THE MIDDLETOWN PRESS an edition of the new haven register www.MiddletownPress.com| Wednesday, September 22, 2021| Since 1878| $1.00 State DOL defends actions The Connecticut Mirror Department defends effort to reported Sunday the DOL’s Jobless benefit errors won’t slow until state lets up ongoing efforts to recoup the reclaim unemployment funds overpayments, with the Mirror as the state claws The takeaway: An over- department offering extend- back millions of dollars, is burdened system that was By Alexander Soule effort to work with claim- ed repayment plans in cases not that the number is so not equipped to hand out ants and employers to help not involving fraudulent large. $9.8 billion to some 580,000 The state Department of them fix the issue,” Depart- claims. At the start of De- DAN No, the wonder is that Connecticut residents who Labor is defending its ef- ment of Labor spokeswom- cember, the labor depart- HAAR the cases are so few consid- made 1.5 million claims forts to claw back $8.6 mil- an Juliet Manalan said ment reported it had thwart- ering the job losses, staffing over the last 18 months — lion in unemployment ben- Tuesday. “Each case is a ed more than 100,000 fraud- and technology in place to but had no choice — is efits paid out to people who person with a specific set of ulent claims, and said at- deal with unemployment most assuredly not may have received more circumstances that must be tempts to siphon off funds COMMENTARY claims. equipped to manage the than their fair share. considered from the time through fraud continue. In fact, we will see a unavoidable fallout of er- “Non-fraud overpay- they apply to the weekly The labor department The remarkable fact whole lot more of these rors. ments are unintentional certification to the adjudica- lists a few examples of about the 30,000 cases of ugly cases before the coun- Fortunately, the state mistakes made during what tions and appeals process. administrative circum- unemployment overpay- ting shakes out — and that Department of Labor is a complex process, and There is no one-size-fits-all stances online that have ment in Connecticut, re- will take more than a year, doesn’t have to be so careful the agency makes every option.” See Labor on A6 ported this week by The CT maybe much more. See Haar on A6

ESSEX Police seek suspect in ‘serious’ double stabbing By Tara O'Neill and John Moritz

ESSEX — Investigators are looking to identify one individual after a fight at a local gas station left two people with injuries from a stabbing Monday night, according to Connecticut Conn. State Police / Contributed photo State Police. Connecticut State Police Troopers responded to are seeking the identity of the area of Main Street this individual after an around 8:30 p.m. and met alleged double stabbing at with victims of an assault. an Essex gas station on The victims reported that a Sept. 20. Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media physical altercation took Fire in the Kitchen owners Kristen Griffin, left, and her husband, Matt, prepare specialty pizzas, Lemon Boy place at the Bestway Sunoco the stabbing before crashing and Hitchhiker, respectively, at Rosabianca Vineyards in North Branford on Sept. 10. gas station at 1 Saybrook their car near the Griswold Road. Inn in downtown Essex. The First Selectman and state inn was hosting its “Sea Sen. Norm Needleman said Chanteys Night,” Needle- the victims drove about two man said, and several para- PULLED PICKLE miles away from the scene of See Stabbing on A9 PIZZA, ANYONE? EAST LYME SCHOOLS Fire In The Kitchen pizza truck Survey: Stakeholders serves that and more zany pies want to work on By Lisa Reisman equity, inclusion CLINTON — Perhaps pizza traditionalists will revolt at a Pulled Pickle Pizza, a combina- Report finds mental health resources tion of pulled pork and dill pickle resting on lacking, more feeling stressed Monterey Jack and cheddar, and dressed in BBQ sauce. Or the Lemon Boy, which has sliced lemon By Christine DeRosa to the Board of Education and smoked mozzarella mingling with olive at the Sept. 13 meeting by oil and garlic, spiced with Aleppo Pepper and EAST LYME — Findings Equity Institute CEO Karla drizzled with honey. from a root cause equity Vigil and partners Kaitlin But those culinary novelties are among the analysis conducted by the Moran and Katya Rodri- reasons that a 12-by-14-inch wood-fired pizza Equity Institute showed guez, according to the audio oven is gathering dust in the Clinton garage of that stakeholders in East recording. While the 72- Matt and Kristen Griffin. Lyme Public Schools are page report dove into de- In its place stands a 7,000-pound commer- Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media ready for change, and pre- tails and experiences of cial-sized wood burning oven fixed to a trailer Fire in the Kitchen co-owner Matt Griffin tosses dough for pared to put in the work stakeholders, the presenta- See Kitchen on A6 specialty pizzas at Rosabianca Vineyards. necessary to achieve equity tion focused on major find- and inclusion. ings and recommendations. Findings were presented See Survey on A2

BOZRAH ‘This is a major investment’ Municipal data center could net town $1.5M in taxes annually

By Josh LaBella that goes through, he said, the nies to create data centers, a ded- firm would continue with the icated space within a building or BOZRAH — A proposal by a normal process of approval a group of buildings used to Boston company to build a mu- through that commission. house computer systems and nicipal data center, now making According to GotSpace’s associated components, such as its way through the Planning and website, the facility would be telecommunications and storage Zoning Commission, could bring built on a 147-acre lot off Route 2, systems. in millions in tax revenue, offi- near Exit 23. It plans to build a More than 30 states have cials say. 157,000-square-foot facility which passed similar laws, and, this Glenn Pianka, acting first se- would require up to 32 megawatts year, Connecticut followed suit. It lectman of Bozrah, said Groton- of power. waives state sales and property based GotSpace is applying for a Pianka said the application tax obligations for 20 years for GotSpace / Contributed zoning regulation text amend- came in after the state Legislature data centers that invest at least The site layout for a data center proposed in Bozrah by the company ment to create a floating zone. If passed a law incentivizing compa- See Data on A6 GotSpace.

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