The Connecticut Senate has passed one of the first major legislative proposals in the U.S. to rein in bias in artificial intelligence decision-making and protect people from harm. But despite Wednesday's 24-12 vote, it's unclear whether the legislation will ultimately become law. There remains concern among Republicans and some top Democrats, including Gov Ned Lamont, the bill might stifle innovation, become a burden for small businesses and make the state an outlier. The bill, which aims to protect people from AI bias in decision-making and deep-fake pornography, stems from the work of two Connecticut task forces and a bipartisan group of lawmakers from other states.

Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation paid sick leave law from 2011 is moving closer toward being updaeted. The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 88-61 in favor of requiring all employers, down to those with a single worker, to provide their employees with time off by 2027. Cheers were heard from the House gallery after the vote. The bill attempts to guarantee time off for people left out of the old law, including many low-wage and part-time workers across the state. Republicans argued the bill, which moves to the Senate, will be a burden for small businesses. Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont says he will sign it.

STONINGTON — The town of Stonington is authorized under Connecticut General Statutes §12-63c to require owners of rent-producing properties, including commercial, mixed-use, and residential properties of 4 or more units, to submit a report of 2023 calendar year rental-related income and oper…

MYSTIC — It was a bustling scene just after opening on Friday morning at the Lighthouse Bakery in downtown Mystic. A family of four and a second couple sat for breakfast as regulars steadily came in to get their coffees and baked treats.

STONINGTON — Absentee ballots for the Tuesday, April 30, budget referendum are now available in the Stonington Town Clerk's office, 152 Elm St.

A man who attacked a Muslim state representative outside a prayer service in Connecticut has pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault and other crimes. The plea deal taken Tuesday by Andrey Desmond calls for him to serve five years in prison for the June 2023 assault on Rep. Maryam Khan. She is the first Muslim to serve in the state House of Representatives. Khan says Desmond slapped her, put her in a chokehold and threw her to the ground after demanding a kiss. Khan says she suffered a concussion and arm injuries. Sentencing is set for June 4. Court records say Desmond has a history of mental illness.

Connecticut has finally launched an early, in-person voting system years after almost every other state in the country decided to offer a similar option to voters. Saturday marks the final day for Republicans and Democrats to vote early in the state's presidential primary, a chance to test the new system before the November general election. Only Alabama, Delaware, Mississippi and New Hampshire do not allow early, in-person voting. There had been resistance to change in Connecticut, which is known as the “Land of Steady Habits." After three days of early voting, 13,476 voters out of more than 1.2 million registered Democrats and Republicans cast their ballots early.

Vice President Al Gore remembers the late Joe Lieberman as a “mensch” who both bridged partisan political divides and wasn’t afraid to go against mainstream political currents. So did family, friends, and a former political foe during a packed funeral service Friday for the four-term U.S. senator. Connecticut Sen. Blumenthal recalled how Lieberman helped form the Department of Homeland Security and championed civil rights. Lieberman was Gore's running mate during the 2000 presidential election and came extremely close to winning the vice presidency. He was the first Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket. Former Democratic senate primary rival Gov. Ted Lamont honored Lieberman's success as an independent and said “He did it his way."

A judge has rejected an attempt by four former Connecticut police officers to have criminal charges against them erased in the case of a man who was paralyzed in the back of a police van in 2022. The former New Haven officers' applications for a pretrial probation program were rejected Thursday in the case of Richard “Randy” Cox. Their bid could also have averted trial, but the cases now head forward. A fifth officer who was arrested also applied for the special probationary program but wasn't in court Thursday. The officers were charged with misdemeanors for allegedly mistreating Cox after he flew head first into a metal partition when the police van he was in braked suddenly.

MYSTIC —Mystic Aquarium has received a $2 million federal grant to expand its efforts to conserve threatened and endangered species. The funding will bolster the aquarium's efforts to save federally protected species such as African penguins, sea turtles, North Atlantic right whales, walruse…

First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough  administered the oath of office to new Stonington Police Department officer Ashley Pope on Monday as Pope’s mother looks on. Pope joined the agency as a lateral transfer from the Bristol, Tenn., Police Department with  three years of experience. Pope cel…

STONINGTON — Motorists are being cautioned that lane shifts have been implemented this week along Interstate 95 northbound between exits 91 and 93.

HARTFORD — Whenever bestselling author Robin Cook releases a new medical thriller, the head of the public library in West Haven knows demand for digital copies will be high. So will the price.

STONINGTON — First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough has been appointed to serve on a 15-member statewide coalition of municipal leaders tasked with finding solutions to help better serve Connecticut’s at-risk and disconnected youth.

STONINGTON — It will be a bittersweet weekend for Stonington High School seniors Cate Statchen and Evan Anderson when they take the stage to play two titans of American beauty in the musical "War Paint."

Grade 8

MYSTIC — Aquarion Water Company’s water main replacement project is scheduled to begin March 25 on Route 1, New London Road. The project is expected to be completed by July. Final paving will then be coordinated with the Town of Groton and the state of Connecticut.

STONINGTON — Town residents will get a chance Monday to vote on whether or not to purchase the so-called “Circus Lot” property along the Pawcatuck River off Noyes Avenue.

MYSTIC — Bill Turner, former board president of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, Citizen of the Year as selected by the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, and descended from good Irish stock in County Leitrim and County Galway, will se…

STONINGTON — Heather and Benjamin Sherman are the latest entrepreneurs to join the burgeoning restaurant boom in downtown Westerly-Pawcatuck.

State Sen. Heather Somers will formally seek a fifth term this fall as representative of the 18th district, which includes Stonington and North Stonington as well Griswold, Groton, Plainfield, Preston, Sterling and Voluntown.

STONINGTON — When Little Man's Diner last closed its doors for relocation after nearly a decade in Westerly, impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, it took two years before they were able to find a new home. This time around, it took just two weeks for the business to move and reopen.

MYSTIC — The Mystic drawbridge on Main Street will close overnight Monday to allow for routine maintenance.

MYSTIC — On a recent frigid January morning, with the bright blue Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the distance, the Rev. Thomas F. X. Hoar sat inside the warm, stone, arts-and-crafts-style main house on Enders Island, a place that some have described as that "11-acre gem that sits just off the c…