a ski accident in February.
Now her family and friends, and the state, are remembering her in a very special way.
News Channel 8's Jayne Saffer has the story.
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