State briefs

Malloy to attend meeting of New England governors, premiers

HARTFORD >> Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is traveling to Newfoundland and Labrador to attend the annual Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers.

Malloy was scheduled to participate Monday in sessions concerning energy matters. This year’s conference, which marks the 39th, is expected to focus specifically on regional energy issues, as well as innovations in the energy sector to address climate change.

Malloy was expected to return to Connecticut on Tuesday.

Recently named chairman of the New England Governors Association, Malloy will serve as cochairman of the event with Paul Davis, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The trans-border organization was created in 1973 in recognition of the bond that exists between the six New England states and the five Eastern Canadian provinces.

Growers see strong apple-picking season in region

BOSTON >> As summer winds down in New England, apple-picking season is gearing up with growers forecasting a bumper crop.

The U.S. Apple Association says the six-state harvest is expected to be about 14 percent higher than last year’s and 18 percent above the region’s five-year average. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates total New England apple production will come in at just under 170 million pounds this year.

Growers point to generally favorable weather conditions in early spring and summer and during the pollination period, with little or no damage from frost.

Russell Powell from the New England Apple Growers Association says some areas of the region experienced dry spells over the summer, while a few orchards were battered by severe thunderstorms and damaging hail.

But overall, he said things appeared to be shaping up nicely.

Plans for expanded state park face local criticism

HARTFORD >> State officials are expecting to hear some local criticism when they unveil plans next month to improve the Silver Sands State Park in Milford.

The plan calls for new restrooms, a snack bar and an entrance fee.

Local leaders and residents have made it clear they’re unhappy with the multi-million-dollar upgrade. They predict it will lead to traffic congestion problems in the densely populated neighborhood and put the park’s charm at risk. Many want the park to remain free for residents and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to restore its natural beauty.

DEEP officials are scheduled to present their improvement plans for the park at a public informational meeting in Milford on Sept. 24.

DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain said the agency wants to hear residents’ concerns.

Hometown names school for teacher killed at Newtown

STRATFORD >> A teacher who died trying to protect her students during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown has had a new school named after her.

The Victoria Soto School was dedicated Friday in her hometown of Stratford. The 27-year-old Soto was among six staff members and 20 children killed in the December 2012 shooting.

WTNH-TV reports Jillian Soto said her sister always looked forward to the first day of school, and now children “will always remember who she was and what she did.”

Stratford School Superintendent Janet Robinson was Newtown’s superintendent at the time of the shootings. She says the new school reflects “the joy of learning” that is Soto’s legacy. About 200 students from preschool through second grade will attend the school. There are images of flamingos, Soto’s favorite animal, throughout the building.

Yale urges discussion on renaming college honoring racist

NEW HAVEN >> Yale University’s leaders on Saturday urged a campus conversation about whether to change the name of a residential college named for 19th century alumnus John C. Calhoun, a U.S. vice president and senator from South Carolina who was an ardent supporter of slavery.

Debate over the name began this summer with a petition circulated after nine black worshippers were slain in a Charleston, South Carolina, church. The petition said the Calhoun name, in place since the 1930s, represents “an indifference to centuries of pain and suffering among the black population.”

President Peter Salovey and Dean Jonathan Holloway said in a letter to alumni that weren’t taking a position on the question but urging a discussion in welcoming speeches to first-year students, and “we encourage you to take part as well.”

“Any response should engage the entire community in a thoughtful, campus-wide conversation about the university’s history, the reasons why we remember or honor individuals, and whether historical narratives should be altered when they are disturbing,” the letter said.

Salovey and Holloway posted their remarks to the students on the university’s website, along with suggested scholarly readings and an internal comment site.

Salovey told the students Yale needs to confront its complex, 300-year history in a thoughtful way, and “everyone connected to Yale will have something to contribute to the discussion.”

Holloway, a scholar of African-American history, said the university’s benefactor, 18th century British shipping magnate and philanthropist Elihu Yale, probably didn’t own slaves, but undoubtedly profited from the international slave trade.

Holloway told the students the questions of the university’s identity, national assumptions about race, and their own identities are big questions that “form part of the education that awaits you.”

Scientists gauging health of 20 New England fish stocks

PORTLAND, MAINE >> Scientists are gauging the health of 20 stocks of important New England commercial fish species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will use the assessments for information needed to set annual catch limits for fishermen. The assessments apply to 20 different kinds of groundfish, including Atlantic cod, Pollock and yellowtail flounder. Some of the species are considered overfished while others are in better shape.

Scientists will present the assessments for peer review in September and the final report will be completed in October. Regulatory councils will use the updated information to manage the fisheries.

Police in Manchester investigate overnight home invasion

MANCHESTER >> Police are investigating a reported armed home invasion in Manchester overnight.

Police said the residents in a unit of the Beacon Hill Apartments told investigators a masked man broke into the apartment at about 2:15 a.m. Saturday and threatened them with a handgun.

They were tied up while the man searched the home for cash and small electronics, then left.

WVIT-TV reports a man, woman and their two children were at home.

No one was injured. Police are still looking for the man. They ask people to lock their doors and windows and call police if they see anything suspicious or have information about the crime.