always before christmas

they couldn't have done it a couple of months ago OR in another couple of months? it seems rather cruel but it always happens as such

Pratt & Whitney lays off
hundreds
* Jamie Muro
* Erin Cox

East Hartford (WTNH) - The holiday season for hundreds of now-former workers at Pratt and Whitney will be a tough one. The down economy hit home at the company today. Hundreds learned they had been laid off. In Connecticut, nearly 300 jobs are lost.

A Pratt spokesperson say the cuts will affect less than one percent of the company's work force numbering more than 38,000.

Never-the-less, tonight, 350 administrative assistants, engineers and accountants are all without a job.

For more than 60 years, "Augie and Rays" has been a hot spot for warm meals for Pratt and Whitney employees. Marva Timothy has made sure of that. But she doesn't serve as many Pratt customers as she'd like to anymore.

"Years ago, back in the 80's when I started here, this time of the afternoon, would be like lunchtime. Since then, this is what it has come too," Timothy said pointing to her dining room...........

Mystic Seaport lays off
23 employees
Mystic (WTNH) - There are tough times at Mystic Seaport. The maritime museum eliminated 23 full-time positions today..........

let's keep the 103rd

air control squadron in our thoughts and prayers (as we do ALL of our deployed troops EVERYWHERE)

The 103rd Air Control
Squadron deployed
Bob Wilson

(WTNH) - It is an emotional night for Connecticut members of the 103rd Air Control Squadron. For the fifth time since the terror attacks of September 11th, they are heading to Iraq knowing there is a war to fight and an administration back home that's about to change hands.

Many of these airmen have done this before. The send off ceremony has become routine. The 103rd Air Control Squadron has been mobilized five times in the last seven years. Many of the airmen haven't missed a single deployment.

"We have been deployed five times, I have been deployed five times," Lieutenant Col. Bill Neri, of the 103rd Air Control Squadron, said. "And there are a lot of us that have done that. Last year we were in Cutter, and we have a lot of people here that have been on these trips.".......

let's just put aside what i think about hunting

really, let's do that because i have NOT ONE GOOD THING to say about the barbaric activity. not one

so we've put that aside. the killing animals part.

now, let's think about hunting on land that is designated a hunting-free SAFE wildlife preserve. a place where kids come, where people walk their dogs. a place where people never in a million years think they could be shot at

well it appears they CAN be shot at

Claims of hunting in
wildlife preserve
Count on 8 Investigates

North Branford (WTNH) - It's an area of land in Branford designated for a handful of outdoor activities. Hunting is not one of them. But one woman thinks that's happening anyway and she's reaching out to News Channel 8 for information.

Lori Beadreau, of North Branford, takes her dog Nicholis for a walk in the Poska Brook Wild Life Preserve to meet her friend Michelle McAdam, also of North Branford. It's a sanctuary for wildlife.

She took us to where she found deer carcasses and hunting stands. Animal parts are spread around the woods of what's left after hunters gutted the deer. It's a place where they are supposed to be safe from hunters.

"This is a place where people should be able to bring their families and we are nervous and very scared that one of our dogs is going to get shot or hit," McAdam said...........

i was wondering

what the outcome of the julie amero trial was. unfortunately she has to give up her teacher's license. i believe with my heart and soul she's innocent. i sure do NOT believe she was sitting in her classroom intending to look at porn on the computer (in full view of the students). i believe with my heart and soul that computer was infected and ms amero paid the price. i'm glad it's over but i'm sorry for the outcome. i'm sorry the prosecution took the route they took.
Teacher must still surrender license in bizarre 'exposure to porn' suit
By Angela Gunn, BetaNews
A week after the close of the four-year case of Julie Amero, the Connecticut substitute teacher accused of exposing middle-students to online smut, Sunbelt Software CEO Alex Eckelberry doesn't see any real win in the settlement.

"What can I say," he shrugged during a conversation with BetaNews earlier this week concerning the final decision. Ms. Amero, a substitute teacher prosecuted on felony charges after a malware-infected computer in her classroom began spewing ads for adult entertainment sites, agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge, pay a $100 fine, and surrender her credentials to teach in the state of Connecticut. "I'm disappointed it ever got this far." Eckelberry and a group of other computer professionals stepped in to aid Amero's defense team after prosecutors in Connecticut filed those charges. (PDF available here)

The incident occurred in October 2004. Parents of some students complained, and the school district contacted the police. To the dismay of forensics experts, the district was unable to provide firewall records or prove that any significant anti-malware protections were installed on Amero's machine, although she had been instructed never to shut it off. (A PDF is available describing the events in the classroom.)

Prosecutor David Smith and Norwich, Conn. police detective Mike Lounsbury ran a perfunctory test to see if the images in the pop-ups were cached in the computer, and promptly went to bat for conviction on risk of injury to a minor, or impairing the morals of a child. ........