PRINT JOURNALISM: BECAUSE IT STILL MATTERS. MARCH 16, 2020 VOL. 56, No. 11
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Phlebotomist Warren Dawkins demonstrates drive-through testing for the coronavirus at Murphy Medical Associates in Greenwich. Photo / Hearst Connecticut Media.
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DALIO DISCUSSES COVID-19 IMPACT
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ALL IN THE FAMILY
Connecticut confronts coronavirus crisis
LAMONT ISSUES PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES DECLARATION BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
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rowing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 have left state and municipal governments, as well as schools and businesses in a variety of sectors, scrambling to prepare for what could be a serious epidemic. Gov. Ned Lamont has signed declarations of civil
preparedness and public health emergencies in response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, he announced at a March 10 news briefing. A public health emergency gives the state power over quarantine, while a civil preparedness emergency provides the governor with wide-ranging powers over state institutions, allowing him to restrict travel, close public schools and buildings and
more, something that was likened at the briefing to preparing for an incoming hurricane. At press time, there were three positive cases of the virus in the state involving Connecticut residents. One, a Wilton resident, is being treated at Danbury Hospital, while the second, whose residency had not been announced, is being cared for at Bridgeport Hospital, and a New Canaan resident who is at Norwalk Hospital. There have also been two COVID-19 cases involving New York residents who work in Connecticut hospitals — one at Norwalk and Danbury, the other at Bridgeport — both of whom reside in Westchester County. » VIRUS
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WILL SPORTS BETTING CRAP OUT? BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
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hose wagering on sports betting finally being legalized in Connecticut this year may want to hold those bets. Three bills approving sports betting under varying scenarios have been introduced. But with the short session — the Legislature is scheduled to end its session on May 6 — and the COVID-19 crisis, getting any of them voted upon, much less approved, may be a tall order. And that’s not even counting the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes that have threatened to withhold the more than
$250 million in annual slot revenues they pass on to the state should it pass a law allowing other entities the rights to sports betting — something for which the tribes say they have the exclusive rights, as they do with other casino games. The tribes are in favor of SB 21, a bill co-sponsored by state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague. Similar to legislation she proposed last year, SB 21 would give sports betting rights exclusively to the tribes that would also get the go-ahead to jointly operate the long-debated casino in downtown Bridgeport. The bill would also allow for the tribes to operate up to three other gaming sites in the state. » SPORTS
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