As we continue to battle the heat and thunderstorms rolling through our region, I saw that today is the 35th anniversary of the worst recorded tornado outbreak in state history. In 1989, tornados tore a path of destruction from the Northwest Corner toward New Haven, levelling a huge section of the Cathedral Pines in Cornwall, one of the last stands of old-growth forest in the country, killing two people, injuring hundreds more, and causing an estimated $100 million in damages. Click here to read more.
A good reminder to take weather seriously.
A number of new laws went into effect at the beginning of July, including mandatory video cameras at absentee drop boxes as part of sweeping legislation to ensure election security, allowing firearm sellers access to the arrest records of potential buyers under 21, prohibiting the selling of a person's health data without their consent, and requiring the departments of Social Services and Public Health to post a reporting tool on their websites that use a five-star system to compare nursing homes. Of particular local relevance is a law regulating herbicide spraying along railroad right of ways.
Additional laws include requiring social media companies to comply following a request to unpublish and delete accounts held by minors. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) will have a mobile crisis-response vehicle available 24-7.
You can access the new laws that will go into effect on July 1st by clicking here.
|