Connecticut
A CT author uses a local town as setting of his first book. Including its ‘witch.’
When people think of witch trials, the place that comes to mind first is probably Salem, Mass.
Yet the first recorded execution for witchcraft in what is now New England involved Windsor in 1647, when Alse Young was hanged. Young was from Windsor but was executed in Hartford.
That piece of history is at the center of Rande Goodwin’s first book, “The Witchfinder’s Serpent.”
The book, a teen fantasy, takes place in modern day Windsor, but the main character, Nate Watson, finds out his mysterious Aunt Celia has ties to Young.
Goodwin said he became inspired to finally write his first novel during the pandemic.
“It’s something I always wanted to do, and then COVID same along and I didn’t really have a whole lot else going on,” he said.
He also always had an interest in the history of the witch trials. Connecticut this year “absolved” those accused of witchcraft nearly 400 years ago and apologized for the “miscarriage of justice” that resulted in 11 executions here in colonial times, including two men.
“It’s always interested me, Salem and all the things you see on TV, from a history perspective,” Goodwin said.
So when he learned the first recorded execution for witchcraft in what would become America involved a resident of Windsor, where he’s lived most of his life, he knew that would be the subject for his book.
The main storyline in “The Witchfinder’s Serpent” centers around Nate and his brother, who move from New York to live with their Aunt Celia in Windsor.
Aunt Celia lets them roam her entire mansion, with the exception of one room. Naturally, that leads to trouble.
“Of course that’s the room that they want to find out what’s in it,” Goodwin said.
It turns out the room is, as Goodwin described it, a “witch’s workshop.” The boys discover a bracelet, known as the Witchfinder’s Serpent.
Nate puts on the bracelet but has trouble removing it. He has to ask his Aunt Celia for help and they try to remove the bracelet before encountering its previous owner, a powerful spirit who will stop at nothing to get it back.
Along the way, Nate discovers his aunt has ties to Young and learns the history of the 1647 execution in Hartford.
Goodwin said the historical subplot focuses on what Young’s daughter dealt with after the execution.
Goodwin’s version of Young does have magical powers, something he knows might upset some people given the nature of her execution.
When Connecticut lawmakers this year, approved exonerating the people accused of witchcraft, it included Young.
Goodwin said nobody in the book actually knew about Young’s power, though, so she was wrongfully convicted even in his fictional telling. He also hopes the book brings more attention to her place in history.
“It was important to me to treat her with the utmost respect,” he said.
Goodwin also did some research, of sorts, for the modern-day portion of the story, incorporating real places and events in Windsor into the book. The Shad Derby is included, for example.
“I thought more people, especially people in town, would find it interesting,” he said.
The book will be available Sept. 12, but local readers can purchase a copy two days earlier. Goodwin will be at the Glastonbury Arts On The Green arts and crafts show on Sept. 10.
He’s scheduled to join a panel, sponsored by the River Bend Bookshop, with two other young adult authors at 12:50 p.m. Goodwin will also have books available for purchase and for signing.
“It’s a little surreal, to be honest,” Goodwin said about the upcoming launch of his first book. He’s already written a second, tentatively titled “The Witchfinder’s Bargain,” and has planned for a third in the series.
When he’s not writing, Goodwin works as an IT specialist for an insurance company in Hartford. He said his coworkers were excited to learn about his book — when he eventually told them.
“Being my first book, I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it until I was done,” he said. “Everybody says they want to write a book, but it’s a big undertaking.”
Goodwin lives with his wife, two daughters and four dogs.
Connecticut
Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 million
A Connecticut couple has been charged in connection with an elaborate two-month theft spree at Lululemon stores across the country that an investigator with the retailer estimates netted about $1 million worth of product.
Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on Nov. 14 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota suburb of Woodbury. The couple, from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged with organized retail theft after a Lululemon retail crime investigator contacted local authorities in Minnesota.
But Lululemon’s investigator said evidence shows their crimes go back to September and took place in states like Utah, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, according to the criminal complaint.
Attorneys representing Richards and Lawes-Richards did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Thursday.
Richards claimed he was racially profiled, complaint says
Richards and Lawes-Richards were stopped after exiting the Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, on Nov. 14 when the security alarm went off, according to the criminal complaint. Richards allegedly claimed store employees racially profiled him and the two were allowed to leave afterward.
The Lululemon investigator later alleged the two visited the store the day before on Nov. 13 with an unidentified man and stole 45 item valued at nearly $5,000. That same day, the pair had allegedly conducted four other thefts in Minneapolis, Edina and Minnetonka.
Officers arrested the couple at the Lululemon in Woodbury. The two denied any involvement in the theft, with Lawes-Richards allegedly claiming they were staying with her aunt and had only been in Minnesota for a day.
Officers found several credit and debit cards on the couple, as well as an access card to a Marriott hotel room. Using a search warrant, officers found 12 suitcases in their room, including three filled with Lululemon clothing with tags attached worth over $50,000, according to the complaint.
In all, the company investigator estimated the couple has taken up to $1 million in stolen product, according to the complaint, which does not detail how he arrived at the high figure.
Couple blocked cameras among other tactics: Investigator
The Lululemon investigator said one of the couple’s alleged tactics was for one of them to distract associates while another stuffed product in the clothes they were wearing, according to the complaint.
Another technique involved the two strategically exiting the store, with one of them holding a cheap item they had bought and the other carrying more expensive products that had sensors, according to the complaint. When the alarm would sound off, only the person with the cheap, purchased item would stay behind and show a receipt, while the other would keep walking with the stolen product, the complaint says.
The pair are accused in eight Colorado theft incidents between Oct. 29 and 30, and seven thefts in Utah on Nov. 6 and 7, according to the complaint.
The pair are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in Minnesota, court records show. Their next court appearance is set for Dec. 16.
Connecticut
Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder
Ouch!
A newspaper in Connecticut had an unfortunate typo involving Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley’s herniated disc on Monday.
This past Monday, The Chronicle, a newspaper covering Eastern Connecticut, published an AP story on the front page of its sports section in the print edition that referred to Mosley’s “herniated d–k.”
Mosley has missed the Jets’ four games with the injury — the one in his neck, that is.
In the copy, Mosley’s injury was not shafted, getting described correctly in the nut graph.
The unfortunate phallacy did not go unnoticed: in an extra twist, the error went viral when it was posted on the X account of David Coverdale, the 73-year-old singer of Whitesnake.
An editor for The Chronicle told The Post that the newspaper would be issuing a correction in the paper.
Last week, prior to the Jets’ loss to the Colts, Mosley spoke about how he hoped to return after the Jets’ bye, when they host the Seahawks on Dec. 1.
“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’m in a position where I’ve played a lot of football. Me missing this time won’t hurt me as much as another guy that might need this opportunity. It’s about safety at the end of the day. When I go home, I’m Clint Mosley. I’m C.J. I’m not the football player.”
Mosley said the birth of his daughter, who arrived the week after his injury, put things in perspective for him.
“I had a full week of having a normal neck and ever since then every time I’m looking down, my neck’s hurting,” Mosley said. “It puts things in perspective. There’s a lot of life after football. When I’m done playing, I want to make sure I’m 100 percent.”
From head to toe and everywhere in between.
Connecticut
Another Earthquake Hits CT: Did You Feel It?: CT News
Patch AM CT brings you the breaking and trending news stories from all across Connecticut each weekday morning. At any point, you can find your local Patch and catch up on those stories here.
A second earthquake hit Connecticut this week, and this one was a higher magnitude earthquake than the previous one, according to the United States Geological Survey.>>>Read More.
A collision between a car and tractor-trailer on the highway turned fatal, state police said.>>>Read More.
A suspected drunken driver was corralled by an alert citizen and state police, officials said.>>>Read More.
Here are the latest updates on Thursday’s storm for Connecticut, including some changes for Friday.>>>Read More.
In Connecticut, there are a few exceptions to what has been a trend since 2019 for retail stores to close on Thanksgiving Day.>>>Read More.
The holidays are coming in hot: One glance at CT’s events calendar would make you think we were already waist-deep in garland and tinsel.>>>Read More.
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