Several Gun Bills Progress As Talks Continue

A legislative commission is sending along several gun-related proposals as legislative leaders continue closed-door talks, seeking to come up with a bipartisan response to the school shooting in Newtown. Members of the General Assembly's Public Safety and Security Committee on Tuesday approved bills that would require criminal background checks for all private firearm sales and toughen the rules against carrying a loaded weapon while intoxicated, lowering the threshold for drunkenness. The committee also voted to require local authorities to issue permits for gun shows in their communities. Another bill that cleared the committee requires the state's Emergency Services and Public Protection commissioner to use the statewide police emergency radio network to notify all local police of a shooting involving multiple victims. Legislative leaders are expected to continue their discussions Wednesday.

Newtown Sees Jump In Gun Permit Applications

Applications for gun permits have jumped in Newtown, Conn., since a school massacre there revived the national debate on gun control and led to worries about new restrictions. Newtown in recent years has issued about 130 gun permits annually. Police say the town received 79 permit applications in the three months since the Dec. 14 massacre, well over double the normal pace. Robert Berkins, records manager for Newtown police, says many applicants are expressing concerns that their gun rights will be taken away. Firearms sales have surged around the country, driven by Washington's new focus on gun control. The killing of 20 first-graders and six staff members at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School has led to proposals for universal background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Lawmakers Focus On College Security After Newtown

Connecticut lawmakers are considering ways to boost security measures at the state's colleges and universities, in addition to primary and secondary schools, following the deadly massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Members of the General Assembly's Higher Education Committee on Tuesday heard testimony on a bill that would require each state and independent higher education institution to submit an up-to-date security protocol plan to the state's Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection by Oct. 1. The schools would also be required to establish trained threat assessment teams for their campuses. Rep. Roberta Willis, the committee's co-chairman, said a bipartisan legislative task force had originally planned to review higher education security but did not have enough time. The members decided to instead focus on primary and secondary school safety measures.

Lawmakers To Hear Testimony On Suicide Bill

A legislative committee is expected to hear divergent opinions about a bill that would allow a physician to prescribe medication to a dying patient who wants to end their own life. The socially conservative Family Institute of Connecticut and Second Thoughts Connecticut, a grassroots organization representing people with disabilities, are opposing the bill. They argue that lawmakers should instead consider increased access to hospice care, adequate staffing in nursing homes and required training in pain management. But advocates say the bill is a humane way to give dying and suffering patients a choice. The General Assembly's Public Health Committee will hear testimony on the proposal during a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday. Advocates said it marks the first time such legislation has been brought to a public hearing in Connecticut.

Board of Regents Would Pick President

State lawmakers are discussing a bill that would allow Connecticut's new Board of Regents for Higher Education, not the governor, to ultimately choose the board's next president. Currently, the board governing the state's four state universities, 12 community colleges and online university, must submit a recommendation to the governor for approval. The president's term is served simultaneously with the governor's term. Philip Austin, the board's interim president, told lawmakers Tuesday that applicants questioned why the length of their job is based on the governor's term and not their job performance. Austin said he supports the board choosing its own president to insulate that person from politics. Rep. Roberta Willis, co-chairman of the higher education committee, said she's concerned the current process discouraged applicants from applying. Three finalists are currently being considered.

Grid Chief Warns Of Future NE Power Problems

The head of New England's power grid manager is warning that the region's growing dependence on natural gas, combined with supply constraints, is threatening reliable electricity delivery. Gordon van Welie of ISO New England testified in Washington D.C. on Tuesday before a House subcommittee that "the status quo is unsustainable." Van Welie said the region gets more than half its power from natural gas, a shift over the last decade from a reliance on a more diverse mix, including coal and oil. But he said the shift is straining the existing pipeline infrastructure. He said when demand was particularly high this winter, it was difficult to ensure there was sufficient fuel. Van Welie said more pipelines and storage is needed. He also said the ISO is strengthening market incentives to ensure adequate fuel supply.

Wallingford Man Charged With Making Bombs

Wallingford police say they arrested a 23-year-old town resident for making bombs and setting off explosives in his neighborhood. Nicholas Disanti was arraigned on several charges in Meriden Superior Court on Tuesday and released on $150,000 bond. He faces nine counts of manufacturing bombs and single counts of illegal possession of explosives, possession of fireworks and other crimes. Police responded to a wooded area near Disanti's home Monday afternoon on reports of fireworks or bombs going off. Officers say they caught Disanti and he acknowledged igniting a homemade bomb in the woods. Police say Disanti allowed them to search his home and they found black powder, fuses, galvanized pipes and other bomb-making materials.

Experts Say Chances Of Recovering Boston Art Is Good

Art theft experts say now that authorities believe they know who stole $500 million worth of art from a Boston museum, the chances of getting the paintings back are good. The FBI won't disclose the identities of who it suspects posed as police officers and stole 13 works of art from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. The works included paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Manet. Christopher Marinello is a lawyer who recently recovered a Matisse oil painting stolen from a museum in Stockholm in 1987. He says 23 years is not an unusually long period of time when it comes to recovering stolen art. Marinello says he believes someone will "rat somebody else out" to claim the $5 million reward being offered by the museum.

School Pays $35K For Barring Service Animal

Federal prosecutors say a private school in Brooklyn, Connecticut has agreed to pay $35,000 for denying a child access to the school with his service animal. The U.S. attorney's office said Tuesday, The Learning Clinic also agreed to train its employees and adopt new policies to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Justice Department launched an investigation after the child's parents complained the child was being discriminated against. The Learning Clinic is a private school that offers academic instruction and clinical services through boarding and day school programs.