Hartford Courant

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TUESDAY, MAY 3, 2011

IN AFTERMATH OF BIN LADEN’S DEATH, A WOMAN WHO LOST HER HUSBAND ON 9/11 SAYS …

‘I PRAY FOR PEACE’

By JOSH KOVNER, DAVID OWENS and MARA LEE jkovner@courant.com

Jubilation.

That’s what Vycki Higley Pratt said she felt in the few moments that she shared with her daughters Monday, the morning after Osama bin Laden was killed.

Amanda was 4 when her father, Rob Higley, died in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Robyn, 9, was born about a month later, and will forever be a 9/11 baby.

Pratt, who has since remarried, was eight months pregnant with Robyn at the time of the attack. Rob Higley was an executive with Aon Insurance.

“For me, for the girls, it was our little time for jubilation in the kitchen,’’ Pratt said Monday. “Maybe Amanda saw [bin Laden’s] death as something concrete in what really has been a surreal journey, maybe as a sign from her father. And maybe we could envision a smile on my husband’s face — you know, ‘It’s done.’ ” Pratt, who gave birth to a third daughter, Casey, in 2005, confessed to having fears about retaliation. She said she did not want the radical extremists to be egged on by the impromptu celebrations in Washington and New York City.

“I hope that peace comes out of this,’’ said Pratt, 39, who works with mentally and physically challenged adults. “I pray for peace.’’

She said she wished that bin Laden’s death had come sooner, but that she has faith in the decisions and actions of the LOCAL, A10

MARK MIRKO | MMIRKO@COURANT.COM

DUANE ORLOSKE of Windsor sits in the garden he has dedicated to his wife, Margaret, who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. “It’s nice to have that feeling that he [bin Laden] ended up paying for what he did,” Orloske said.

The Go-Ahead 2 P.M. EDT SUNDAY

THE ASSAULT

President Barack Obama reviews final preparations for the assault on Osama bin Laden’s compound.

The helicopters drop the SEALS behind the walls of the compound.

For the next 40 minutes the assault team engages in a Gate firefight while trying to reach bin Laden.

MISSION BEGINS

KA

SH

Two helicopters carrying two dozen members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team Six leave Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

IR

ESCAPE Assault team boards helicopters with bin Laden’s body.

THE KILL

Jalalabad Federally Administered Tribal Areas

INDIA Abbottabad Islamabad 100 miles

3:50 p.m. EDT: Obama learns that bin Laden has been tentatively identified.

9:30 p.m. EDT: Obama begins notifiying Congress.

Line of control

PAKISTAN

AFGHANISTAN Kabul

M

SUCCESS

Three-story building is eight times the size of nearby houses

SEALS reach larger of two buildings in compound where bin Laden was living on the second and third floors. Bin Laden fired on the assault team, and may have tried to use his wife as a shield. Bin Laden and the woman are killed.

Story, Page A3

10-18’ outer walls are topped with barbed wire

SPEECH TO NATION 11:35 p.m. EDT: Obama announces that bin Laden has been killed.

BURIED AT SEA 1 a.m. EDT Monday: Bin Laden’s body buried at sea.

WES RAND / THE HARTFORD COURANT

At State Memorial, A Somber Day

E

LYNN GALVIN of Norwalk places flowers Monday on her brother Thomas E. Galvin’s stone marker at the 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.

Galvin was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.

verybody’s celebrating, but these people still feel the sharp, sudden pain of Sept. 11.

The families and friends of the dead trickled in to the 9/11 memorial at Sherwood Island State Park all day Monday, arriving for private contemplation at a public the day RICK GREEN place, after the great rgreen@courant.com enemy was killed.

There is no jubilation at this altar overlooking Long Island Sound. There aren’t crowds or chants of “U-S-A.” “I see these people celebrating. I get it.

But they have no idea what it’s like to be directly affected,’’ Kristy Gray explains quietly after she carefully arranges a bouquet of flowers near the small granite stone bearing the name of her brother’s

Korky Vann’s Deal Of The Day Comic-book lovers will be in heaven this Saturday as thousands of independent comic-book shops throughout the country will give away comic books to anyone who stops by. More than 2 million comic books were handed out last year. Living, Page D1

BETTINA HANSEN | BHANSEN@COURANT.COM

Senate Debates Budget

How Much Is That Kitty?

Some tax changes in the $40.1 billion state budget being debated by the Senate. t Sales tax: Increases from 6 percent to 6.35 percent. t Cigarette tax: Increases from $3 to $3.40 a pack.

CTNow, Page B1

At the Connecticut Cat Connection in Windsor, nearly 70 cats are waiting for new owners. CTNow, Page B1

Cloudy But Warmer Cloudy with a chance of late-day showers.

High of 73. Forecast, Page A2

t Tweets: A Twitter user reported details of the attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. Page A3 t Helicopter failure: Sikorsky officials weren’t commenting on reports that one of their helicopters failed during the attack.

Business, Page A8 t Security: The state’s main transportation hubs are on high alert. Page A12 t Jeff Jacobs: The news of bin Laden’s death brought no joy to Judy Keane. Sports, Page C1

ON THE WEB Visit courant.com for continuing coverage of Osama bin Laden’s death.

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MORNING NEWS

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MONDAY, MAY 2, 2011

9/11 MASTERMIND

U.S. FORCES KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN Al-Qaida Leader Was In Pakistan

By MARGARET TALEV and JONATHAN S. LANDAY McClatchy Newspapers

AP

OSAMA BIN LADEN, long a target of the U.S. for his role in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., was killed by U.S. special forces in a raid on a mansion in Pakistan Sunday. “Justice has been done,” President Barack Obama said.

Gas Tax Hike Abandoned 3-Cent Increase Cut From Budget

BUDGET DEAL

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING

t Union concessions: No agreement yet.

ckeating@courant.com

HARTFORD — With gasoline prices skyrocketing, the Senate will vote Monday on a final budget agreement that avoids any increase in the state’s gasoline tax this year.

Negotiators finished the last details after working through the weekend at the state Capitol, and they agreed to drop the 3-cents-a-gallon increase that Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy had proposed in mid-February.

AT THE CAPITOL Democrats in both the House of Representatives and the Senate had balked at increasing the gasoline tax at a time when gas prices have spiked every week and increased seemingly every day recently. Gasoline prices rose nationally during April by 32 cents a gallon — essentially a penny daily.

t Gas tax: Drops proposed 3-cent a gallon tax increase.

t Senate: Expected to vote Monday. t House: Approval expected Tuesday.

Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams said Sunday that dropping the gasoline tax increase was an important provision of the two-year, $40 billion budget.

Although the gasoline tax has been dropped, the final budget package still includes increases in most of the state’s major taxes — on income, corporations, estates, sales, cigarettes and cigars.

The sales tax will increase from 6 percent to 6.35 percent on retail items, and the so-called “luxury tax’’ will be 7 percent on cars worth more than $50,000, GAS TAX, A4

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden is dead.

President Barack Obama made the dramatic late-night announcement Sunday from the East Room of the White House, ending the long, elusive international manhunt for the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“Justice has been done,” Obama said in an 10-minute address shortly before midnight.

Bin Laden, perhaps the most reviled man in the eyes of Americans, also was sought for the 1998 JASON REED | REUTERS bombings of PRESIDENT BARACK U.S. embassies OBAMA announced the death in east Africa.

Four helicopof Osama bin Laden Sunday. ters launched the attack in the INSIDE Bilal area of Abt Speech: The president bottabad, about praised the military for its long 62 miles north effort to track down the leader of Islamabad, a Pakistani intelof al-Qaida. Page A8 ligence official told The Associated Press. One of the helicopters crashed after it apparently was hit by fire from the ground, the official said. He gave no word on casualties.

He said the helicopters took off from a Pakistani air base in the north of the country.

Women and children were taken into custody during the raid, he said, according to the AP. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Obama said a possible lead to bin Laden’s whereabouts emerged last August, but took “many months” to run down.

He determined last week that there was enough intelligence to take action, he said. Sunday’s targeted operation went down without harm to Americans and without civilian casualty, he said.

KILLED, A6

Workers Rally For Jobs Unions Gather At Bushnell Park

By MELISSA PIONZIO mpionzio@courant.com

HARTFORD — If not for her husband’s union job as a sheet metal worker, Anna Bouzko says her family would be in trouble financially.

Laid off from a position with The Hartford two years ago, the Wethersfield

UNIONS resident is unable to find work and worries that her husband’s job, which is through Local 40 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, could also be at risk if contracts contin-

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Visit courant.com/laborrally for video and photos from the rally.

ue to be given to non-union employees.

“We need jobs, we worry about retirement,” Bouzko said. “We don’t want to leave the state, we love Connecticut, but if there’s no jobs, we may have to leave.”

Bouzko and her husband, Anatoli, were among hundreds of union workers who streamed into Bushnell Park Sunday for a labor union rally hosted by the Connecticut Laborers’ District Council. Bearing signs and wearing colorful T-shirts with their unions’ logos, many in the crowd were accompanied by spouses and children. Others, such as Valrey Johnson, stood with fellow employees and listened solUNIONS, A4

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THE HARTFORD COURANT

TUESDAY, JULY 5, 2011

C3

NASCAR

SPRINT CUP APPROACHES HALFWAY POINT

ZOOMING IN KYLE BUSCH (third): Ten points off the lead, NASCAR’s reigning bad boy has been solid all year and with two victories looks like a lock to make the Chase once again.

By SHAWN COURCHESNE scourchesne@courant.com

S

print Cup hits the halfway point of its 36-race schedule Saturday night with the Quaker State 400, the first visit to Kentucky Speedway for NASCAR’s top series.

Reaching the halfway point means there will only be 10 races left before NASCAR sets the 12-driver field for its 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup. After the series makes its debut at Kentucky, next on the schedule is the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway July 17, the event NASCAR designates as the start of the “Race for the Chase.”

This year’s Chase offers a new wrinkle. Instead of the top 12 in the standings qualifying for the Chase, the top 10 earn spots with the final two positions left as wild cards.

The wild cards go to the two drivers with the most wins ranked in the second 10 in points.

A look at how things are shaping up:

JIMMIE JOHNSON (sixth): With just one win this year and sitting sixth in the standings, some might look at Johnson, who has won the last five championships, as vulnerable.

Think again. Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports team have historically put things on the cruise control in the regular season before turning up the heat during the Chase.

DENNY HAMLIN (11th): After going into the series finale last year with the points lead before losing out to Johnson, Hamlin was 15th or worse in five of the first eight races this year, with just one top-10 finish during that span. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has rallied over the last nine races, including a win at Michigan International Speedway on June 19.

The Expected Contenders KEVIN HARVICK (first in the standings): Was one of three drivers, along with Denny Hamlin and eventual champion Jimmie Johnson, who went into the final race in 2010 in contention for the championship and it looks like nothing has changed. Harvick has a series-leading three victories this year, matching his total for all of 2010.

The Pleasant Surprises DALE EARNHARDT JR. (seventh): Despite competing for arguably the best organization in the sport, Earnhardt has been abysmal the last two years, finishing 25th in the standings in 2009 and 21st in 2010. A preseason personnel shake-up at Hendrick put Jeff Gordon’s former crew chief, Steve Letarte, in charge of Earnhardt’s team and the move has seemed to breathed some life into NASCAR’s most popular driver. Earnhardt is still looking for his first victory since 2008, but barring a meltdown, Earnhardt should be back in the Chase for

CARL EDWARDS (second): The free agent in the final year of his contract with Roush Fenway Racing is shopping himself on the open market and driving the asking price up every week. A fixture at the front, Edwards has a series-high 12 top-10 finishes this year.

Sprint Cup Standings

the first time since 2008.

A.J. ALLMENDINGER (15th): In a season that has already seen three first-time winners, the Richard Petty Motorsports driver has established himself as one of the favorites to be next to get that first victory. That could be enough to earn Allmendinger one of the wild card spots. He currently sits 31 points behind 10th-place Ryan Newman. Allmendinger has never finished better than 19th in the standings.

PAUL MENARD (16th): Over the last few seasons, Menard has been tagged as the guy with the rich father who buys his kid rides in the series, but this year Menard has shown he belongs. He has five top-10 finishes in the first 17 races. Before this year Menard had eight top-10 finishes in 147 starts.

DAVID RAGAN (17th): After finishing outside the top 20 in points in three of the last four seasons, the Roush Fenway Racing driver put himself on the hot seat with another slow start this season. But that may have all changed Saturday at Daytona International Speedway when he got his first series win. If the Chase for the Sprint Cup started today, Ragan would be in the 12-car field as one of the wild card drivers. Ragan is one of four race winners this season outside of the top-16 in the standings.

Others deep in the standings with race wins include Brad Keselowski (22nd), Regan Smith (28th) and Trevor Bayne (51st).

The Disappointments TONY STEWART (12th): The two-time Sprint Cup champion has struggled through the first half of 2011 and sits dangerously close to not qualifying for the Chase

Through 17 of 36 races (top 10 in points advance to the Chase for the Sprint Cup; two drivers with most wins in places 11-20 complete 12-driver field) 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Kevin Harvick Carl Edwards Kyle Busch Kurt Busch Matt Kenseth Jimmie Johnson Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gordon Clint Bowyer Ryan Newman

11. Denny Hamlin 12. Tony Stewart 20 Joey Logano

Points

Behind

586 581 576 570 564 564 534 519 505 498

— -5 -10 -16 -22 -22 -52 -67 -81 -88

Poles Wins Top 5 0 2 0 3 1 0 1 1 0 0

3 1 2 1 2 1 0 2 0 0

6 9 9 4 6 5 3 6 3 4

Top 10 10 12 10 9 9 10 8 7 8 7

495 494 439

-91 -92 -147

0 0 1

1 0 0

3 1 2

6 6 4

for the Sprint Cup for the second time since NASCAR’s playoff system was introduced in 2004.

Stewart, who has had at least one victory in every season he has competed in the series, dating back to 1999, is winless with just one top-five and six top-10s this year. Stewart does have a history of getting hot in July and August, but if the Chase were to start today he would be on the outside looking in.

MARK MARTIN (18th): In his final year with Hendrick Motorsports, Martin has been looking up at his three teammates — Johnson, Earnhardt and Gordon (eighth), who are all solidly in the top 10. Martin’s best hope for making the Chase lies in grabbing one of the wild card spots, though the 52-year-old has not won a race since 2009.

JOEY LOGANO (20th): With five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in the final 11 races in 2010, many thought the 21-year-old Middletown native was finally living up to the huge expectations that were heaped upon him since he replaced Stewart in the Joe Gibbs Racing stable in 2009. But the momentum of the strong finish didn’t carry over. Logano started this season displaying the same inconsistency that plagued him all of his rookie season and most of last season. With just four top-10 finishes so far this year, there are whispers that Logano could be out of his ride after this season, especially if Gibbs makes a successful run at signing Edwards.

A magical rally into the Chase would save Logano the worry of looking for a new ride.

The Forecast

In the Chase (through the top 10): Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman.

The wild cards (on wins): Jeff Gordon, Juan Montoya The champion: After winning the last five titles, there’s no way to not pick Jimmie Johnson to make it six in a row.

Next race: Quaker State 400, Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Ky., Saturday, 7:30 p.m., TNT July 17: Lenox Industrial Tools 301, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H., 1 p.m., TNT

WNBA / SUN

They’ve Traveled This Road Before

By JOHN ALTAVILLA jaltavilla@courant.com

UNCASVILLE — With essentially the same roster as last year, the Connecticut Sun began the season hoping additional experience and maturity would help them return to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Through their first nine games, the theory has proved somewhat accurate. The Sun are 5-0 at home, 6-3 overall and in second place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the Indiana Fever. They have played the team game of sharing the ball, the points and the responsibilities of molding a team.

Have you seen Kara Lawson lately?

“I love emotional players,” Lawson said.

“I would rather have to turn someone down than turn someone up. I can’t stand players that you have to get them going. I love that part of the game and I have always been one of those players that people don’t really like if I’m not on their team but I feel like my teammates love me, the way I play and the emotion I bring.”

A newfound resilience was on display Friday night when it appeared the Sun

the defending champion Seattle Storm.

With just over a minute to play, the Storm had cut the lead to two points. The time had come to take inventory.

“We don’t hang our heads. Last year, when the other team would make a run we would say, ‘Oh no, not again.’ But this year I think we have a little more composure,” forward Asjha Jones said. “We just know Road that we can look at Ahead each other and relax Saturday: At and say, ‘We’re going to Minnesota, 8 p.m. get it.’

“So I think it’s just a July 13: At matter of learning each Indiana, 1 p.m. other and just being July 15: At New more comfortable with York, 7 p.m., CSN each other, that we can look at each other, we don’t have to say anything, we don’t have to pump each other up, but we have that common bond that we know we can get it done.”

The Sun got it done, making five free throws in the final 30 seconds to wrap up a 75-70 win against the Storm. But now comes the interesting part for a team with championship aspirations.

land of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, Taj McWilliams-Franklin and the rejuvenated Lynx — the Sun begin a three-game road swing that will say a lot about how far they’ve come.

“To be a good team you have to win some road games. We’re not saying we have to win them all but you have to win at least half of them and we didn’t even come close last year [5-12],” point guard Renee Montgomery said. “And it’s tough because on the road you’re working against a lot of different things. You don’t have the homecourt advantage and you have to bring your own fire. But I feel like we are getting better just all around and I feel it’s going to carry over on the road, definitely.”

Two of the Sun’s three losses on the road are against Chicago, which could haunt them in a tiebreaker situation for the playoffs. But their road losses — the third was at Indiana — have come by a total of 14 points, an indication of how winnable those games were.

Seattle’s Swin Cash, who scored a game-high 25 Friday, knows the importance of being competitive on the road.

“If you give yourself a chance to win on the road, like we did [Friday], there is

How hard is it to win on the road? The Sun’s win Friday extended their home streak against Seattle to nine, dating to 2003, Connecticut’s first year in the league.

And now the Sun are getting contributions from about every member of the team.

Center Tina Charles had 20 points and 10 rebounds Friday, her sixth straight doubledouble. And she has scored at least 20 points for the fifth time in six games.

Montgomery is sixth in the league in scoring (18.0), is hitting 45 percent of her three-pointers and she had a season-high eight assists against Seattle.

Lawson, perhaps in the best shape of her nine-year career, is off to a great start. She had 16 points and seven assists Friday.

Jones, the foundation of the franchise, is experiencing a renaissance in her 10th season. She is moving well and shooting better, averaging 13.3 points.

And Kalana Greene, acquired from New York on draft day, has taken advantage of her few opportunities to score by becoming one of the league’s top three-point shooters (8-for-12).

“All I am concerned with now is the next game on the schedule,” Sun coach Mike Thibault said. “That’s been the focus of the

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THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 2011

4 DIE AS STORMS CARVE PATH OF DESTRUCTION THROUGH MASSACHUSETTS

DEVASTATION

BETTINA HANSEN | BHANSEN@COURANT.COM

A TORNADO that touched down in Springfield Wednesday ripped roofs and tore walls off buildings near Union and Main streets. Emergency officials went door to door to assess damage.

By DAVID OWENS, KIM VELSEY and HILLARY FEDERICO

A

dowens@courant.com

t least four people died as a series of storms — including at least one confirmed tornado — tore through several Massachusetts communities Wednesday, carving a path of destruction from Westfield to Sturbridge.

Scott MacLeod, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency ON THE WEB Management Agency, confirmed the deaths For video and more photos of Wednesday night but said there were no details about the storm damage in the circumstances. He said Springfield visit two people died in Westfield, courant.com/ one in West Springfield and tornado. one in Brimfield.

Gov. Deval Patrick, speaking at a press conference late Wednesday, said 19 communities were hit by the severe weather. Patrick declared a state of emergency and said the state had enlisted the help of 1,000 National Guard troops to help residents clean up the rubble left behind after strong winds, hail and thunderstorms hit along the border of STORMS, A7

STEPHEN DUNN | SDUNN@COURANT.COM

A TORNADO struck the center of town in Monson, Mass., Wednesday afternoon and left a path of devastation, including the Unitarian Church, whose total renovation had nearly been completed.

Senate OKs Health Center Expansion

By CHRISTOPHER KEATING ckeating@courant.com

The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to upgrade the University of Connecticut Health Center, a project that would cost $864 million, expand the medical and dental schools and require an estimated 3,000 new construction jobs at the Farmington campus.

The proposal would add 100 students to the medical school, 48

students to the dental school and about 50 medical researchers overall, as well as a new hospital tower and parking garages.

GOP: ‘RUSH-JOB’ After three hours of debate, the Senate voted 24-11 for the project on a mostly party-line vote. Republicans Kevin Witkos of Canton and Toni Boucher of Wilton broke with their party and voted in favor of the

plan, while Democrat Anthony Musto of Trumbull voted against it.

The bill now goes to the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, where approval is expected.

The expansion proposal from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy also projects that the health center, which has had financial troubles, will break even by 2018. The legislature has EXPANSION, A8

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WORLD YOUTH PEACE SUMMIT

Tax Revenue Exceeding Projections

By MARA LEE maralee@courant.com

The estimate of state tax collections for this year has widened by another $170 million, prompting top state officials to announce Wednesday that they will end a controversial surcharge on Connecticut Light & Power customers.

Early in the day, Comptroller Kevin Lembo’s office said that the projected excess amount of revenue

over expenses for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, is now $679.8 million — up by $170.2 million from the estimate of just one month ago.

STATE BUDGET Lembo urged a halt to the surcharge, which averages $3.50 a month for all CL&P customers.

Senate President Pro Tem Donald Williams of Brooklyn said: “That

would be tremendous news for everyone if we could significantly scale back or eliminate the surcharge entirely. It’s what we should work toward.”

He said the legislature should be able to determine within two weeks whether the surcharge can be dropped.

By late afternoon, Ben Barnes, secretary of the state’s Office of REVENUE, A8

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