State Unemployment Rate Drops Again

The state unemployment rate fell to seven-point-seven-percent in March, which is the lowest it has been in more than three years.  The rate dropped despite the state Department of Labor reporting that Connecticut lost 27-hundred jobs during the month.  March was the eighth consecutive month that the unemployment rate has declined in the state.  Governor Dannel Malloy says he is pleased the rate is continuing to drop, but says there is still a long way to go in the state's economic recovery.

Stamford Man Guilty In Child Porn Case

A Stamford man found in possession of a huge cache of child pornography has pleaded guilty to a federal charge.  Juan Carlos Melendez pleaded guilty to a single count of receipt of child pornography in a Hartford federal courtroom.  However, prosecutors say he confessed to possessing around 90 gigabites of child porn images and videos on his computer drives.  A subsequent search of the computer revealed thousands of images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Melendez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.

Contractor Says Fatigue Didn't Cause Accidents

The contractor who is building the new Moses Wheeler Bridge in Stratford doesn't think worker fatigue is to blame for recent accidents on the job site.  State transportation officials had ordered the project shut down until the contractor demonstrates that it is complying with safety requirements.  In a letter from a senior project manager from Walsh Construction Company to transportation officials, plans to improve safety at the site include a daily "Task Hazard Analysis" and surveying workers to determine whether they are feeling overtaxed by the ten-hour-work-days and Saturday shifts.  A meeting between the state Department of Transportation and Walsh Construction Company is slated to take place today.

Man Faces 80-Years in Prison For Shootings

A 20-year-old Bridgeport man could spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of shooting two men in July 2010.  A jury found Jose Rivera guilty of attempted murder, two counts of second-degree assault and possession of a pistol without a permit.  One of Rivera's victims has been left paralyzed from his injuries.  Rivera is set to be sentenced on May 31st.

Bridgeport Board Of Education Election Scheduled

Bridgeport residents will elect a new school board on September 4th.  Superior Court Judge Salvatore Agati picked the date yesterday out of four dates suggested by the Secretary of State's office.  The city has been without an elected board of education since July when the board asked to be reconstituted by a 6-3 vote.  A state appointed school board will remain in power until the results of the special election are certified.  There are at least four seats that need to be filled.

Bridgeport Bluefish Commence Spring Training Today

The Bridgeport Bluefish are getting ready to play ball.  The team's spring training schedule includes two exhibition games against rival Long Island Ducks.  The first exhibition game will be played at 10:30 a.m. today at home at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard.  The second and final game will be played Saturday at Long Island. 

Senate Passes Profiling, Police Video Bills

The state Senate has passed a pair of bills affecting Connecticut police.  One of the bills would strengthen the state's racial profiling laws, and another seeks to protect the rights of citizens who videotape police officers in their official duties.  Both bills have ties to the police scandal in East Haven, where officers are facing federal charges that they racially profiled Latinos, and where a priest was arrested for videotaping officers in a Latino grocery.  Both bills now head to the House.

GOP Senate Candidates Debate In Norwich

The five candidates seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate held their first debate last night in Norwich.  Former Congressman Chris Shays says the polls show that Linda McMahon will not defeat whoever emerges as the Democratic candidate.  Front runner Linda McMahon says she is a job creator, and the state cannot continue sending career politicians to Washington to correct the problems they created.  Lesser known Republican candidates Kie Westby, Brian Hill and Peter Lumaj also participated in the debate.

Man Gets 20 Years For Bank Robberies

A former Farmington man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for robbing three banks in January of last year.  Prosecutors say 52-year-old James Bieu robbed a People's United Bank in Branford and New Alliance banks in Hamden and West Haven during the crime spree.  In each robbery, he passed the teller a note demanding money and threatening violence if they did not comply.  Bieu was arrested after being subdued by customers after the West Haven robbery. 

Waterbury Mayor Reverses Again On Pension

Waterbury Mayor Neil O'Leary has reversed himself again, and now says he will stop collecting his 91-thousand-dollars a year police pension.  O'Leary said during the campaign for mayor last year that he would not collect the pension if elected.  However, he said earlier this week that family issues required him to start collecting again, as the 114-thousand-dollar mayor's salary was just not enough.  O'Leary only collected the pension for a month.
Study Shows Physical Activity Lowers Alzheimer's Risk

A new study shows increasing the level of physical activity among older adults can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.  The study of 716 participants in the Memory and Aging Project at Rush University in Chicago showed that people in the bottom ten-percent of physical activity measurement were almost three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's.  Moreover, the activity did not have to be exercise.  Walking, cooking, gardening and cleaning were considered physical activities that were intense enough to matter in the results.  The study's lead author, Aron Buchman, says the results show older adults can tailor any kind of physical activity to help delay the onset of Alzheimer's.  The study was published Wednesday in the journal "Neurology."

Fewer Americans Practicing "Green" Living

Earth Day is this Sunday, and while the number of Americans who would describe themselves as "green," a "conservationist," or an "environmentalist" has gone up over the past three years, the number of people who actually live those ideas has fallen.  A new Harris Poll shows that 61-percent are reusing items instead of tossing them and buying something new, which is down four-percent from 2009.  Meanwhile, 57-percent are making an effort to use less water, while 60-percent were doing so three years ago.  The number of people who say they're "environmentally-conscious" has dropped from 30-percent in 2009 to 27-percent today.  Just 31-percent say they "personally care a great deal" about the environment, which is down from 36-percent in 2009.  And three years ago 43-percent expressed concerns about the condition in which the planet will be left for future generations, but these days just 34-percent are looking beyond their own