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to the hiring of a new president and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Lottery after a 16-month search. Gregory Smith, who has experience leading the Vermont and Illinois Lottery Corporations, will face the task of repairing the quasi-public agency’s damaged image after scandals ranging from fraud to a cushy separation agreement to a botched drawing that cost the state $1 million. An investigation is continuing.

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to the fire crews who quickly dealt with the blaze on the deck of the barge setting off the pyrotechnics show in Middletown. No one was injured in the incident, according to a fire official, and it was extensive preparation and safety precautions employed as soon as the barge arrived at Harbor Park Friday that were key, Fire Chief Robert Kronenberger said. Middletown, Portland and Cromwell fire departments helped extinguished the blaze.

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to the delay in the start of the widening of I-84 from Exit 3 to Exit 8 in Danbury. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the $715 million project in 2015, but recently the state Department of Transportation pushed the start of construction back by a year. It won’t begin until 2023, if that schedule holds, and reach completion in 2030. For all those motorists stuck in I-84 traffic congestion, the delay is disappointing. We still advocate for the widening to extend eastbound to at least Exit 10 in Newtown because traffic bottlenecks after Exit 8 as three lanes reduce to two.

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to the U.S. Defense POW/ MIA Accounting Agency investigation team which investigated a World War II crash site in France and were able to identify the remains of Staff Sgt. Canty, a Winsted native who was killed in action when he was 22. Canty’s remains were identified on Dec. 12, 2017, by scientists from DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System using mitochondrial DNA analysis, according to a release. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Monday directed U.S. and state flags to fly at halfstaff from sunrise to sunset today to honor Canty. Canty’s remains were returned to his family and a funeral service and burial with full military honors is being held today at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington, D.C., according to the release.