Connecticut Death Penalty Trial To Resume

 A trial is set to continue for Connecticut death row inmates who claim their prosecutions were fraught with racial and geographical biases. Five of the 11 men on the state's death row are plaintiffs in the appeal trial being held at Northern Correctional Institution in Somers. The proceeding is set to resume Monday. It's been held on and off for the past two months, with a video feed for the public at Rockville Superior Court. The inmates claim their death penalties were decided in arbitrary and discriminatory ways based on their race and where they were prosecuted. Prosecutors deny the claim. Six men on death row are black; four are white; one is Hispanic. Connecticut state abolished the death penalty this year, but only for future murder cases.

Seymour Man Faces Sentencing For Child Porn

A Seymour man is facing sentencing for possessing child pornography.  Joseph Calvin Laughner is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New Haven. Federal prosecutors say Laughner used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download images of child pornography. On Dec. 7, 2009, agents with the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force and officials with the Naugatuck Police Department searched Laughner's residence and seized three computers and computer-related items. Authorities say forensic analysis of the items seized revealed more than 300 images and 22 videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Laughner's attorney is seeking two years home confinement, saying Laughner was sexually abused as a child and now understands he was contributing to the ongoing victimization of abused children.

Woman Faces Sentencing In $1.6M Food Stamp Fraud

 A Wethersfield woman is facing sentencing for her role in a $1.6 million food stamp fraud scheme. Lillian Adames is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. She pleaded guilty in September to food stamp fraud. Authorities say Adames illegally exchanged food stamps for cash between October 2006 and March 2009. Prosecutors say she was helped by her husband and others, exchanging food stamps for cash with customers at six grocery stores in Hartford. The listed store owners were unconnected with the businesses and allowed their names to be used for ownership and licensing purposes. Her husband is in prison and five of the stores have closed.  Adames' attorney says in court papers that she was coerced by her husband, saying he threatened and beat her.

Hard-hit Connecticut Residents Face Long Storm Recovery

Weeks after Superstorm Sandy battered the Connecticut shoreline, the recovery is just beginning for some families who will be unable to live at home for weeks or months. Thousands of homes along the water were damaged or destroyed by flooding. For those hit the hardest, days are filled with trying to get busy contractors to work on their homes and insurance adjusters to document the damage while keeping children comfortable in temporary housing. In hard-hit Fairfield, Christian McMahan says his 6-year-old daughter asked if Santa Claus will know where they are living. McMahan wants to get back into their flood-damaged home before Christmas. Down the road, fireplace embers offer warmth for Dina Cummings as she arranges for contractors to remove debris, disinfect and gut her house and fix buckled floors.

Bridgeport Installing Cameras Near Schools

A security company is installing 18 surveillance cameras outside high schools in Bridgeport in an effort to prevent crimes and help police catch perpetrators. The Connecticut Post reports that Sonitrol began installing the cameras Thursday in neighborhoods around Bassick, Central and Harding high schools. The city is using $6 million in federal grants for the Safe Corridors initiative. The initiative has come under fire from the American Civil Liberties Union and some residents. The ACLU says the city has no safeguards to protect the public's privacy.  School officials say the goal is to protect city students from bullies, drug users, pedophiles and other criminals as they walk to and from school. Bridgeport already has more than 200 surveillance cameras in place and that number could increase to 1,000.

Connecticut Council Seeks Public's Ideas For Environment

The Connecticut Council on Environmental Quality wants the public's help in coming up with recommendations for new environmental legislation to be addressed in the next session of the General Assembly. The council is holding a forum on Nov. 28 at the Legislative Office Building. Written submissions will also be accepted. State law requires the council to recommend legislation each year that remedies "the deficiencies of existing programs and activities." Barbara Wagner, the council's chair, said it's useful to get input from interested and knowledgeable people before formally submitting recommendations to the legislature and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. She said many of the group's draft recommendations focus on the basics, such as adequate funding for the Clean Water Fund, farmland and open space preservation. Others stem from problems reported by citizens.

Connecticut Energy Commissioner To Talk To Seniors

The commissioner of Connecticut's energy and environmental protection agency will be talking to senior citizens about efforts to lower electric rates, the electric utilities' response to Superstorm Sandy and other issues. Dan Esty is scheduled to participate in a tele-town hall hosted by AARP of Connecticut on Monday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.  AARP held similar tele-town halls with the state's U.S. Senate candidates. The advocacy group for older Americans has nearly 600,000 members in Connecticut. Esty is also expected to take questions about the state's energy policy, proposed deregulation of the telecommunications industry in Connecticut and other issues relating to energy and utilities.

Vigil In Hartford For Transgender Violence Victims

A vigil is planned in Hartford to remember victims of violence who were killed because they were transgender. The Connecticut Transgender Day of Remembrance will begin Tuesday evening with a march from the Charter Oak Cultural Center to a vigil ceremony at the Hartford Public Library. The vigil will be followed by a worship service at Hartford's Metropolitan Community Church.

Hamden Native Named Rhodes Scholar

A Harvard College student from Connecticut has been named a Rhodes Scholar. Hamden native Julian Gewirtz was one of 32 Americans given the prestigious honor Sunday. They will be awarded scholarships to study at Oxford University in England.  Gewirtz is a senior history major at Harvard who has won prizes for his poetry and speaks fluent Mandarin. He is publisher of the Harvard Advocate, a columnist for the Harvard Crimson and writes about China-related issues for the Huffington Post. He attended the private Hopkins School in New Haven. Gewirtz intends to pursue a degree in modern Chinese studies at Oxford. The new Rhodes Scholars also include seven Yale University students from out of state.