Connecticut
Family of Madison man killed in wrong-way crash on I-95 devastated
![Family of Madison man killed in wrong-way crash on I-95 devastated Family of Madison man killed in wrong-way crash on I-95 devastated](https://media.nbcconnecticut.com/2024/10/mark-anthony-palumbo-wrong-way-crash-westbrook.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675)
“To say that Mark made an impact wherever he went or on whoever, it’s for real.”
Michael Brotz spent some time Friday sharing how his brother-in-law, Mark Anthony Palumbo Jr., made that impact. One way was meeting people through his business, Madison Avenue Salon in Madison, where he was a part owner and a stylist. He was also a firefighter and owner of MAP Auto Detailing.
“He kind of had his hand in a few things but everything he did, he did it with passion,” Brotz said. The two were firefighters together and were close friends. Brotz eventually married Palumbo’s sister, something Brotz joked didn’t come easy at first, but their family bond grew stronger.
News of his death Wednesday spread beyond the family and made its way through town.
“I’m sure he’s going to – the family will – get a lot of support because his father is a businessman here so they all know the family,” said Earl Carta, a longtime resident of Madison.
Palumbo died Wednesday evening on I-95 in Westbrook. He was driving his prized 2014 red Ford Mustang when he was hit by a wrong-way driver. Troy Bree, of Groton, is charged with OUI and reckless driving.
“The biggest thing is that driving under the influence of alcohol or substances is intolerable,” Brotz said. “People really need to think about the damage that they can cause and the lives that they can change in the blink of an eye. And that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night.”
“I just want to see him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” he added. “I don’t have a lot of forgiveness in my heart right now.”
The Palumbo family is working through levels of grief over Mark’s death. There’s a numbness for some, and others say laughter is helping the tight family support each other.
“I just loved Mark and I loved spending time with him, and I loved the person he was and how he cared for people.”
His brother-in-law says Palumbo’s love grew, and he softened a bit, when he and his wife Amanda welcomed their two girls Carina and Mia.
“Those girls just brought him so much joy and happiness it changed his life in a way that I don’t even think he expected that it could,” Brotz said.
And those are thoughts they hold onto as they try to imagine life without him. There is an outpouring of support for the family on social media. Brotz says it’s not something they expected, but they’re finding comfort in all the messages they’re reading.
“He was a gift to the world. I can’t really say more than that.”
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Connecticut
Yalies rally to stop gas pipeline expansion in Connecticut
![Yalies rally to stop gas pipeline expansion in Connecticut Yalies rally to stop gas pipeline expansion in Connecticut](https://yaledailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ysecprotest_ek_PhoenixBoggs_ContributingPhotographer-1-1024x683.jpeg)
The Yale College Democrats and Yale Student Environmental Coalition joined a rally in Hartford to stop fracked gas expansion.
Emily Khym
Staff Reporter
Phoenix Boggs, Contributing Photographer
The Yale College Democrats and Yale Student Environmental Coalition rallied alongside other environmental advocates to stop Project Maple on Tuesday in Hartford.
“Stop Project Maple” is an ongoing campaign in Connecticut that aims to oppose the expansion of a gas pipeline from New York to Massachusetts. Tuesday’s protest targeted Eversource, a utility company interested in purchasing additional gas from the project.
“Yesterday, we were at Eversource calling on them to both stop funding fossil fuels and stop purchasing our electricity and our heating from fossil fuels,” said Sena Wazer ENV ’26, a Stop Project Maple intern. “At the same time, we also wanted to call them out for having prices that are really unaffordable and taking advantage, especially of low-income ratepayers in Connecticut.”
Wazer claimed that Connecticut’s electricity bills are 91 percent higher than the national average due to companies such as Eversource.
The two organizations hosted a poster-making event the night before where students made posters that read “Stop Project Maple” and “End Ever Sour.” Yalies went to Hartford Tuesday afternoon to join the protests.
“We started by listening to the organizers as they gave speeches,” said Christian Thomas ’26, Yale College Democrats president. “We participated in a die-in to represent the potential climate catastrophe that can come from oil pipelines like Project Maple.”
The protest included listening to speeches and a march to Eversource’s headquarters in Hartford. Alycia D. Jenkins, an organizer for the Connecticut chapter of the Sierra Club, a national environmental organization, started the rally by reading one of her poems.
Wazer and other activists also gave speeches on the environmental harms of fossil fuels as well as the need for clean energy. The protest called on Eversource to stop funding fossil fuels, stop purchasing electricity and heating from fossil fuels and address unaffordable prices, particularly affecting low-income ratepayers in Connecticut.
Eversource did not immediately respond to the News’ request for comment.
“It was really impactful to stand there out in the freezing cold holding our signs and seeing other people who came out from all over CT to raise awareness about the harms that Project Mapel will incur upon our communities in Connecticut and the broader New England area,” Phoenix Boggs ’26, YSEC political outreach chair, said.
Boggs hopes that joining this rally can act as a springboard for YSEC to be more involved in policy advocacy work.
For Yale Dems, local clean energy and sustainability is a priority in campaigning.
“Our aim was to advocate for a more sustainable approach to gas transport and consumption and urge Connecticut lawmakers to support clean energy options,” said Jack Dozier ’27, Yale Dems communications chair. “We were incredibly excited to co-sponsor the trip to Hartford as we recognize that these are incredibly important priorities, especially in a time when many environmental resources and whole chunks of the EPA are being gutted.”
Stop Project Maple is hosting a workshop on writing a Letter to the Editor on Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. online.
Connecticut
Pope Francis appoints new Bishop for Diocese of Norwich
![Pope Francis appoints new Bishop for Diocese of Norwich Pope Francis appoints new Bishop for Diocese of Norwich](https://media.nbcconnecticut.com/2019/09/CATHOLIC-CHURCH-GENERIC.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=1200%2C675)
Pope Francis has appointed a new Bishop for the Diocese of Norwich on Wednesday.
The Vatican made the official announcement and Bishop-elect Richard F. Reidy was named as the sixth Bishop of Norwich.
He comes to Norwich from the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., where he most recently served as Vicar General.
“I am very grateful to the Holy Father for this appointment and look forward to assisting the Bishop-elect as he becomes acclimated to Eastern Connecticut,” said Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne, Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Norwich.
“I am confident that he will be an excellent shepherd for the people of the Diocese,” Archbishop Coyne continued.
Connecticut
Canaan is Home to the Coolest Looking Quarry in All of Connecticut
![Canaan is Home to the Coolest Looking Quarry in All of Connecticut Canaan is Home to the Coolest Looking Quarry in All of Connecticut](https://townsquare.media/site/677/files/2025/02/attachment-canaan.jpg?w=1200&q=75&format=natural)
Every once in a while I take a wrong turn and find something that I’ve never seen before, it happened up in the Northwest corner of Connecticut over the weekend, I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up looking at the coolest looking quarry in all of Connecticut.
Connecticut is not Alaska, Nevada, or even Pennsylvania, where vast stretches of virgin ground have sat undisturbed for millions of years. We do live upon one of the world’s finest selections of garnets, but Connecticut is not oil or gold rich. Global companies have tapped into our natural resources over time, and the one that I found operating in Canaan is called Specialty Minerals by Minerals Technologies. According to the company website, Specialty Minerals operates in 32 countries across the globe, generates $2.2 billion in annual sales, and has over 4,000 employees. Their operation is located right below the intersection of Routes 44 and 7, not far from the Massachusetts/Connecticut border. What a striking sight among the winter browns and grays, it’s a blindingly white stone quarry, with shockingly blue water at the bottom.
I know I’ve been watching too many years of Gold Rush on the Discovery Channel, but every time I drive by a ragtag group of laborers in heavy equipment moving the earth around, I have to stop and see what they’re doing. The Minerals Technologies quarry is located off of Lower Road in Canaan, and I drove by after taking a wrong turn. Everything is fenced off, with no trespassing signs posted at every turn, but it’s quite a sight to see instead of the giant wind turbines.
Five Businesses That We Will Never, Ever See Here in Connecticut
You can get almost anything that your heart desires in the State of Connecticut, except for the products produced by these five national retailers and fast-food companies. The only way to enjoy anything from the following places is traveling out of Connecticut, or ordering it on Amazon, and a burger isn’t the same after jetting across country.
Gallery Credit: Google/Large Dave
6 Restaurants Ideal for Winter Dining in Connecticut
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