Connecticut
CT governor meets with Yale New Haven and Prospect Medical to try for deal on hospitals
Gov. Ned Lamont met with the two chief executive officers involved in the plan for Yale New Haven Health to purchase Prospect Medical Holdings on Wednesday in an effort to move the stalled negotiations out of the courtroom.
Lamont met for more than an hour with YNNH CEO Chris O’Connor and Prospect Medical CEO Von Crockett in his office at the state Capitol Wednesday morning.
The two sides and their lawyers left without an agreement but are expected to meet again Thursday on their own. An attorney from Medical Properties Trust — an entity also involved in the proposed deal because it owns the Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury hospital buildings that Prospect operates — also participated in the meeting.
When asked by The Connecticut Mirror if he thought that a deal could be made, Crockett responded, “Doesn’t everybody want a deal?”
Asked if residents should be concerned about the financial status of the three Prospect hospitals, Crockett said, “No one should be concerned that any of the hospitals will close.”
Lamont’s spokesperson Julia Bergman said the governor was encouraged by the meeting even if the parties left without an agreement.
“This is the first time the two CEOs have been in a room together, so we take that as a sign of progress,” Bergman said.
She said that Lamont did not offer to put any state money into the deal, as Yale had requested. Lamont has maintained that it is a private deal and the two parties need to work out.
“The governor wanted to get everyone back together, away from the courtroom, to see if there was a way to move this forward,” Bergman said. “He continues to see this as the best deal and Yale as the best owner for the three hospitals.”
Dana Marnane, a spokeswoman for YNHH, said Lamont sought the meeting with hospital executives Wednesday, but she declined to provide details about the discussion.
“At the request of Gov. Lamont, Yale New Haven Health leaders were in Hartford today meeting with the governor and representatives from Prospect and Medical Properties Trust,” she said. “We thank Gov. Lamont for facilitating this discussion and we will keep our community apprised if there are any updates to share.”
The state authorized the acquisition in March. The Office of Health Strategy had been criticized by some lawmakers for taking more than a year to issue its approval, which won’t take effect if the two sides can’t reach a sale agreement.
YNHH had announced in 2022 that it reached a deal with Prospect to buy the hospitals for $435 million.
But following a cyberattack in August and revelations that Prospect owes tens of millions of dollars to vendors, physicians under contract at the hospitals and the state in taxes, Yale asked Prospect to revise the purchase price, which Prospect has been reluctant to do so.
As part of the proposed acquisition in Connecticut, YNHH wants to purchase back the real estate of the three hospitals from MPT, which would mean they would no longer be on the hook for rent payments. Under the current sale proposal, MPT would receive $355 million, or roughly 80% of the total deal value.
Earlier this month, Yale filed a lawsuit against Prospect Medical, charging that Prospect breached its contract with Yale by defaulting on rent and tax liabilities, allowing its facilities to deteriorate, mismanaging assets, “driving away” physicians and vendors and engaging in “a pattern of irresponsible financial practices.”
The CT Mirror previously reported that surgeries at Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals were being postponed because health care providers didn’t have the needed resources. Contracts with traveling nurses and technicians were in jeopardy and had remained in place only on a “week-to-week” basis at one point last fall, physicians at the hospitals said.
The cyberattack, which crippled operations for over six weeks last August, also set the hospitals back further financially, executives have said.
In January, the CT Mirror reported that Prospect neglected to pay $67 million in taxes. The state has filed three liens against the California-based company.
“Prospect and the selling entities have not complied with their obligations to providers, failing to pay their physician groups, medical staff and vendors and, in turn, damaging irretrievably their relationships with the very individuals and entities that allow the businesses to provide medical care to their patients,” the lawsuit claims.
“Prospect and the selling entities have failed to ensure that their information technology systems have even the most basic protections against data breaches.”
In a statement when the lawsuit was filed, Prospect Medical officials called the lawsuit “a blatant, 11th hour attempt by Yale Health to back out” of the contract.
“Despite the claims made by Yale in its complaint, Yale only notified Prospect for the first time of its concern that there had been a material adverse effect on the hospitals’ finances and operations on March 27, 2024. In response, and following Yale’s failure to obtain an $80 million grant from the state, we offered Yale a good-faith price reduction in an attempt to move the negotiations forward and complete the transaction.”
Prospect officials said patient volumes and finances at their Connecticut facilities have “rebounded significantly.”
Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding, Sen. Heather Somers, Ranking Senator on the Public Health Committee and Sen. Jeff Gordon, a doctor and a member of the Public Health Committee said in a joint statement, “We are encouraged that the governor and the CEOs met today for an extended period of time. Bringing the parties together is a positive development, and the discussions must continue. We are also encouraged to hear that there should not be a concern that any hospitals will close. We remain available to all stakeholders to assist with a swift resolution on this matter. Our collective communities’ health care accessibility – as well as access to health care jobs – depends on it.”
Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso are reporters for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/ ). Copyright 2024 © The Connecticut Mirror.
Connecticut
Body recovered after Bloomfield house fire and explosion
A body was recovered after a house explosion resulting in a house fire in the area of Banbury Lane on Monday night.
Fire Marshal Roger Nelson says they recovered a body around 1:15 on Tuesday morning. The identity of the body found will not be released at this time.
When officers arrived around 6:11 p.m. they encountered the house fully in flames, police said.
According to police, the fire department was able to extinguish the fire, but the house sustained devastating damage.
There are no criminal aspects related to this incident at this time.
The incident was contained to the one house.
Connecticut
Exclusive | Ex-CBS anchor Josh Elliott back on Connecticut dating scene after ugly Liz Cho split
Ex-CBS host Josh Elliott is looking for love eight months after he filed for divorce from “Eyewitness News” anchor Liz Cho.
“Josh is out and about on the dating scene in Fairfield County,” a spy exclusively tells Page Six. “He’s been seen at the bars in the area where middle-aged singles congregate.”
A second source tells Page Six, “Josh isn’t dating anyone, but he is open to meeting people. His daughter is his priority.”
Page Six can also reveal that Elliott moved out of his and Cho’s estimated $4.2 million Connecticut marital home in January.
In court papers dated Jan. 29 and obtained by Page Six, Cho revealed Elliott moved out of their home and into a new residence without her knowledge.
Cho claimed she was notified by Optimum on Jan. 21, regarding her ex installing internet at his new home.
“The Defendant learned for the first time from said communication that on or about January 15, 2026, the Plaintiff secured an unfurnished rental residence located in Southport, Connecticut,” the filing read.
“It is now clear that the Plaintiff surreptitiously entered a new lease…” the court papers continued.
A rep for Elliott did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Page Six broke the ousted CBS anchor filed for divorce from Cho after a decade of marriage on June 20, 2025.
“The marriage of the parties has broken down irretrievably,” the court papers read. Elliott asked for a “dissolution of the marriage” and for “an equitable distribution of all property, both real and personal.”
Cho responded to her estranged husband’s complaint on Nov. 6 and filed a cross-complaint against him. She also stated their marriage “has broken down irretrievably.”
The divorce became messy when Cho requested “copies of written correspondence, emails, cards, WeChat messages, Facebook messages, social media messaging, instant messaging, telephonic text messages, transcribed voicemail messages or any written forms of communication” between Elliott and “any person, other than the defendant, with whom [Elliott] have or have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, from July 11, 2015, to the present.”
Elliott objected the request on the “grounds that the time frame of the request for production is unreasonable, unnecessary, harassing and not likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”
Cho also requested “monies spent for the benefit of any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, other than the defendant,” “property given or transferred by you to any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, other than the defendant,” “monies spent for your benefit by any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship with, other than the defendant.”
The TV personality in addition requested financial records, documentation proving Elliott’s search for employment — as he was ousted from CBS in 2017 — travel invoices, and more. Elliott objected to the requests.
A source close to the couple previously told Page Six, “This is standard in a divorce. Her lawyer is doing a thorough document request. The documents she is requesting are standard.” The insider also insisted there is no evidence Elliott had a relationship with anyone outside the marriage.
Also in the Jan. 29 court filing, Cho filed a motion for contempt against Elliott regarding their jointly owned marital Connecticut mansion.
Cho claimed Elliott arranged for a moving truck to come to the marital residence while she was on vacation with her daughter on Jan. 19.
Cho claimed Elliott moved a “significant amount of furniture and furnishings from the marital residence,” and their “two Portuguese water dogs,” which she alleged at the time of the filing were not returned.
The court docs continued to allege, “On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, [Cho] realized that she was missing a valuable watch and earrings from her jewelry bag. As [Elliott] is the only other person who had access to the missing watch and jewelry, [Cho] believes [Elliott] is in possession of such personal property.”
She claimed his alleged actions are a “willful violation” of the court’s orders.
The insider alleged Elliott was the one to take care of the dogs and that he took “a small amount of furniture.”
In Elliott’s response to her filing, he objected to her request and claimed her allegations are “false and inflammatory.”
He claimed in court papers, “[Cho] alleges [Elliott] ‘ransacked’ and ‘abandoned’ the marital residence — claims that are patently false and intended to annoy, harass and intimidate [Elliott].
“[Elliott] did not ransack the marital home. He did not damage the property. He did not render the residence uninhabitable. He removed limited personal property and furnishings so he would have a safe haven from [Cho’s] escalating and erratic behavior direct at not only [Elliott], but his minor child as well.”
In a separate filing, he continued to defend his actions by alleging, “[Elliott] removed only limited furniture items and furnishings, many from the basement, solely to furnish a new residence after removing himself and his child from a hostile environment created by [Cho]. All property remains intact and subject to equitable distribution.”
In regard to the jewelry claim, Elliott said, “Perhaps most egregious is [Cho’s] baseless accusation that [Elliott] stole her jewelry. This allegation is made without evidence, without corroboration and without even a good-faith attempt to verify the truth.”
He then accused her of “monitoring and listening to [Elliott’s] private phone calls; rifling through [Elliott’s] personal belongings and closet; leaving the marital residence for extended periods without communication despite the presence of two dogs requiring daily care” and more claims.
He is requesting that the court deny her motion for contempt and they are due in court on March 20.
Lawyers for Cho and Elliott did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment regarding the divorce.
Elliott, 54, and Cho, 55, met while working for ABC and got married in July 2015.
This was the second marriage for both, as they each share a daughter from their previous relationships.
Cho has been with ABC on “Eyewitness News” since 2003, while Elliott was with ABC’s “Good Morning America” from 2011 to 2014.
After a brief stint with NBC, he joined CBSN as lead daytime anchor in March 2016. Nearly a year later, he was let go from the company.
Elliott has been out of the spotlight in recent years, but is now in talks to join Gayle King and Nate Burleson on “CBS Mornings,” Awful Announcing reported.
Connecticut
Man charged with murder in Hartford
A man was charged with murder and interfering with police on Sunday night.
According to police, officers were dispatched to an apartment on Washington Street for a wellness check of a woman who was reportedly unconscious and not breathing.
When officers arrived, they made contact with a man in the apartment who refused to cooperate and would not allow officers access. They then had to force entry into the apartment where they located the victim suffering from severe head trauma as well as the aggressive male, police said.
The man was secured and transported to the Hartford Police Detention Facility and is being held on a million-dollar bond.
The victim was revealed to be 76-year-old Linda Anthony and was pronounced deceased on scene.
The Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
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