Connecticut History

American Indian

2012-01-10T05:54:00.001-08:00

It was the custom of the Mattabassett tribe to hold powwows in the meadows of Portland along the Connecticut River.

During these events, the Indians boasted of war path bravery and sometimes, the bragging bordered on disrespect for high-ranking chiefs and medicine men.

At one powwow, a young warrior event insulted the gods. Boasters had been told by the elders that excessive boasting might result in being abducted by the great Evil Spirit (the devil), but the young brave scoffed at the notion.

The Native Americans believed the Evil Spirit lived in a deep hole in the nearby river. When this young brave boasted, the spirit bounded from the hole, like a geyser, seized the brave and sucked him back into the deep hole, leaving behind a footprint on a rock from which the spirit had jumped.

The brave was never seen again, and the footprint, hooved like a goat’s, is still there today. It is known as Devil’s Rock.

Native Americans believed that Alexander’s Lake in Killingly was created when waters rose from the earth and engulfed members of a rival tribe, except for an old squaw. She sat on a single rocky peak that now forms what is known as Loon Island in the lake.

Visitors to an almost six-mile-long roadway in Killingworth called Roast Meat Hill Road sometimes wonder about its unusual name.

One explanation involves old Deacon Daniel Avery leading his oxen up a steep hill in the late 1800s, when a sudden lightning bolt, seemingly out of nowhere, struck his loaded hay wagon. The deacon was not able to free his animals from the fire, and they roasted where they stood, giving the road its name.

Another explanation says there was a site on the road where an annual Native American barbecue took place long before the white settlers arrived. Those settlers found the remains of a camp once owned by Hammonassets filled with discarded animal bones.

A well-known legend among the Mohegan-Pequot tribes concerns Chahnameed the Glutton. He and another man had a dispute over which one could consume the most food, resulting in a challenge.

Before the contest, the crafty Chahnameed secretly fastened a bag under his coat near his throat so he easily could pour food into it.

The contest began with a barrel of soup. Only Chahnameed knew that just one man was eating in the contest. Finally, Chahnameed’s rival gave up the fight.

To further his ruse, Chahnameed pulled out a knife and stabbed the bag where his stomach was. The other man did the same thing and died.

Many such tales of the area exist and are still told.

Michiko Kakutani

2012-01-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

Michiko Kakutani born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1955. The daughter of a Yale wasmathematician and herself a Yale graduate, Kakutani worked as a reporter before becoming a book critic at the Times in 1983. Since then she has made a reputation for herself as a fearsome reviewer, one who is unafraid to take on the famous and distinguished, as she did recently in a scathing review of an Ann Beattie novel, which Kakutani described as a "pretentious...narcissistic, self-indulgent, hot-air-filled tome that wastes the reader's time with silly creative-writing-class exercises.
Many writers whose work has been the subject of Kakutani's stricture, have had a few words to say about her, including Salman Rushdie who called her "a weird woman who seems to feel the need to alternately praise and spank." Susan Sontag said, "Her criticisms of my books are stupid and shallow and not to the point," and Jonathan Franzen called Kakutani "the stupidest person in New York City."
The Pulitzer Prize committee disagrees, having given Kakutani the award for criticism in 1998.

Curious Facts About Connecticut's Governmental History

2012-01-08T17:55:00.001-08:00

Once, twice, three times a State House

When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opens the session on Feb. 5, 2012, he will be doing so in the State House’s third incarnation. That’s because prior to the American Revolution, the General Assembly alternated between Hartford and New Haven. When they were in New Haven, lawmakers convened in a building designed by Ithiel Town. When in Hartford, they met in the Old State House; a Charles Bullfinch building designed in 1792.

Cost Over-Runs

Lawmakers often point to the need to rein in costs. Their post-colonial counterparts were no different. Once Hartford won the right to be the capitol, the General Assembly authorized $1 million to design and build a new State House. Two men bid on the project: James G. Batterson and Richard M. Upjohn. Upjohn won — sort of. Because Batterson, named contractor, kept tweaking and changing and elaborating on Upjohn’s original plan until it looked more like his design. Ultimately the building cost $2.5 million.

Speech Subject

When Malloy addressed the GA on opening day he referenced Abraham Davenport, who too hailed from Stamford. Davenport, was serving in the legislature in 1780 when the skies across New England turned pitch black. Some thought Judgment Day was nigh. Turns out it was just the effects of a lot of smoke, fog and clouds.

Absence Makes the Legislative Heart Grow Fonder

As far as the CT State Library could determine, state Sen. Joe Markley, representing Cheshire, Southington, Wolcott and Waterbury, has the longest time between terms of any legislator since the 19th century. He was out of office for 24 years before returning in 2010.

First Time

The Connecticut General Assembly met under the gilded dome for the first time in January 1879, 132 years ago. It wasn’t until 1971, 92 years later, that the building was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Nutmeg State Notable

Serving from 1966 to 2006, George “Doc” Gunther holds the state record as the longest-serving state legislator. Gunther, a Republican, represented Shelton and part of Stratford, Monroe and Seymour in the 21^st Connecticut Senate District.

Friends and Family

In 1878, the New Haven District Telephone Company published the first telephone book. It had 50 names.

Cheers

If you do take a sip of champagne New Year's Eve, know that Connecticut (and Rhode Island) never ratified the 18^th amendment.

Walk This Way

Never cross the street walking on your hands in Hartford – it’s illegal.

Ink This

The Hartford Courant, established in 1864, is oldest US newspaper still being published.

Open, Shut Them

The Department of Motor Vehicles might be facing budget cuts, but nothing can take away the fact that in 1937 Connecticut became the first state to issue permanent license plates for cars.

Word Up

If anyone has trouble with any definitions in this article, know that it can be looked up in the dictionary. Noah Webster of West Hartford published the first in 1807. Incidentally, that was the same year the first recorded meteorite fell in Weston, Ct, an event investigated by Webster’s close friend Prof. Benjamin Silliman of Yale.

Our Own Betsy Ross

Abby Day Slocomb gets the credit for bringing about the Connecticut state flag in 1897.

Eye of a Newt

Make that eye of a skink. Connecticut’s official amphibian is the five-lined Skink, better known among scientists as Eumeces fasciatus.

A.K.A.

"Constitution State" (official), "The Blue Law State," "The Brownstone State," "Freestone State," "The Land of Steady Habits," "The Nutmeg State," "The Provisions State"

Mildred Spitz Savage

2012-01-07T13:17:00.000-08:00

Mildred Spitz Savage (June 26, 1919 – October 7, 2011) was an American author known for her best-selling novel, Parrish. The second of three children, she was born in New London, Connecticut, to Ezekiel and Sadie Spitz. In 1937, she enrolled at Wellesley College, (Wellesley, MA) graduating in 1941 with a Bachelor's Degree in History. Soon after graduating, she married Bernard Savage and moved to Norwich, CT.

Her first work, 'The Lumberyard and Mrs. Barrie', was published in 1952. An autobiographical story detailing the events that occurred at her husband's lumberyard, she used the pseudonym Jane Barrie. In 1958, she achieved great success with her first novel, 'Parrish'. The book tells the story of Parrish, a man who goes to work on a Connecticut tobacco farm. It was received well and became a bestseller. It was subsequently made into a movie in 1961 starring Troy Donahue. In 1958, Ms. Savage appeared as a guest challenger on the TV panel show "To Tell The Truth".

She died in Norwich Ct.

Middlebury Road

2011-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Litchfield County Hospital, Winstead

2011-06-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

New Haven 1970

2011-06-07T12:16:00.001-07:00

Southington 1890

2011-06-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

The Norton House Guilford

2011-06-07T12:13:00.001-07:00

Historical Society Talk Highlights Connecticut's Ohioan Roots

2011-06-07T12:08:00.000-07:00

New book tells the story of the emigration of the Nutmeg State's citizens to the wilderness of the Western Reserve. The Land of Steady Habits shares an intimate past with the Buckeye State which may surprise those unfamiliar with the region's history. In fact, the Connecticut towns of Danbury, Fairfield, Greenwich, Groton, New Haven, New London, Norwalk and Ridgefield have "sister cities" in Ohio.

It all began with the Revolutionary War, when residents of the Connecticut towns whose homes were destroyed in 1779 and 1781 in fires set by British soldiers were sent to the Western Reserve Firelands to start anew.

At the recent annual meeting of the Middlesex County Historical Society, Dr. Richard Buel Jr., professor of history emeritus at Wesleyan University, spoke on the settling of the Western Reserve in northern Ohio.

Buel shared with the audience, many who live, or have lived, in Ohio, the latest Acorn Club book that he edited, “The Peopling of New Connecticut: From the Land of Steady Habits to the Western Reserve.” This book published by the Connecticut Historical Society, a collection of primary source documents, tells the story of the emigration of Connecticut citizens to the wilderness of the Western Reserve.

Buel said that from 1690 to 1750, the population growth due to high fertility and low mortality made it difficult to have enough land to keep the children of families on farms. This prompted the need to travel further west. That, coupled with the government’s need for funds, started the movement into land in Connecticut’s Western Reserve.

There was such a need for women that some couples made a business from escorting young women to the western wilderness. One of the challenges for Connecticut, explained Buel, was that at the height of the emigration, all the people traveling to New Connecticut were in their prime, leaving mostly elderly and young in the original colony. “This had a major impact on Connecticut after the mass exodus,” said Buel.

Buel said the role of disease and the role of religion in whether a settlement in the Western Reserve became a viable community surprised him. “Although the people who stayed in the original Connecticut colony had few health problems, the people in the wilderness were unhealthy. Their key malady being malaria,” said Buel.
Although some people in the wilderness had let relatives know that things were hard there and they were considering returning to Connecticut from the Western Reserve, the reports from 1812-1830 from the missionaries made living in New Connecticut or the Western Reserve seem as good as Connecticut.

The “Peopling of New Connecticut” illustrates the personal element of the western movement using primary sources such as letters, journals and early newspapers. By utilizing these materials, Buel has recreated an important time period in Connecticut history in very understandable terms.

“It wasn’t too difficult to find the documents. They are in databases. The majority of them are extracted from newspapers. I just had to wean out the right building blocks for a coherent picture. I wrote the editorial glue that gave the historical context required,” said Buel.

Buel taught at Wesleyan University from 1962 to 2002, during which time he published five books. Buel feels “In-Irons: Britain’s Naval Supremacy and the American Revolutionary Economy” was his most important book. “The Way of Duty” that he wrote with his late first wife Joy, is the most popular. This book was made into a 1994 TV movie called “Mary Silliman’s War.”

Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye

2011-04-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

"Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" is a song written and recorded by Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer, attributed to a then-fictitious band they named "Steam". It was released under the Mercury subsidiary label Fontana and became a number one pop single on the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1969. The song's chorus remains well-known, and is frequently used as a crowd chant at many sporting events. It has also sometimes been used to say good riddance in general, for example when President George W. Bush left office in 2008 it was played by his critics.

Paul Leka, Gary DeCarlo and Dale Frashuer wrote a primitive version of the song in the early 1960s when they were members of a band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, called The Chateaus. The Chateaus disbanded after several failed recordings. In 1969, DeCarlo recorded several singles at Mercury Records in New York with Paul Leka as producer. The singles impressed the company's executives, who wanted to issue all of them as A-side singles. In need of "inferior" B-side songs, Leka and DeCarlo resurrected an old song from their days as the Chateaus, "Kiss Him Goodbye" with their old bandmate, Dale Frashuer.

With DeCarlo as lead vocalist, the three musicians recorded the song in one recording session. Instead of using a full band, Leka spliced together a drum track from one of DeCarlo's four singles and played keyboards himself. "I said we should put a chorus to it (to make it longer)," Leka told Fred Bronson in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. "I started writing while I was sitting at the piano going 'na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na'... Everything was 'na na' when you didn't have a lyric." Someone else added "hey hey" (Bronson, 2003). "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" reached number one in the United States for two weeks, on December 6 and 13 of 1969; it was Billboard's final multi-week #1 hit of the 1960s and also peaked at number twenty on the soul chart. By the beginning of the 21st century, sales of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" had exceeded 6.5 million records.

In 1971, vocal doo wop group The Belmonts sang an a cappella cover of the song for their Cigars Acappella Candy album.

The original recording of "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" has been released in many collections of oldies songs and re-recorded by other groups. In February 1983, UK girl group Bananarama released the song as a single off their album Deep Sea Skiving. This version became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom (#5), but only a minor hit in the US (Billboard #101) later that year. Their music video features a feminist message as the girls undergo boxing training in order to retaliate against a bunch of guys. In a sketch on the early 1980s comedy show, Three of a Kind, Tracey Ullman spoofed Bananarama singing "Na Na Hey Hey" (as well as "Shy Boy"), with the words "We are nanas".

A disco remake of the song was recorded by original vocalist Gary DeCarlo (credited to his stage name Garrett Scott) and released as a 12" single in 1976 on the West End label as "Na Na Kiss Him Goodbye (Disco Version)". Another disco version was released by Pattie Brooks in 1977, as part of a medley that also included "Popcorn" & "Black is Black".

In 1987, Canadian quartet The Nylons released an a cappella version of this song as a single under the shortened title "Kiss Him Goodbye". It became their biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twelve that summer.

Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the song was placed on the list of post-9/11 inappropriate titles distributed by Clear Channel.

The song is featured prominently in the 2000 Boaz Yakin film Remember the Titans.

In 2000 the German heavy metal band Axxis recorded a cover of the song on the album Back To The Kingdom.

Thanks to Nancy Faust, organist for the Chicago White Sox, the song had a revival as a stadium taunt to visiting teams. The song was played at Hartford Whalers home games if the team won.

The song has also had significant prominence for use in the WWE. During the Bischoff era of Raw, GM Bischoff announced that star Edge had an arranged street fight with Batista and was not to return to RAW until he had won. Edge and then girlfriend Diva Lita were viciously sent off with this song. Edge would later sing this song again on when Dolph Ziggler was fired by Smackdown GM Theodore Long ("You being fired almost makes me want to sing" he said.) on February 25, 2011, the 600th episode of the show and when Ziggler's significant other, interim GM Vickie Guerrero was also fired the next week. The audience can be heard singing the song before the verdict. Edge first said that he could help her get her job back, "But instead, I think I would rather sing."

A Piece of ‘Gone With the Wind’ Isn’t Gone After All

2011-04-27T21:32:00.001-07:00

By CHARLES McGRATH

Published: March 29, 2011

SOUTHPORT, Conn. — Long thought to have been burned the way the North set fire to the cotton at Tara, the final typescript of the last four chapters of Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind” has turned up in the Pequot Library in this Yankee seaport town. If not quite a spoil of war, the manuscript is a relic of some publishing skirmishes, and it will go on exhibit starting on Saturday, before traveling to Atlanta, Mitchell’s hometown, in time for the 75th anniversary of the novel’s publication in June.

The chapters, which contain some of the novel’s most memorable lines — like, “My dear, I don’t give a damn” and “After all, tomorrow is another day” — were given to the Pequot in the early 1950s by George Brett Jr., the president of Macmillan, Mitchell’s publisher, and a longtime benefactor of the library. Some pages from the manuscript were actually displayed at the Pequot twice before — in a 1979 exhibition of Macmillan first editions, also donated by Mr. Brett, and in 1991 for a show honoring “Scarlett,” Alexandra Ripley’s authorized, if not very good, sequel to “Gone With the Wind.”

But Dan Snydacker, executive director of the library, said nobody back then paid the manuscript much attention or recognized its importance.

The pages went back into storage and resurfaced only in response to a query from Ellen F. Brown, who was working with her co-author, John Wiley Jr., on “Margaret Mitchell’s ‘Gone With the Wind’: A Bestseller’s Odyssey From Atlanta to Hollywood,” published in February by Taylor Trade Publishing. Ms. Brown was interested in the Brett collection at the Pequot and curious to know if any of the library’s many foreign editions of “Gone With the Wind,” yet another bequest, had inscriptions from the author to her publisher.

They do, but most, it turns out, are pretty tepid. For at least part of the time, the relationship between Mitchell and Brett was somewhat frosty, and why Brett had the manuscript in the first place remains a mystery.

The manuscript itself is remarkably clean, typed on a Royal portable with just a few handwritten corrections fixing a typo, adding a word or changing a “that” to a “which,” often incorrectly. That it’s in this condition suggests something about Mitchell’s perfectionist nature and something about the unusual way “Gone With the Wind” was written and published.

Mitchell worked on the novel, which was originally to be called either “Tomorrow Is Another Day” or “Tote the Weary Load,” in fits and starts from 1925 to 1935. She wrote on blank newsprint and composed the book out of order, beginning with the last chapter and picking up other sections as her mood suited her. The finished chapters she put in individual manila envelopes, sometimes with grocery lists scrawled on them, and stored in a closet. Very few people saw them or even knew what she was doing.

In April 1935, however, while on a scouting trip to Atlanta, Harold Latham, the editor in chief of Macmillan, somehow pried the pile of envelopes loose from Mitchell and sent them to New York for evaluation. Ms. Brown said the draft at that point was a mess, with some chapters missing and duplicate versions of others, and yet Macmillan reacted enthusiastically and decided, with unusual haste, to bring the novel out the following spring.

From August 1935 to January 1936, Mitchell, with the help of John Marsh, her second husband (and best man at her marriage to the first), and some hired typists and stenographers, essentially rewrote and retyped the entire book, cutting, refining, straightening out inconsistencies and fixing historical inaccuracies. Until fairly late in the process the heroine was called Pansy, and when Mitchell changed the name to Scarlett, thank goodness, she paid 50 cents an hour to have every page mentioning Pansy retyped.

As each chapter was finished, it was sent off to New York, and that typescript, with very few alterations, became the final text of the novel. The manuscript you would really like to see is that jumble of newsprint pages stuffed into envelopes — what Macmillan called “MS of the Old South” — but most of that was destroyed by Mitchell’s husband, following her instructions, after her death in 1949. Mitchell always insisted that books should be judged by their final versions, not their drafts, and had grown weary of people and institutions pestering her for manuscript pages to be kept as souvenirs or put on display.

Marsh also burned, or so it was thought, most of the final typescript. He kept back two chapters, 44 and 47, which, along with some of the earlier material, are now stored in a vault in Atlanta, to be opened only if a question ever arises about the authorship of “Gone With the Wind.”

So what was George Brett doing with the last four chapters? At one point he didn’t even know he had them. That was in 1936, when he wrote to Mitchell asking if he could have a couple of manuscript pages to display at The New York Times Book Fair that year. Mitchell wrote back, irritated, to say that the manuscript had never been returned to her. Abashed, Macmillan found it in a vault and, insuring it for $1,000, sent it all back, or so everyone believed until just recently.

Mr. Snydacker said there were only a few explanations. Either Brett held onto part of the manuscript deliberately, or some of the chapters became separated (one of the pages, dusty and with a rusty paperclip mark, looks as if it had been stored on a windowsill somewhere), or Mitchell asked him to hold onto the chapters for safekeeping.

“It’s easy to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Joan Youngken, the guest curator of the Pequot exhibit, said. “If he kept it improperly, he wouldn’t be passing it along to a public library.”

Ms. Brown said: “I think those chapters must have been a gift. The story has always been that Mitchell and Brett didn’t get along because she felt he didn’t make a good enough deal for the movie rights. And it’s true that he didn’t. There are some angry letters, and there was a period when they weren’t speaking. But I’ve found plenty of evidence that by the end they had a very warm relationship.”

Carefully turning over the pages of the manuscript last week, Mr. Snydacker said: “I think it’s amazing that we have this. I love the book even though it’s inexcusably racist. It wasn’t written in the 1860s but the 1930s, for God’s sake. In some ways it’s pretty sympathetic to the K.K.K. But it’s a great work in spite of that. It’s a very powerful antiwar book, among other things. As a Vietnam vet, that part has always rung true to me, and I think that’s why it was so popular in Europe.”

He added: “No question, ‘Gone With the Wind’ is a part of the fabric of American life, and not just the movie, either. The book still sells something like 250,000 copies a year.”

Support a GREAT CAUSE...buy a ticket

2011-03-24T06:35:00.001-07:00

Eagle Spotlights Inventive Connecticut Town

2011-03-22T20:03:00.001-07:00

The March 16, 1902, Sunday edition of the Brooklyn Eagle carried a large, illustrated feature about New Britain, Conn., which “stood at the very head of the inventive world.”

Research indicated that the town, in proportion to its size, “contained more inventions than any other place in the United States,” meaning more patents had been filed by its citizens, per capita, than anywhere else.

Connecticut was the most inventive state, and New Britain the most inventive of its towns. According to the Commissioner of Patents, “during the last twenty years no state has ever taken out more patents in proportion to it population than Connecticut. In fact, with the exception of four years, it may be said that the state of Connecticut has occupied the first place for thirty years. The state was beaten by the District of Columbia in 1876 and in 1878; Massachusetts was ahead in 1879 and Kansas beat Connecticut in 1881, but with the exception of these four years the Nutmeg State has consistently held the lead in ingenuity. During the ten years prior to 1900 the average for Connecticut, according to the population, was one patent a year to every 908 persons. During the same time period the town of New Britain produced one patent every year for each 367 persons.”

The residents of New Britain had two theories on why the town was so inventive, the Eagle reported. For one thing, the town’s chief manufacturing industry was in builders’ hardware and many of the patents revolved around that industry, such as a reversible latch, a chain bolt, locks for sliding doors and a design for a master key lock. The other theory attributed their inventive status to the State Normal School, established in New Britain in 1850. It was a teaching college that attracted “the best and the brightest minds in Connecticut.”

“Many of the students worked there way through college and in so doing were brought directly in contact with the manufacturing needs of the town,” the article explained, so many of the students eventually left teaching to go into business for themselves. The patents noticeably increased in the 10 years after the school was established.

Experiments Were Performed On Connecticut Mental Patients

2011-03-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Experiments Were Performed On Connecticut Mental Patients

Kitty Genovese

2011-02-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

Kitty Genovese is buried in a family grave at Lakeview Cemetery in New Canaan.

Catherine Susan Genovese (July 7, 1935 – March 13, 1964), commonly known as Kitty Genovese, was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York on March 13, 1964. The circumstances of her murder and the lack of reaction of numerous neighbors were reported by a newspaper article published two weeks later; the common portrayal of neighbors being fully aware but completely nonresponsive has later been criticized as inaccurate. Nonetheless, it prompted investigation into the social psychological phenomenon that has become known as the bystander effect (or "Genovese syndrome") and especially diffusion of responsibility.

Born in New York City, the daughter of Rachel (née Petrolli) and Vincent Andronelle Genovese, she was the eldest of five children in a lower-middle class Italian American family and was raised in Brooklyn. After her mother witnessed a murder in the city, the family moved to Connecticut in 1954. Genovese, nineteen at the time and a recent graduate of Prospect Heights High School in Brooklyn, chose to remain in the city, where she had lived for nine years. At the time of her death, she was working as a bar manager at Ev's Eleventh Hour Sports Bar on Jamaica Avenue and 193rd Street in Hollis, Queens. Genovese shared her Kew Gardens, Queens apartment with her lover, Mary Ann Zielonko.

Genovese had driven home from her job working as a bar manager early in the morning of March 13, 1964. Arriving home at about 3:15 a.m. and parking about 100 feet from her apartment's door, which was around the rear of the building, she was approached by Winston Moseley. Moseley ran after her and quickly overtook her, stabbing her twice in the back. Genovese screamed, "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Her cry was heard by several neighbors but, on a cold night with the windows closed, only a few of them recognized the sound as a cry for help. When Robert Mozer, one of the neighbors, shouted at the attacker, "Let that girl alone!" Moseley ran away and Genovese slowly made her way toward the rear entrance of her apartment building. She was seriously injured, but now out of view of those few who may have had reason to believe she was in need of help.

Records of the earliest calls to police are unclear and were certainly not given a high priority by the police. One witness said his father called police after the initial attack and reported that a woman was "beat up, but got up and was staggering around."

Other witnesses observed Moseley enter his car and drive away only to return ten minutes later. In his car he changed his hat to a wide-brimmed one to shadow his face. He systematically searched the parking lot, train station, and small apartment complex. Eventually he found Genovese who was lying, barely conscious, in a hallway at the back of the building where a locked doorway had prevented her from entering the building. Out of view of the street and of those who may have heard or seen any sign of the original attack, he proceeded to further attack her, stabbing her several more times. Knife wounds in her hands suggested that she attempted to defend herself from him. While she lay dying, he raped her. He stole about $49 from her and left her in the hallway. The attacks spanned approximately half an hour.

A few minutes after the final attack a witness, Karl Ross, called the police. Police arrived within minutes of Ross' call. Genovese was taken away by ambulance at 4:15 am and died en route to the hospital. Later investigation by police and prosecutors revealed that approximately a dozen (but almost certainly not the 38 cited in the Times article) individuals nearby had heard or observed portions of the attack, though none saw or were aware of the entire incident. Only one witness, Joseph Fink, was aware she was stabbed in the first attack, and only Karl Ross was aware of it in the second attack. Many were entirely unaware that an assault or homicide was in progress; some thought that what they saw or heard was a lovers' quarrel or a drunken brawl or a group of friends leaving the bar when Moseley first approached Genovese

Winston Moseley (born March 2, 1935), an African-American business machine operator, was later apprehended in connection with burglary charges. He confessed not only to the murder of Kitty Genovese, but also to two other murders, both involving sexual assaults. Subsequent psychiatric examinations suggested that Moseley was a necrophile.

Moseley gave a confession to the police in which he detailed the attack, corroborating the physical evidence at the scene. His motive for the attack was simply "to kill a woman." Moseley preferred to kill women because, he said, "they were easier and didn't fight back". Moseley stated that he got up that night around 2:00 a.m., leaving his wife asleep at home, and drove around to find a victim. He spied Genovese and followed her to the parking lot.

Moseley also testified at his own trial where he further described the attack (along with two other murders and numerous attacks), leaving no question that he was the killer.

He was convicted of murder. On Monday, June 15, 1964, when the death sentence was announced by the jury foreman "The [court]room erupted into loud spontaneous applause and cheers." When calm had returned, the judge added, "I don't believe in capital punishment, but when I see this monster, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the switch myself!" On June 1, 1967, the New York Court of Appeals found that Moseley should have been able to argue that he was "medically insane" at the sentencing hearing when the trial court found that he had been legally sane, and the initial death sentence was reduced to an indeterminate sentence/lifetime imprisonment.

In 1968, during a trip to a Buffalo, New York hospital for surgery, Moseley overpowered a guard and beat him up to the point that his eyes were bloody. He then took a bat and swung it at the closest person to him and took five hostages, raping one of them in front of her husband — actions he later blamed his parents for - before he was recaptured after a two-day manhunt. He also participated in the 1971 Attica Prison riots. In the late 1970s Moseley obtained a B.A. in Sociology in prison.

Moseley's first parole hearing in 1984 included his defense that "For a victim outside, it's a one-time or one-hour or one-minute affair, but for the person who's caught, it's forever." Moseley remains in prison after being denied parole a thirteenth time on March 11, 2008. Moseley's next parole hearing is scheduled for November 2011

Many saw the story of Genovese's murder as an example of the callousness or apathy supposedly prevalent in New York among other larger cities in the United States, or humanity in general. Much of this framing of the event came in reaction to an investigative article in The New York Times written by Martin Gansberg and published on March 27, two weeks after the murder. The article bore the headline "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police." The public view of the story crystallized around a quote from the article, from an unidentified neighbor who saw part of the attack but deliberated, before finally getting another neighbor to call the police, saying "I didn't want to get involved."

Harlan Ellison, in his book Harlan Ellison's Watching, referred to reports he claimed to have read that one man turned up his radio so that he would not hear Genovese's screams. Ellison says that a report he read attributed the "get involved" quote to nearly all of the thirty-eight who supposedly witnessed the attack. He later repeated the figure of "thirty-eight motherfuckers" when mentioning the case in his book The Other Glass Teat.

While Genovese's neighbors were vilified by the article, "Thirty-Eight onlookers who did nothing" is a misconception. The article begins:

"For more than half an hour thirty-eight respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens."

The lead is dramatic but factually inaccurate. None of the witnesses observed the attacks in their entirety. Because of the layout of the complex and the fact that the attacks took place in different locations, no witness saw the entire sequence of events. Most only heard portions of the incident without realizing its seriousness, a few saw only small portions of the initial assault, and no witnesses directly saw the final attack and rape in an exterior hallway which resulted in Genovese's death. Additionally, after the initial attack punctured her lungs (leading to her eventual death from asphyxiation), it is unlikely that she was able to scream at any volume.

Nevertheless, media attention to the Genovese murder led to reform of the NYPD's telephone reporting system; the system in place at the time of the assault was often hostile to callers, inefficient and directed individuals to the incorrect department. The intense press coverage also led to serious investigation of the bystander effect by psychologists and sociologists. In addition, some communities organized Neighborhood Watch programs and the equivalent for apartment buildings to aid people in distress.

The lack of reaction of numerous neighbors watching the scene prompted research into diffusion of responsibility and the bystander effect. Social psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané started this line of research, showing that contrary to common expectations, larger numbers of bystanders decrease the likelihood that someone will step forward and help a victim. The reasons include the fact that onlookers see that others are not helping either, that onlookers believe others will know better how to help, and that onlookers feel uncertain about helping while others are watching. The Kitty Genovese case thus became a classic feature of social psychology textbooks.

In September 2007, the American Psychologist published an examination of the factual basis of coverage of the Kitty Genovese murder in psychology textbooks. The three authors concluded that the story is more parable than fact, largely because of inaccurate newspaper coverage at the time of the incident. According to the authors, "despite this absence of evidence, the story continues to inhabit our introductory social psychology textbooks (and thus the minds of future social psychologists)." One interpretation of the parable is that the drama and ease of teaching the exaggerated story makes it easier for professors to capture student attention and interest.

Feminist psychologist Frances Cherry has suggested the psychological interpretation of the murder as an issue of bystander intervention is incomplete. She has pointed to additional research such as that of Borofsky and Shotland demonstrating that people, especially at that time, were unlikely to intervene if they believed a man was attacking his wife or girlfriend. She has suggested the issue might be better understood in terms of male/female power relations.

According to The New York Times, in an article dated December 28, 1974, ten years after the murder, 25-year-old Sandra Zahler was beaten to death early Christmas morning in an apartment of the building which overlooked the site of the Genovese attack. Neighbors again said they heard screams and "fierce struggles" but did nothing.

Moseley returned for another parole hearing Thursday, March 13, 2008, the 44th anniversary of Ms. Genovese's murder. The previous week, Moseley had turned 72 years old, and had still shown little remorse for murdering Genovese. Parole was denied. He will be eligible for parole again in November 2011. Genovese's brother, Vincent, was unaware of the 2008 hearing until he was contacted by Daily News reporters. Vincent Genovese has reportedly never "recovered from the horror" of his sister's murder"This brings back what happened to her", Vincent had said; "the whole family remembers".

Recommended Book about Connecticut

2011-02-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

An ardent fly-fisherman, Black became deeply curious about the complex history of Connecticut's beautiful Housatonic watershed, home of his favorite trout-fishing spots. He is particularly intrigued with the opposite fates of two tributaries, the pristine Shepaug and the nearly moribund Naugatuck. What combination of chance and purpose protected one from industrialization and turned the other into a dammed and fouled ghost of its former self? And what can be learned from contemplating what Black calls the "trout pool paradox," the fact that the trout pool, beautiful and bountiful, possesses the very elements--limestone, fast water, and a forest canopy--needed for iron production, the first of several toxic industries to bring prosperity and pollution to Connecticut? Emulating the king of narrative nonfiction, John McPhee, Black, energetically inquiring and entertainingly informative, introduces a colorful cast of characters historic and living, from iron barons and brass magnates to politicians, scientists, fishermen, and environmental activists, as he tells the fascinating stories of wild trout and trout hatcheries, hydropower and blast furnaces, PCBs and caddis flies, unintended consequences and court cases. A many-faceted and illuminating tale of one man's love of fishing, three rivers, and the tremendous challenge of restoring rivers to health. Donna Seaman

Connecticut College

2011-01-31T08:37:00.000-08:00

Connecticut College was chartered in 1911, in response to Wesleyan University's decision to stop admitting women. The college was called Connecticut College for Women until becoming co-educational in 1969.

Connecticut Celebrities

2011-01-27T11:33:00.000-08:00

Carol Alt, Greenwich

Lauren Ambrose, New Haven

Kevin Bacon, Sharon

Ed Begley, Hartford

Richard Belzer, Bridgeport

John Billingsley, Weston

Victor Borge, Greenwich

Ernest Borgnine, Hamden

Jesse Bradford, Norwalk

Jonathan Brandis, Danbury

Alex Breckenridge, Darien

Amy Brenneman, Glastonbury

Brooke Brodack, Putnam

Gary Burghoff, Bristol

David Canary, Wilton

Glenn Close, Greenwich

Bob Crane, Waterbury

Kathy Lee (Crosby) Gifford,Greenwich

Paul Dano, Wilton

Brian Dennehy, Woodstock

Allie DiMeco, Waterbury

Matt Durning, Branford

Linda Evans, Hartford

Mark Famiglietti, Clinton

Eileen Farrell, Willimantic

Michael J. Fox, Sharon

Mel Gibson, Grenewich

Paul Giamatti, New Haven

William Gillette, Hartford

Katherine Heigl, New Canaan

Katharine Hepburn, Hartford,Old Saybrook

Ron Howard, Greenwich

Elia Kazan, Newtown

Ted Knight, Terryville

David LaChapelle, Fairfield

Eriq La Salle, Hartford

David Letterman, New Canaan

Al Lewis, Greenwich

Justin Long, Fairfield

Christopher Lloyd, Stamford

Seth MacFarlane, Kent

Dylan McDermott, Waterbury

Stephanie McMahon, Hartford

Robert Mitchum, Bridgeport

Ellen Muth, Milford

David Naughton, Hartford

Kevin Nealon, Bridgeport

Paul Newman, Westport

Fred Norris, Willimantic

Ron Palillo, Cheshire

Joe Pantoliano, Stamford,Wilton

Tracy Pollan, Sharon

Christy Carlson Romano, Milford

John Ratzenberger, Bridgeport

Diana Ross, Greenwich

Rosalind Russell, Waterbury

Meg Ryan, Bethel

Annabella Sciorra, Wethersfield

Kyra Sedgwick, Sharon

Chloe Sevigny, Darien

Meryl Streep, Greenwich

James Van Der Beek, Cheshire

Christopher Walken, Wilton

Treat Williams, Norwalk

Joanne Woodward, Westport

Connecticut writers of note

2011-01-27T11:22:00.000-08:00

Joel Barlow, Redding

A. Scott Berg, Norwalk

Joseph P. Brennan, Bridgeport, New Haven

William F. Buckley, Jr., Stamford

Candace Bushnell, Glastonbury

Al Capp, New Haven

Echo Chernik, Ellington

Dominick Dunne, Hartford

John Gregory Dunne, Hartford

Charlotte P. Gilman, Hartford

John Frederick Kensett, Cheshire

Charles H. Kraft

Annie Leibovitz, Waterbury

Ira Levin, Wilton

Sol Lewitt, Hartford

Arthur Miller, Roxbury

Emily C. Neville, Manchester

Kenneth Pike, Woodstock

Charles Ethan Porter, Hartford

E. Annie Proulx, Norwich

Armstrong Sperry, Stamford

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Litchfield

Dr. Benjamin Spock, New Haven

Arthur Szyk, New Canaan

Alton Tobey, Middletown

Mark Twain, Hartford, Redding

Noah Webster, West Hartford

Joesph Alsop, Hartford, Haddam

Stewart Alsop, Hartford,Haddam

Chris Berman, Greenwich,Cheshire

Ann Coulter, New Canaan

James H. Hyde, Greenwich

Laura Ingraham, Glastonbury

Kenny Mayne, Bethel

Dan Patrick, Milford

Andy Rooney, Norwalk

From 1703 to 1875, Connecticut had two capitals; sessions of the General Assembly met alternately in Hartford and New Haven. Since then, the capital has been Hartford.

2011-01-27T11:17:00.001-08:00

Gov. Jonathan Trumbull - the only Colonial governor to support the cause of America's independence from Great Britain.

2011-01-27T11:16:00.000-08:00

Connecticut Constitution

2011-01-27T11:12:00.000-08:00

PREAMBLE.

The People of Connecticut acknowledging with gratitude, the good providence of God, in having permitted them to enjoy a free government; do, in order more effectually to define, secure, and perpetuate the liberties, rights and privileges which they have derived from their ancestors; hereby, after a careful consideration and revision, ordain and establish the following constitution and form of civil government.

ARTICLE FIRST.

DECLARATION OF RIGHTS

That the great and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established,

WE DECLARE:

SEC. 1. All men when they form a social compact, are equal in rights; and no man or set of men are entitled to exclusive public emoluments or privileges from the community.

SEC. 2. All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; and they have at all times an undeniable and indefeasible right to alter their form of government in such manner as they may think expedient.

SEC. 3. The exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination, shall forever be free to all persons in the state; provided, that the right hereby declared and established, shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of licentiousness, or to justify practices inconsistent with the peace and safety of the state.

SEC. 4. Every citizen may freely speak, write and publish his sentiments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty.

SEC. 5. No law shall ever be passed to curtail or restrain the liberty of speech or of the press.

SEC. 6. In all prosecutions or indictments for libels, the truth may be given in evidence, and the jury shall have the right to determine the law and the facts, under the direction of the court.

SEC. 7. The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions from unreasonable searches or seizures; and no warrant to search any place, or to seize any person or things, shall issue without describing them as nearly as may be, nor without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation.

SEC. 8. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a right to be heard by himself and by counsel; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted by the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his behalf; to be released on bail upon sufficient security, except in capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the presumption great; and in all prosecutions by indictment or information, to a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury. No person shall be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall excessive bail be required nor excessive fines imposed. No person shall be held to answer for any crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment, unless on a presentment or an indictment of a grand jury, except in the armed forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.

(Sec. 8 amended in 1982. See Art. XVII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 9. No person shall be arrested, detained or punished, except in cases clearly warranted by law.

SEC. 10. All courts shall be open, and every person, for an injury done to him in his person, property or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law, and right and justice administered without sale, denial or delay.

SEC. 11. The property of no person shall be taken for public use, without just compensation therefor.

SEC. 12. The privileges of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless, when in case of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it; nor in any case, but by the legislature.

SEC. 13. No person shall be attainted of treason or felony, by the legislature.

SEC. 14. The citizens have a right, in a peaceable manner, to assemble for their common good, and to apply to those invested with the powers of government, for redress of grievances, or other proper purposes, by petition, address or remonstrance.

SEC. 15. Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state.

SEC. 16. The military shall, in all cases, and at all times, be in strict subordination to the civil power.

SEC. 17. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

SEC. 18. No hereditary emoluments, privileges or honors, shall ever be granted, or conferred in this state.

SEC. 19. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate.

(Sec. 19 amended in 1972. See Art. IV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 20. No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry or national origin.

(Sec. 20 amended in 1974. See Art. V of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

(Sec. 20 amended in 1984. See Art. XXI of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE SECOND OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS.

The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them confided to a separate magistracy, to wit, those which are legislative, to one; those which are executive, to another; and those which are judicial, to another.

*(ARTICLE SECOND amended in 1982. See Art. XVIII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE THIRD OF THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 1. The legislative power of the state shall be vested in two distinct houses or branches; the one to be styled the senate, the other the house of representatives, and both together the general assembly. The style of their laws shall be: Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened.

SEC. 2. There shall be a regular session of the general assembly to commence on the Wednesday following the first Monday of the January next succeeding the election of its members, and at such other times as the general assembly shall judge necessary; but the person administering the office of governor may, on special emergencies, convene the general assembly at any other time. All regular and special sessions of the general assembly shall be held at Hartford, but the person administering the office of governor may, in case of special emergency, convene the assembly at any other place in the state. The general assembly shall adjourn each regular session not later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in June following its organization and shall adjourn each special session upon completion of its business. If any bill passed by any regular or special session or any appropriation item described in Section 16 of Article Fourth has been disapproved by the governor prior to its adjournment, and has not been reconsidered by the assembly, or is so disapproved after such adjournment, the secretary of the state shall reconvene the general assembly on the second Monday after the last day on which the governor is authorized to transmit or has transmitted every bill to the secretary with his objections pursuant to Section 15 of Article Fourth of this constitution, whichever occurs first; provided if such Monday falls on a legal holiday the general assembly shall be reconvened on the next following day. The reconvened session shall be for the sole purpose of reconsidering and, if the assembly so desires, repassing such bills. The general assembly shall adjourn sine die not later than three days following its reconvening.

(Sec. 2 amended in 1970. See Art. III of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 3. The senate shall consist of not less than thirty and not more than fifty members, each of whom shall be an elector residing in the senatorial district from which he is elected. Each senatorial district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one senator.

(Sec. 3 amended in 1970. See Art. II, Sec. 1 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 4. The house of representatives shall consist of not less than one hundred twenty-five and not more than two hundred twenty-five members, each of whom shall be an elector residing in the assembly district from which he is elected. Each assembly district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one representative. For the purpose of forming assembly districts no town shall be divided except for the purpose of forming assembly districts wholly within the town.

(Sec. 4 amended in 1970. See Art. II, Sec. 2 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 5. The establishment of districts in the general assembly shall be consistent with federal constitutional standards.

(Sec. 5 amended in 1980. See Art. XVI, Sec. 1 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 6. a. The assembly and senatorial districts as now established by law shall continue until the regular session of the general assembly next after the completion of the next census of the United States. Such general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, enact such plan of districting as is necessary to preserve a proper apportionment of representation in accordance with the principles recited in this article. Thereafter the general assembly shall decennially at its next regular session following the completion of the census of the United States, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, enact such plan of districting as is necessary in accordance with the provisions of this article.

b. If the general assembly fails to enact a plan of districting by the first day of the April next following the completion of the decennial census of the United States, the governor shall forthwith appoint a commission consisting of the eight members designated by the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the house of representatives, each of whom shall designate two members of the commission, provided that there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the commission in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house.

c. The commission shall proceed to consider the alteration of districts in accordance with the principles recited in this article and it shall submit a plan of districting to the secretary of the state by the first day of the July next succeeding the appointment of its members. No plan shall be submitted to the secretary unless it is certified by at least six members of the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law.

d. If by the first day of the July next succeeding the appointment of its members the commission fails to submit a plan of districting, a board of three persons shall forthwith be empaneled. The speaker of the house of representatives and the minority leader of the house of representatives shall each designate, as one member of the board, a judge of the superior court of the state, provided that there are members of no more than two political parties in the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in the house of representatives, all members belonging to the parties other than that of the speaker shall select one of their number, who shall then designate, as one member of the board, a judge of the superior court of the state, in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of the house of representatives. The two members of the board so designated shall select an elector of the state as the third member.

e. The board shall proceed to consider the alteration of districts in accordance with the principles recited in this article and shall, by the first day of the October next succeeding its selection, submit a plan of districting to the secretary. No plan shall be submitted to the secretary unless it is certified by at least two members of the board. Upon receiving such plan, the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have full force of law.

(Sec. 6, subsections a through e, amended in 1976. See Art. XII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut; amended in 1980. See Art. XVI, Sec. 2 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 7. The treasurer, secretary of the state, and comptroller shall canvass publicly the votes for senators and representatives. The person in each senatorial district having the greatest number of votes for senator shall be declared to be duly elected for such district, and the person in each assembly district having the greatest number of votes for representative shall be declared to be duly elected for such district. The general assembly shall provide by law the manner in which an equal and the greatest number of votes for two or more persons so voted for for senator or representative shall be resolved. The return of votes, and the result of the canvass, shall be submitted to the house of representatives and to the senate on the first day of the session of the general assembly. Each house shall be the final judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members.

SEC. 8. A general election for members of the general assembly shall be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, biennially, in the even-numbered years. The general assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and prescribing the order and manner of voting for such members, for filling vacancies in either the house of representatives or the senate, and providing for the election of representatives or senators at some time subsequent to the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in all cases when it shall so happen that the electors in any district shall fail on that day to elect a representative or senator.

SEC. 9. At all elections for members of the general assembly the presiding officers in the several towns shall receive the votes of the electors, and count and declare them in open meeting. The presiding officers shall make and certify duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each. One list shall be delivered within three days to the town clerk, and within ten days after such meeting, the other shall be delivered under seal to the secretary of the state.

SEC. 10. The members of the general assembly shall hold their offices from the Wednesday following the first Monday of the January next succeeding their election until the Wednesday after the first Monday of the third January next succeeding their election, and until their successors are duly qualified.

SEC. 11. No member of the general assembly shall, during the term for which he is elected, hold or accept any appointive position or office in the judicial or executive department of the state government, or in the courts of the political subdivisions of the state, or in the government of any county. No member of congress, no person holding any office under the authority of the United States and no person holding any office in the judicial or executive department of the state government or in the government of any county shall be a member of the general assembly during his continuance in such office.

SEC. 12. The house of representatives, when assembled, shall choose a speaker, clerk and other officers. The senate shall choose a president pro tempore, clerk and other officers, except the president. A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members in such manner and under such penalties as each house may prescribe.

SEC. 13. Each house shall determine the rules of its own proceedings, and punish members for disorderly conduct, and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same cause; and shall have all other powers necessary for a branch of the legislature of a free and independent state.

SEC. 14. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same when required by one-fifth of its members, except such parts as in the judgment of a majority require secrecy. The yeas and nays of the members of either house shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journals.

SEC. 15. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest, during any session of the general assembly, and for four days before the commencement and after the termination of any session thereof. And for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

SEC. 16. The debates of each house shall be public, except on such occasions as in the opinion of the house may require secrecy.

SEC. 17. The salary of the members of the general assembly and the transportation expenses of its members in the performance of their legislative duties shall be determined by law.

(Sec. 18 added in 1992. See Art. XXVIII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE FOURTH. OF THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 1. A general election for governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of the state, treasurer and comptroller shall be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, 1966, and quadrennially thereafter.

(Sec. 1 amended in 1970. See Art. I of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 2. Such officers shall hold their respective offices from the Wednesday following the first Monday of the January next succeeding their election until the Wednesday following the first Monday of the fifth January succeeding their election and until their successors are duly qualified.

SEC. 3. In the election of governor and lieutenant-governor, voting for such offices shall be as a unit. The name of no candidate for either office, nominated by a political party or by petition, shall appear on the voting machine ballot labels except in conjunction with the name of the candidate for the other office.

SEC. 4. At the meetings of the electors in the respective towns held quadrennially as herein provided for the election of state officers, the presiding officers shall receive the votes and shall count and declare the same in the presence of the electors. The presiding officers shall make and certify duplicate lists of the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each. One list shall be delivered within three days to the town clerk, and within ten days after such meeting, the other shall be delivered under seal to the secretary of the state. The votes so delivered shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer, secretary, and comptroller, within the month of November. The vote for treasurer shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the secretary and comptroller only; the vote for secretary shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer and comptroller only; and the vote for comptroller shall be counted, canvassed and declared by the treasurer and secretary only. A fair list of the persons and number of votes given for each, together with the returns of the presiding officers, shall be, by the treasurer, secretary and comptroller, made and laid before the general assembly, then next to be held, on the first day of the session thereof. In the election of governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary, treasurer, comptroller and attorney general, the person found upon the count by the treasurer, secretary and comptroller in the manner herein provided, to be made and announced before December fifteenth of the year of the election, to have received the greatest number of votes for each of such offices, respectively, shall be elected thereto; provided, if the election of any of them shall be contested as provided by statute, and if such a contest shall proceed to final judgment, the person found by the court to have received the greatest number of votes shall be elected. If two or more persons shall be found upon the count of the treasurer, secretary and comptroller to have received an equal and the greatest number of votes for any of said offices, and the election is not contested, the general assembly on the second day of its session shall hold a joint convention of both houses, at which, without debate, a ballot shall be taken to choose such officer from those persons who received such a vote; and the balloting shall continue on that or subsequent days until one of such persons is chosen by a majority vote of those present and voting. The general assembly shall have power to enact laws regulating and prescribing the order and manner of voting for such officers. The general assembly shall by law prescribe the manner in which all questions concerning the election of a governor or lieutenant-governor shall be determined.

SEC. 5. The supreme executive power of the state shall be vested in the governor. No person who is not an elector of the state, and who has not arrived at the age of thirty years, shall be eligible.

SEC. 6. The lieutenant-governor shall possess the same qualifications as are herein prescribed for the governor.

SEC. 7. The compensations of the governor and lieutenant-governor shall be established by law, and shall not be varied so as to take effect until after an election, which shall next succeed the passage of the law establishing such compensations.

SEC. 8. The governor shall be captain general of the militia of the state, except when called into the service of the United States.

SEC. 9. He may require information in writing from the officers in the executive department, on any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices.

SEC. 10. The governor, in case of a disagreement between the two houses of the general assembly, respecting the time of adjournment, may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper, not beyond the day of the next stated session.

SEC. 11. He shall, from time to time, give to the general assembly, information of the state of the government, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall deem expedient.

SEC. 12. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

SEC. 13. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves after conviction, in all cases except those of impeachment, until the end of the next session of the general assembly, and no longer.

SEC. 14. All commissions shall be in the name and by authority of the state of Connecticut; shall be sealed with the state seal, signed by the governor, and attested by the secretary of the state.

SEC. 15. Each bill which shall have passed both houses of the general assembly shall be presented to the governor. Bills may be presented to the governor after the adjournment of the general assembly, and the general assembly may prescribe the time and method of performing all ministerial acts necessary or incidental to the administration of this section. If the governor shall approve a bill, he shall sign and transmit it to the secretary of the state, but if he shall disapprove, he shall transmit it to the secretary with his objections, and the secretary shall thereupon return the bill with the governor's objections to the house in which it originated. After the objections shall have been entered on its journal, such house shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, after such reconsideration, that house shall again pass it, but by the approval of at least two-thirds of its members, it shall be sent with the objections to the other house, which shall also reconsider it. If approved by at least two-thirds of the members of the second house, it shall be a law and be transmitted to the secretary; but in such case the votes of each house shall be determined by yeas and nays and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each house respectively. In case the governor shall not transmit the bill to the secretary, either with his approval or with his objections, within five calendar days, Sundays and legal holidays excepted, after the same shall have been presented to him, it shall be a law at the expiration of that period; except that, if the general assembly shall then have adjourned any regular or special session, the bill shall be a law unless the governor shall, within fifteen calendar days after the same has been presented to him, transmit it to the secretary with his objections, in which case it shall not be a law unless such bill is reconsidered and repassed by the general assembly by at least a two-thirds vote of the members of each house of the general assembly at the time of its reconvening.

(See Art. III of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 16. The governor shall have power to disapprove of any item or items of any bill making appropriations of money embracing distinct items while at the same time approving the remainder of the bill, and the part or parts of the bill so approved shall become effective and the item or items of appropriations so disapproved shall not take effect unless the same are separately reconsidered and repassed in accordance with the rules and limitations prescribed for the passage of bills over the executive veto. In all cases in which the governor shall exercise the right of disapproval hereby conferred he shall append to the bill at the time of signing it a statement of the item or items disapproved, together with his reasons for such disapproval, and transmit the bill and such appended statement to the secretary of the state. If the general assembly be then in session he shall forthwith cause a copy of such statement to be delivered to the house in which the bill originated for reconsideration of the disapproved items in conformity with the rules prescribed for legislative action in respect to bills which have received executive disapproval.

SEC. 17. The lieutenant-governor shall by virtue of his office, be president of the senate, and have, when in committee of the whole, a right to debate, and when the senate is equally divided, to give the casting vote.

SEC. 18. In case of the death, resignation, refusal to serve or removal from office of the governor, the lieutenant-governor shall, upon taking the oath of office of governor, be governor of the state until another is chosen at the next regular election for governor and is duly qualified. In case of the inability of the governor to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, or in case of his impeachment or of his absence from the state, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor until the disability is removed or, if the governor has been impeached, he is acquitted or, if absent, he has returned.

(Sec. 18 amended in 1984. See Art. XXII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 19. If the lieutenant-governor succeeds to the office of governor, or if the lieutenant-governor dies, resigns, refuses to serve or is removed from office, the president pro tempore of the senate shall, upon taking the oath of office of lieutenant-governor, be lieutenant-governor of the state until another is chosen at the next regular election for lieutenant-governor and is duly qualified. Within fifteen days of the administration of such oath the senate, if the general assembly is in session, shall elect one of its members president pro tempore. In case of the inability of the lieutenant-governor to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office or in case of his impeachment or absence from the state, the president pro tempore of the senate shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of lieutenant-governor until the disability is removed or, if the lieutenant-governor has been impeached, he is acquitted or, if absent, he has returned.

SEC. 20. If, while the general assembly is not in session, there is a vacancy in the office of president pro tempore of the senate, the secretary of the state shall within fifteen days convene the senate for the purpose of electing one of its members president pro tempore.

SEC. 21. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the governor, the governor-elect shall have died or shall have failed to qualify, the lieutenant-governor-elect, after taking the oath of office of lieutenant-governor, may qualify as governor, and, upon so qualifying, shall become governor. The general assembly may by law provide for the case in which neither the governor-elect nor the lieutenant-governor-elect shall have qualified, by declaring who shall, in such event, act as governor or the manner in which the person who is so to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a governor or a lieutenant-governor shall have qualified.

SEC. 22. The treasurer shall receive all monies belonging to the state, and disburse the same only as he may be directed by law. He shall pay no warrant, or order for the disbursement of public money, until the same has been registered in the office of the comptroller.

SEC. 23. The secretary of the state shall have the safe keeping and custody of the public records and documents, and particularly of the acts, resolutions and orders of the general assembly, and record the same; and perform all such duties as shall be prescribed by law. He shall be the keeper of the seal of the state, which shall not be altered.

SEC. 24. The comptroller shall adjust and settle all public accounts and demands, except grants and orders of the general assembly. He shall prescribe the mode of keeping and rendering all public accounts. He shall, ex officio, be one of the auditors of the accounts of the treasurer. The general assembly may assign to him other duties in relation to his office, and to that of the treasurer, and shall prescribe the manner in which his duties shall be performed.

SEC. 25. Sheriffs shall be elected in the several counties, on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, l966, and quadrennially thereafter, for the term of four years, commencing on the first day of June following their election. They shall become bound with sufficient sureties to the treasurer of the state, for the faithful discharge of the duties of their office. They shall be removable by the general assembly. In case the sheriff of any county shall die or resign, or shall be removed from office by the general assembly, the governor may fill the vacancy occasioned thereby, until the same shall be filled by the general assembly.

(Sec. 25 amended in 2000. See Art. XXX of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 26. A statement of all receipts, payments, funds, and debts of the state, shall be published from time to time, in such manner and at such periods, as shall be prescribed by law.

(New Section added in 1984. See Art. XXIII of Amendments to the Constitution of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE FIFTH.* OF THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 1. The judicial power of the state shall be vested in a supreme court, a superior court, and such lower courts as the general assembly shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The powers and jurisdiction of these courts shall be defined by law.

(Sec. 1 amended in 1982. See Art. XX. Sec. 1 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 2. The judges of the supreme court and of the superior court shall, upon nomination by the governor, be appointed by the general assembly in such manner as shall by law be prescribed. They shall hold their offices for the term of eight years, but may be removed by impeachment. The governor shall also remove them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly.

(See Art. XI of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.) (Sec. 2 amended in 1982. See Art. XX, Sec. 2 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 3. Judges of the lower courts shall, upon nomination by the governor, be appointed by the general assembly in such manner as shall by law be prescribed, for terms of four years.

SEC. 4. Judges of probate shall be elected by the electors residing in their respective districts on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, and shall hold office for four years from and after the Wednesday after the first Monday of the next succeeding January.

SEC. 5. Justices of the peace for the several towns in the state shall be elected by the electors in such towns; and the time and manner of their election, the number for each town, the period for which they shall hold their offices and their jurisdiction shall be prescribed by law.

(Sec. 5 repealed in 1974. See Art. VIII, Sec. 1 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 6. No judge or justice of the peace shall be eligible to hold his office after he shall arrive at the age of seventy years, except that a chief justice or judge of the supreme court, a judge of the superior court, or a judge of the court of common pleas, who has attained the age of seventy years and has become a state referee may exercise, as shall be prescribed by law, the powers of the superior court or court of common pleas on matters referred to him as a state referee.

(Sec. 6 amended in 1974. See Art. VIII, Sec. 2 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

*(Art. Fifth amended in 1976. See Art. XI of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE SIXTH.* OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF ELECTORS.

SEC. 1. Every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of twenty-one years, who has resided in the town in which he offers himself to be admitted to the privileges of an elector at least six months next preceding the time he so offers himself, who is able to read in the English language any article of the constitution or any section of the statutes of the state, and who sustains a good moral character, shall, on his taking such oath as may be prescribed by law, be an elector.

(Sec. 1. amended in 1976. See Art. IX of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut. See Art. XXVI of Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America.)

SEC. 2. The qualifications of electors as set forth in Section 1 of this article shall be decided at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law.

SEC. 3. The general assembly shall by law prescribe the offenses on conviction of which the privileges of an elector shall be forfeited and the conditions on which and methods by which such rights may be restored.

(Sec. 3 amended in 1974. See Art. VII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 4. Laws shall be made to support the privilege of free suffrage, prescribing the manner of regulating and conducting meetings of the electors, and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence therein, from power, bribery, tumult and other improper conduct.

SEC. 5. In all elections of officers of the state, or members of the general assembly, the votes of the electors shall be by ballot, either written or printed, except that voting machines or other mechanical devices for voting may be used in all elections in the state, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. The right of secret voting shall be preserved. At every election where candidates are listed by party designation and where voting machines or other mechanical devices are used, each elector shall be able at his option to vote for candidates for office under a single party designation by operating a straight ticket device, or to vote for candidates individually after first operating a straight ticket device, or to vote for candidates individually without first operating a straight ticket device.

(Sec. 5 amended in 1986. See Art. XXIV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 6. At all elections of officers of the state, or members of the general assembly, the electors shall be privileged from arrest, during their attendance upon, and going to, and returning from the same, on any civil process.

SEC. 7. The general assembly may provide by law for voting in the choice of any officer to be elected or upon any question to be voted on at an election by qualified voters of the state who are unable to appear at the polling place on the day of election because of absence from the city or town of which they are inhabitants or because of sickness, or physical disability or because the tenets of their religion forbid secular activity.

SEC. 8. The general assembly may provide by law for the admission as electors in absentia of members of the armed forces, the United States merchant marine, members of religious or welfare groups or agencies attached to and serving with the armed forces and civilian employees of the United States, and the spouses and dependents of such persons.

(Sec. 8 amended in 1992. See Art. XXVII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 9. Any person admitted as an elector in any town shall, if he removes to another town, have the privileges of an elector in such other town after residing therein for six months. The general assembly shall prescribe by law the manner in which evidence of the admission of an elector and of the duration of his current residence shall be furnished to the town to which he removes.

(Sec. 9 repealed in 1980. See Art. XIII of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 10. Every elector shall be eligible to any office in the state, except in cases provided for in this constitution.

(Sec. 10 amended in 1970. See Art. II, Sec. 3 of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

*(Art. Sixth amended in 1976. See Art. X of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE SEVENTH. OF RELIGION.

It being the right of all men to worship the Supreme Being, the Great Creator and Preserver of the Universe, and to render that worship in a mode consistent with the dictates of their consciences, no person shall by law be compelled to join or support, nor be classed or associated with, any congregation, church or religious association. No preference shall be given by law to any religious society or denomination in the state. Each shall have and enjoy the same and equal powers, rights and privileges, and may support and maintain the ministers or teachers of its society or denomination, and may build and repair houses for public worship.

ARTICLE EIGHTH. OF EDUCATION.

SEC. 1. There shall always be free public elementary and secondary schools in the state. The general assembly shall implement this principle by appropriate legislation.

SEC. 2. The state shall maintain a system of higher education, including The University of Connecticut, which shall be dedicated to excellence in higher education. The general assembly shall determine the size, number, terms and method of appointment of the governing boards of The University of Connecticut and of such constituent units or coordinating bodies in the system as from time to time may be established.

SEC. 3. The charter of Yale College, as modified by agreement with the corporation thereof, in pursuance of an act of the general assembly, passed in May, 1792, is hereby confirmed.

SEC. 4. The fund, called the SCHOOL FUND, shall remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which shall be inviolably appropriated to the support and encouragement of the public schools throughout the state, and for the equal benefit of all the people thereof. The value and amount of said fund shall be ascertained in such manner as the general assembly may prescribe, published, and recorded in the comptroller's office; and no law shall ever be made, authorizing such fund to be diverted to any other use than the encouragement and support of public schools, among the several school societies, as justice and equity shall require.

ARTICLE NINTH. OF IMPEACHMENTS.

SEC. 1. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching.

SEC. 2. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members present. When the governor is impeached, the chief justice shall preside.

SEC. 3. The governor, and all other executive and judicial officers, shall be liable to impeachment; but judgments in such cases shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust or profit under the state. The party convicted, shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial and punishment according to law.

SEC. 4. Treason against the state shall consist only in levying war against it, or adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason, unless on the testimony of at least two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. No conviction of treason, or attainder, shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture.

ARTICLE TENTH. OF HOME RULE.

SEC. 1. The general assembly shall by general law delegate such legislative authority as from time to time it deems appropriate to towns, cities and boroughs relative to the powers, organization, and form of government of such political subdivisions. The general assembly shall from time to time by general law determine the maximum terms of office of the various town, city and borough elective offices. After July 1, 1969, the general assembly shall enact no special legislation relative to the powers, organization, terms of elective offices or form of government of any single town, city or borough, except as to (a) borrowing power, (b) validating acts, and (c) formation, consolidation or dissolution of any town, city or borough, unless in the delegation of legislative authority by general law the general assembly shall have failed to prescribe the powers necessary to effect the purpose of such special legislation.

SEC. 2. The general assembly may prescribe the methods by which towns, cities and boroughs may establish regional governments and the methods by which towns, cities, boroughs and regional governments may enter into compacts. The general assembly shall prescribe the powers, organization, form, and method of dissolution of any government so established.

ARTICLE ELEVENTH. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

SEC. 1. Members of the general assembly, and all officers, executive and judicial, shall, before they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take the following oath or affirmation, to wit:

You do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that you will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Connecticut, so long as you continue a citizen thereof; and that you will faithfully discharge, according to law, the duties of the office of...........to the best of your abilities. So help you God.

SEC. 2. Neither the general assembly nor any county, city, borough, town or school district shall have power to pay or grant any extra compensation to any public officer, employee, agent or servant, or increase the compensation of any public officer or employee, to take effect during the continuance in office of any person whose salary might be increased thereby, or increase the pay or compensation of any public contractor above the amount specified in the contract.

(Sec. 2 amended in 1982. See Art. XIX of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 3. In order to insure continuity in operation of state and local governments in a period of emergency resulting from disaster caused by enemy attack, the general assembly shall provide by law for the prompt and temporary succession to the powers and duties of all public offices, the incumbents of which may become unavailable for carrying on their powers and duties.

SEC. 4. Claims against the state shall be resolved in such manner as may be provided by law.

SEC. 5. The rights and duties of all corporations shall remain as if this constitution had not been adopted; with the exception of such regulations and restrictions as are contained in this constitution. All laws not contrary to, or inconsistent with, the provisions of this constitution shall remain in force, until they shall expire by their own limitation, or shall be altered or repealed by the general assembly, in pursuance of this constitution. The validity of all bonds, debts, contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies corporate, or the state, of all suits, actions, or rights of action, both in law and equity, shall continue as if no change had taken place. All officers filling any office by election or appointment shall continue to exercise the duties thereof, according to their respective commissions or appointments, until their offices shall have been abolished or their successors selected and qualified in accordance with this constitution or the laws enacted pursuant thereto.

ARTICLE TWELFTH.* OF AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any member of the senate or house of representatives. An amendment so proposed, approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least a majority, but by less than three-fourths, of the total membership of each house, shall be published with the laws which may have been passed at the same session and be continued to the regular session of the general assembly elected at the general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in the next even-numbered year. An amendment so proposed, approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least three-fourths of the total membership of each house, or any amendment which, having been continued from the previous general assembly, is again approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least a majority of the total membership of each house, shall, by the secretary of the state, be transmitted to the town clerk in each town in the state, whose duty it shall be to present the same to the electors thereof for their consideration at the general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in the next even-numbered year. If it shall appear, in a manner to be provided by law, that a majority of the electors present and voting on such amendment at such election shall have approved such amendment, the same shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of this constitution. Electors voting by absentee ballot under the provisions of the statutes shall be considered to be present and voting.

*(Art. Twelfth amended in 1974. See Art. VI of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE THIRTEENTH. OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.

SEC. 1. The general assembly may, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the total membership of each house, provide for the convening of a constitutional convention to amend or revise the constitution of the state not earlier than ten years from the date of convening any prior convention.

SEC. 2. The question "Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the State?" shall be submitted to all the electors of the state at the general election held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in the even-numbered year next succeeding the expiration of a period of twenty years from the date of convening of the last convention called to revise or amend the constitution of the state, including the Constitutional Convention of 1965, or next succeeding the expiration of a period of twenty years from the date of submission of such a question to all electors of the state, whichever date shall last occur. If a majority of the electors voting on the question shall signify "yes", the general assembly shall provide for such convention as provided in Section 3 of this article.

SEC. 3. In providing for the convening of a constitutional convention to amend or revise the constitution of the state the general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the total membership of each house, prescribe by law the manner of selection of the membership of such convention, the date of convening of such convention, which shall be not later than one year from the date of the roll call vote under Section 1 of this article or one year from the date of the election under Section 2 of this article, as the case may be, and the date for final adjournment of such convention.

SEC. 4. Proposals of any constitutional convention to amend or revise the constitution of the state shall be submitted to all the electors of the state not later than two months after final adjournment of the convention, either as a whole or in such parts and with such alternatives as the convention may determine. Any proposal of the convention to amend or revise the constitution of the state submitted to such electors in accordance with this section and approved by a majority of such electors voting on the question shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of this constitution. Such proposals when so approved shall take effect thirty days after the date of the vote thereon unless otherwise provided in the proposal.

ARTICLE FOURTEENTH. OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS CONSTITUTION.

This proposed constitution, submitted by the Constitutional Convention of 1965, shall become the constitution of the state of Connecticut upon approval by the people and proclamation by the governor as provided by law.

Approved at referendum on December 14, 1965; proclaimed by the Governor as adopted on December 30, 1965.

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

ARTICLE I.

Section 1 of article fourth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: A general election for governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of the state, treasurer, comptroller and attorney general shall be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November, 1974, and quadrennially thereafter.

Adopted November 25, 1970.

ARTICLE II.

SEC. 1. Section 3 of article third of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The senate shall consist of not less than thirty and not more than fifty members, each of whom shall have attained the age of twenty-one years and be an elector residing in the senatorial district from which he is elected. Each senatorial district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one senator.

(Sec. 1 amended in 1980. See Art. XV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 2. Section 4 of said article third is amended to read as follows: The house of representatives shall consist of not less than one hundred twenty-five and not more than two hundred twenty-five members, each of whom shall have attained the age of twenty-one years and be an elector residing in the assembly district from which he is elected. Each assembly district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one representative. For the purpose of forming assembly districts no town shall be divided except for the purpose of forming assembly districts wholly within the town.

(Sec. 2 amended in 1980. See Art. XV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

SEC. 3. Section 10 of article sixth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: Every elector who has attained the age of twenty-one years shall be eligible to any office in the state, but no person who has not attained the age of twenty-one shall be eligible therefor, except in cases provided for in this constitution.

Adopted November 25, 1970.

(Sec. 3 amended in 1980. See Art. XV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE III.

Section 2 of article third of the constitution is amended to read as follows: There shall be a regular session of the general assembly on the Wednesday following the first Monday of January in the odd-numbered years and on the Wednesday following the first Monday of February in the even-numbered years, and at such other times as the general assembly shall judge necessary; but the person administering the office of governor may, on special emergencies, convene the general assembly at any other time. All regular and special sessions of the general assembly shall be held at Hartford, but the person administering the office of governor may, in case of special emergency, convene the assembly at any other place in the state. The general assembly shall adjourn each regular session in the odd-numbered years not later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in June and in the even-numbered years not later than the first Wednesday after the first Monday in May and shall adjourn each special session upon completion of its business. If any bill passed by any regular or special session or any appropriation item described in Section 16 of Article Fourth has been disapproved by the governor prior to its adjournment, and has not been reconsidered by the assembly, or is so disapproved after such adjournment, the secretary of the state shall reconvene the general assembly on the second Monday after the last day on which the governor is authorized to transmit or has transmitted every bill to the secretary with his objections pursuant to Section 15 of Article Fourth of this constitution, whichever occurs first; provided if such Monday falls on a legal holiday the general assembly shall be reconvened on the next following day. The reconvened session shall be for the sole purpose of reconsidering and, if the assembly so desires, repassing such bills. The general assembly shall adjourn sine die not later than three days following its reconvening. In the even year session the general assembly shall consider no business other than budgetary, revenue and financial matters, bills and resolutions raised by committees of the general assembly and those matters certified in writing by the speaker of the house of representatives and president pro tempore of the senate to be of an emergency nature.

Adopted November 25, 1970.

ARTICLE IV.

Section 19 of article first of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, the number of such jurors, which shall not be less than six, to be established by law; but no person shall, for a capital offense, be tried by a jury of less than twelve jurors without his consent. In all civil and criminal actions tried by a jury, the parties shall have the right to challenge jurors peremptorily, the number of such challenges to be established by law. The right to question each juror individually by counsel shall be inviolate.

Adopted December 22, 1972.

ARTICLE V.

Section 20 of article first of the constitution is amended to read as follows: No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin or sex.

Adopted November 27, 1974. (Amended in 1984. See Art. XXI of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE VI.

Article Twelfth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: Amendments to this constitution may be proposed by any member of the senate or house of representatives. An amendment so proposed, approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least a majority, but by less than three-fourths, of the total membership of each house, shall be published with the laws which may have been passed at the same session and be continued to the regular session of the general assembly elected at the next general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in an even-numbered year. An amendment so proposed, approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least three-fourths of the total membership of each house, or any amendment which, having been continued from the previous general assembly, is again approved upon roll call by a yea vote of at least a majority of the total membership of each house, shall, by the secretary of the state, be transmitted to the town clerk in each town in the state, whose duty it shall be to present the same to the electors thereof for their consideration at the next general election to be held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November in an even-numbered year. If it shall appear, in a manner to be provided by law, that a majority of the electors present and voting on such amendment at such election shall have approved such amendment, the same shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as a part of this constitution. Electors voting by absentee ballot under the provisions of the statutes shall be considered to be present and voting.

Adopted November 27, 1974.

ARTICLE VII.

Section 3 of article sixth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The general assembly shall by law prescribe the offenses on conviction of which the right to be an elector and the privileges of an elector shall be forfeited and the conditions on which and methods by which such rights may be restored.

Adopted November 27, 1974.

ARTICLE VIII.

SEC. 1. Section 5 of article fifth of the constitution is repealed.

SEC. 2. Section 6 of said article fifth is amended to read as follows: No judge shall be eligible to hold his office after he shall arrive at the age of seventy years, except that a chief justice or judge of the supreme court, a judge of the superior court, or a judge of the court of common pleas, who has attained the age of seventy years and has become a state referee may exercise, as shall be prescribed by law, the powers of the superior court or court of common pleas on matters referred to him as a state referee.

Adopted November 27, 1974.

ARTICLE IX.

Section 1 of article sixth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: Every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years, who is a bona fide resident of the town in which he seeks to be admitted as an elector and who takes such oath, if any, as may be prescribed by law, shall be qualified to be an elector.

Adopted November 24, 1976.

ARTICLE X.

Article sixth of the constitution is amended by adding the following section:

SEC. 11. Any citizen who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election may apply for admission as an elector within the period of four months prior to such election, at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law, and, if qualified, shall become an elector on the day of his or her eighteenth birthday.

Adopted November 24, 1976; amended in 1980. (See Art. XIV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE XI.

Article fifth of the constitution is amended by adding a new section to read as follows:

SEC. 7. In addition to removal by impeachment and removal by the governor on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly, judges of all courts, except those courts to which judges are elected, may, in such manner as shall by law be prescribed, be removed or suspended by the supreme court. The general assembly may establish a judicial review council which may also, in such manner as shall by law be prescribed, censure any such judge or suspend any such judge for a definite period not longer than one year.

Adopted November 24, 1976.

ARTICLE XII.

Section 6 of article third of the constitution is amended to read as follows:

SEC. 6. a. The assembly and senatorial districts as now established by law shall continue until the regular session of the general assembly next after the completion of the next census of the United States. On or before the fifteenth day of February next following the completion of the decennial census of the United States, the general assembly shall appoint a reapportionment committee consisting of four members of the senate, two who shall be designated by the president pro tempore of the senate and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the senate, and four members of the house of representatives, two who shall be designated by the speaker of the house of representatives and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the house of representatives, provided there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the commission in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. Such committee shall advise the general assembly on matters of apportionment. Such general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, enact such plan of districting as is necessary to preserve a proper apportionment of representation in accordance with the principles recited in this article. Thereafter the general assembly shall decennially at its next regular session following the completion of the census of the United States, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, enact such plan of districting as is necessary in accordance with the provisions of this article.

b. If the general assembly fails to enact a plan of districting by the fifteenth day of the May next following the completion of the decennial census of the United States, the governor shall forthwith appoint a commission designated by the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the house of representatives, each of whom shall designate two members of the commission, provided that there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the commission in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. The eight members of the commission so designated shall within fifteen days select an elector of the state as a ninth member.

c. The commission shall proceed to consider the alteration of districts in accordance with the principles recited in this article and it shall submit a plan of districting to the secretary of the state by the first day of the September next succeeding the appointment of its members. No plan shall be submitted to the secretary unless it is certified by at least five members of the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law. If the commission shall fail to submit such a plan by the first day of September, the secretary of the state shall forthwith so notify the chief justice of the supreme court.

d. Original jurisdiction is vested in the supreme court to be exercised on the petition of any registered voter whereby said court may compel the commission, by mandamus or otherwise, to perform its duty or to correct any error made in its plan of districting, or said court may take such other action to effectuate the purposes of this article, including the establishing of a plan of districting if the commission fails to file its plan of districting by the first day of September as said court may deem appropriate. Any such petition shall be filed within forty-five days of the date specified for any duty or within forty-five days after the filing of a plan of districting. The supreme court shall render its decision not later than sixty days following the filing of such petition or shall file its plan with the secretary of the state not later than the fifteenth day of December next following the completion of the decennial census of the United States. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law.

Adopted November 24, 1976; amended in 1980. (See Art. XVI of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE XIII.

Section 9 of article sixth of the constitution is repealed.

Adopted November 26, 1980.

ARTICLE XIV.

Article tenth of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: Any citizen who will have attained the age of eighteen years on or before the day of a regular election may apply for admission as an elector at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed by law, and, if qualified, shall become an elector on the day of his or her eighteenth birthday.

Adopted November 26, 1980.

ARTICLE XV.

SEC. 1. Section 1 of article two of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: The senate shall consist of not less than thirty and not more than fifty members, each of whom shall have attained the age of eighteen years and be an elector residing in the senatorial district from which he is elected. Each senatorial district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one senator.

SEC. 2. Section 2 of article two of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: The house of representatives shall consist of not less than one hundred twenty-five and not more than two hundred twenty-five members, each of whom shall have attained the age of eighteen years and be an elector residing in the assembly district from which he is elected. Each assembly district shall be contiguous as to territory and shall elect no more than one representative. For the purpose of forming assembly districts no town shall be divided except for the purpose of forming assembly districts wholly within the town.

SEC. 3. Section 3 of article two of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: Every elector who has attained the age of eighteen years shall be eligible to any office in the state, but no person who has not attained the age of eighteen shall be eligible therefor, except in cases provided for in this constitution.

Adopted November 26, 1980.

ARTICLE XVI.

SEC. 1. Section 5 of article third of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The establishment of congressional districts and of districts in the general assembly shall be consistent with federal constitutional standards.

SEC. 2. Article twelve of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:

a. The assembly and senatorial districts and congressional districts as now established by law shall continue until the regular session of the general assembly next after the completion of the taking of the next census of the United States. On or before the fifteenth day of February next following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, the general assembly shall appoint a reapportionment committee consisting of four members of the senate, two who shall be designated by the president pro tempore of the senate and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the senate, and four members of the house of representatives, two who shall be designated by the speaker of the house of representatives and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the house of representatives, provided there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the committee in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. Such committee shall advise the general assembly on matters of apportionment. Upon the filing of a report of such committee with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate shall, if the general assembly is not in regular session, convene the general assembly in special session for the sole purpose of adopting a plan of districting. Upon the request of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate, the secretary of the state shall give notice of such special session by mailing a true copy of the call of such special session, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to each member of the house of representatives and of the senate at his or her address as it appears upon the records of said secretary not less than ten nor more than fifteen days prior to the date of convening of such special session or by causing a true copy of the call to be delivered to each member by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, state policeman or indifferent person at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of convening of such special session. Such general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary to preserve a proper apportionment of representation in accordance with the principles recited in this article. Thereafter the general assembly shall decennially at its next regular session or special session called for the purpose of adopting a plan of districting following the completion of the taking of the census of the United States, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary in accordance with the provisions of this article.

b. If the general assembly fails to adopt a plan of districting by the first day of the August next following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, the governor shall forthwith appoint a commission designated by the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the house of representatives, each of whom shall designate two members of the commission, provided that there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the commission in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. The eight members of the commission so designated shall within thirty days select an elector of the state as a ninth member.

c. The commission shall proceed to consider the alteration of districts in accordance with the principles recited in this article and it shall submit a plan of districting to the secretary of the state by the thirtieth day of the October next succeeding the appointment of its members. No plan shall be submitted to the secretary unless it is certified by at least five members of the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law. If the commission shall fail to submit such a plan by the thirtieth day of October, the secretary of the state shall forthwith so notify the chief justice of the supreme court.

d. Original jurisdiction is vested in the supreme court to be exercised on the petition of any registered voter whereby said court may compel the commission, by mandamus or otherwise, to perform its duty or to correct any error made in its plan of districting, or said court may take such other action to effectuate the purposes of this article, including the establishing of a plan of districting if the commission fails to file its plan of districting by the thirtieth day of October as said court may deem appropriate. Any such petition shall be filed within thirty days of the date specified for any duty or within thirty days after the filing of a plan of districting. The supreme court shall render its decision not later than forty-five days following the filing of such petition or shall file its plan with the secretary of the state not later than the fifteenth day of January next following the time for submission of a plan of districting by the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law.

Adopted November 26, 1980.

(Sec. 2 Amended in 1990. See Article XXVI of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE XVII.

Section 8 of the article first of the constitution is amended to read as follows: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a right to be heard by himself and by counsel; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted by the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his behalf; to be released on bail upon sufficient security, except in capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the presumption great; and in all prosecutions by information, to a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury. No person shall be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall excessive bail be required nor excessive fines imposed. No person shall be held to answer for any crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment, unless upon probable cause shown at a hearing in accordance with procedures prescribed by law, except in the armed forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.

Adopted November 24, 1982.

ARTICLE XVIII.

Article second of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The powers of government shall be divided into three distinct departments, and each of them confided to a separate magistracy, to wit, those which are legislative, to one; those which are executive, to another; and those which are judicial, to another. The legislative department may delegate regulatory authority to the executive department; except that any administrative regulation of any agency of the executive department may be disapproved by the general assembly or a committee thereof in such manner as shall by law be prescribed.

Adopted November 24, 1982.

ARTICLE XIX.

.Section 2 of the article eleventh of the constitution is amended to read as follows: Except as provided in this section, neither the state nor any political subdivision of the state shall pay or grant to any elected official of the state or any political subdivision of the state, any compensation greater than the amount of compensation set at the beginning of such official's term of office for the office which such official holds or increase the pay or compensation of any public contractor above the amount specified in the contract. The provisions of this section shall not apply to elected officials in towns in which the legislative body is the town meeting. The compensation of an elected official of a political subdivision of the state whose term of office is four years or more may be increased once after such official has completed two years of his term by the legislative body of such political subdivision. The term "compensation" means, with respect to an elected official, such official's salary, exclusive of reimbursement for necessary expenses or any other benefit to which his office would entitle him.

Adopted November 24, 1982.

ARTICLE XX.

SEC. 1. Section 1 of article fifth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The judicial power of the state shall be vested in a supreme court, an appellate court, a superior court, and such lower courts as the general assembly shall, from time to time, ordain and establish. The powers and jurisdiction of these courts shall be defined by law.

SEC. 2. Section 2 of article fifth of the constitution is amended to read as follows: The judges of the supreme court, of the appellate court and of the superior court shall, upon nomination by the governor, be appointed by the general assembly in such manner as shall by law be prescribed. They shall hold their offices for the term of eight years, but may be removed by impeachment. The governor shall also remove them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly.

Adopted November 24, 1982.

(Sec. 2 amended in 1986. See Art. XXV of Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE XXI.

Article fifth of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows: No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex or physical or mental disability.

Adopted November 28, 1984.

ARTICLE XXII.

Section 18 of article fourth of the constitution is amended to read as follows:

a. In case of the death, resignation, refusal to serve or removal from office of the governor, the lieutenant-governor shall, upon taking the oath of office of governor, be governor of the State until another is chosen at the next regular election for governor and is duly qualified.

b. In case of the impeachment of the governor or of his absence from the State, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor until, if the governor has been impeached, he is acquitted or, if absent, he has returned.

c. Whenever the governor transmits to the lieutenant-governor his written declaration that he is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, and until the governor transmits to the lieutenant-governor a written declaration to the contrary, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor as acting governor.

d. In the absence of a written declaration of incapacity by the governor, whenever the lieutenant-governor or a majority of the members of the Council on Gubernatorial Incapacity transmits to the Council on Gubernatorial Incapacity a written declaration that the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, the Council shall convene within forty-eight hours after the receipt of such written declaration to determine if the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office. If the Council, within fourteen days after it is required to convene, determines by two-thirds vote that the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, it shall transmit a written declaration to that effect to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives and to the lieutenant-governor and the lieutenant-governor, upon receipt of such declaration, shall exercise the powers and authority and discharge the duties appertaining to the office of the governor as acting governor; otherwise, the governor shall continue to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his office. Upon receipt by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of such a written declaration from the Council, the General Assembly shall, in accordance with its rules, decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the General Assembly, within twenty-one days after receipt of the written declaration or, if the General Assembly is not in session, within twenty-one days after the General Assembly is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of each house that the governor is unable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his office, the lieutenant-governor shall continue to exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor; otherwise, the governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

e. In the absence of a written declaration of incapacity by the governor and in an emergency, when the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office and the business of the State requires the immediate exercise of those powers and performance of those duties, the lieutenant-governor shall transmit to the Council on Gubernatorial Incapacity a written declaration to that effect and thereupon shall exercise the powers and authority and discharge the duties appertaining to the office of governor as acting governor. The Council shall convene or the members of the Council shall otherwise communicate with each other collectively within twenty-four hours after the receipt of such written declaration to determine if the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office. If the Council, within fourteen days after it is required to convene, determines by two-thirds vote that the governor is unable to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, it shall transmit a written declaration to that effect to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives and to the lieutenant-governor and the lieutenant-governor shall continue to exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor as acting governor; otherwise, the governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office. Upon receipt by the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of such a written declaration from the Council, the General Assembly shall, in accordance with its rules, decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the General Assembly, within twenty-one days after receipt of the written declaration or, if the General Assembly is not in session, within twenty-one days after the General Assembly is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of each house that the governor is unable to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his office, the lieutenant-governor shall continue to exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor; otherwise, the governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

f. Whenever the governor transmits to the president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists he shall resume the powers and duties of his office upon the determination by a majority vote of each house of the General Assembly, in accordance with its rules, that he is able to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office.

g. There shall be a Council on Gubernatorial Incapacity, the membership, procedures and terms of office of the members of which the General Assembly shall establish by law.

h. The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate disputes or questions arising under this section.

Adopted November 28, 1984.

ARTICLE XXIII.

Article fourth of the constitution is amended by adding a new section to read as follows: There shall be established within the executive department a division of criminal justice which shall be in charge of the investigation and prosecution of all criminal matters. Said division shall include the chief state's attorney, who shall be its administrative head, and the state's attorneys for each judicial district, which districts shall be established by law. The prosecutorial power of the state shall be vested in a chief state's attorney and the state's attorney for each judicial district. The chief state's attorney shall be appointed as prescribed by law. There shall be a commission composed of the chief state's attorney and six members appointed by the governor and confirmed by the General Assembly, two of whom shall be judges of the Superior Court. Said commission shall appoint a state's attorney for each judicial district and such other attorneys as prescribed by law.

Adopted November 28, 1984.

ARTICLE XXIV.

Section 5 of article sixth of the constitution is amended to read as follows:

In all elections of officers of the state, or members of the general assembly, the votes of the electors shall be by ballot, either written or printed, except that voting machines or other mechanical devices for voting may be used in all elections in the state, under such regulations as may be prescribed by law. No voting machine or device used at any state or local election shall be equipped with a straight ticket device. The right of secret voting shall be preserved.

Adopted November 19, 1986.

ARTICLE XXV.

Section 2 of article twenty of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:

Judges of all courts, except those courts to which judges are elected, shall be nominated by the governor exclusively from candidates submitted by the judicial selection commission. The commission shall seek and recommend qualified candidates in such numbers as shall by law be prescribed. Judges so nominated shall be appointed by the general assembly in such manner as shall by law be prescribed. They shall hold their offices for the term of eight years, but may be removed by impeachment. The governor shall also remove them on the address of two-thirds of each house of the general assembly and the supreme court may also remove them as is provided by law.

Adopted November 19, 1986.

ARTICLE XXVI.

Section 2 of article sixteen of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:

a. The assembly and senatorial districts and congressional districts as now established by law shall continue until the regular session of the general assembly next after the completion of the taking of the next census of the United States. On or before the fifteenth day of February next following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, the general assembly shall appoint a reapportionment committee consisting of four members of the senate, two who shall be designated by the president pro tempore of the senate and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the senate, and four members of the house of representatives, two who shall be designated by the speaker of the house of representatives and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the house of representatives, provided there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the committee in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. Such committee shall advise the general assembly on matters of apportionment. Upon the filing of a report of such committee with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate shall, if the general assembly is not in regular session, convene the general assembly in special session for the sole purpose of adopting a plan of districting. Upon the request of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate, the secretary of the state shall give notice of such special session by mailing a true copy of the call of such special session, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to each member of the house of representatives and of the senate at his or her address as it appears upon the records of said secretary not less than ten nor more than fifteen days prior to the date of convening of such special session or by causing a true copy of the call to be delivered to each member by a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, state policeman or indifferent person at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of convening of such special session. Such general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary to preserve a proper apportionment of representation in accordance with the principles recited in this article. Thereafter the general assembly shall decennially at its next regular session or special session called for the purpose of adopting a plan of districting following the completion of the taking of the census of the United States, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary in accordance with the provisions of this article.

b. If the general assembly fails to adopt a plan of districting by the fifteenth day of the September next following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, the governor shall forthwith appoint a commission designated by the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the house of representatives, each of whom shall designate two members of the commission, provided that there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the commission in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. The eight members of the commission so designated shall within thirty days select an elector of the state as a ninth member.

c. The commission shall proceed to consider the alteration of districts in accordance with the principles recited in this article and it shall submit a plan of districting to the secretary of the state by the thirtieth day of the November next succeeding the appointment of its members. No plan shall be submitted to the secretary unless it is certified by at least five members of the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of law. If the commission shall fail to submit such a plan by the thirtieth day of November, the secretary of the state shall forthwith so notify the chief justice of the supreme court.

d. Original jurisdiction is vested in the supreme court to be exercised on the petition of any registered voter whereby said court may compel the commission, by mandamus or otherwise, to perform its duty or to correct any error made in its plan of districting, or said court may take such other action to effectuate the purposes of this article, including the establishing of a plan of districting if the commission fails to file its plan of districting by the thirtieth day of November as said court may deem appropriate. Any such petition shall be filed within thirty days of the date specified for any duty or within thirty days after the filing of a plan of districting. The supreme court shall render its decision not later than forty-five days following the filing of such petition or shall file its plan with the secretary of the state not later than the fifteenth day of February next following the time for submission of a plan of districting by the commission. Upon receiving such plan the secretary shall publish the same forthwith, and, upon publication, such plan of districting shall have the full force of the law.

Adopted November 28, 1990; Amended in 2000. (See Article XXX of the Amendments to the Constitution of the State of Connecticut.)

ARTICLE XXVII.

Section 8 of article sixth of the constitution is amended to read as follows:

The general assembly may provide by law for the absentee admission of electors.

Adopted November 25, 1992.

ARTICLE XXVIII.

Article third of the constitution is amended by adding section 18 as follows:

Sec. 18 a. The amount of general budget expenditures authorized for any fiscal year shall not exceed the estimated amount of revenue for such fiscal year.

b. The general assembly shall not authorize an increase in general budget expenditures for any fiscal year above the amount of general budget expenditures authorized for the previous fiscal year by a percentage which exceeds the greater of the percentage increase in personal income or the percentage increase in inflation, unless the governor declares an emergency or the existence of extraordinary circumstances and at least three-fifths of the members of each house of the general assembly vote to exceed such limit for the purposes of such emergency or extraordinary circumstances. The general assembly shall by law define "increase in personal income", "increase in inflation" and "general budget expenditures" for the purposes of this section and may amend such definitions, from time to time, provided general budget expenditures shall not include expenditures for the payment of bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness. The enactment or amendment of such definitions shall require the vote of three-fifths of the members of each house of the general assembly.

c. Any unappropriated surplus shall be used to fund a budget reserve fund or for the reduction of bonded indebtedness; or for any other purpose authorized by at least three-fifths of the members of each house of the general assembly.

Adopted November 25, 1992.

ARTICLE XXIX.

Article seventeen of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:

a. In all Criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have a right to be heard by himself and by counsel; to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted by the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process to obtain witnesses in his behalf; to be released on bail upon sufficient security, except in capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the presumption great; and in all prosecutions by information, to a speedy, public trial by an impartial jury. No person shall be compelled to give evidence against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall excessive bail be required nor excessive fines imposed. No person shall be held to answer for any crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment, unless upon probable cause shown at a hearing in accordance with procedures prescribed by law, except in the armed forces, or in the militia when in actual service in time of war or public danger.

b. In all criminal prosecutions, a victim, as the general assembly may define by law, shall have the following rights: (1) the right to be treated with fairness and respect throughout the criminal justice process; (2) the right to timely disposition of the case following arrest of the accused, provided no right of the accused is abridged; (3) the right to be reasonably protected from the accused throughout the criminal justice process; (4) the right to notification of court proceedings; (5) the right to attend the trial and all other court proceedings the accused has the right to attend, unless such person is to testify and the court determines that such person's testimony would be materially affected if such person hears other testimony; (6) the right to communicate with the prosecution; (7) the right to object to or support any plea agreement entered into by the accused and the prosecution and to make a statement to the court prior to the acceptance by the court of the plea of guilty or nolo contendere by the accused; (8) the right to make a statement to the court at sentencing; (9) the right to restitution which shall be enforceable in the same manner as any other cause of action or as otherwise provided by law; and (10) the right to information about the arrest, conviction, sentence, imprisonment and release of the accused. The general assembly shall provide by law for the enforcement of this subsection. Nothing in this subsection or in any law enacted pursuant to this subsection shall be construed as creating a basis for vacating a conviction or ground for appellate relief in any criminal case.

Adopted November 27, 1996.

ARTICLE XXX.

Sec. 1. Section 25 of article fourth of the constitution is repealed.

Sec. 2. Subsection a. of article twenty-sixth of the amendments to the constitution is amended to read as follows:

a. The assembly and senatorial districts and congressional districts as now established by law shall continue until the regular session of the general assembly next after the completion of the taking of the next census of the United States. On or before the fifteenth day of February next following the year in which the decennial census of the United States is taken, the general assembly shall appoint a reapportionment committee consisting of four members of the senate, two who shall be designated by the president pro tempore of the senate and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the senate, and four members of the house of representatives, two who shall be designated by the speaker of the house of representatives and two who shall be designated by the minority leader of the house of representatives, provided there are members of no more than two political parties in either the senate or the house of representatives. In the event that there are members of more than two political parties in a house of the general assembly, all members of that house belonging to the parties other than that of the president pro tempore of the senate or the speaker of the house of representatives, as the case may be, shall select one of their number, who shall designate two members of the committee in lieu of the designation by the minority leader of that house. Such committee shall advise the general assembly on matters of apportionment. Upon the filing of a report of such committee with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate shall, if the general assembly is not in regular session, convene the general assembly in special session for the sole purpose of adopting a plan of districting. Upon the request of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate, the secretary of the state shall give notice of such special session by mailing a true copy of the call of such special session, by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to each member of the house of representatives and of the senate at his or her address as it appears upon the records of said secretary not less than ten nor more than fifteen days prior to the date of convening of such special session or by causing a true copy of the call to be delivered to each member by a constable, state policeman or indifferent person at least twenty-four hours prior to the time of convening of such special session. Such general assembly shall, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary to preserve a proper apportionment of representation in accordance with the principles recited in this article. Thereafter the general assembly shall decennially at its next regular session or special session called for the purpose of adopting a plan of districting following the completion of the taking of the census of the United States, upon roll call, by a yea vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each house, adopt such plan of districting as is necessary in accordance with the provisions of this article.

Connecticut Charter

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CHARLES THE SECOND, BY THE GRACE OF GOD, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, defender of the Faith; To all to whome theis presents shall come Greetinge:

WHEREAS, by the severall Navigacons, discoveryes and susccessfull Plantacons of diverse of our loving Subjects of this our Realme of England, Severall Lands, Islands, Places, Colonies and Plantacons have byn obtayned and setled in that parte of the Continent of America called New England, and thereby the Trade and Comerce there hath byn of late yeares much increased,

AND WHEREAS, wee have byn informed by the humble Peticon of our Trusty and welbeloved John Winthrop, John Mason, Samuell Willis, Henry Clerke, Mathew Allen, John Tappen, Nathan Gold, Richard Treate, Richard Lord, Henry Woolicott, John Talcott, Daniell Clerke, John Ogden, Thomas Wells, Obedias Brewen, John Clerke, Anthony Haukins, John Deming and Mathew Camfeild, being Persons Principally interested in our Colony or Plantacon of Connecticut in New England, that the same Colony or the greatest parte thereof was purchased and obteyned for greate and valuable Consideracons, And some other part thereof gained by Conquest and with much difficulty, and att the onely endeavours, expence and Charge of them and their Associates, and those vnder whome they Clayme, Subdued and improved, and thereby become a considerable enlargement and addicon of our Dominions and interest there.

NOW KNOW YEA, that in consideracion thereof, and in regard the said Colony is remote from other the English Plantacons in the Places aforesaid, And to the end the Affaires and Business which shall from tyme to tyme happen or arise concerning the same may be duely Ordered and managed.

WEE HAVE thought fitt, and att the humble Peticon of the Persons aforesaid, and are graciously pleased to Create and Make them a Body Pollitique and Corporate, with the powers and Priviliges herein after menconed; And Accordingly Our will and pleasure is, and of our especiall grace, certeine knowledge and meere mocon wee have Ordeyned, Constituted and Declared, And by theis presents, for vs, our heires and Successors, Doe Ordeine, Constitute and Declare That they, the said John Winthrop, John Mason, Samuell Willis, Henry Clerke, Mathew Allen, John Tappen, Nathan Gold, Richard Treate, Richard Lord, Henry Woollcot, John Talcot, Daniell Clerke, John Ogden, Thomas Wells, Obadiah Brewen, John Clerke, Anthony Hawkins, John Deming and Mathew Camfeild, and all such others as now are or hereafter shall bee Admitted and made free of the Company and Society of our Collony of Connecticut in America, shall from tyme to tyme and forever hereafter, bee one Body Corporate and Pollitique in fact and name, by the Name of Governour and Company of the English Collony of Connecticut in New England in America; And that by the same name they and their Successors shall and may have perpetuall Succession, and shall and mey bee Persons able and Capable in the law to Plead and bee Impleaded, to Answere and to be Answered vnto, to Defend and bee Defended in all and Singular, Suits, Causes, quarrelles, Matters, Accons and things of what kind or nature soever, And alsoe to have, take, possesse, acquire and purchase lands Tenements or hereditaments, or any goods or Chattells, and the same to, Lease, Graunt, Demise, Alien, bargaine, Sell and dispose of, as other our leige People of this our Realme of England, or any other Corporacon or Body Politique within the same may lawfully doe.

AND FURTHER, that the said Governour and Company, and their Successors shall and may for ever hereafter have a Comon Seale to serve and vse for all Causes, matters, things and affaires, whatsoever of them and their Successors, and the same Seale to alter, change, breake and make new from tyme to tyme att their wills and pleasures, as they shall thinke fitt. And further, wee will and Ordeine, and by theis presents for vs, our heires and Successors Doe Declare and appoint, that for the better ordering and manageing of the affaires and businesse of the said Company and their Successors, there shall be one Governour, one Deputy Governour and Twelve Assistants to bee from tyme to tyme Constituted, Elected and Chosen out of the Freemen of the said Company for the tyme being, in such manner and forme as hereafter in these presents is expressed; which said Officers shall apply themselves to take care for the best disposeing and Ordering of the Generall business and affaires of and concerning the lands and hereditaments herein after menconed to bee graunted, and the Plantacon thereof and the Government of the People thereof. And for the better execucon of our Royall Pleasure herein, WEE DOE for vs, our heires and Successors, Assigne, name, Constitute and appoint the aforesaid John Winthrop to bee the first and present Governour of the said Company; And the said John Mason to bee the Deputy Governour; And the said Samuell Willis, Mathew Allen, Nathan Gold, Henry Clerke, Richard Treat, John Ogden, Thomas Tappen, John Talcott, Thomas Wells, Henry Woolcot, Richard Lord and Daniell Clerke to bee the Twelve present Assistants of the said Company; to contynue in the said severall Offices respectively, vntill the second Thursday which shall bee in the moneth of October now next comeing.

AND FURTHER, wee will, and by theis presents for vs, our heires and Successors DOE Ordaine and Graunt that the Governour of the said Company for the tyme being, or, in his absence by occasion of sicknes, or otherwise by his leave or permission, the Deputy Governour for the tyme being, shall and may from tyme to tyme vpon all occasions give Order for the assembling of the said Company and calling them together to Consult and advise of the businesse and Affairs of the said Company, And that for ever hereafter Twice in every yeare, (That is to say,) on every Second Thursday in October and on every Second Thursday in May, or oftener, in Case it shall bee requisite, The Assistants and freemen of the said Company, or such of them, (not exceeding twoe Persons from each Place, Towne or Citty) whoe, shall bee from tyme to tyme therevnto Elected or deputed by the major parte of the freemen of the respective Townes, Cittyes and Places for which they shall bee soe elected or Deputed, shall have a generall meeting or Assembly, then and their to Consult and advise in and about the Affaires And businesse of the said Company; And that the Governour, or in his absence the Deputy Governour of the said Company for the tyme being, and such of the Assistants and freemen of the said Company as shall be soe Elected or Deputed and bee present att such meeting or Assembly, or the greatest number of them, whereof the Governour or Deputy Governour and Six of the Assistants, at least, to bee Seaven, shall be called the Generall Assembly, and shall have full power and authority to alter and change their dayes and tymes of meeting or Generall Assemblies for Electing the Governour, Deputy Governour and Assistants or other Officers or any other Courts, Assemblies or meetings, and to Choose, Nominate and appoint such and soe many other Persons as they shall thinke fitt and shall bee willing to accept the same, to bee free of the said Company and Body Politique, and them into the same to Admitt and to Elect, and Constitute such Officers as they shall thinke fitt and requisite for the Ordering, Manageing and disposeing of the Affaires of the said Governour and Company and their Successors. AND WEE DOE hereby for vs, our heires and Successors, Establish and Ordeine, that once in the yeare for ever hereafter, namely, the said Second Thursday in May, the Governour, Deputy Governour, and Assistants of the said Company and other Officers of the said Company, or such of them as the said Generall Assembly shall thinke fitt, shall bee in the said Generall Court and Assembly to be held from that day or tyme, newly Chosen for the yeare ensuing, by such greater parte of the said Company for the tyme being then and there present. And if the Governour, Deputy Governour and Assistants by these presents appointed, or such as hereafter bee newly Chosen into their Roomes, or any of them, or any other the Officers to bee appointed for the said Company shall dye or bee removed from his or their severall Offices or Places before the said Generall day of Eleccon, whome wee doe hereby Declare for any misdemeanour or default to bee removeable by the Governour, Assistants and Company, or such greater part of them in any of the said publique Courts to be Assembled as is aforesaid, That then and in every such Case itt shall and may bee lawfull to and for the Governour, Deputy Governour and Assistants and Company aforesaid, or such greater parte of them soe to bee Assembled as is aforesaid in any of their Assemblies, to proceede to a New Eleccon of one or more of their Company in the Roome or place, Roomes or Places of such Governour, Deputy Governour, Assistant or other Officer or Officers soe dyeing or removed, according to their discretions; and immediately vpon and after such Eleccon or Eleccons made of such Governour, Deputy Governour, Assistant or Assistants, or any other Officer of the said Company in manner and forme, Aforesaid, The Authority Office and Power before given to the former Governour, Deputy Governour or other Officer and Officers soe removed, in whose stead and Place new shall be chosen, shall as to him and them and every of them respectively cease and determine.

PROVIDED, alsoe, and our will and pleasure is, That as well such as are by theis presents appointed to bee the present Governour, Deputy Governour and Assistants of the said Company as those that shall succeed them, and all other Officers to bee appointed and Chosen as aforesaid, shall, before they vndertake the Execucon of their said Offices and places respectively, take their severall and respective Corporall Oathes for the due and faithfull performance of their dutyes in their severall Offices and Places, before such Person or Persons as are by these Presents hereafter appoynted to take and receive the same; That is to say, the said John Winthrop, whoe is herein before nominated and appointed the present Governour of the said Company, shall take the said Oath before one or more of the Masters of our Court of Chancery for the tyme being, vnto which Master of Chancery WEE DOE, by theis presents, give full power and authority to administer the said Oath to the said John Winthrop accordingly. And the said John Mason, whoe is herein before nominated and appointed the present Deputy Governour of the said Company, shall take the said Oath before the said John Winthrop, or any twoe of the Assistants of the said Company, vnto whome WEE DOE by these presents, give full power and authority to Administer the said Oath to the said John Mason accordingly. And the said Samuell Willis, Henry Clerke, Mathew Allen, John Tappen, Nathan Gold, Richard Treate, Richard Lord, Henry Woolcott, John Talcott, Daniell Clerke, John Ogden and Thomas Welles, whoe are herein before Nominated and appointed the present Assistants of the said Company, shall take the Oath before the said John Winthrop and John Mason, or one of them, to whome WEE DOE hereby give full power and authority to Administer the same accordingly. And our further will and pleasure, is that all and every Governour or Deputy Governour to bee Elected and Chosen by vertue of theis presents, shall take the said Oath before two or more of the Assistants of the said Company for the tyme being, vnto whom wee doe, by theis presents, give full power and authority to give and Administer the said Oath accordingly. And the said Assistants and every of them, and all and every other Officer or Officers to bee hereafter Chosen from tyme to tyme, to take the said Oath before the Governour or Deputy Governour for the tyme being, vnto which said Governour or Deputy Governour wee doe, by theis presents, give full power and authority to Administer the same accordingly.

AND FURTHER, of our more ample grace, certeine knowledge and meere mocon WEE HAVE given and Graunted, and by theis presents, for vs, our heires and Successors, ULME give and Graunt vnto the said Governour and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut in New England in America, and to every Inhabitant there, and to every Person and Persons Trading thither, And to every such Person and Persons as are or shall bee free of the said Collony, full power and authority from tyme to tyme and att all tymes hereafter, to take, Ship, Transport and Carry away, for and towards the Plantacon and defence of the said Collony such of our loveing Subjects and Strangers as shall or will willingly accompany them in and to their said Collony and Plantacon: (Except such Person and Persons as are or shall bee therein restrayned by vs, our heires and Successors:) And alsoe to Ship and Transport all and all manner of goods, Chattells, Merchandizes and other things whatsoever that are or shall be vsefull or necessary for the Inhabitants of the said Collony and may lawfully bee Transported thither; Neverthe lesse, not to bee discharged of payment to vs, our heires and Successors, of the Dutyes, Customes and Subsidies which are or ought to bee paid or payable for the same.

AND FURTHER, Our will and pleasure is, and WEE DOE for vs, our heires and Successors, Ordeyne, Declare and Graunt vnto the said Governour and Company and their Successors, That all and every the Subjects of vs, our heires or Successors which shall goe to Inhabite within the said Colony, and every of their Children which shall happen to bee borne there or on the Sea in goeing thither or returneing from thence, shall have and enjoye all liberties and immunities of free and naturall Subjects within any the Dominions of vs, our heires or Successors, to all intents, Construccons and purposes whatsoever, as if they and every of them were borne within the Realme of England,

AND WEE DOE authorize and impower the Governour, or in his absence the Deputy Governour for the tyme being, to appointe two or more of the said assistants att any of their Courts or Assemblyes to bee held as aforesaid, to have power and authority to Administer the Oath of Supremacy and obedience to all and every Person and Persons which shall att any tyme or tymes hereafter goe or passe into the said Colony of Connecticutt, vnto which said Assistants soe to bee appointed as aforesaid, WEE DOE, by these presents, give full power and authority to Administer the said Oath accordingly.

AND WEE DOE FURTHER, of our especiall grace, certeine knowledge and meere mocon, give and Graunt vnto the said Governour and Company of the English Colony of Connecticutt in New England in America, and their Successors, that itt shall and may bee lawful to and for the Governour or Deputy Governour and such of the Assistants of the said Company for the tyme being as shall bee Assembled in any of the Generall Courts aforesaid, or in any Courts to be especially Sumoned or Assembled for that purpose, or the greater parte of them, whereof the Governour or Deputy Governour and Six of the Assistants, to be all wayes Seaven, to Erect and make such Judicatories for the heareing and Determining of all Accons, Causes, matters and things happening within the said Colony or Plantacon and which shall bee in dispute and depending there, as they shall thinke fitt and convenient; And alsoe from tyme to tyme to Make, Ordaine and Establish All manner of wholesome and reasonable Lawes, Statutes, Ordinances, Direccons and Instruccons, not contrary to the laws of this Realme of England, as well for setling the formes and Ceremonies of Government and Magestracy fitt and necessary for the said Plantacon and the Inhabitants there as for naming and Stileing all sorts of Officers, both superior and inferior, which they shall find needfull for the Government and Plantacon of the said Colony, and the distinguishing and setting forth of the severall Dutyes, Powers and Lymitts of every such Office and Place, and the formes of such Oaths, not being contrary to the Laws and Statutes of this our Realme of England, to bee administered for the Execucon of the said severall Offices and Places; As alsoe for the disposeing and Ordering of the Eleccon of such of the said Officers as are to bee Annually Chosen, and of such others as shall succeed in case of death or removall, and Administering the said Oath to the new Elected Officers, and Graunting necessary Comissions, and for imposicon of lawfull Fines, Mulcts, Imprisonment or other Punishment vpon Offenders and Delinquents, according to the Course of other Corporacons within this our Kingdome of England, and the same Lawes, fines, Mulcts and Execucons to alter, change, revoke, adnull, release or Pardon, vnder their Comon Seale, As by the said Generall Assembly or the major part of them shall be thought fitt; And for the directing, ruleing and disposing of all other matters and things whereby our said people, Inhabitants there, may bee soe religiously, peaceably and civilly Governed as their good life and orderly Conversacon may wynn and invite the Natives of the Country to the knowledge and obedience of the onely true God and Saviour of mankind, and the Christian faith, which in our Royall intencons and the Adventurers free profession is the onely and principall end of this Plantacon; WILLING, Commanding and requireing, and by these presents, for vs, our heires and Successors, Ordaineing and appointeing. That all such Lawes, Statutes and Ordinances, Instruccons, Imposicons, and Direccons as shall bee soe made by the Governour, Deputy Governour, and Assistants, as aforesaid, and published in writeing vnder their Comon Seale, shall carefully and duely bee observed, kept, performed and putt in execucion, according to the true intent and meaning of the same.

AND these our letters Patents, or the Duplicate or Exemplification thereof, shall bee to all and every such Officers, Superiors and inferiors, from tyme to tyme, for the Putting of the same Orders, Lawes, Statutes, Ordinances, Instruccons and Direccons in due Execucon, against vs, our heires and Successors, a sufficient warrant and discharge.

AND WEE DOE FURTHER, for vs, our heires and Successors, give and Graunt vnto the said Governor and Company and their Successors, by these presents, That itt shall and may bee lawfull to and for the chiefe Commanders, Governours and Officers of the said Company for the tyme being whoe shall bee resident in the parts of New England hereafter menconed, and others inhabitating there by their leave, admittance, appointment or direccon, from tyme to tyme and att all tymes hereafter, for their speciall defence and safety, to Assemble, Martiall, Array, and putt in Warlike posture the Inhabitants of the said Colony, and to; Commissionate, Impower and authorize such Person or Persons as they shall thinke fitt to lead and Conduct the said Inhabitants, and to encounter, expulse, repell and resist by force of Armes, as well by Sea as by land, And alsoe to kill, Slay and destroy, by all fitting wayes, enterprizes and meanes whatsoever, all and every such Person or Persons as shall at any tyme hereafter Attempt or enterprize the destruccon, Invasion, detriment or annoyance of the said Inhabitants or Plantacon, And to vse and exercise the law Martiall, in such Cases onely as occasion shall require, And to take or surprize by all wayes and meanes whatsoever, all and every such Person and Persons, with their Shipps, Armour, Ammunicon, and other goods of such as shall in such hostile manner invade or attempt the defeating of the said Plantacon or the hurt of the said Company and Inhabitants; and vpon just Causes to invade and destroy the Natives or other Enemyes of the said Colony.

NEVERTHELESSE, Our Will and pleasure is, AND WEE DOE hereby Declare vnto all Christian Kings, Princes and States, That if any Persons which shall hereafter Bee of the said Company or Plantacon, or any other, by appointment of the said Governor and Company for the tyme being, shall at any tyme or tymes hereafter Robb or Spoile by Sea or by land, and doe any hurt, violence or unlawful hostility to any of the Subjects of vs, our heires or Successors, or any of the Subjects of any Prince or State beinge then in league with vs, our heires or Successors, vpon Complaint of such injury done to any such Prince or State, or their Subjects WEE, our heires and Successors, will make open Proclamacon within any parts of our Realme of England fitt for that purpose, That the Person or Persons committinge any such Robbery or Spoile, shall within the tyme lymitted by such Proclamacon, make full restitucon or satisfaccon of all such injuries done or committed, Soe as the said Prince or others soe complayneing may bee fully satisfied and contented. And if the said Person or Persons whoe shall committ any such Robbery or Spoile shall not make satisfaccon accordingly, within such tyme soe to bee limited, That then itt shall and may bee lawful for vs, our heires and Successors, to put such Person or Persons out of our Allegiance and Proteccon: And that it shall and may bee lawfull and free for all Princes or others to Prosecute with hostility such Offenders and every of them, their and every of their Procurers, ayders, Abettors and Councellors in that behalfe. PULMVIDED, alsoe, and our expresse will and pleasure is, AND WEE DOE by these presents for vs, our heires and Successors, Ordeyne and appointe that these presents shall not in any manner hinder any of our loveing Subjects whatsoever to vse and exercise the Trade of Fishinge vpon the coast of New England in America, but they and every or any of them shall have full and free power and liberty to contynue and vse the said Trade of Fishing upon the said Coast, in any of the Seas therevnto adioyning, or any Armes of the Seas or Salt Water Rivers where they have byn accustomed to Fish, and to build and sett vpon the wast land belonging to the said Colony of Connecticutt, such Wharfes, Stages and workehouses as shall bee necessary for the Salting, dryeing and keeping of their Fish to bee taken or gotten vpon that Coast, any thinge in these presents conteyened to the contrary notwithstanding.

AND KNOWE YEE FURTHER, That Wee, of our more abundant grace, certaine knowledge and meere mocon HAVE given, Graunted and Confirmed, And by theis presents for vs, our heires and Successors, DOE give, Graunt and Confirme vnto the said Governor and Company and their Successors, AULM that parte of our Dominions in Newe England in America bounded on the East by Norrogancett River, commonly called Norrogancett Bay, where the said River falleth into the Sea, and on the North by the lyne of the Massachusetts Plantacon, and on the South by the Sea, and in longitude as the lyne of the Massachusetts Colony, runinge from East to West, (that is to say,) from the Said Norrogancett Bay on the East to the South Sea on the West parte, with the Islands thervnto adioyneinge, Together with all firme lands, Soyles, Grounds, Havens, Ports, Rivers, Waters, Fishings, Mynes, Mynerals, Precious Stones, Quarries, and all and singular other Comodities, Iurisdiccons, Royalties, Priviledges, Francheses, Preheminences, and hereditaments whatsoever within the said Tract, Bounds, lands and Islands aforesaid, or to them or any of them belonging.

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the same vnto the said Governor and Company, their Successors and Assignes, for ever vpon Trust and for the vse and benefitt of themselves and their Associates, freemen of the said Colony, their heires and Assignes, TO BEE HOLDEN of vs, our heires and Successors, as of our Mannor of East Greenewich, in Free and Common Soccage, and not in Capite nor by Knights Service, YULMLDING AND PAYINGE therefore to vs, our heires and Successors, onely the Fifth parte of all the Oare of Gold and Silver which from tyme to tyme and at all tymes hereafter shall bee there gotten, had or obteyned, in liew of all Services, Dutyes and Demaunds whatsoever, to bee to vs, our heires or Successors, therefore or thereout rendered, made or paid.

AND LASTLY, Wee doe for vs, our heires, and Successors, Graunt to the said Governor and Company and their Successors, by these presents, that these our Letters Patent shall bee firme, good and effectuall in the lawe to all intents, Construccons and purposes whatsoever, accordinge to our true intent and meaneing herein before Declared, as shall be Construed, reputed and adiudged most favourable on the behalfe and for the best benefitt and behoofe of the said Governor and Company and their Successors, ALTHOUGH EXPRESSE MENCON of the true yearely value or certeinty of the premises, or of any of them, or of any other Guifts or Graunts by vs or by any of our Progenitors or Predecessors heretofore made to the said Governor and Company of the English Colony of Connecticut in New England in America aforesaid in theis presents is not made, or any Statute, Act, Ordinance, Provision, Proclamacon or Restriccon heretofore had, made. Enacted, Ordeyned or Provided, or any other matter, Cause or thinge whatsoever to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding.

IN WITNES whereof, we have caused these our Letters to be made Patent; WITNES our Selfe, att Westminister, the three and Twentieth day of Aprill, in the Fowerteenth yeare of our Reigne.

THE FUNDAMENTAL ORDERS OF 1638-1639

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Forasmuch as it hath pleased the Almighty God by the wise disposition of his divine providence so to order and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and upon the River of Connectecotte and the lands thereunto adjoining; and well knowing where a people are gathered together the word of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people there should be an orderly and decent Government established according to God, to order and dispose of the affairs of the people at all seasons as occasion shall require; do therefore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one Public State or Commonwealth; and do for ourselves and our Successors and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into Combination and Confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and purity of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus which we now profess, as also the discipline of the Churches, which according to the truth of the said Gospel is now practiced amongst us; as also in our Civil affairs to be guided and governed according to such Laws, Rules, Orders, and Decrees as shall be made, ordered, and decreed as followeth:--

1. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that there shall be yearly two General Assemblies or Courts, the one the second Thursday in April, the other the second Thursday in September following; the first shall be called the Court of Election, wherein shall be yearly chosen from time to time so many Magistrates and other public Officers as shall be found requisite: Whereof one to be chosen Governor for the year ensuing and until another be chosen, and no other Magistrate to be chosen for more than one year: provided always there be six chosen besides the Governor, which being chosen and sworn according to an Oath recorded for that purpose, shall have power to administer justice according to the Laws here established, and for want thereof, according to the rule of the Word of God; which choice shall be made by all that are admitted freemen and have taken the Oath of Fidelity, and do cohabit within this Jurisdiction

*The original "Fundamental Orders" of 1638-39 are on permanent exhibition at the Museum of Connecticut History, 231 Capitol Ave., Hartford.

(*Having been admitted Inhabitants by the major part of the Town wherein they live) or the major part of such as shall be then present.

*This clause was interlined in a different handwriting, and is of a later date. It was adopted by the General Court of November, 1643.

2. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that the Election of the aforesaid Magistrates shall be on this manner: every person present and qualified for choice shall bring in (to the persons deputed to receive them) one single paper with the name of him written in it whom he desires to have Governor, and he that hath the greatest number of papers shall be Governor for that year. And the rest of the Magistrates or public officers to be chosen in this manner: the Secretary for the time being shall first read the names of all that are to be put to choice and then shall severally nominate them distinctly, and every one that would have the person nominated to be chosen shall bring in one single paper written upon, and he that would not have him chosen shall bring in a blank; and every one that hath more written papers than blanks shall be a Magistrate for that year; which papers shall be received and told by one or more that shall be then chosen by the court and sworn to be faithful therein; but in case there should not be six chosen as aforesaid, besides the Governor, out of those which are nominated, then he or they which have the most written papers shall be a Magistrate or Magistrates for the ensuing year, to make up the aforesaid number.

3. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that the Secretary shall not nominate any person, nor shall any person be chosen newly into the Magistracy which was not propounded in some General Court before, to be nominated the next Election; and to that end it shall be lawful for each of the Towns aforesaid by their deputies to nominate any two whom they conceive fit to be put to election; and the Court may add so many more as they judge requisite.

4. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that no person be chosen Governor above once in two years, and that the Governor be always a member of some approved congregation, and formerly of the Magistracy within this Jurisdiction; and all the Magistrates, Freemen of this Commonwealth; and that no Magistrate or other public officer shall execute any part of his or their office before they are severally sworn, which shall be done in the face of the court if they be present, and in case of absence by some deputed for that purpose.

5. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that to the aforesaid Court of Election the several Towns shall send their deputies, and when the Elections are ended they may proceed in any public service as at other Courts. Also the other General Court in September shall be for making of laws, and any other public occasion, which concerns the good of the Commonwealth.

6. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that the Governor shall, either by himself or by the Secretary, send out summons to the Constables of every Town for the calling of these two standing Courts one month at least before their several times: And also if the Governor and the greatest part of the Magistrates see cause upon any special occasion to call a General Court, they may give order to the Secretary so to do within fourteen days' warning: And if urgent necessity so required, upon a shorter notice, giving sufficient grounds for it to the deputies when they meet, or else be questioned for the same; And if the Governor and major part of Magistrates shall either neglect or refuse to call the two General standing Courts or either of them, as also at other times when the occasions of the Commonwealth require, the Freemen thereof, or the major part of them, shall petition to them so to do; if then it be either denied or neglected, the said Freemen, or the major part of them, shall have power to give order to the Constables of the several Towns to do the same, and so may meet together, and choose to themselves a Moderator, and may proceed to do any act of power which any other General Courts may.

7. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that after there are warrants given out for any of the said General Courts, the Constable or Constables of each Town, shall forthwith give notice distinctly to the inhabitants of the same, in some public assembly or by going or sending from house to house, that at a place and time by him or them limited and set, they meet and assemble themselves together to elect and choose certain deputies to be at the General Court then following to agitate the affairs of the Commonwealth; which said deputies shall be chosen by all that are admitted Inhabitants in the several Towns and have taken the oath of fidelity; provided that none be chosen a Deputy for any General Court which is not a Freeman of this Commonwealth.

The aforesaid deputies shall be chosen in manner following: every person that is present and qualified as before expressed, shall bring the names of such, written in several papers, as they desire to have chosen for that employment, and these three or four, more or less, being the number agreed on to be chosen for that time, that have greatest number of papers written for them shall be deputies for that Court; whose names shall be endorsed on the back side of the warrant and returned into the Court, with the constable or constables' hand unto the same.

8. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield shall have power, each Town, to send four of their Freemen as their deputies to every General Court; and Whatsoever other Town shall be hereafter added to this Jurisdiction, they shall send so many deputies as the Court shall judge meet, a reasonable proportion to the number of Freemen that are in the said Towns being to be attended therein; which deputies shall have the power of the whole Town to give their votes and allowance to all such laws and orders as may be for the public good, and unto which the said Towns are to be bound.

9. It is Ordered and decreed, that the deputies thus chosen shall have power and liberty to appoint a time and a place of meeting together before any General Court, to advise and consult of all such things as may concern the good of the public, as also to examine their own Elections, whether according to the order, and if they or the greatest part of them find any election to be illegal they may seclude such for present from their meeting, and return the same and their reasons to the Court; and if it prove true, the Court may fine the party or parties so intruding, and the Town, if they see cause, and give out a warrant to go to a new election in a legal way, either in part or in whole. Also the said deputies shall have power to fine any that shall be disorderly at their meetings, or for not coming in due time or place according to appointment; and they may return the said fines into the Court if it be refused to be paid, and the Treasurer to take notice of it, and to escheat or levy the same as he does other fines.

10. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that every General Court, except such as through neglect of the Governor and the greatest part of Magistrates the Freemen themselves do call, shall consist of the Governor, or some one chosen to moderate the Court, and four other Magistrates at least, with the major part of the deputies of the several Towns legally chosen; and in case the Freemen, or major part of them, through neglect or refusal of the Governor and major part of the Magistrates, shall call a Court, it shall consist of the major part of Freemen that are present or their deputies, with a Moderator chosen by them: In which said General Courts shall consist the supreme power of the Commonwealth, and they only shall have power to make laws or repeal them, to grant levies, to admit of Freemen, dispose of lands undisposed of, to several Towns or persons, and also shall have power to call either Court or Magistrate or any other person whatsoever into question for any misdemeanor, and may for just causes displace or deal otherwise according to the nature of the offense; and also may deal in any other matter that concerns the good of this Commonwealth, except election of Magistrates, which shall be done by the whole body of Freemen.

In which Court the Governor or Moderator shall have power to order the Court, to give liberty of speech, and silence unseasonable and disorderly speakings, to put all things to vote, and in case the vote be equal to have the casting voice. But none of these Courts shall be adjourned or dissolved without the consent of the major part of the Court.

11. It is Ordered, sentenced, and decreed, that when any General Court upon the occasions of the Commonwealth have agreed upon any sum, or sums of money to be levied upon the several Towns within this Jurisdiction, that a committee be chosen to set out and appoint what shall be the proportion of every Town to pay of the said levy, provided the committee be made up of an equal number out of each Town.

14th January 1638 the 11 Orders above said are voted.

Connecticut Firsts

2011-01-27T10:51:00.000-08:00

1639 -- first constitution adopted, establishing representative government

1656 -- first municipal public library in America, a bequest to the "towne of New Haven"

1670 -- first survey for the first turnpike in America, between Norwich and New London

1729 -- first medical diploma, granted by Yale University

1764 -- first newspaper, The Hartford Courant, published since October 29, 1764

1775 -- first submarine

1783 -- first dictionary, published by Noah Webster, born in West Hartford

1784 -- first law school in America, Litchfield Law School; Graduates included John C. Calhoun, Aaron Burr, Horace Mann, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. and Noah Webster

1788 -- first State House in America, built after the Federal Constitution ratification

1794 -- first cotton gin, Eli Whitney of New Haven patented this invention

1803 -- first town library, tax-supported and organized in Salisbury

1806 -- first factory town in America, planned and established in Seymour

1808 -- first movable parts mass production in use, making clocks

1810 -- first insurance company, ITT Hartford Group, Inc. Officially opened for business and people were able to take insurance for the "loss of life or personal injury while journeying by railway or steamboat"

1819 -- first industrial training school, established by Josiah Holbrook in Derby

1836 -- first revolver

1842 -- first public art museum

1843 -- first portable typewriter

1844 -- first use of anesthesia

1846 -- first sewing machine, Elias Howe procured a patent for the first practical sewing machine in 1846

1853 -- first ice-making machine

1858 -- first can opener

1861 -- first Ph.D. Degree, Yale University awarded in Philosophy

1868 -- first tape measure

1877 -- first pay phone

1877 -- first telephone exchange, established in Bridgeport

1892 -- first collapsible toothpaste tube

1895 -- first hamburger, served at Louie's Lunch in New Haven

1900 -- first submarine

1907 -- first permanent public planning body in America, Hartford's Commission on the City Plan

1908 -- first lollipop

1920 -- first Frisbee, Yale students discovered empty pie plates from Mrs. Frisbie Pies in Bridgeport could fly across the New Haven Green

1933 -- first vacuum cleaner

1934 -- first Polaroid camera

1939 -- first FM radio station, WDRC-FM began broadcasting in Hartford

1939 -- first helicopter, Igor Sikorsky designed the first successful helicopter in the Western Hemisphere

1948 -- first color television

1949 -- first ultra high frequency UHF television station to operate on a daily basis, KC2XAK in Bridgeport

1954 -- first nuclear submarine, launched in New London

1982 -- first artificial heart, Dr. Robert K. Jarvik, a Stamford native, invented the world's first artificial heart

Sate Holidays

2011-01-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

January 1 New Year's Day

First Monday on or after January 15 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

February 12 Lincoln Day

Third Monday in February Washington's Birthday

Last Monday in May Memorial Day

July 4 Independence Day

First Monday in September Labor Day

Second Monday in October Columbus Day

November 11 Veterans' Day

December 25 Christmas

The Friday before Easter Sunday Good Friday

The Fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day

Shirley Grey, From IMDB

2011-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

Born Agnes Zetterstrand in 1902 in the small industrial town of Naugatuck, Connecticut, Grey was the seventh surviving and youngest child of Swedish immigrants. Her life and that of her family was sent into turmoil when her father died suddenly of a heart attack in 1911.

Grey's family eventually moved to Waterbury, Connecticut while she was in her sophomore year of High School. She graduated from Waterbury's Wilby High School in 1919.

Grey began her acting career with Sylvester Poli's Stock Theater Company, The Poli Players. She made her stage debut in the August 1920 production of "A Tailor Made Man" at the Lyric Theater in Bridgeport, Connecticut. While with the Poli Players, she performed in weekly stock performances throughout Poli's chain of theaters. She performed with the Poli Players until 1924.

During the fall of 1924, Grey was "discovered" by Crane Wilbur while performing in a theater production in Springfield, Massachusetts. She was subsequently offered a part in Wilbur's play, "The Imported Wife." Although, the play was ultimately a failure, her exposure in this production opened numerous theatrical doors over the next several years. During the balance of the 20s she co-starred with many of the periods more popular theater performers including, Edward Arnold, William Collier Sr. and George M. Cohan.

Grey married Jack Crosby, Ronald Colman's business manager, in 1927. Under Crosby's guidance, she was able to break into film. She performed in bit movie parts at first, but by 1929 and 1930 was working at RKO Radio Pictures' shorts division. In March of 1931, she was offered the opportunity to screen test for Samuel Goldwyn. Busby Berkeley
subsequently signed her to a five-year contract for Goldwyn's company. Grey performed in more than 45 films during her brief movie career. She received great reviews, as Edith Varney in Secret Service (1931/I). The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935), a movie in which she co-starred in with Bela Lugosi, remains a cult favorite. She co-starred with Ralph Bellamy in the Inspector Trent film series at Columbia Pictures and was seen in numerous B westerns during her career supporting such actors as John Wayne, Tim McCoy, and Buck Jones. She married British actor, Arthur Margetson, in 1936. This marriage, as with two prior marriages, ended in divorce. After her only son died in 1945 in World War II, her divorce, loss of her son and her inability to find work led to despair. She lived the remainder of her life - reclusive - with sisters in Providence, Rhode Island and Arlington, Virginia until she finally settled in Florida. She died in a Jacksonville Beach convalescent home in 1981.

Town Plot

2011-01-23T12:56:00.000-08:00

View from Townplot, 1900

Town Plot is a neighborhood in Waterbury . It has historical significance as the original settlement of Waterbury in 1674. This is commemorated with the Harrub Pilgrim Memorial statue at the corner of Highland and Sunnyside Avenues.Town Plot is one of several neighborhoods with a strong Italian influence. The neighborhood is home to many Italian restaurants and delis, as well many Italian-American owned businesses. The neighborhood is also home to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. The parish is famous for its popular four day feast every July which draws thousands of visitors who come to enjoy homemade food as well as live Italian entertainment. The feast is specifically known for its fried dough, soffritto sandwiches, Italian ice, and pastries.

Yalesville

2011-01-23T12:53:00.000-08:00

Yalesville is a village in Wallingford. It was formerly known as First Falls and later as Tyler's Mills. A Committee to locate a mill at the first falls on the Quinnipiac River between Wallingford and Meriden was held in September, 1686. In 1704 the mill was sold to William Tyler, and the community became known as Tyler's Mills. The mill and surrounding lands were sold to Charles Yale around a hundred years later, and the name of the village became Yalesville. In 1695, Yalesville residents grew tired of having to take a canoe across the river, so a bridge was built at Goats pains, the residence of Roswell Yale, in what is now Yalesville. In about 1800, the current bridge over the Quinnipiac River was built. Also around 1800, a school house was built in Yalesville

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:19:00.000-08:00

Pleasure Beach is the Bridgeport portion of a Connecticut barrier beach that extends 2-1/2 miles westerly from Point No Point (the portion in the adjoining town of Stratford is known as Long Beach). The area is Connecticut's largest and most recent ghost town (as shown here on a national ghost town registry) and abandoned recently in the late 1990s after arsonists torched the bridge connecting it to main land. It is surrounded on three sides by water (Lewis Gut to the north, Bridgeport Harbor to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south).

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

The name "Gay City" comes from the name of the ancient mill town the park includes, named after the Gay family. First settled in 1796 by Elijah Andrus, leader of a religious sect, it grew to a mill-town of about 25 families, the majority of them were Gays. The residents kept to themselves and lived separately from other towns. They built a sawmill on the Blackledge River and a wool mill that became a successful business until the war of 1812. The mill was burned to the ground in 1830 triggering an exodus of the families to the urban mill cities. A paper mill was later built which revitalised the town but that too burned to the ground after the Civil War and the town was abandoned. Local lore has it that the park is haunted.

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:17:00.001-08:00

Cuties Island is a small island and ghost town off of the coast of Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut. The island was home to a house that a man built and lived in some time during the 1940s or 1950s. He lived on the island until the house burned down. There were no fire boats at the time so there was no way of putting out the fire. The stone base of the house and several stone fire places that were inside the house still remains on the island to this day and can be accessed by a clear-watered beach on its north shore. Its south shore is very rocky and slippery, it is very easy to slip and not be able to get up. The island is located between Cove Island and Cummings Park both of which are in Stamford.

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:16:00.001-08:00

Bara-Hack is a ghost town in it was located in Historic Pomfret, Connecticut, and was abandoned after the Civil War. According to one website, "a pair of Welsh families first settled Bara-Hack in 1780.... By 1890 the settlement was history as the last residents left.... Another website, operated by the Connecticut Paranormal Research Society, states that it was "founded and first settled in 1790 by the two Welsh settlers Obadiah Higginbotham and John Randall [who] named the town bara-hack, a Welsh term meaning breaking of bread." The remnants of the hamlet include foundations and walls of derelict buildings, and a cemetery. There is also "an overgrown cow path" or carriage road. What remains is "clearly marked private property (No Trespassing signs abound), is very closely watched and you need permission from the land’s owner to visit” The ghost town is allegedly haunted by paranormal sounds and ghosts

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:15:00.001-08:00

Gay City State Park is the remnants of an 18th century abandoned mill town in Hebron, Connecticut. As such, there are water ditches, old houses, and stone walls, a New England tradition. The park is located on Route 85, near the border of Bolton.

Haunted Connecticut

2011-01-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

Dudleytown, also known as Owlsbury and Dudleytown Hill, is an extinct settlement/Ghost Town in Litchfield County, Connecticut. A remote extension to the town of Cornwall, it is best known for its "haunted" forest. Dudleytown was incorporated in 1740. It is located between three mountains,the Coltsfoot Triplets, Bald Mountain, and Woodbury Mountain

For a hundred years Dudleytown struggled, despite the hard work and versatile skills of the families who lived there. During the later part of the 18th century, few prospered from the booming iron industry centered around the "great furnace" on nearby Mt. Riga having stripped the mountainside of most every tree which further eroded the already taxed land. By 1800, Dudleytown had developed sufficiently to possess its own town hall and meeting house.

Improved access followed, by way of Dudleytown and Dark Entry Roads, to accommodate the heavy traffic of horses and riders into the town proper of Cornwall Bridge where the church, local cemetery and general store were located at the bottom of the mountainside. Even with these improved roads, the low birthrate of the families and the arrival of many different epidemics (like small pox and yellow fever) in the tiny Dudleytown settlement never raised the population in excess of one hundred people (not exceeding twenty-six families at the populous-peak).

During the American Civil War, almost every Dudleytown family augmented its farming pursuits by cutting and burning wood for charcoal to stoke the numerous furnaces in the area. Some families even operated their own backyard smelters, fed by locally mined ore, heated with local "wood-coal".
Eventually, the community declined due to a number of factors. Once the trees were gone, the spring and summer rains and the run-off from winter snow soon washed away much of Dudleytown’s soil making crop growth poor to non-existent there was a general reduction in local industry (mostly timber and iron based) due to the advent of modern techniques like the Bessemer process for making steel in the late 19th century. The opening of great expanses of farmland in the American West, combined with improved means of transport to distant markets, enticed farmers to seek locations with better prospects. By the time the "chestnut blight" hit Connecticut in the early 20th century, there were few if any permanent residents in Dudleytown. Frank Rogers, treasurer of the State of Connecticut still had a home in Dudleytown in the 20th century.

Letters from other states written by the adult children of Dudleytown residents are evident as they implored their parents to move away from the settlement which offered no viable prospects for a good lifestyle

With no new families moving in to occupy the abandoned homesteads, the houses that had stood for a hundred years crumbled. Their massive hand-cut beams collapsed and decayed beneath protective blankets of wild tiger lilies. Brush and vine now reduced Dark Entry and Dudleytown Roads to little more than tangled trails shrouded in a permanent gloom.

Haunted reputation

In addition to the economic factors in its decline, Dudleytown developed a reputation as a haunted place. Tales of several suicides, mass hysteria, ghost sightings, and demonic contacts have been attributed to the small settlement of Dudleytown, leading to many modern-day rumors.

In a 1993 interview in Playboy Magazine, comedian Dan Aykroyd claimed that Dudleytown, "Massachusetts" was "the scariest place on Earth". Dudleytown is actually located in Connecticut. While it has been speculated that the fear generated by such legends contributed greatly to the decline of Dudleytown, the town's ultimate demise more likely occurred due to poor choices of location by its original founders. The settlement, in addition to being sequestered from the town proper in a difficult-to-reach area, and having very poor soil for crop-growth, lay in the shadows of three mountain peaks which minimized its exposure to sunlight, hence the name of its largest avenue, Dark Entry Forest Road.

The "Curse of Dudleytown" is said to have been begun in the 1940s, but in actuality has its origins in 1938 with the publication of a book by Iveagh Hunt Sterry and William Garrigus entitled "They Found A Way: Connecticut's Restless People". The book's authors allude to the Dudleytown curse and refer to many of these myths and legends as historical fact.

It is full of legend and long-exposed myths put out as though they were true. One would do much better with Peals, Lee, or Roth." The curse was revived in a 1970s National Enquirer article whose headline proclaimed, "Deadly Curse Turned New England Village Into A Ghost Town!".

The uncredited article caught the attention of The Warrens of Connecticut, who proceeded to shoot a Halloween special on the paranormal at the site of the former settlement. After proclaiming that Dudleytown was "demonically possessed", paranormal groups and amateur ghost hunters from all over the world began to descend on the small Connecticut town of Cornwall.

The "curse" allegedly had its beginnings in England where the court of King George II took action against the Barons Dudley for supposed malfeasance against the crown. Their father was supposedly descended from these Dudleys who had fled England in the 18th century to escape accusations of high treason. The Dudley family was said to be cursed for its political opposition to the king. As for the ghostly sightings and demonic activity, no town records of such occurrences exist to support such claims.

Due to its "haunted" reputation, the area has attracted many ghost hunters. In the late 1990s, accusations of vandals visiting the area committing arson were made, which supposedly resulted in a large forest fire that threatened many of the private residences on the property. More likely the frequent lightning strikes and the dry conditions caused the fire. Following this episode, the Dark Entry Forest Association (which owns the property that includes the site of the former settlement) closed the area down to unauthorized visitors to protect the assets of the community. Not one instance of vandalism has been proven and while the area is a gorgeous place to hike the public owned blue trail, the DEF still continues to keep the area off limits to visitors.

The Legend of Dudley Town

There are two versions of the original legend of Dudley town, They start off with genealogies of the families, which are supposed to be cursed.

First Version

It is historically noted that in 1510 Edmund Dudley was beheaded for planning to overthrow King Henry VII of England. It is said that for this reason he had a curse placed on him, his living family, and any of his descendants. Edmund Dudley’s son, John Dudley was the Duke of Northumberland and now having a severe disliking for Royalty, he also plotted to overthrow the king by getting his son (Lord Guilford Dudley) to marry Lady Jane Grey. The plan was unsuccessful and all three were beheaded. Soon after another of his sons traveled to France and returned with the plague killing thousands, including himself. The final of the three sons Robert the Earl of Leicester wanted to escape the curse and moved out of England. This third son had a child named William Dudley; William came to America in 1630 and settling in Guilford CT fathered the boys who came to Cornwall after the French and Indian wars. The story begins from here . . . Cornwall with the Dudleys in the mid 1700's.

Second version
Thomas Dudley, a man from Massachusetts, is related to the Edmund Dudley from the previous version he is Uncle to. Brothers settle the Dudley town area. The brothers' names are Abijah, Bavzillai, Gideon, and Abviel. They founded Dudley town in 1632. The uncle becomes a governor and is supposed to be a horrible man, killing everyone who is not a Puritan. One of the people he kills places a curse on the man and the Dudley town land. Thomas Dudley (in this legend) meets a horrible fate; people found him hacked to death in the area that would in the future be Dudley town. The story starts here . . .

The story

In 1747 Thomas Griffis (sometimes referred to in town records as Griffin) was one of the first to settle the land two years before the first road was built in Dudley Town.[5] Other families soon moved in nearby. That there were Dudleys in Cornwall before 1747 there can be no doubt as Abile appears on a tax list of 1744, and by 1748 Gideon Dudley had been recognized as a tax payer. According to the author the exact relationship of these men is not known but it is presumed that they were brothers. He also states that there was an Abijah and a Martin Dudley as well.

Due to the sheer numbers of Dudleys on the mountain the name of the town was so given. Dudleytown was incorporated in 1740. The farmers grew flax, wheat, corn and other foods. Its small streams were dammed to supply power for at least three mills ( the ruins of some are still visible). The town being so isolated had its spiritual needs supplied by the Congregational Church in Cornwall Plain and to a lesser extent Warren. When death came to a Dudleytown family they couldn't bury their dead until an ox cart could carry the departed down the mountain to the Cornwall cemeteries. There was never a church or a graveyard in Dudleytown. The first recorded death occurred in 1792, when during a barn raising, Gersham Hollister fell from the structure and died.

Another odd thing that happened was Nathaniel Carter, the man who bought Abiel’s house felt something was wrong with the town so he moved his family away and somehow one of his sons was left behind. Nathan the son who was left became the only lucky member of the family when in October 1764 mother, baby, and father were killed by Indians and the three remaining children taken captive. His brother and his family then died of a cholera epidemic.

In 1804, General Swift's third wife, Sarah Faye, was killed by lightening during an April thunderstorm,

Horace Greeley married Mary Cheney, a Dudley town resident. The following was strongly emphasized by bold type and is underscored by the author; She WAS born in Dudleytown, and DID die a violent death. Mary Cheney Greeley hung herself just one week before her husband lost his bid for the presidency of these United States! She did this by placing a noose around her neck and stepping off a chair.

An interesting and little known fact is that Horace Greeley and his wife Mary were very good friends with the famous “Fox Sisters” who became world renown for speaking with the dead. The following is from the book “Spooks Deluxe” by Danton Walker c.1956

From the time the Fox sisters “discovered” spiritualism in 1847 in the little town of Hydesville, near Rochester, until they recanted forty years later (for quite a sum of money), the subject was a matter of intense worldwide investigation, argument and even violent controversy. Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Herald, was intensely interested in it and was one of the staunchest defenders of the Fox sisters, all three of them- Leah, Margaretta and Kate- even permitting them to occupy his town house when he was away in the country with his ailing wife.

Did the Fox Sisters ever visit them in Dudleytown? What was ailing Mary? Was she too hearing the voices of the dead? Something in Dudleytown drove her to hang herself. We just can’t be sure in knowing if the curse is real.

What is sure is that Dudleytown drew in people of note from far flung places, touched their lives in dark and mysterious ways and it continues to do so to this day.

After the Greeleys the curse struck again when a family named Carter settled in Dudleytown from Killingworth. They built a small cabin only to have it ransacked by Indians who then killed his wife and infant child. Two older girls and a Son were taken by them and brought to Canada. The girls were later rescued by the Redcoats but the boy having adopted the ways of the Cherokees decided to never return to civilization.

Crops started failing, many more people died and farm animals went missing and it seems that everyone left.

John Brophy moved to the area in 1892 and started to notice strange things. First his two children went missing and then his sheep and his wife died suddenly. In 1901 he came into a nearby town muttering about hoofed things and demons, his clothing tattered and torn; that night he disappeared forever.

Dudleytown sat vacant for a number of years, when Dr. William Clarke, a cancer specialist from New York City, came upon the site at the beginning of the 20th century. Clarke, a nature lover, fell in love with its serenity and seclusion and purchased one hundred acres or so to build a summer cottage. Some years after the cottage was built, Dr. Clark was away on an emergency call in New York City and returned several days later to find that his wife, Harriet, had gone completely insane, allegedly following an attack of something terrifying that came out of the forest. Harriet was never the same afterwards and she eventually took her own life.

The Truth Behind the Deaths and Madness

The first madness that is mentioned in the legend is that of Abiel. According to Cornwall vital records, Abiel was 90 when he died. Senility wasn’t understood as a part of old age and madness was sometimes considered supernatural in origin. William Tanner, the man who in one legend was accused of murder, lived to the age of 104 and his “madness" may be attributed to extreme old age as well.

Gershon Hollister, the man whom Tanner supposedly murdered, actually fell to his death from an unfinished barn. Nathaniel Carter and his family moved into Indian Territory and were killed by Indians. The children who were taken captive were later ransomed back to the British.

There were two plagues that swept through the entirety of Cornwall as well as many other places. Dudleytown was not, therefore, somehow singled out by mysterious forces for special treatment.

As for the woman who was killed by lightning, she did not live in Dudley Town proper but in the surrounding area instead. That region is filled with tall trees, and lightning strikes are not an unusual occurrence.

John Brophy was the next person in the legend. His two children who "disappeared" were being charged with robbery, and it is possible that they were merely trying to escape the law. But then, in an especially cruel twist of the karmic knife, his wife died of tuberculosis and his house burnt down. Although nobody knows what happened to John, it seems understandable that he might have wanted to move on after what he had been through.

Dr. Clarke, the final person in the story, remarried after the death of his first wife. He, his second wife and a few colleagues founded the Dark Entry Forest Association (DEF) which owns Dudley Town. The book "The Legend of Dudleytown" by Rev. Gary P. Dudley has a website that refers to town records which verify that Dr. Clarke died in Cornwall, CT and that Mrs Clarke died in Sharon, CT. Current residents of DEF continue to enjoy the peaceful section of the woods that remain relatively cool during the heat of summer.

The following is the text of a press release by the current owners, Dark Entry Forest, Inc., of Cornwall Bridge, CT:

“News Release”

Please release this on October 15, 22 & 29, 2001. Dark Entry Forest, Inc. is privately owned land, which is posted thoroughly with “No Trespassing” and “No Parking” signs on all roadways leading into the area known as Dudleytown. Dudleytown is not on state property, nor is it in a state forest; therefore this property is not open to the public. The Connecticut State Police and Department of Environmental Protection Officers will continue to patrol and strictly enforce all trespassing and illegal parking laws and regulations. The owners of Dark Entry Forest, Inc. will seek the arrest and prosecution of all trespassers to the full extent of the law. Additionally, parking is prohibited on the roads leading into Dark Entry Forest and owners will be ticketed and vehicles will be towed should they be blocking vehicular traffic and/or driveways. This year Law Enforcement Officers have been summoned 79 times to the Dark Entry Forest area, resulting in arrests for criminal trespass, disorderly conduct, illegal parking and littering. We will also assist the police by obtaining vehicle registration numbers and photographing them for evidence in citizen complaints. Dark Entry Forest, Inc. regrets having to take these measures, but we are dedicated to the preservation of our fragile woodlands, as well as our own peace and tranquility.

John Warner Barber

2011-01-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

John Warner Barber (February 2, 1798 – June 1885) was an engraver whose books of state, national, and local history featured his vivid illustrations, said to have caught the flavor and appearance of city, town, and countryside scenes in his day.

He was born in East Windsor, Connecticut, and learned his craft from the East Windsor printmaker Abner Reed. In 1823 he opened a business in New Haven, where he produced religious and historical books, illustrated with his own wood and steel engravings.

He traveled around Connecticut, creating ink sketches of town greens, hotels, schools, churches, and harbors and collected local history as he went. He also delved into the works of historians. From all this he produced the book now commonly called Connecticut Historical Collections. The full title is Connecticut Historical Collections, Containing a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, Etc., Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Connecticut with Geographical Descriptions.

The book has been called "the first popular local history published in the U.S." The book sold well -- 7,000 copies in its first year even though it cost three dollars, then an average week's pay. Twelve years later it was reissued and again sold well.

"Today, though his wood engravings are well known, few copies of the book [Connecticut Historical Collections] remain," according to the Bibliopola Press Web site, which, as of August 2006, was selling a reprint version. "Antique dealers unfortunately do a brisk business selling the woodcuts from volumes they have 'broken.'"

Barber started with rough pencil sketches and developed them into more detailed wash drawings. He then transferred the drawings directly to small blocks of boxwood on which he engraved the designs.

"He talked with townspeople, gathered local documents and made quick sketches everywhere he went," according to a New York Times article from December 10, 1989, quoted on a print-selling Web site. "The illustrations depict each town center, with its homes and churches, academies and courthouses sailboats plying a river or harbor, an occasional factory belching puffs of smoke and always a tiny figure or two, often the artist in his top hat, sketching the scene or pointing to the view."

He died in New Haven in June 1885.

His books

Historical Scenes in the United States (1827)

History and Antiquities of New Haven (1831)

Religious Events (1832)

Historical Collections of Connecticut (1836)

Historical Collections of Massachusetts (Worcester, 1839)

A History of the Amistad Captives, coauthored by E.L. Barber (New Haven, 1840)[5]

History and Antiquities of New England, New York, and New Jersey (1841)

Historical Collections of New York, coauthored by Henry Howe, of New Haven (1841)

Elements of General History (New Haven, 1844)

Historical Collections of New Jersey, coauthored by Henry Howe, of New Haven (1844)

Historical Collections of Virginia, coauthored by Henry Howe, of New Haven (1844)

Incidents in American History (New York, 1847)

Historical Collections of Ohio, coauthored by Henry Howe, of New Haven (1847)

Religious Emblems and Allegories (1848)

Historical, Poetical, and Pictorial American Scenes, coauthored by Elizabeth G. Barber (1850)

European Historical Collections (1855)

Our Whole Country, Historical and Descriptive (Cincinnati, 1861)

An 1835 engraving by John Barber showing the North Haven

2011-01-23T09:40:00.001-08:00

The Mattabesec Indians

2010-12-26T12:28:00.001-08:00

Mattabesset or Mattabeseck were Native American that loved along the Mattabeseck River. The Mattabesset were a branch of the Algonquian Indian tribe but it is not known if the Mattabesecks were a distinct tribe or simply the members of a larger tribe resident at Mattabeseck. However, in 1920 Encyclopedia Americana lists them as part of the Wappinger Confederation. The last remnants of the tribe left in the late 18th century for upstate New York, and were among the many New England Indian groups that merged with the Indians at Schaghticoke. The Mattabesset spoke a language of the Algonquin family, however the language is now extinct.

In early Dutch maps of the American Colonies from the early 17th Century, the term Mattabeseck was the area of land just to the north of New Haven, Connecticut between the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers. This land was eventually absorbed by the English Colony of Connecticut.

The Dutch used the word to name Middletown, becuase in its orignal meaning the word meant 'land between waters', in both places, New Haven and Middletown, it refered to a place where boats could dock and trade.

One Woman Buys Ten Private Islands /Conn. Widow Buys Islands Off L.I. Sound

2010-12-26T12:00:00.000-08:00

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

The Associated PressMonday, December 11, 2006; 2:30 PM

One Woman Buys Ten Private Islands /Conn. Widow Buys Islands Off L.I. Sound

BRANFORD, Conn. -- Some people collect stamps. Christine Svenningsen collects small islands. The widow, whose private ways and extravagant tastes in real estate have tongues wagging along Connecticut's coast, has spent about $33 million in recent years to buy 10 of the Thimble Islands in Long Island Sound.
The secluded islands, known by the Mattabesec Indians as "the beautiful sea rocks," have attracted legends and luminaries for generations. Circus star Tom Thumb found love on the islands, and treasure hunters have combed them for Captain Kidd's buried riches.
Svenningsen's buying spree has created something of a mystery.
"It's like a movie," said Valerie Wiel, who owns a market on the mainland town of Branford, of which the islands are a part. "Is she going to buy the whole town? The town has been pretty much the same for a long time. To me this points to more change than people would be comfortable with."
Svenningsen, the middle-aged widow of a party goods magnate, bought her latest island last week for $2.7 million and has her eye on another one. She also typically buys the few houses on the islands.
"There's no master plan," Svenningsen said in what she called her first and only interview. "They're like little pieces of art. I get to put my brush to them."
An artist, she is renovating many of the historic homes and paints the furniture with bright fish and other nautical themes. She fills her islands with colorful gardens, including one with lillies.
"You can smell it before you get to the dock with your boat," she said.
Of the hundreds of Thimble Islands, about 25 are considered habitable. They are all within three miles of the coastline and are reachable only by boat. Tour boats have taken sightseers among the islands for generations. The islands were named long ago for thimbleberries, or black raspberries, which once grew wild there.
Houses on the islands have long been used for social gatherings for the rich and famous as well as for summer vacations for families of modest means. President William H. Taft and actor James Earl Jones were among the visitors, while "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau and his wife, newscaster Jane Pauley, own an island home.
Svenningsen's late husband, John, bought a home on the islands in the late 1970s. After he died in 1997, she began to buy up more of the islands.
She bought the house where Tom Thumb courted "Miss Emily." Local legend has it that his boss, P.T. Barnum, ordered Thumb instead to marry "Miss Lavinia," another of his performers. He obeyed, marrying her in 1863.
Tom and Emily's names remain etched in a rock near the house. Svenningsen said she plans to rebuild a bridge that connected the house to another island before it was washed away by a 1938 hurricane.
"She tends to take very good care of the islands," said John Herzan of the New Haven Preservation trust. "It's not pure preservation, but it's high-quality renovation."
Svenningsen shocked the town in 2003 when she paid $23.5 million for the 7.75-acre Rogers Island, with a Tudor-style mansion, tennis court, docks, swimming pool and bath house. It remains the highest price one of the Thimbles has fetched.
She said developers might otherwise buy up the islands and build condominiums.
"It's not the Hamptons and I don't think any one wants it to become the Hamptons," Svenningsen said, referring to the celebrity enclave on New York's Long Island. "I think we all like it the way it is, a little slower pace of life."
Her purchases have come as soaring real estate prices, especially along the waterfront, have caused a dramatic jump in property taxes. That has forced some property owners who lived on the islands and the mainland for generations to sell.
Some worry that the islands are increasingly becoming a playground for the rich. The days when families stayed in small homes with kerosene lamps, no televisions and only rainwater for showers are giving way to trophy homes with lush lawns.
"The Thimble Islands were quaint. I don't think they're quaint any more," said Anthony DaRos, a former Branford selectman who has worked on the homes as a contractor for decades. "They were such a great playground for everybody."

Thimble Islands

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thimble Islands are an archipelago of small islands in Long Island Sound, in and near the harbor of Stony Creek, Connecticut in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut, 41°15′52″N, 72°45′11″W. Known to the Mattabesec Indians as "the beautiful sea rocks", they consist of a jumble of granite rocks, ledges, and outcroppings resulting from glaciation, numbering between 100 and 365 depending on where the line is drawn between an island and a mere rock. The islands serve as a rest stop for migrating seals. Some of the shoreline residences in nearby Pine Orchard, Connecticut have a spectacular view of the Thimbles. Although they are said to be named for the thimbleberry, a relative of the black raspberry, that plant is seldom seen in the area, being more frequent in northern New England. Other species of blackberry and raspberry, however, are sometimes referred to by residents of the area as thimbleberries.
The first European to discover the islands was Adrian Block, in 1614. Legend says that Captain Kidd buried his treasure here, causing intermittent interest among treasure hunters who believe they have unearthed a clue to its location, although more interest is generally paid to Gardiner's Island, 30 miles away.
The islands themselves - long prized by sailors on the Sound as a sheltered deep-water anchorage -- comprise 23 that are inhabited (most of them wooded), numerous barren rocks and hundreds of reefs visible only at low tide.
Horse Island, the largest island at 17 acres (69,000 m²), is owned by Yale University and is maintained as an ecological laboratory by Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History. Southern Connecticut State University keeps Outer Island for similar purposes, and Frisbie Island is maintained as a sanctuary for wild birds. Bear Island is home to a granite quarry which exported high quality stone to such constructions as the Lincoln Memorial, Grant's Tomb, and the base of the Statue of Liberty. A much larger quarry just north on the mainland is still working, and supplied the distinctive pink/orange Stony Creek granite for the Brooklyn Bridge and the newest House Office Building in Washington.
The inhabited islands bear a total of 81 houses: 14 islands have only one, one (Governor) has 14, one (Money) has 32, and the rest have between two and six. The houses are built in a variety of styles, ranging from a 27 room Tudor mansion, with tennis and basketball courts and a caretaker's residence on 7.75 acres on Rogers Island, to small summer cottages built on stilts or small clusters of buildings connected by wooden footbridges. Some of the houses cover a small island completely, while Money Island, 12 acres (49,000 m²) in size, bears an entire village of 32 houses, a church and post office buildings, concealed among tall trees. Some of the houses were once occupied year-long, but currently they are only used in the summer. The exposed nature of the houses makes them dangerous during storms; local residents still talk about the hurricane of 1938, which killed seven people. The exclusivity of the houses has made them quite expensive, therefore residents are divided between local families which have owned their home for generations, and more recent residents who tend to be wealthy. The least expensive houses, on Money Island, are appraised at about $600,000. Several are well-known; current and past residents of the Islands range from General Tom Thumb on Cut in Two Island East to Garry Trudeau and Jane Pauley. President William Taft established his "Summer White House" on Davis Island for two years. Residents of the area tend to observe the privacy of island dwellers, obeying the 5-mile-an-hour speed limit for motor craft and never landing without an invitation.
Only six islands get electrical power through underwater cables from the shore; the rest utilize some combination of generators, solar power, batteries, or kerosene and propane. About half the islands get fresh water through underwater pipes from shore; the rest utilize wells or rain water, or have containers of water delivered. No sewers serve the islands, requiring the use of septic tanks for all waste water treatment.
Sailing through the islands can be tricky for those unfamiliar with the area, due to the disorientation caused by the myriad of similar islands (particularly at night), the hidden underwater rocks and ledges, and the complex currents caused by the tides acting on the channels between the rocks.
In the warm season, a small ferry transports people and things between the islands and the Stony Creek harbor on the hour from 8am to 8pm. Prior to the advent of telephones, islanders would hang a red flag on the dock to request a ferry visit. An on-call water taxi has recently been added, and three tour boats take passengers on scenic cruises; kayak tours are also available. Many residents have their own boats, and some occasionally arrive by seaplane.
Some of the Thimble Islands' large enough to have names include Hen Island, Money Island, East Stooping Bush Island, Potato Island, Smith Island, Cut in Two Island (East and West), Governor Island, tiny Phelps Island, High Island, Rogers Island, Wheeler Island aka Ghost Island, Mother in Law Island aka Prudden Island, Pot Island, Horse Island, West Crib Island, East Crib Island, Little Pumpkin Island, Davis Island, Lewis Island, Kidd's Island, Outer Island, Reel Island, Belden Island, Burr Island, Frisbie Island, Jepson Island, Wayland Island, and Bear Island.
In 1976, party goods magnate John Svenningsen of Amscan purchased West Crib Island. After his death in 1997 his widow Christine Svenningsen purchased Wheeler Island in 1998, followed by the purchase of Rogers, Phelps, Jepson, and Cut in Two East in 2003, Reel in 2004 and Cut in Two West in 2005 at a total cost of about $30 million, thus making her owner of more than 20% of the habitable islands and the largest taxpayer in Stony Creek. Locals speculate on any motivation other than simple love of the islands, but approve of her meticulous upkeep and restorations of the properties.
As outcroppings of the granite bedrock which were once the tops of hills but have become islands since due to the rise in sea level after the most recent ice age, the Thimble Islands are much more stable than most of the islands in Long Island Sound, which are terminal moraines of rubble left by retreating glaciers.
Note: The correct term for these type of islands is a "drumlin" Cheyenne Morrison.
One woman's passion: the $33m Tom Thumb islands

Reclusive artist buys up historic US sites to 'put my brush on them'

Ed Pilkington in New York

Wednesday December 13, 2006The Guardian

To the Mattabesec Indians who used to populate the coast of western Connecticut before the Europeans arrived, they were known as "the beautiful sea rocks". The archipelago of small islands in Stony Creek in Long Island Sound are homes to migrating seals and sea birds; some of the islands are no bigger than ledges lapped by the waves.
ver the past few years today's residents of the Thimble Islands, as they are now called, have noticed a mysterious pattern. One after another, the larger and more habitable of the islands are being bought up by the same person - Christine Svenningsen to be exact, a painter who keeps a very low profile and only occasionally displays her work in local galleries. Last week she bought what is thought to have been at least her 10th island in the creek, paying $2.7m for it and raising her overall spending on the islands to about $33m.The first of the islands owned by the Svenningsens, West Crib, was bought by her husband, John, in the 1970s. He made a fortune selling party goods such as balloons, streamers and hats, building his business into one of the largest such trades in the world.
after he died in 1997 that his widow began buying up more of the islands. Mrs Svenningsen, who is listed in the local council directory as the second most wealthy concern in Branford after the Connecticut Light and Power Company, is thought today to own almost half of the 23 habitable islands in the chain. The grandest of her possessions is the 7.8-acre Rogers Island which she bought in 2003 for $23.5m, that sports a 27-room mock-Tudor mansion with tennis and basketball courts.
Thumb, billed at circuses before his death in 1883 as the world's smallest man at 3ft 4in, is one of several historic characters to have peopled the Thimble Islands. Captain Kidd, the pirate, dropped anchor here and possibly buried his treasure too, say locals.
President William Taft established a "summer White House" on one of the islands in the 1900s, while granite from Bear Island was used to build the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
Mrs Svenningsen is extremely media-shy and gave what she described as her only interview to the Associated Press. She told the agency she is motivated to buy the islands partly to preserve the way of life they represent. She said she wanted to protect them from condominium developers, referring disparagingly by comparison to the Long Island - a playground for the wealthy.
"It's not the Hamptons and I don't think any one wants it to become the Hamptons. I think we all like it the way it is, a little slower pace of life."
She said her island possessions were like "little pieces of art. I get to put my brush to them."
She was speaking partly literally. She has renovated several houses on the islands, painting the furniture with bright fishes and seascapes. She also creates fragrant gardens, including a lily garden. "You can smell it before you get to the dock with your boat," she told Associated Press.

Another 'Thimble Island' sells at a bargain

Mark Zaretsky,New Haven Register

Connecticut, USA 12/04/2006

-BRANFORD — Christine Svenningsen, a true fan of the rocky and secluded Thimble Islands, has continued showing her appreciation for the beauty and serenity of the Thimbles with a flourish of a pen in her rather well-appointed checkbook.
Svenningsen just bought another island.
She added Beldens Island, which was listed for $3.9 million last year, for the bargain basement price of just $2.77 million — and she got some offshore oyster grounds in the deal, to boot.
The purchase of Beldens Island, a 1.04-acre expanse that, according to assessor’s records has one house, a wooden shed, a wooden deck and some docks on it, recently was recorded in the town clerk’s office.
It brings the number of Thimble islands now owned by Svenningsen, or limited liability companies she is a principal of, as is the case with Beldens Island, to at least 10 — and the amount she has spent to buy them over the years to at least $33 million.
Svenningsen, the widow of John Svenningsen, a Westchester County, N.Y., party goods magnate who died in 1997 at age 66, sent local jaws a-flapping back in 2003 when she bought the 7.75-acre Rogers Island for the then-unheard-of sum of $23.5 million. It remains the highest price one of the Thimbles has fetched.
Svenningsen also may be angling for an 11th Thimble.
She’s listed as a principal of East Crib LLC, which registered with the secretary of the state’s office earlier this year, although no sale has been recorded for East Crib Island, a 0.52-acre rock in the Thimbles archipelago off Stony Creek.
Svenningsen or her husband has owned neighboring West Crib Island, which has two houses on 1.38 acres, since 1976.
East Crib Island is owned by the Joel Schiavone Irrevocable Family Trust. The trust represents four of the well-known New Haven developer’s children, who inherited the island, which has one house on it, after their grandmother, Esther Schiavone, died in 2002.
Allyx Schiavone of New Haven, one of the siblings, declined to comment Friday on whether a sale was in the works.
The woman who sold Beldens Island to Svenningsen, Geraldine Chandler of Killingworth, who, according to assessor’s records, bought it with her then-husband, John, for $250,000 in 1985, also declined to comment.
Svenningsen has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached for comment.
Waterbury attorney Thomas E. Porzio, listed as the agent for Beldens Island LLC, which is the island’s new owner on paper, could not be reached for comment.
Beldens Island’s assessed value, according to the 2004 assessment, was $715,900, including $603,300 for the land, $104,200 for the house itself and $8,400 for outbuildings and extra building features, according to town records.
Besides Beldens Island, Rogers Island and West Crib Island, Svenningsen or limited-liability companies she’s associated with bought Wheeler’s Island in 1998, Rogers Island (also known as Yon Comis) in 2003, Phelps Island in 2003, Jepson (or Rock) Island in 2003, Cut-In-Two East Island in 2003, Reel Island in 2004 and Cut-In-Two West Island in 2005.
Over the years, she also purchased a house in Stony Creek with 56 feet of water frontage on Linden Point Road, the small Spencer’s Rock adjacent to Rogers Island and a six-car garage on the mainland at 218 Thimble Islands Road.
The most Svenningsen has paid for any Thimble other than Rogers Island was $3.4 million for 0.8-acre Cut-In-Two East, one of the most famous of the Thimble Islands because legendary P.T. Barnum-era circus star Tom Thumb spent a summer there courting "Miss Emily," the daughter of the island’s owners at the time. According to local legend, Barnum is said to have ordered Thumb instead to marry "Miss Livinia," another of his performers, but Tom and Emily’s names remain etched in a rock near the house.
At the time of the sale, Cut-In-Two East’s 1,300-square-foot house, built in 1900, featured a living room with walls covered in Barnum-era circus and theater posters that commemorated Tom Thumb’s visits.
There are between 100 and 365 Thimble Islands — depending on how you define an island — some not much bigger than a boulder. Of the 25 habitable islands, some of the homes are seasonal and some have been winterized.
Tour boats have taken sightseers among the islands for generations. According to local legend, pirate Captain Kidd left treasure buried on the aptly named Money Island, the most populated of the Thimbles.

Women in a mill in Ansonia

2010-12-26T11:49:00.001-08:00

Connecticut Leads All States, Most Nations In Development Index

2010-12-17T09:33:00.000-08:00

In an index measuring life expectancy, educational attainment and productivity, Connecticut not only ranks higher than all other states but is ahead of all countries except Norway and Germany, according to data compiled by The Economist magazine.

The British journal merged a state-by-state index, which was reported earlier this month, and a United Nations Human Development Index, to reach its conclusion.
States ranking below Connecticut were New York, Wyoming, California and Illinois, in descending order. Nations below Germany — and below Connecticut — were Sweden, Australia, Switzerland and the United States.

— Mara Lee

The waterwheel, Hamilton Park, Waterbury

2010-12-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Suffield

2010-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

New London

2010-12-14T07:38:00.001-08:00

Old Hartford

2010-12-14T07:37:00.001-08:00

Seymour (?)

2010-12-14T07:36:00.001-08:00

Middletown

2010-12-14T07:35:00.001-08:00

Old Simsbury

2010-12-14T07:29:00.002-08:00

Winstead

2010-12-14T07:29:00.000-08:00

Old Lyme

2010-12-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

Connecticut to California

2010-12-14T07:26:00.001-08:00

Old New Haven

2010-12-14T07:25:00.001-08:00

Old Ansonia

2010-12-14T07:19:00.001-08:00

Farrel's foundry in Ansonia-click photo for complete view

2010-12-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

John P. D'Agostino Sr , artist

2010-12-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

John P. D'Agostino Sr (June 13, 1929 – November 28, 2010)[4] was a comic-book artist best known for his Archie Comics work. He was also the letterer for the lead story in the Marvel Comics landmark The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), as well as other seminal Marvel comics. (Under the name Johnny Dee) D'Agostino was born in Cervinara, Italy and emigrated to the United States with his family during childhood. He mentored new-hire Stan Goldberg, a 16-year-old colorist who would later become one of Archie Comics' most prominent cartoonists. Goldberg recalled, "I found out there was an opening in the coloring department at Timely Comics, so I went up there. They needed another body to be in the room that handled the coloring, and that's where I worked. ...[T]he man who was in charge of the coloring department is still a dear friend of mine, Jon D'Agostino." Following the 1992 death of his first wife, he married Elvira "Vivi" Testa D'Agostino in 1995, D'Agostino's The Bronx to Ansonia, where his two sons live. He died there of bone cancer.

John D'Agostino, poker player

2010-12-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

John D'Agostino (November 3, 1982) is an American professional poker player who hails from Seymour. As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,600,000.

Jeff Tuohy - Knock On Wood

2010-12-05T06:32:00.000-08:00

Eugene O'Neill of new London

2010-12-05T06:23:00.000-08:00

LILY:
Oh, Curt is the last one to be bothered by anyone's morals. Curt and I are the unconventional ones of the family. The trouble with Bigelow, Martha, is that he was too careless to conceal his sins--and that won't go down in this Philistine small town. You have to hide and be a fellow hypocrite or they revenge themselves on you. Bigelow didn't. He flaunted his love-affairs in everyone's face. I used to admire him for it. No one exactly blamed him, in their secret hearts. His wife was a terrible, straitlaced creature. No man could have endured her. [Disgustedly.] After her death he suddenly acquired a bad conscience. He'd never noticed the children before. I'll bet he didn't even know their names. And then, presto, he's about in our midst giving an imitation of a wet hen with a brood of ducks. It's a bore, if you ask me. [Shaking her head.] His reform is too sudden. He's joined the hypocrites, I think.
Reprinted from The Hairy Ape, Anna Christie, The First Man. Eugene O'Neill. New York: Boni & Liveright, 1922.

Bridgeport, Connecticut: Then & Now

2010-12-04T16:48:00.000-08:00

The Buckley's are an old Connecticut family . Charlie Rose - An Appreciation of William F. Buckley

2010-12-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

Mr. Kennedy comes to CT Part 1

2010-12-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

For some strange reason, all four films have the same opening, please bear with it... Mr. Kennedy comes to CT Part 2

2010-12-04T16:40:00.000-08:00

Mr. Kennedy comes to CT Part 3

2010-12-04T16:39:00.000-08:00

Mr. Kennedy comes to CT Part 4

2010-12-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

Give it a minute, its interesting once it starts: Connecticut's State Capitol: Home to History | Hosted by State Senator K...

2010-12-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

Bloomfield Conn. 1930

2010-12-03T15:14:00.001-08:00

1930 yearbook of the Gunnery School

2010-12-03T15:13:00.001-08:00

Bumper cars, Savan Rock?

2010-12-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

The Old Leatherman

2010-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

The Old Leather Man devoted every day to a pedestrian circuit of a 365-mile, 34-day-long, clockwise trip through southwestern Connecticut and adjacent sections of lower New York State. Dressed from head to toe in a roughly stitched leather suit, the Old Leather Man subsisted on the generosity of the townspeople and farmers who came to know him. He first made his Connecticut appearance before the Civil War, and continued to travel his route through the state until his death in 1889.

Old Saybrooke

2010-12-03T14:57:00.002-08:00

The Old State House

2010-12-03T14:57:00.000-08:00

The Old State House (completed 1796) in Hartford, Connecticut is generally believed to have been designed by noted American architect Charles Bulfinch as his first public building. The State House is currently managed by the Office of Legislative Management of the Connecticut General Assembly. The exterior building and the Senate have been restored to its original Federal style; the Representative's chamber is Victorian, and the halls and courtroom are Colonial Revival.

The Hartford State House is, in appearance, very similar to the Town Hall of Liverpool, England, built in the mid-18th century and perhaps depicted in one of Bulfinch's architecture books. However, all materials came from the United States. Its first story is 20 feet high and constructed from Portland, Connecticut brownstone. The second and third stories are brick patterned in Flemish bond. The cornice is wooden.

The State House has been modified somewhat since it was first built. As originally constructed, the building had neither balustrade or cupola, but the balustrade was added in the early 19th century for the protection of firemen, and the cupola was constructed in 1827 with its bell and John Stanwood's statue of Justice. An original (1796) stone spiral staircase behind the northern arch, designed by Asher Benjamin, led to the second and third floors; it no longer exists. In 1814, the Hartford Convention was held there. In 1839, the start of the Amistad trial was held there.

The building had been in danger of closing in 2008 due to financial constraints. State and Hartford officials have recently signed a 99-year lease placing Connecticut's Old State House under new management. The lease puts the city-owned historic building under the control of the state Office of Legislative Management.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Swordplay, 10th Connecticut Infantry

2010-12-03T14:51:00.001-08:00

Hendrix at Bushnell 1968

2010-12-03T14:49:00.001-08:00

The Oakdale

2010-12-03T14:46:00.000-08:00