Sandy Is Third Major Outage in  14 Months

 Shoreline residents are girding themselves for Connecticut's third lengthy power outage in just over a year. Company officials say more than 500,000 CL&P customers and 187,000 UI customers lost power in superstorm Sandy, and there were still 483,000 outages Wednesday afternoon. Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch says residents there deserve better attention from the city's utility provider. Mike West, a spokesman for United Illuminating, says he understands people are frustrated, but says the company is still assessing the damage Wednesday, and won't begin the major power restoration work until Thursday. Connecticut Light & Power spokesman Frank Poirot says lessons learned from Hurricane Irene and last October's snow storm will mean turning the power on will be a smoother and quicker job this time around.

 Additional Line, Tree Crews Heading To Connecticut

 Connecticut's two main power utilities say more crews are arriving from out of state to help restore electricity. Connecticut Light & Power says it is getting about 200 additional line workers and 250 more tree cutters, who will be in the field as early as Thursday. That brings their totals to about 1,800 line workers and 1,200 tree workers. United Illuminating also is adding crews from as far away as Nova Scotia, and hopes to have increased the number of workers in the field from 850 to 1,000 in the next day. Both companies say they will provide estimates Thursday as to when they expect to fully restore power in Connecticut. About 378,000 utility customers remained without power Wednesday evening.

 Napolitano To View Storm Damage

 Connecticut is getting a high-level visit from the Obama administration in the wake of superstorm Sandy. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says Secretary Janet Napolitano will visit the state Thursday to meet with state and local officials. She also plans to get a firsthand look at the storm damage and view response and recovery efforts. Department spokesman Matt Chandler says Napolitano also plans to visit New York.  He said the details of the trip have not been finalized.

Governor Signs Order Extending Tax Deadline

 Governor  Malloy has signed an executive order extending the deadline for Connecticut residents who pay local property taxes on a quarterly basis. The governor's 26th order extends the deadline from Thursday to Nov. 15. Malloy said it will take some time for life to get back to normal in Connecticut following the superstorm that hit the state on Monday. He said this order will "give residents some breathing room to avoid accumulating interest fees."  Also on Thursday, Malloy released a set of aerial photographs and video of damage along the state's shoreline taken by the Connecticut National Guard. The images can be downloaded on Malloy's Flickr page and the video can be viewed on his YouTube page.

Tweed-New Haven Airport Resuming Service

Officials at Tweed-New Haven Airport say power has been restored and flight service is resuming two days after superstorm Sandy.  The airport authority's executive director, Tim Larson, says power was restored Wednesday afternoon, and the normal flight schedule will resume Thursday.  The airport is along Long Island Sound, but only had minor flooding in a runway safety zone. Larson says no water went onto the runways. The airport had been closed to commercial flights since losing power on Monday.

Amtrak Plans To Restore Some NYC Service On Friday

Amtrak says it plans to restore some service on Friday to and from New York City, which has been without intercity train service since it was walloped by superstorm Sandy. The railroad said the removal of water from flooded train tunnels under the Hudson and East rivers is continuing so that repairs to tracks, signals and power systems can be made. A Friday schedule is expected to be released Thursday.      Service to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey has been restored, but Northeast Regional service between Newark and New Haven, Conn., and Acela Express service for the length of the Northeast Corridor are canceled for Thursday.

Limited Rail Service From Stamford To Resume

Commuter rail service between Stamford and New York's Grand Central Station is set to resume.  A Connecticut Department of Transportation spokesman says the first Metro-North train since superstorm Sandy is set to leave the Stamford station on Thursday at 4:43 a.m. The Stamford-to-New York service represents about 52 percent of the daily New Haven Line service. DOT says it's discussing with Metro-North a possible interim express bus option for the eastern end of the line. They still want to return the entire system, from New Haven to Grand Central, to full service as soon as possible. Shore Line East commuter rail service, between New Haven and New London, is also set to resume on Thursday morning. Amtrak says it will also resume limited service between New Haven and Springfield, Mass.

 New Connecticut Voter Registration Deadline Is Today

 Eligible voters in Connecticut are facing a new deadline to register to vote in this year's state and federal elections.  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, by executive order, extended the registration deadline until Thursday at 8 p.m. after superstorm Sandy hit the state. People wanting to cast votes on Nov. 6 need to register to vote in person at their town and city offices.  Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said she still hopes voter turnout will be relatively high for the presidential election, despite the fact many voters remain without electricity or have suffered damage to their homes.  She said last year's pre-Halloween winter storm did not have much of an effect on the municipal elections, which traditionally have a much lower turnout than presidential years.

Merrill: Connecticut In 'Pretty Good Shape' For Election

Connecticut's elections chief says the state is in "pretty good shape" for Election Day, even though there are still numerous polling places without electricity following superstorm Sandy. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill held a conference call on Wednesday with local officials from across Connecticut. Of the state's 773 polling places, she said about 100 in Connecticut Light & Power's franchise area remain without power. She said her office is working with the utility to make sure those locations receive top priority for restoration. Merrill said her office has not yet received a list of polling places without electricity located in United Illuminating's territory. Merrill said she is particularly concerned about Bridgeport. No polling places have yet been relocated. Merrill said local officials likely won't make those decisions until Saturday.

 Skeleton Found When Historic Tree Uprooted

 New Haven police say superstorm Sandy has revealed a skeleton beneath the town green that may have been there since Colonial times. Police spokesman David Hartman says a woman who was with other bystanders looking at a fallen oak tree called police Tuesday after she saw bones in the upturned roots. Hartman says the tree was planted on the green in 1909 on the 100th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln's birth. He says the remains likely belong to one of thousands of people buried there in Colonial times. The remains will be evaluated by the state medical examiner.  Katie Carbo, who called police, tells the New Haven Independent she saw something in the tree roots, and found the bones when she removed some dirt. She says the skeleton "should be given a proper burial."

Moffa Expected To Change Plea In Campaign Case

A former president of a Connecticut labor union representing prison guards is expected to change his plea in an alleged campaign financing conspiracy surrounding House Speaker Chris Donovan's one-time congressional campaign. A criminal calendar for the U.S. District Court in New Haven, filed on Wednesday, shows David Moffa is scheduled to appear in court on Friday. He originally pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to cause false statements to the Federal Elections Commission, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.      Moffa is one of eight people charged in an alleged scheme to hide the source of $27,500 in campaign contributions, allegedly tied to an effort to stop a state effort to raise taxes on