HARTFORD, Conn. — The tribal chairmen of Connecticut’s two federally recognized tribes are assuring state lawmakers they remain committed to opening their Tribal Winds casino near the Massachusetts state line.
Rodney Butler of the Mashantucket Pequots and Kevin Brown of the Mohegans appeared together on Tuesday before a legislative committee to update the panel on the status of their long-delayed project in East Windsor.
The $300 million facility, which is supposed to help the tribes’ existing casinos in southeastern Connecticut compete with MGM Resorts’ new casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, has been delayed due to pending federal approval. Tribal leaders had originally hoped to open the satellite casino before MGM opened its doors last August.
The chairmen say they support legislation proposed this session that would eliminate the requirement for the federal approval.
LOWELL — Authorities have made an arrest in the fatal stabbing of an 18-year-old man near a state college campus.
A spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney says the victim was stabbed just after 7 p.m. Monday near UMass Lowell’s East Campus.
The victim was not a student at the school.
The teen, Asiatic Alvarez, of Lowell, was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The DA on Tuesday said 21-year-old Victor Crespo was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Authorities say the victim and suspect knew each other and arranged to meet for a marijuana transaction.
Crespo is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. It was not clear if he has a lawyer.
BOSTON — Authorities say a 44-year-old man found bleeding and unconscious outside a war veterans’ organization post has died from his injuries.
A spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey says Christopher McCallum died Monday at Boston Medical Center after undergoing treatment.
The Brockton Enterprise reports that the circumstances of McCallum’s death remain unclear. Quincy police say he was found bleeding and unconscious outside Bridgewater’s American Legion post early Sunday after reports of a “large disorder.”
Quincy Police Sgt. Karyn Barkas says authorities will not be releasing additional information, citing an ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Quincy detectives. Quincy police are investigating alongside the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Federal fishing managers are beginning the process of determining how the nation’s harvest of wild fish has been impacted by the government shutdown.
The New England Fishery Management Council is meeting this week in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The council is one of several charged by the feds with crafting fishing regulations and managing fisheries.
Members of the council said Tuesday their meeting this week will primarily be about determining how the 35-day federal shutdown has affected fishery management plans. The shutdown left the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mostly shuttered, and that halted the scientific work that managers rely on to write regulations.
The New England council manages economically important species such as lobsters, scallops, cod and flounder.
AQUINNAH — A Native American tribe on Martha’s Vineyard says it is opposed to federal legislation aimed at securing land for the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe.
The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head in Aquinnah said in a Jan. 22 letter that a bill introduced by Democratic U.S. Rep. William Keating would have an adverse impact on the tribe’s ability to acquire additional ancestral land.
The Cape Cod Times reports that Keating in a statement said his legislation is tailored specifically to make sure the Mashpee tribe is protected from having its land removed from a trust.
The bill would end ongoing litigation challenging the Mashpee tribe’s reservation. Aquinnah Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Andrews-Maltais says her tribe should be included in the legislation.
Keating’s office says it will work with the Aquinnah tribe to address concerns.
BOSTON — The architect of a nearly $2 million real estate investment scam who spent more than two decades on the lam before his arrest in 2017 has been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison.
Federal prosecutors say 69-year-old Scott Wolas, formerly of Quincy, was also sentenced Monday to three years of probation and ordered to pay full restitution to his victims, $69,000 to Social Security and Medicare, and more than $318,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Wolas had already been a fugitive since 1997 after he fled following his indictment on fraud and grand larceny charges in New York, when he settled in Quincy in 2009.
Prosecutors say he used an alias and solicited investments in a beachfront redevelopment project, but used investor money mostly on personal expenses.
CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine — A Maine ski resort has temporarily suspended three out-of-state skiers after they skied in out-of-bounds territory and needed to be rescued.
The Maine Warden Service says the incident happened on Sunday at Sugarloaf. The three men, from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, called 911 after two hours of bushwhacking after skiing off the back of Sugarloaf.
The back side of Sugarloaf is steep and remote, and it was snowing heavily, making for treacherous conditions. The Sun Journal reports a rescue crew used snowmobiles to search for the skiers.
The skiers were unhurt and took responsibility for the incident. The warden service identified them as 23-year-old Thomas Birch of Harwich, 23-year-old Logan Allard of Manchester, N.H., and 24-year-old Ryan Sharby of Goffstown, N.H.
RANDOLPH — School officials say they have placed personnel on leave amid an investigation into allegations that elementary school students were mistreated in Randolph.
Randolph interim Superintendent Thea Stovell says in a letter sent to parents Friday officials received several complaints about the treatment of students in a classroom at John F. Kennedy Elementary School.
Stovell says the allegations are not sexual in nature, and are “deeply concerning.” She says the district is taking prompt action to address them.
Both police and the state’s Department of Children and Families are investigating.
Stovell declined to provide further details, citing the ongoing investigation.
From Associated Press