Two Celtics stars were in attendance when the Connecticut Sun hosted the Los Angeles Sparks in TD Garden’s first WNBA game at the end of August — Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.

In a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg, Holiday recounted the experience, saying, “The Connecticut Sun, in my opinion, need to be the Boston Sun.”

“The way that they sold to this crowd was awesome. The way that the city showed up for them was awesome,” Holiday said. “It was similar to how they showed up for us. So, going and watching this game was really cool.”

Despite falling short of making the WNBA Finals, the team proved they have a strong fanbase that is only growing after their 69-61 win over the Sparks in August. A sold-out crowd of more than 19,000 fans attended that game at TD Garden. The Sun usually play home games in front of a significantly smaller crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena, which has a capacity of around 10,000 seats.

Holiday’s comments came after talks of whether Boston could be a viable market for an expansion team considering its large sports scene. The WNBA is adding three new teams, with teams in Portland, Toronto, and Golden State set to join the league in the next two years.

Ray Pineault, the president and CEO of Mohegan (who owns the Sun), said he doesn’t want the WNBA to expand to Boston, though.

“I don’t want another WNBA franchise in Boston,” Pineault told Bookies.com. “As the league grows, we’re going to continue to see growth. We get Massachusetts and Rhode Island fans who come to our games now. I wouldn’t be a big fan of having a Boston team.”

The Celtics guard also discussed how special it was to bring his daughter to the game to see WNBA athletes in action.

“She usually watches us,” said Holiday, “but watching girls that look like her is, in my opinion, kind of cool.”

Late last month, Connecticut’s Gov. Ned Lamont announced that the minimum wage will increase 66 cents next year, sparking questions on the efficacy of an increase on the state’s cost of living crisis.

Tyson Odermann & Nicolas Ciminiello

11:55 pm, Oct 10, 2024

Staff Reporter & Contributing Reporter

Christina Lee, Photography Editor

Come next year, the minimum wage in Connecticut is set to increase by 66 cents — or from an hourly wage of $15.69 to $16.25.

The planned increase comes from a 2019 state bill. The law requires the minimum wage to be adjusted each year based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment cost index calculation. The state’s minimum wage has increased every year since 2019.

“This is a fair, modest adjustment for workers who will invest their earnings right back into our economy and support local businesses in their communities,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a press release.

For the approximately 170,000 minimum wage laborers in Connecticut, the 4.2 percent increase would result in an extra $26.40 a week— summing about $1,400 annually — for laborers working 40 hours a week. 

A city official and Yale student worker who spoke with the News celebrated the increase. But a local business owner expressed skepticism about the positive effects of the increase.  

Michael Piscitelli, the economic development administrator of New Haven, said he was optimistic about the minimum wage increase in an email to the News.

“The increase to the State’s minimum wage rate is an important step forward, supporting our residents who have bolstered the City’s economic growth over many years,” Piscitelli wrote.

George Koutroumanis, owner of Yorkside Pizza, a family-owned restaurant located on Yale’s campus, shared concerns about price increases, however. 

Regardless, Koutroumanis emphasized that the rise in minimum wage would not affect his hiring process. 

“People will make more money, that’s good. Maybe they’ll spend more money, that’s good,” Koutroumanis said. “But on the other hand, everything that they buy will cost more money.”

Despite the increase, Connecticut remains one of the costliest states to live in according to the Cost of Living Index, which ranks it 13th most expensive. It remains unclear if the rise in minimum wage will help laborers adjust to a high cost of living. 

Piscitelli noted that Connecticut still has “a long way to go” to reach a living wage relative to the cost of living. 

“You know the way the economy is today, there is no livable wage,” Koutroumanis added. “You’re making more money, but losing value.”

Meanwhile, student worker Nik Alderson ’27 expressed excitement about the increase. 

“I’m very happy. I think this will increase my disposable income by quite a lot. It’ll definitely improve my standard of living,” Alderson said.

The Koutroumanis family has owned Yorkside Pizza and Restaurant since 1969. 

Members of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation have been helping facilitate recovery efforts for fellow tribal members impacted by Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

“Mashantucket is all one big family. And they make sure they take care of their own,” said Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Fire Chief Floyd Chaney.

Thursday at the Mashantucket public safety building, Chief Chaney was among other tribal members and workers doing just that in the wake of Hurricane Milton.

“We are a family here, but we have–we have family members no matter where they are in the state,” said Mashantucket Social Services Manager Tanisha Minnis.

To help family members in need, emergency and social services personnel established a wellness call center, reaching out to those down south in the aftermath of the storm.

“This is a scary situation, okay. Milton, Helene puts lives in jeopardy so we do whatever it takes to make them feel as comfortable as possible,” Chief Chaney said.

Minnis said they called over 70 family members on Thursday morning.

“I’ve spoken to individuals today and they were just really just excited to hear that we’re calling. It just lets them know that we care. That no matter where they are, that we’re concerned for them,” Minnis said.

She said many are safe, but others are dealing with the devastation.

“Some have had damage to their homes like so many others in these states. Some have lost electricity for prolonged periods of time and are dealing with lost food and lost basic needs for them to survive,” said Mashantucket Pequot Chief of Government Administration Michael Purcaro.

Through the calls, those in Connecticut are facilitating aid to members down south by connecting them with local authorities and other resources.

“Essentially, whatever families might need as far as assistance, we’re here to try and connect them either to services that we have, support that we can provide from here or even locally where they’re living,” Purcaro said.

He added that for phone lines that did not connect, the Tribal Police are working to contact local authorities to ensure everyone is accounted for.

“Anything we gotta do in Connecticut, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida–whatever it takes,” Chief Chaney said.