Lamont Won't Budge On School Bus Driver Walkout: CT News Digest

Milford CT

25 September, 2021

8:44 AM

Description

Good Saturday morning Connecticut, The weather looks very good with plenty of sunshine this weekend. There was a concern for increasing clouds and showers developing Saturday evening, but those chances seem to be diminishing. Some of the guidance has backed off on the tonight's showers across eastern areas. Otherwise, expect a very nice weekend for all the outdoor activities. Enjoy and be safe! pic.twitter.com/NSZDX777gH— Sam Sampieri (@SamSampieri) September 25, 2021 See also: Doctor Accused Of Giving Out Vaccine, Mask Exemptions To Unknowns Board Votes To Terminate Schools Superintendent in Connecticut1-In-30-Million Lobster Heading From Market To CT Nature Center School bus driver update, and it looks like Monday will be very interesting Nearly 300 school bus drivers are set to walk on Monday because they are refusing to abide by Gov. Ned Lamont's mandate to get the COVID-19 vaccine or submit to weekly testing. This could cause real issues and delays on Monday morning. Despite this looming predicament, Lamont said on Friday that he won't give in to the bus drivers demands, reports Paul Hughes, of the Republican-American. State education officials said they are working on contingency plans, including bringing in other drivers who already are contracted to work for the state. State officials have for now ruled out needing to bring in the National Guard. (Read more at the Rep-Am). School superintendents began informing parents that bus runs may be a lot longer on Monday and parents may even want to drive their children to school, Hearst Connecticut reports. Additionally, up to 1,500 school bus drivers aren't vaccinated and while most have agreed to submit to weekly testing they will only do so if it's free, and that has not been ironed out yet, Hearst Connecticut reports. Some good news concerning the coronavirus in CT The slow retreat of the coronavirus in Connecticut continued Friday, with the state Department of Public Health reporting the lowest coronavirus daily positivity rate since the end of July. With 470 cases confirmed cases out of 24,960 tests taken, the daily positivity rate on Friday was 1.88 percent. Also, hospitalizations continue to fall slowly and are currently at 282, and a month ago it was nearly 400 beds. (Read more and see the town-by-town updates here). A Happy Tail! A dog that was stolen out of Fairfield nearly eight months ago has been found by Connecticut State Police and will be reunited with her family soon, according to officials. The theft took place during the early morning hours on Feb. 2 as much of the state was recovering from a major snowstorm, according to police. Police said a vehicle with a family dog – Cindy – inside was stolen from the northbound Fairfield Service Plaza on I-95 in Fairfield. The stolen vehicle was recovered a short time later, but Cindy was missing, according to police. Police said detectives conducted surveillance operations Wednesday in Waterbury and found and recovered Cindy without incident. A 'Defund Police' poster hangs in a New Haven School window A schools spokesperson told WTNH News 8 that "These were children's signs made for a student protest. They do not represent the views of the district." (Read the full News 8 story here). A 'Defund Police' poster hanging in a New Haven school window has sparked controversy in the community. News 8's @AmberDiazNews has the story >> https://t.co/kNgX4RXEJ3 pic.twitter.com/FgmN6kqJQW— WTNH News 8 (@WTNH) September 25, 2021