Hartford Metro News Archives

Detectives of the Hartford Police Department's Major Crime Division have charged two individuals in connection with an early morning shooting at 128 Bond Street that led to a pursuit into West Hartford and ...

The SNCP was started last November by shoreline-based public relations practitioners who wanted to engage in professional development without having to travel a great distance to meet their colleagues and ...

The remains of four U.S. servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War were identified and returned to their families, the Defense Department said.

A 26-year-old Hartford man has pleaded guilty to a string of bank robberies in central Connecticut, including one in Bristol.

Connecticut State Police say a 43-year-old prison guard has been arrested in an undercover sting operation after allegedly agreeing to smuggle heroin and a cell phone into a Suffield prison.

Farmington police say they have arrested an employee of hip-hop artist 50 Cent at the rapper's mansion for allegedly attacking a woman.

Once again the town of Simsbury is being asked to consider whether its citizens can afford to prevent development of open space, this time in both the northern and southern gateways on Hopmeadow Street.

Police in Portsmouth have charged a Connecticut man with trying to sell crack cocaine in the city, marking the department's second drug bust in under 12 hours.

Four people have been killed on Connecticut's highways on the Memorial Day weekend.

Marisol Perez did something Friday in Superior Court in Hartford that she couldn't do three months ago when six young men were convicted of participating in the fatal stabbing of her 17-year-old son. All six were teenagers in 2006 when Hiram David Colon, of East Hartford, was stabbed, and Perez's heart had hardened against them.

The suspect was holed up two floors below as his wife explained to Farmington police he had been drinking again and had become belligerent.

Two women died in a two-car collision on I-84 westbound near Exit 44 just after 11 p.m. Friday.

State police said the driver of a Nissan Maxima was heading east on I-84 when she lost control of her vehicle and crossed over the center median divider and entered the westbound lane, where a Saturn traveling in the left lane slammed into its right side.

The driver of the Nissan, Natalie Rangasammy, 19, of 58 Dover Road, West Hartford, and the front seat passenger, Barbara Riguard, 27, of 141 Madison St., Hartford, were killed, police said. A third person, Alise Rangasammy, 14, was taken to St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford with a broken leg and arm.

With one elementary school principal leaving at the end of the school year and two others looking for jobs, Superintendent of Schools Marion Martinez says she fears a flight of administrators is looming.

And the notoriously dysfunctional board of education could be to blame, she said.

During a recent meeting with the board, Martinez announced the resignation of Anna E. Norris Elementary School Principal Elaina Brachman and the possible departures of two other principals, Scott Nozik and Michael Litke. Martinez said the school board, known for its heated arguments and personal attacks, has intimidated administrators to the point where some are looking for jobs elsewhere.

It's still fruit, just fizzy.

That's how a food service contractor for about 20 Connecticut school districts and private schools is describing Fizzy Fruit - pieces of oranges, apples and grapes pumped with carbonation to give them a soda taste. Sodexho has been incorporating the Pop Rocks-like snack into school lunch menus, hoping that it will turn kids on to fruit.

In Danbury's South Street School cafeteria, the Fizzy grapes are a hit.

'It tickles my throat,' Dakota Lancey, 8, said Thursday, swallowing his second serving of the snack, which contains the same nutritional content as regular fruit.

The operator of a print-on-demand publishing business is suing online giant Amazon.com over its decision to limit business to only one on-demand publisher.

United Technologies Corp.'s new CEO said Tuesday that the industrial conglomerate may drop its $2.6 billion bid for Diebold Inc.

An accountant charged in a federal probe of mob influence in the trash industry is challenging the government's use of a sophisticated GPS tracking device that he says was put on his car without a warrant.

A U.S. judge who oversaw the trial of executives accused of helping American International Group Inc.

Three local businessmen are taking a bit of the chill out of winter for themselves and more than 100 of their neighbors.

A Boeing 737 landed safely at O'Hare Airport on Monday afternoon after the crew radioed ahead to report a problem with the plane's hydraulics system. via NBC Channel 5

A state trooper was hospitalized Sunday after a car rear-ended his cruiser on Interstate 84, police said. via Hartford Courant

“Excuse me! I believe I am the president of this council meeting.If you can't restrain yourself, you will have to leave!”

The Hartford city council's regular meeting, a usually placid event, turned ugly Monday evening as one of its members was nearly ejected by his colleagues for speaking out of order.

In a session dominated by public testimony about the need for the city to rein in spending while providing aid to its most needy, it was a standoff between Councilman Larry Deutsch and Council President Calixto Torres that colored the evening.

The dispute in the meeting's last moments stemmed from a resolution that would have provided about $15,000 in funding to one of the city's homeless shelters. Read more

The second convict assault in two days in Connecticut prisons prompted a state legislator to voice concern for prisoner safety. via The Post Chronicle

A Connecticut death row inmate is recovering from minor injuries after a fight with another convicted killer at Northern Correctional Institution, state police said Thursday. via Newsday.com

“That needs to be fixed, either through legislation or through our state's Department of Health, working with other states to share information”

A review of the state's voter rolls shows that no dead people are "voting" in Connecticut, but there are problems in making sure the rolls are accurate, Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said Wednesday. via WTIC-TV Hartford

Brazil is formally recognizing the growing Brazilian community in Connecticut by opening up a consulate in Hartford. via NewsTimesLive.com

Some U.S. gas station owners say they are saddled with older gas pumps that can't tally high enough to handle prices ballooning past $4 a gallon. via RedOrbit

A Windsor man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in New Haven to six months home confinement for stealing $278,000 from Webster Bank branch on North Main Street in West Hartford, where he formerly worked as the head teller.

According to information presented in court, Daniel Caramazza, 40, of Poquonock Avenue stole the money from the bank vault over four months in 2007. When Caramazza surrendered to the FBI on October 24, 2007, he handed agents a duffel bag containing $190,150.

He told authorities, according to information presented in court, that he spent some of the money at the Bradley Teletheater in Windsor Locks and used some for living expenses while traveling between Connecticut, Atlantic City, N.J., and Florida. Read more

A man who had been shot multiple times, flagged down a Trinity College security guard for help early Tuesday morning, according to police. via WFSB-TV Hartford

Police arrested a Hartford man after he allegedly shot at officers on Madison Street early Sunday. via Hartford Courant

CROMWELL, Conn. _ In a May 11 story about the weak economy's effect on the Roman Catholic church in Connecticut, The Associated Press reported erroneously that the Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell ... via Newsday.com

“We've got as many as 15 million homes that have their debt exceed the equity in them right now.”

Sen. Christopher J. Dodd told a Hartford business audience today that federal intervention is needed to stem the daily flood of 7,000 home foreclosure filings, a drag on the economy that is contributing to consumer confidence hitting an all-time low.

'It is the contagion effect of all this that is spreading beyond housing,' Dodd told the MetroHartford Alliance. 'This issue is now affecting municipal finance, student loans, commercial mortgage-backed securities.'

Dodd, the chairman of the Senate banking committee, has proposed legislation that would provide $1.7 billion over 10 years to insure troubled loans. Lenders would have to write-down loans, while borrowers would have to pay for the insurance. Read more

Police in East Hampton are investigating a two-car collision on Route 66 that has left one person dead and one injured. via WFSB-TV Hartford

Today is Monday, May 12, the 133rd day of 2008. There are 233 days left in the year. via Ann Arbor News

“There is a parents' council. Everyone gets to know each other”

From the basement of the Hartford YWCA at Broad Street and Farmington Avenue, Patrick R. Moore has a vision. via Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Police have obtained an arrest warrant for a Hartford man accused of shooting three people last month in the South End. via Hartford Courant

“They ripped the catheter off his person. They assaulted the guy. He's got major problems as a result of this. He's a mess now.”

HARTFORD, Conn. - A 60-year-old New Britain man is accusing city police officers of breaking into his home without a search warrant and assaulting him by tearing out a catheter he was using while recovering ... via Hartford Courant

A member of the University of Connecticut track team has been arrested on charges he violated a protective order by trying to buy a shotgun. via Hartford Courant

State police said an 80-year-old Hebron woman has died two weeks after her husband allegedly beat her with a hammer. via WFSB-TV Hartford

The Phoenix Cos. posted a $19 million net loss for the first quarter as investment writedowns, volatile equity and credit markets and unusual expenses took their toll.

The $19 million, or 17 cents-a-share loss, compares with $50.6 million, or 44 cents a share, of net income in the 2007 quarter.

Phoenix's results disappointed analysts and investors, and the company's stock price fell sharply in morning trading.

'We are very disappointed with the quarter, which reflects a confluence of negative events and factors, some specific to Phoenix and others clearly market-related,' said Dona D. Young, the company's chairman, president and chief executive. Read more

House votes to reject legislative pay raises Facebook, states agree on new safeguards Afternoon News to Go -- Thursday, May 8th Wienermobile Gas Tips State of Iowa keeping collected child support payments Local ... via WQAD-TV Moline

Testimony has begun in the insurance fraud trial of the Windsor man whose dump truck caused a fatal crash at the base of Avon Mountain in 2005. via WTIC-TV Hartford

“You owe me this much for transportation, for food, for my being nice to you”

Janet Yee Wah Tso, 17, of Windsor, is a senior at the Metropolitan Learning Center, a Bloomfield magnet school that focuses on international and global studies. via Hartford Courant

“We're committed to being a prototype of this new initiative”

When Waterford Group bought the downtown Hilton in Hartford four years ago, the aging hotel was in such bad shape that Hilton was close to pulling its name from the building.

A year - and $33 million - later, the renovated hotel opened and soon began playing a key role in attracting conventioneers and other visitors to the city.

Now, Waterford, headed by brothers Len and Mark Wolman, has set its sights on another hotel renovation project, this time at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Read more

“We reviewed every nook and cranny of production to improve it”

HARTFORD, Connecticut : GE Healthcare's surgery business started up again Monday, 20 months after General Electric Co. via International Herald Tribune

A man charged with robbing a convenience store and trying to rob a package store Saturday is a suspect in other area hold-ups, police said Sunday night. via Hartford Courant

Two suspects in a home invasion on Vine Street in Hartford Sunday are facing numerous criminal charges including, burglary, threatening and unlawful restraint.

Craig James, 28, of Hartford and Kevin Hazel, 32, of West Hartford are scheduled to be arraigned this morning at Superior Court in Hartford.

Each man is being held on $750,000.

They face two counts each of first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree threatening, first-degree unlawful restraint, first-degree burglary and risk of injury to a minor. They are also charged with carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a firearm. Read more

“Everything, groceries and gas, and even this”

Posted By: Affiliate 5 mins ago Dry cleaners are raising their prices, and they say the government is to blame. via WBIR-TV

“The market is so saturated with the larger SUVs that it's driven their market value down. It's like the home ownership crisis, but a different product.”

As the price of gasoline soars and the economy sours, many SUV owners are driving around upside-down: The balance on their auto loan is much more than the vehicle is worth.

It's making the owners of some big-as-a-house luxury sport-utility vehicles and trucks feel a lot like subprime mortgage-holders.

'They're upside down in terms of value. You can call it negative equity, but there's another word for it - debt,' said Jack Nerad, executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book, which calculates the value of new and used vehicles. Read more

Michael Skakel says the art he is creating in prison is helping him cope with everyday life, and he's using his drawings as a way to communicate with family and friends. via WABC

A 27-year-old East Hartford man has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he conspired with others to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine.

Artan Isufaj, also known as 'Tony' and 'T,' pleaded guilty in federal court in Hartford Thursday to one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of cocaine, acting U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy announced in a press release today. Isufaj was arrested as a result of investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Read more

“My main goal all along has been a process that is fair, open and free of conflicts of interest”

More... Doctors to reassess antibiotics for 'chronic Lyme' disease By DAVE COLLINS HARTFORD, Conn. via Dayton Daily News

A 25-year-old man was arrested Thursday night after police officers found him drunk and passed out in a car with two children he was babysitting, police said.

Juan Martinez, of 90 Burnside Avenue, was in the driver's seat of a car parked at the Main Wah Kitchen.

He is charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. He is being held on $26,000 and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Manchester this morning. Read more

“Mr. Cruz didn't do this for sport”

A savage attack on a pet pit bull led to a felony charge against Severino Cruz in January, but on Wednesday his situation got worse: Judicial marshals handed him over to immigration officials for deportation.

The 32-year-old Plainville man accused of repeatedly stabbing the dog in the head with an electric drill probably will be deported to Mexico before his case can go to trial, defense attorney Deron Freeman said after a hearing Wednesday in Superior Court.

Cruz on Wednesday refused a plea bargain that prosecutors offered, and Judge Joseph Doherty scheduled another hearing in the animal cruelty case for May 22. But Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Stephen Preleski indicated the session may be moot, saying, 'It may very well be that Mr. Cruz will not be in court that day. He probably will be in federal custody at that time.' Read more