A new shopping option is coming for expectant parents and their friends and relatives: Babies R Us is preparing for a comeback in Manchester, Plainville and Norwalk.

Six years after the iconic brand disappeared, it will be appearing as a mini-shop inside 200 Kohl’s stores around the country including three Connecticut outlets.

The Wisconsin-based Kohl’s chain isn’t giving an exact timeline for when the Babies R Us sections will appear, but is telling shoppers that it will happen before the holiday season.

“The Babies R Us at Kohl’s shop will feature a curated assortment of the latest baby gear, furniture, activity, accessories, and more,” Kohl’s said in its announcement this week.

“Adjacent to the shop, customers will find the best of Kohl’s existing baby and kids’ apparel and other offerings from brands like Little Co. by Lauren Conrad, Jumping Beans, Carters, Nike, and more,” the company said.

Kohl’s is limiting the rollout to 200 of the roughly 1,100 stores it operates in 49 states, with about a third of the Babies R Us shops targeted for the Northeast. In addition to the three in Connecticut, the chain will open 25 in New York, 13 in New Jersey, 13 in Massachusetts, nine in Pennsylvania and two each in Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Kohl’s is banking on the Babies R Us name to bring more shoppers into its department stores and onto its online shopping site. It’s working in conjunction with WHP Global, a New York-based brand acquisition and management firm that purchased the Babies R Us and Toys R Us brands after the Toys R Us bankruptcy and liquidation in 2018.

The baby apparel market was shaken when Toys R Us, a one-time retail powerhouse, shut its stores along with its those of its Babies R Us subsidiary. At one time, Babies R Us operated locations in at least four Connecticut communities: West Hartford, Milford, Manchester and Danbury.

Last year, Forbes magazine described how WHP was working to bring back the Toys R Us brand in the United States.

“WHP focused less on rolling out numerous stores, and concentrated on spreading the message that ‘Toys R Us is back,’ ” it said.

WHP resurrected the website for online ordering, opened a flagship stand-alone Toys R Us store in New Jersey, and most recently partnered with Macy’s to create Toys R Us in-store shops at more than 450 Macy’s locations.

Meanwhile, Chain Store Age reported that Kohl’s has gotten some sales growth by creating in-store shops in a different field.

“Kohl’s in-store partnership with Babies R Us comes as the retailer has had success with its Sephora in-store partnership. As of the end of 2023, the Sephora at Kohl’s fleet had reached more than 900 stores. The shops feature an curated assortment of top beauty products in makeup, skin and hair, and are located at the front of the store,” the magazine said.

Kohl’s reported that has been bringing in new customers and building year-to-year sales in the beauty segment.

Whether that translates to the baby products field won’t be known until 2025.

“It will be difficult for Kohl’s to take share from competitors like Amazon and Target. While Babies R Us is a familiar brand and adding a lot of new merchandise will help, Kohl’s has struggled to generate store traffic for years and it’s not clear that this effort will change that very much,” Morningstar Research senior analyst David Swartz told The Courant on Thursday.

“The baby category has been tough, as evidenced by the difficulties at the old Toys R Us/Babies R Us and at Buy Buy Baby,” Swartz noted.

Almost immediately after Babies R Us vanished, competitor buybuyBaby posted a message on its website proclaiming “We’re here to stay. Shop with confidence!”

But within a few years, that chain, too, had tanked under the failure of a corporate owner, Bed Bath & Beyond. The buybuyBaby operation shut down all its stores by early 2023, but new owners acquired the brand and have opened 11 locations including one in West Hartford, the single Connecticut location.

If Kohl’s new deal with Babies R Us succeeds, it could be expanded to more of the chain’s stores, possibly including the 17 in Connecticut behind Manchester, Plainville and Norwalk.

“I expect that Kohl’s probably will roll it out to more stores since 200 stores is less than 20% of its store base. If it seems to be working at all, it’s probably worth expanding,” Swartz said. “Kohl’s has the floor space to do it, and it needs to do something to differentiate itself from others like Macy’s and JCPenney.”

It is that time of year: Colleges across the state are gearing up for graduations and commencement ceremonies this weekend.

Hoping to catch a loved one accepting their diploma? Unsure when or where the big day is? We have all of the information you’ll need.

Here is the full breakdown:

Central Connecticut State University:

“Central Connecticut State University will host two outdoor commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 11. (The inclement weather date is Sunday, May 12.) Both ceremonies also will be livestreamed at www.ccsu.edu/commencement/.”

• 9 a.m. ceremony:
  • Carol A. Ammon College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
  • School of Business
• 2:30 p.m. ceremony:
  • School of Education & Professional Studies
  • School of Engineering, Science & Technology

Quinnipiac University:

• Friday, May 10, at 1 p.m.: Dr. Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, will speak to Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine graduates at M&T Bank Arena on the York Hill Campus.
• Friday, May 10 at 5 p.m.: Arunan Arulampalam, mayor of the city of Hartford, will address graduates from the School of Law at M&T Bank Arena.
• Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m.: The School of Business and School of Computing and Engineering undergraduate and graduate Commencement is scheduled on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad. Adele Merritt, Intelligence Community chief information officer, will be the guest speaker.
• Saturday, May 11 at 3 p.m.: Jon-Paul Venoit, president and CEO of Masonicare, will address graduates during the School of Health Sciences undergraduate and graduate Commencement on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.
• Sunday, May 12 at 10 a.m.: Casting director Jazzy Collins will speak at the undergraduate and graduate Commencement of the College of Arts and Sciences and School of Communications on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.
• Sunday, May 12 at 3 p.m.: Charlene M. Russell-Tucker, commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Education, will address the School of Nursing and School of Education undergraduates and graduates on the Mount Carmel Campus Quad.

Sunday’s commencement will mark a special day for Rebecca Iannucci, a mother who gave birth twice during her studies and who will be receiving her master’s degree on Mother’s Day, according to UNH.

“This is a Mother’s Day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” she said. “I’ve definitely had a busy schedule, balancing everything. Fortunately, I have a good support system and my husband is really great.”

“I’m so happy to be done with the master’s program,” Iannucci added. “They asked me if I wanted to take some time off to have Ryleigh. I was like, ‘Heck no, I need to be done.’”

Sacred Heart:

• Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. | Martire Family Arena
  3135 Easton Tpke, Fairfield, CT 06825
  Graduate commencement: College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health Professions, Davis & Henley College of Nursing
• Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 10 a.m. | Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
  500 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
  Undergraduate commencement: College of Arts & Sciences, College of Health Professions
• Saturday, May 11, 2024, at 3 p.m. | Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
  500 Broad Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604
  Undergraduate commencement: Welch College of Business & Technology, Farrington College of Education & Human Development, Davis & Henley College of Nursing, St. Vincent’s College

Springfield College:

“Springfield College will hold its 138th Commencement ceremonies on the weekend of May 11-12, during which undergraduate and graduate students will receive their diplomas and be recognized for their academic accomplishments. Each ceremony will feature a Commencement speaker.”

• “The Graduate Student Commencement Ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 11, at 9:30 a.m. in the Field House in the Wellness and Recreation Complex on the Springfield College campus. We proudly announce that U.S. Representative Richard E. Neal will be granted an honorary Doctor of Humanics degree and deliver the Commencement.”
• “The Undergraduate Student Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 12, at 9:30 a.m. at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield. This year’s commencement speaker is Martin Dobrow, professor of communications at Springfield College.”

Trinity College:

“Trinity College alumnus Daniel Meyer ’80, P’20 will be the 2024 Commencement speaker on Sunday, May 19, at 11 a.m., on the Main Quad. He will receive an honorary degree along with a pair of local leaders who have shaped Hartford, Luke and Sara Bronin.”

University of Hartford:

“Commencement addresses by two distinguished alumni will be among the highlights of the University of Hartford’s 2024 Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 12, at downtown Hartford’s XL Center.”

• Sunday, May 12 at 9 a.m.: UHart’s Graduate Ceremony
• Sunday, May 12 at 2 p.m.: UHart’s Undergraduate Ceremony

University of New Haven:

• Thursday, May 9 at 4:30 p.m.: “Master’s Degree Students from the Pompea College of Business (Check in begins and gates open at 3 p.m.)”
• Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m. “Master’s Degree Students & Doctoral Candidates from the College of Arts and Sciences, Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, and School of Health Sciences (Check in begins and gates open at 8:30 a.m.)”
• Friday, May 10 at 4:30 p.m. “Master’s Degree Students from the Tagliatela College of Engineering (Check in begins and gates open at 3 p.m.)”
• Saturday, May 11 at 10 a.m. “All Undergraduate Students (Check in begins and gates open at 8:30 a.m.)”

University of Saint Joseph:

• Friday, May 10 at 9 a.m.:  Pharmacy Hooding ceremony. The speaker at the Pharmacy hooding is Debbie Habib, PharmD, Pharmacy Team Leader and a graduate of USJ’s first Pharmacy class.
• Friday, May 10 at 1 p.m.: PA Hooding Ceremony, Pharmacy at 9 a.m., PA at 1 p.m.

Western Connecticut State University:

“Western Connecticut State University will hold its 126th Commencement exercises on Sunday, May 12, at the Total Mortgage Arena, 600 Main St. in Bridgeport. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. for 1,122 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree recipients from the university’s Ancell School of Business, Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences, School of Professional Studies and School of Visual & Performing Arts.”

Yale University:

“Yale’s 323rd commencement will be held on Monday, May 20, 2024, on the historic Old Campus. Monday’s ceremony marks the occasion at which all university and honorary degrees are formally conferred. Diploma ceremonies follow the university ceremony in all residential colleges and at each school.”

Yale is also hosting their Class Day Sunday, May 19, for Yale College graduates. Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, United States surgeon general, is scheduled to  be Yale’s 2024 Class Day speaker.

Need your school added? Email bcallahan@courant.com

The AI legislation was one of several bills proposed during the short three-month legislative session that attempted to address major, weighty issues — from climate change to the codification of abortion rights in the state’s constitution. All failed after the Democratic-controlled General Assembly met its midnight adjournment deadline.

Lawmakers had some success stories this session, however.

Legislation cleared the General Assembly that makes numerous nursing home reforms, including prohibiting facilities from placing new residents in rooms with more than two beds.

Additionally, the Senate gave final legislative approval Wednesday night to a bill that attempts to address the proliferation of THC-infused beverages being sold in convenience stores and elsewhere. The legislation prohibits sales to anyone under 21 and allows the drinks to be sold only at packages stores or cannabis dispensaries, including those that sell both recreational and medical marijuana. Senators also voted to prohibit synthetic cannabinoids in cannabis and forbid the state’s licensed cannabis establishments from selling them.

Also late Wednesday, the Senate rushed to passed legislation that tightens absentee voting laws after people were captured on video last year stuffing reams of ballots into collection boxes in Bridgeport. The bill requires mandatory surveillance cameras at drop boxes and improved tracking of ballots, as well as new protections for poll workers.

“I don’t believe that it goes far enough,” Republican Sen. Rob Sampson said of the bill, calling what happened in Bridgeport a “fiasco” that warranted stronger action. He attempted to amend the bill with measures including a requirement that voters show an ID at the polls, but all four failed.

Lawmakers this session also passed a Democratic bill that updates Connecticut’s first-in-the-nation paid sick leave law from 2011 and requires all employers, down to those with a single worker, to provide their employees with time off by 2027. It awaits Lamont’s signature.

House Speaker Matt Ritter, a Democrat, noted how the sick leave bill came “close to the finish line” last year and benefited from lawmakers knowing what could pass this year. Other major bills didn’t have that advantage.

“There are just some bills you can’t do because of time,” he said.

Other high-profile proposals also failed Wednesday, including bills to curb the cost of e-books for libraries, expand protections for certain tenants, prohibit the sale of energy drinks to children, bar legacy admissions at public and private colleges, and provide Connecticut residents who telecommute for New York companies with a financial incentive to challenge their income tax bills from that state.

One reason why some concepts faltered this year, including a push to extend the state’s HUSKY health insurance program for immigrants over the age of 15, may be the Democrats’ unusual decision not to reopen the second year of the two-year budget passed last year.

Traditionally the short legislative session is dedicated primarily to adjustments to the second year of the budget.

Instead, late Tuesday, the Senate gave final legislative approval to a plan to spend at least $360 million in remaining federal COVID-19 pandemic funds on key areas, including higher education, not-for-profit social service agencies, municipal aid and children’s mental health. The same bill also granted Lamont expanded authority to move money between state accounts.

“When we agreed not to open the budget and did not do a budget, that really limited your options,” Ritter said.

Republican lawmakers strongly criticized the decision to not reopen the budget. Some predicted Connecticut will now face future deficits by using one-time COVID relief funds for operating expenses.

“The Democrats didn’t do their job on the budget and they’ve left the hard decisions up to the governor,” House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora said. Democrats dismissed the criticism.

In the final minutes of the session, Republicans in the Senate sharply criticized their Democratic colleagues for calling up a vague bill that creates a $3 million fund for low-wage workers, calling it a slush fund. While Democrats didn’t explain the intention of the bill, which passed with only Democratic votes, a coalition of unions later praised the legislation as a step toward creating an assistance fund for striking workers.