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VOLUME CLXXV NUMBER 123 TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2011COURANT.COM � MOBILE.COURANT.COM
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CLASSIFIED.............................................C6, C7COMICS....................................................D4, D5LOTTERY...........................................................A2OBITUARIES............................................B9-B11
Korky Vann’sDeal Of The DayComic-book lovers will be in heaven thisSaturday as thousands of independentcomic-book shops throughout the countrywill give away comic books to anyone whostops by. More than 2 million comic bookswere handed out last year. Living, Page D1
How Much Is That Kitty?At the Connecticut Cat Connection inWindsor, nearly 70 cats are waiting for newowners. CTNow, Page B1
Cloudy But WarmerCloudy with a chance of late-day showers.High of 73. Forecast, Page A2
Senate Debates BudgetSome tax changes in the $40.1 billion statebudget being debated by the Senate.t Sales tax: Increases from 6 percent to6.35 percent.t Cigarette tax: Increases from $3 to$3.40 a pack.CTNow, Page B1
Jubilation.That’s what Vycki Higley Pratt said
she felt in the few moments that sheshared with her daughters Monday, themorning after Osama bin Laden waskilled.
Amanda was 4 when her father, RobHigley, died in the terrorist attack on theWorld Trade Center. Robyn, 9, was bornabout a month later, and will forever be a9/11 baby.
Pratt, who has since remarried, waseight months pregnant with Robyn at thetime of the attack. Rob Higley was anexecutive with Aon Insurance.
“For me, for the girls, it was our littletime for jubilation in the kitchen,’’ Prattsaid Monday. “Maybe Amanda saw [binLaden’s] death as something concrete inwhat really has been a surreal journey,maybe as a sign from her father. Andmaybe we could envision a smile on myhusband’s face — you know, ‘It’s done.’ ”
Pratt, who gave birth to a thirddaughter, Casey, in 2005, confessed tohaving fears about retaliation. She saidshe did not want the radical extremiststo be egged on by the impromptu celebra-tions in Washington and New York City.
“I hope that peace comes out of this,’’said Pratt, 39, who works with mentallyand physically challenged adults. “I prayfor peace.’’
She said she wished that bin Laden’sdeath had come sooner, but that she hasfaith in the decisions and actions of the
IN AFTERMATH OF BIN LADEN’S DEATH, A WOMAN WHO LOST HER HUSBAND ON 9/11 SAYS …
‘I PRAY FOR PEACE’
MARK MIRKO | [email protected]
DUANE ORLOSKE of Windsor sits in the garden he has dedicated to his wife, Margaret, who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World TradeCenter. “It’s nice to have that feeling that he [bin Laden] ended up paying for what he did,” Orloske said.
By JOSH KOVNER, DAVID OWENS and MARA LEE
LOCAL, A10
t Tweets: A Twitter user re-ported details of the attack onOsama bin Laden’s compound inPakistan. Page A3
t Helicopter failure: Sikorskyofficials weren’t commenting onreports that one of their helicop-ters failed during the attack. Business, Page A8
t Security: The state’s maintransportation hubs are on highalert. Page A12
t Jeff Jacobs: The news of binLaden’s death brought no joy toJudy Keane. Sports, Page C1
INSIDE
ON THE WEBVisit courant.com forcontinuing coverage of
Osama bin Laden’s death.
E verybody’s celebrating, butthese people still feel the sharp,sudden pain of Sept. 11.
The families and friends ofthe dead trickled in to the 9/11 memorialat Sherwood Island State Park all dayMonday, arriving for private contempla-
tion at a publicplace, the dayafter the greatenemy was killed.
There is nojubilation at this altar overlooking LongIsland Sound. There aren’t crowds orchants of “U-S-A.”
“I see these people celebrating. I get it.But they have no idea what it’s like to bedirectly affected,’’ Kristy Gray explainsquietly after she carefully arranges abouquet of flowers near the small granitestone bearing the name of her brother’s
At State Memorial, A Somber Day
BETTINA HANSEN | [email protected]
LYNNGALVIN ofNorwalkplaces flowersMonday onher brotherThomas E.Galvin’s stonemarker at the9/11 memorialat SherwoodIsland StatePark inWestport.Galvin waskilled in theattack on theWorld TradeCenter.
GREEN, A11
RICK [email protected]
100 milesWES RAND / THE HARTFORD COURANT
Story, Page A3
2 P.M. EDT SUNDAYPresident Barack Obama reviews final preparations for the assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound.
The Go-Ahead
MISSION BEGINSTwo helicopters carrying two dozen members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six leave Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
THE ASSAULTThe helicopters drop the SEALS behind the walls of the compound. For the next 40 minutes the assault team engages in a firefight while trying to reach bin Laden.
THE KILLSEALS reach larger of two buildings in compound where bin Laden was living on the second and third floors. Bin Laden fired on the assault team, and may have tried to use his wife as a shield. Bin Laden and the woman are killed.
ESCAPEAssault
team boards
helicopters with bin
Laden’s body.
SUCCESS3:50 p.m. EDT: Obama learns that bin Laden has been tentatively identified.9:30 p.m. EDT: Obama begins notifiying Congress.
SPEECH TO NATION11:35 p.m. EDT: Obama announces that bin Laden has been killed.
BURIED AT SEA1 a.m. EDT Monday: Bin Laden’s body buried at sea.
FederallyAdministeredTribal Areas Islamabad
Kabul INDIA
PAKISTANAFGHANISTAN
KASHMIR
Line of control
JalalabadAbbottabad
Three-story building is eight times the size of nearby houses
Gate
10-18’ outer walls are topped with barbed wire
MORNING NEWS Weekday mornings Joe FureyWTIC-AM 1080/Chief Meteorologist
Photob
yDannyKash.co
m
A Great Start
U.S. FORCES KILLOSAMA BIN LADEN
WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden isdead.
President Barack Obama made thedramatic late-night announcement Sun-day from the East Room of the WhiteHouse, ending the long, elusive interna-tional manhunt for the leader of theal-Qaida terrorist organization respon-sible for theSept. 11, 2001, at-tacks.
“Justice hasbeen done,” Oba-ma said in an10-minute ad-dress shortly be-fore midnight.
Bin Laden,perhaps themost reviledman in the eyesof Americans,also was soughtfor the 1998bombings ofU.S. embassiesin east Africa.
Four helicop-ters launchedthe attack in theBilal area of Ab-bottabad, about62 miles northof Islamabad, aPakistani intel-ligence officialtold The Associ-ated Press. One of the helicopters crashedafter it apparently was hit by fire from theground, the official said. He gave no wordon casualties.
He said the helicopters took off from aPakistani air base in the north of thecountry.
Women and children were taken intocustody during the raid, he said, ac-cording to the AP. He spoke on condition ofanonymity because of the sensitivity ofthe information.
Obama said a possible lead to binLaden’s whereabouts emerged last Au-gust, but took “many months” to rundown.
He determined last week that there wasenough intelligence to take action, hesaid. Sunday’s targeted operation wentdown without harm to Americans andwithout civilian casualty, he said.
9/11 MASTERMIND
AP
OSAMA BIN LADEN, long a target of the U.S. for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., was killed by U.S.special forces in a raid on a mansion in Pakistan Sunday. “Justice has been done,” President Barack Obama said.
Al-Qaida LeaderWas In Pakistan
By MARGARET TALEVand JONATHAN S. LANDAY
McClatchy Newspapers
JASON REED | REUTERS
PRESIDENT BARACKOBAMA announced the deathof Osama bin Laden Sunday.
KILLED, A6
INSIDEt Speech: The presidentpraised the military for its longeffort to track down the leaderof al-Qaida. Page A8
VOLUME CLXXV NUMBER 122 MONDAY, MAY 2, 2011COURANT.COM � MOBILE.COURANT.COM
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HARTFORD — With gasoline pricesskyrocketing, the Senate will vote Mon-day on a final budget agreement thatavoids any increase in the state’s gaso-line tax this year.
Negotiators finished the last detailsafter working through the weekend atthe state Capitol, and they agreed todrop the 3-cents-a-gallon increase thatDemocratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy hadproposed in mid-February.
Democrats in both the House ofRepresentatives and the Senate hadbalked at increasing the gasoline tax ata time when gas prices have spikedevery week and increased seeminglyevery day recently. Gasoline pricesrose nationally during April by 32cents a gallon — essentially a pennydaily.
Senate President Pro Tem DonaldWilliams said Sunday that dropping thegasoline tax increase was an importantprovision of the two-year, $40 billionbudget.
Although the gasoline tax has beendropped, the final budget package stillincludes increases in most of the state’smajor taxes — on income, corporations,estates, sales, cigarettes and cigars.
The sales tax will increase from 6percent to 6.35 percent on retail items,and the so-called “luxury tax’’ will be 7percent on cars worth more than $50,000,
Gas Tax Hike Abandoned3-Cent Increase
Cut From Budget
By CHRISTOPHER [email protected]
AT THE CAPITOL
HARTFORD — If not for her hus-band’s union job as a sheet metal worker,Anna Bouzko says her family would bein trouble financially.
Laid off from a position with TheHartford two years ago, the Wethersfield
resident is unable to find work andworries that her husband’s job, which isthrough Local 40 of the Sheet MetalWorkers International Association,could also be at risk if contracts contin-
ue to be given to non-union employees. “We need jobs, we worry about retire-
ment,” Bouzko said. “We don’t want toleave the state, we love Connecticut, butif there’s no jobs, we may have to leave.”
Bouzko and her husband, Anatoli,were among hundreds of union work-ers who streamed into Bushnell ParkSunday for a labor union rally hostedby the Connecticut Laborers’ DistrictCouncil. Bearing signs and wearingcolorful T-shirts with their unions’logos, many in the crowd were accom-panied by spouses and children. Oth-ers, such as Valrey Johnson, stood withfellow employees and listened sol-
Workers Rally For Jobs Unions Gather
At Bushnell Park
By MELISSA PIONZIO [email protected]
UNIONS
Visit courant.com/laborrally forvideo and photos from the rally.
UNIONS, A4
t Gas tax: Drops proposed 3-centa gallon tax increase.
t Union concessions: Noagreement yet.
t Senate: Expected to voteMonday.
t House: Approval expectedTuesday.
BUDGET DEAL
GAS TAX, A4
It’s time. To change. To advance. To start.
All classes are held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Applicants are responsible for reading the academic catalog and getting all the information needed to make informed decisions.
Please join us at an information session▶ Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 6:00 p.m.
Hartford Public Library, 500Main St., Hartford, Connecticut▶ Tuesday, May 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Cambridge College–Springfield Regional Center570 Cottage Street, Springfield, Massachusetts
Contact us now to RSVP or learnmoreGlandinaMorrisAdmissions Counselorglandina.morris@cambridgecollege.eduwww.cambridgecollege.edu/info23800.829.4723 x6623
S print Cup hits thehalfway point of its36-race scheduleSaturday night with the
Quaker State 400, the first visit toKentucky Speedway for NASCAR’stop series.
Reaching the halfway pointmeans there will only be 10 racesleft before NASCAR sets the12-driver field for its 10-race Chasefor the Sprint Cup.
After the series makes its debutat Kentucky, next on the scheduleis the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 atNew Hampshire Motor SpeedwayJuly 17, the event NASCARdesignates as the start of the“Race for the Chase.”
This year’s Chase offers a newwrinkle. Instead of the top 12 in thestandings qualifying for the Chase,the top 10 earn spots with the finaltwo positions left as wild cards.The wild cards go to the twodrivers with the most wins rankedin the second 10 in points.
A look at how things are shapingup:
The ExpectedContenders
KEVIN HARVICK(first in thestandings): Wasone of three drivers,along with DennyHamlin and eventualchampion JimmieJohnson, who went
into the final race in 2010 incontention for the championshipand it looks like nothing haschanged. Harvick has aseries-leading three victories thisyear, matching his total for all of2010.
CARL EDWARDS(second): The freeagent in the finalyear of his contractwith Roush FenwayRacing is shoppinghimself on the openmarket and driving
the asking price up every week. Afixture at the front, Edwards has aseries-high 12 top-10 finishes thisyear.
for the Sprint Cup for the secondtime since NASCAR’s playoffsystem was introduced in 2004.Stewart, who has had at least onevictory in every season he hascompeted in the series, datingback to 1999, is winless with justone top-five and six top-10s thisyear. Stewart does have a historyof getting hot in July and August,but if the Chase were to starttoday he would be on the outsidelooking in.
MARK MARTIN(18th): In his finalyear with HendrickMotorsports, Martinhas been looking upat his threeteammates —Johnson, Earnhardt
and Gordon (eighth), who are allsolidly in the top 10. Martin’s besthope for making the Chase lies ingrabbing one of the wild cardspots, though the 52-year-old hasnot won a race since 2009.
JOEY LOGANO(20th): With fivetop-five finishes andseven top-10s in thefinal 11 races in 2010,many thought the21-year-oldMiddletown native
was finally living up to the hugeexpectations that were heapedupon him since he replacedStewart in the Joe Gibbs Racingstable in 2009. But themomentum of the strong finishdidn’t carry over. Logano startedthis season displaying the sameinconsistency that plagued him allof his rookie season and most oflast season. With just four top-10finishes so far this year, there arewhispers that Logano could be outof his ride after this season,especially if Gibbs makes asuccessful run at signing Edwards.A magical rally into the Chasewould save Logano the worry oflooking for a new ride.
The ForecastIn the Chase (through the top10): Jimmie Johnson, KevinHarvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch,Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, DaleEarnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, TonyStewart, Ryan Newman.The wild cards (on wins): JeffGordon, Juan MontoyaThe champion: After winning the
last five titles, there’s no wayto not pick Jimmie
Johnson to make it sixin a row.
the first time since 2008.
A.J.ALLMENDINGER(15th): In a seasonthat has alreadyseen three first-timewinners, the RichardPetty Motorsportsdriver has
established himself as one of thefavorites to be next to get thatfirst victory. That could be enoughto earn Allmendinger one of thewild card spots. He currently sits 31points behind 10th-place RyanNewman. Allmendinger has neverfinished better than 19th in thestandings.
PAUL MENARD(16th): Over the lastfew seasons,Menard has beentagged as the guywith the rich fatherwho buys his kidrides in the series,
but this year Menard has shown hebelongs. He has five top-10finishes in the first 17 races. Beforethis year Menard had eight top-10finishes in 147 starts.
DAVID RAGAN(17th): Afterfinishing outside thetop 20 in points inthree of the last fourseasons, the RoushFenway Racingdriver put himself on
the hot seat with another slowstart this season. But that mayhave all changed Saturday atDaytona International Speedwaywhen he got his first series win. Ifthe Chase for the Sprint Cupstarted today, Ragan would be inthe 12-car field as one of the wildcard drivers. Ragan is one of fourrace winners this season outsideof the top-16 in the standings.Others deep in the standings withrace wins include Brad Keselowski(22nd), Regan Smith (28th) andTrevor Bayne (51st).
The DisappointmentsTONY STEWART(12th): Thetwo-time Sprint Cupchampion hasstruggled throughthe first half of 2011and sits dangerouslyclose to not
qualifying for the Chase
KYLE BUSCH(third): Ten pointsoff the lead,NASCAR’s reigningbad boy has beensolid all year andwith two victorieslooks like a lock to
make the Chase once again.
JIMMIE JOHNSON(sixth): With justone win this yearand sitting sixth inthe standings, somemight look atJohnson, who haswon the last five
championships, as vulnerable.Think again. Johnson and hisHendrick Motorsports team havehistorically put things on thecruise control in the regularseason before turning up the heatduring the Chase.
DENNY HAMLIN(11th): After goinginto the series finalelast year with thepoints lead beforelosing out toJohnson, Hamlinwas 15th or worse in
five of the first eight races thisyear, with just one top-10 finishduring that span. But the JoeGibbs Racing driver has rallied overthe last nine races, including a winat Michigan InternationalSpeedway on June 19.
The Pleasant SurprisesDALE EARNHARDTJR. (seventh):Despite competingfor arguably the bestorganization in thesport, Earnhardt hasbeen abysmal thelast two years,
finishing 25th in the standings in2009 and 21st in 2010. A preseasonpersonnel shake-up at Hendrickput Jeff Gordon’s former crewchief, Steve Letarte, in charge ofEarnhardt’s team and the movehas seemed to breathed some lifeinto NASCAR’s most populardriver. Earnhardt is still looking forhis first victory since 2008, butbarring a meltdown, Earnhardtshould be back in the Chase for
SPRINT CUP APPROACHES HALFWAY POINT
ZOOMING INBy SHAWN COURCHESNE
THE HARTFORD COURANT TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011 C3
UNCASVILLE — With essentially thesame roster as last year, the ConnecticutSun began the season hoping additionalexperience and maturity would help themreturn to the playoffs for the first time since2008.
Through their first nine games, thetheory has proved somewhat accurate. TheSun are 5-0 at home, 6-3 overall and insecond place in the Eastern Conference, ahalf-game behind the Indiana Fever. Theyhave played the team game of sharing theball, the points and the responsibilities ofmolding a team.
Have you seen Kara Lawson lately?“I love emotional players,” Lawson said.
“I would rather have to turn someone downthan turn someone up. I can’t stand playersthat you have to get them going. I love thatpart of the game and I have always been oneof those players that people don’t really likeif I’m not on their team but I feel like myteammates love me, the way I play and theemotion I bring.”
A newfound resilience was on displayFriday night when it appeared the Sunwould blow a 19-point, third-quarter lead to
the defending champion Seattle Storm.With just over a minute to play, the Storm
had cut the lead to two points. The time hadcome to take inventory.
“We don’t hang our heads. Last year,when the other team would make a run wewould say, ‘Oh no, not again.’ But this year Ithink we have a little more composure,”
forward Asjha Jonessaid. “We just knowthat we can look ateach other and relaxand say, ‘We’re going toget it.’
“So I think it’s just amatter of learning eachother and just beingmore comfortable witheach other, that we canlook at each other, we
don’t have to say anything, we don’t have topump each other up, but we have thatcommon bond that we know we can get itdone.”
The Sun got it done, making five freethrows in the final 30 seconds to wrap up a75-70 win against the Storm. But nowcomes the interesting part for a team withchampionship aspirations.
Beginning Saturday in Minnesota — the
land of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, TajMcWilliams-Franklin and the rejuvenatedLynx — the Sun begin a three-game roadswing that will say a lot about how farthey’ve come.
“To be a good team you have to win someroad games. We’re not saying we have towin them all but you have to win at least halfof them and we didn’t even come close lastyear [5-12],” point guard Renee Mont-gomery said. “And it’s tough because on theroad you’re working against a lot ofdifferent things. You don’t have the home-court advantage and you have to bring yourown fire. But I feel like we are getting betterjust all around and I feel it’s going to carryover on the road, definitely.”
Two of the Sun’s three losses on the roadare against Chicago, which could hauntthem in a tiebreaker situation for theplayoffs. But their road losses — the thirdwas at Indiana — have come by a total of 14points, an indication of how winnable thosegames were.
Seattle’s Swin Cash, who scored agame-high 25 Friday, knows the impor-tance of being competitive on the road.
“If you give yourself a chance to win onthe road, like we did [Friday], there issomething to be said about that,” Cash said.
How hard is it to win on the road? TheSun’s win Friday extended their homestreak against Seattle to nine, dating to2003, Connecticut’s first year in the league.
And now the Sun are getting contribu-tions from about every member of the team.
Center Tina Charles had 20 points and 10rebounds Friday, her sixth straight double-double. And she has scored at least 20points for the fifth time in six games.
Montgomery is sixth in the league inscoring (18.0), is hitting 45 percent of herthree-pointers and she had a season-higheight assists against Seattle.
Lawson, perhaps in the best shape of hernine-year career, is off to a great start. Shehad 16 points and seven assists Friday.
Jones, the foundation of the franchise, isexperiencing a renaissance in her 10thseason. She is moving well and shootingbetter, averaging 13.3 points.
And Kalana Greene, acquired from NewYork on draft day, has taken advantage ofher few opportunities to score by becomingone of the league’s top three-point shooters(8-for-12).
“All I am concerned with now is the nextgame on the schedule,” Sun coach MikeThibault said. “That’s been the focus of theteam since training camp began.”
WNBA / SUN
They’ve Traveled This Road BeforeBy JOHN ALTAVILLA
RoadAheadSaturday: AtMinnesota, 8 p.m.July 13: AtIndiana, 1 p.m.July 15: At NewYork, 7 p.m., CSN
NASCAR
Sprint Cup StandingsThrough 17 of 36 races (top 10 in points advance to the Chase for the SprintCup; two drivers with most wins in places 11-20 complete 12-driver field)
Points Behind Poles Wins Top 5 Top 10
1. Kevin Harvick 586 — 0 3 6 102. Carl Edwards 581 -5 2 1 9 123. Kyle Busch 576 -10 0 2 9 104. Kurt Busch 570 -16 3 1 4 95. Matt Kenseth 564 -22 1 2 6 96. Jimmie Johnson 564 -22 0 1 5 107. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 534 -52 1 0 3 88. Jeff Gordon 519 -67 1 2 6 79. Clint Bowyer 505 -81 0 0 3 810. Ryan Newman 498 -88 0 0 4 7
11. Denny Hamlin 495 -91 0 1 3 612. Tony Stewart 494 -92 0 0 1 620 Joey Logano 439 -147 1 0 2 4
Next race: Quaker State 400, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky.,Saturday, 7:30 p.m., TNTJuly 17: Lenox Industrial Tools 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway,Loudon, N.H., 1 p.m., TNT
User: jadiehm Time: 07-07-2011 19:55 Product: HCBroadsheet PubDate: 07-05-2011 Zone: SportsZone Edition: 1 Page: Sports_3 Color: K
VOLUME CLXXV NUMBER 153 THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011COURANT.COM � MOBILE.COURANT.COM
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MOVIES..............CAL 26, 27OBITUARIES...............B8-B11
A t least four people died as a seriesof storms — including at leastone confirmed tornado — torethrough several Massachusetts
communities Wednesday, carving a path ofdestruction from Westfield to Sturbridge.
Scott MacLeod, a spokesman for theMassachusetts EmergencyManagement Agency,confirmed the deathsWednesday night but saidthere were no details aboutthe circumstances. He saidtwo people died in Westfield,one in West Springfield andone in Brimfield.
Gov. Deval Patrick,speaking at a press conference lateWednesday, said 19 communities were hit bythe severe weather. Patrick declared a stateof emergency and said the state hadenlisted the help of 1,000 National Guardtroops to help residents clean up the rubbleleft behind after strong winds, hail andthunderstorms hit along the border of
4 DIE AS STORMS CARVE PATH OF DESTRUCTION THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS
DEVASTATION
BETTINA HANSEN | [email protected]
A TORNADO that touched down in Springfield Wednesday ripped roofs and tore walls off buildings near Union and Main streets. Emergency officials went door to door to assess damage.
STEPHEN DUNN | [email protected]
A TORNADO struck the center of town in Monson, Mass., Wednesday afternoon and left a path ofdevastation, including the Unitarian Church, whose total renovation had nearly been completed.
By DAVID OWENS, KIM VELSEY and HILLARY FEDERICO
STORMS, A7
For video andmore photos of
the storm damage inSpringfield visitcourant.com/tornado.
ON THE WEB
The Senate on Wednesday ap-proved a bill to upgrade the Univer-sity of Connecticut Health Center, aproject that would cost $864 million,expand the medical and dentalschools and require an estimated3,000 new construction jobs at theFarmington campus.
The proposal would add 100 stu-dents to the medical school, 48
plan, while Democrat AnthonyMusto of Trumbull voted against it.
The bill now goes to the Demo-crat-controlled House of Repre-sentatives, where approval is ex-pected.
The expansion proposal fromGov. Dannel P. Malloy also projectsthat the health center, which hashad financial troubles, will breakeven by 2018. The legislature has
students to the dental school andabout 50 medical researchers over-all, as well as a new hospital towerand parking garages.
After three hours of debate, theSenate voted 24-11 for the project ona mostly party-line vote. Repub-licans Kevin Witkos of Canton andToni Boucher of Wilton broke withtheir party and voted in favor of the
Senate OKs Health Center ExpansionBy CHRISTOPHER KEATING
EXPANSION, A8
GOP: ‘RUSH-JOB’
The estimate of state tax collec-tions for this year has widened byanother $170 million, prompting topstate officials to announce Wednes-day that they will end a contro-versial surcharge on ConnecticutLight & Power customers.
Early in the day, ComptrollerKevin Lembo’s office said that theprojected excess amount of revenue
over expenses for the current fiscalyear, which ends June 30, is now$679.8 million — up by $170.2 millionfrom the estimate of just one monthago.
Lembo urged a halt to the sur-charge, which averages $3.50 amonth for all CL&P customers.
Senate President Pro Tem DonaldWilliams of Brooklyn said: “That
would be tremendous news for ev-eryone if we could significantlyscale back or eliminate the sur-charge entirely. It’s what we shouldwork toward.”
He said the legislature should beable to determine within two weekswhether the surcharge can bedropped.
By late afternoon, Ben Barnes,secretary of the state’s Office of
Tax Revenue Exceeding ProjectionsBy MARA LEE
REVENUE, A8
STATE BUDGET
Register For The Peace Summit TodayFor tickets: harttweb.hartford.edu/tickets
Box office: 860.768.4228 or 1.800.274.8587
WORLDYOUTHPEACE SUMMITJULY 1-4 • UNIVERSITYOFHARTFORD4DAYSOFWORLDRENOWNEDSPEAKERSDevelop peace initiatives in your community
“This is one of themost compellingpeace initiatives Ihave seen in years.”
General Colin PowellKeynote Speaker, 2011World Youth Peace Summit
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