May 29 / 5:45 pm
Memorial, funeral for train victims to go as scheduled
(Bridgeport-AP) _ Five members of an Ecuadorean family killed in a train accident earlier this week will be buried in Connecticut.
 Carlos Urgiles, the estranged husband and father of Julia Toledo and her four boys announced this afternoon that the burials will proceed as planned in an Easton cemetery. Urgiles arrived from Ecuador last night intending to bring his family back to their homeland. However, after meeting with family members and the Ecuadorean consulate today, Urgiles agreed to bury his family here, according to Bridgeport funeral director Edgar Rodriguez. Urgiles, who is here on a humanitarian visa, will return to Ecuador after the funeral Monday, said Rodriguez. A wake is planned tomorrow night at the Mormon Church in Trumbull. Funeral services will take place Monday morning at nine at the church. The family will be buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Easton.
Man hospitalized after SUV hits building
(WTNH) _ A Burlington man is in guarded condition at Yale-New Haven Hospital after he ran his car into a building in Wallingford Friday night.
25 year old George Diakolambrianos is in the neurological intensive care unit at the hospital. Police say he drove his 1996 Jeep Cherokee into the side of a ceramic tile store. The Jeep ended up inside the shop, and caused a lot of damage to both the building and merchandise. Hospital officials say Diakolambrianos' condition is improving.
Skateboard park dedicated in memory of teenager
(Old Saybrook-WTNH) _ An Old Saybrook teen killed in a skateboarding accident is remembered being remembered with a project that others hope will save lives. The project is a new skate park, complete with a pyramid, launch ramp, quarter pipe, and grinding box.
 News Channel 8's Jocelyn Sigue reports.
State leaders working on budget
(Hartford-AP) _ Several pet projects are on the table as lawmakers try to work out a two-year state budget. Governor Rowland calls some of the Democrats' budget items parochial and political. But at the same time, his budget negotiators are working to restore some of the governor's projects that got cut by the Appropriations Committee. Among the new programs are expanding the state's HUSKY health plan for children to the children's parents, services for people with HIV and AIDS, a new program to treat depressed and nicotine-addicted women and support for the mentally ill in the New Haven area.
The committee stripped the governor's plan to eliminate the Department of Higher Education, a statewide public health initiative and a brain injury program at Connecticut Valley Hospital.
Here's the full story.
Former New London mayor Thomas Martin dies at 81
(New London-AP) _ Thomas "Tucker" Martin, a former New London mayor who served as high sheriff in the county for two decades, has died. He was 81. Martin, a lifelong New London resident and Democrat, died Thursday in Lawrence and Memorial Hospital. Martin was a deputy sheriff for 17 years before serving five terms as high sheriff in New London County from 1974 until his retirement in 1994. He served on the New London City Council from 1952-1956 and was mayor from 1955-1956. He was a member of a prominent political family and the father of New London Superior Court Judge Robert A. Martin. His brother, the late Richard Martin, was former state representative and a former mayor.
Millstone restart expected
(Waterford-AP) _ The Millstone Two nuclear power plant in Waterford is expected to be generating power again today. Plant operators shut it down earlier this week to repair a leaking non-nuclear water valve. A Millstone spokesman said it will probably take several days for the plant to reach full power. Federal regulators allowed plant owner Northeast Utilities to restart Unite Two earlier this month after it was kept off line for nearly three years to due safety concerns. Meanwhile, opponents of the restart plan a rally tomorrow in East Lyme and have threatened a lawsuit calling for the shutdown of the entire Millstone power station. Unit Three returned to power last year. Unit One is being mothballed.
18-year-old man shot and killed outside package store
(Hartford-AP) _ An 18-year-old Hartford man has been killed in a shooting outside a city package store. Police say Michael Patterson was found dead outside an Albany Avenue store about 3:00 am. Witnesses say Patterson was shot multiple times by two armed black males. No word yet on what motivated the shooting. Patterson was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Farmington, where an autopsy is scheduled for Sunday. No arrests have been made. The Police Major Crimes Division is investigating.
Woman sentenced for role in murder of boy witness
(Bridgeport-AP) _ A neighbor convicted of helping in the ambush killing of a young murder trial witness and his mother has been sentenced to a year in federal prison on a drug charge. 32-year-old Josephine Lee drew the federal jail term yesterday. She must still be sentenced in state court on murder conspiracy charges in the killing of 8-year-old Leroy "B.J." Brown Jr. and his mother Karen Clarke. Brothers Russell and Adrian Peeler are accused of killing the pair to stop the boy from testifying against Russell Peeler. He was charged with killing Clarke's fiance Rudolph Snead Jr. in May 1998. Prosecutors said Lee alerted the Peelers when Clarke and the boy returned home from shopping. She pleaded guilty last month to conspiracy to commit murder in return for a maximum seven-year sentence.
Rabid bat attacks man in bed
(Southington-AP) _ A 20-year-old man was attacked and bitten by a rabid bat while he was lying in bed in his Southington home. Town health officials say the man, who has not been identified, was watching television at 3 am Monday when he kicked the bat and was bitten. The man and another person exposed to the bat but not bitten are undergoing a series of rabies shots
Officials say that the latest statistics show only about two percent of all bats have rabies. The disease strikes the central nervous system and is always fatal unless a shot is administered to the area of the bite within a few days. A series of vaccinations must follow over a 28-day period.
Author McCourt tells Connecticut College grads to 'know thyself'
(New London-AP) _ Pulitzer-prize winning author Frank McCourt told graduates of Connecticut College to get to know themselves. McCourt, whose "Angela's Ashes" traces his childhood in Limerick, told the 440 graduates they are full of knowledge. Now they must seek adventure. He says his childhood struggle with poverty and his 27 years as an English teacher in New York City public schools taught him about himself -- and the human heart. McCourt was among seven recipients of honorary degrees during the New London school's 81st commencement.
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