Police Chief’s Job May be on the Line; Parents Decry Proposed Special Ed Cuts; and More

EAST HAVEN – More than a year since he was put on paid leave due to a Department of Justice investigation into alleged racial profiling at the East Haven Police Department, Chief Leonard Gallo could now face punishment from the town – including termination of employment.

The police commission voted this week to recommend to Mayor April Capone punishment for the chief. While the police commission’s vote was expected, it has some saying the move is politically motivated.

Check out East Haven Patch for more on this story.

NORTH HAVEN – The superintendent of schools’ decision to lay off special education teachers has resulted in a major backlash from parents and town and state officials.

Superintendent Robert Cronin planned to reduce the special education staff from 35 to 26 positions.

"After careful review, I believe we can meet the needs of our special education students using twenty-six of the thirty-five positions for special education without compromising services," he wrote.

Cronin has since backed off. On Tuesday, it was announced that all decisions regarding special education staffing would be frozen until after a June 21 public meeting to address parental concerns.

In the meantime, here’s what state Rep. David Yaccarino (R-North Haven) and state Sen. Len Fasano (R-North Haven) had to say, in a letter: "I know you are new to North Haven, but this is not how we operate our educational system in North Haven nor is it how we operate our government…”

Check out North Haven Patch for more on this story. 

HAMDEN – The town was forced to shell out $36,000 this week to make repairs on the high school bleachers, which were damaged this winter when a plow dumped snow on them.

According to school officials, one quarter of the bleachers were rendered unusable, and the seats are needed to accommodate the hundreds of families that will be attending the high school graduation in the next two weeks.

Once the repairs are made, the Board of Education has said it will seek to find out who is responsible for the damage and, if it legally can, recoup the cost.

Here’s the full story.

CHESHIRE – A canal trail expansion that would provide public access to some of the town’s most pristine open space could end up not costing the town a dime.

Town officials are awaiting word on two separate grant applications – one from the federal government and the other from the state – that would cover a 1.5-mile expansion of the Rails to Trails pathway from West Main Street to Jarvis Street. The project is estimated to cost a little more than $2 million.

Check out the story for more details.

NORTH BRANFORD – For students of Jerome Harrison Elementary School, the Fun Day event lived up to its name when they got a chance to dunk their principal. And North Branford Patch caught the moment on video!

Check it out.

BRANFORD – New legislation sponsored by the town’s delegates in Hartford has helped to preserve ferry service to the Thimble Islands.

According to town and state officials, the volume of traffic on the ferry has declined to the point that the operation is no longer lucrative. In fact, the ferry operator is making 32 cents an hour.

The legislation aims to fix that. By creating a separate tax district, the Thimble Islands Association can now levy taxes up to four mills to cover the ferry costs.

Read the story to hear what people have to say about it.