You might want to ‘Compromise Elsewhere’, Boar’s Head deli meat fans. Numerous grocery store chains are temporarily shutting down their deli departments for a deep-cleaning following a reported multi-state outbreak of listeria.

Big Y has announced that their deli’s will be temporarily closed after Boar’s Head Provisions Co recalled all of their liverwurst product. Boar’s Head has also more of their deli meats that may have been produced on the same production line. According to Big Y, the USDA has recommended a deep-cleaning/sanitization of all surfaces, and to discard any open meats and cheeses in the deli. The other Boar’s Head meats that have been recalled are:

• Virginia Ham – Old Fashioned Ham
• Italian Cappy Style Ham
• Extra Hot Italian Cappy Style Ham
• Bologna
• Beef Salami
• Steakhouse Roasted Bacon Heat & Eat
• Garlic Bologna
• Beef Bologna

All of the Boar’s Head deli meats have sell-by dates of “AUG 10”, and the Heat & Eat Bacon has a sell-by date of “AUG 15”.

Big Y did not offer Boar’s Head deli meats in their Connecticut markets for the longest time, I recall that it’s only been a year or two that I’ve been able to buy my favorite – Boar’s head low-sodium ham, at the Big Y – Torrington and New Milford locations.

Stop & Shop supermarkets around Connecticut will also temporarily close their deli’s for a deep cleaning according to nbcconnecticut.com. The good news is that if your local deli does not carry Boar’s Head deli meat, there should be a pile of clean, shaved beef waiting for you.

Amid rising bear encounters in the state, an adult black bear and its cub were found trapped inside a car outside a home in Winsted, Connecticut, on July 15, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

DEEP environmental conservation officers were called by the vehicle owner in the northwestern town. Upon arrival, officers opened the car door, releasing the two bears. The bears reportedly ran off with a third bear that had been running around in distress while the two were trapped.

State officials believe that the bears opened the car door themselves to enter the vehicle.

Newsweek reached out to DEEP’s communications team for comment via email on Friday.

The car’s interior was completely torn apart from the bears thrashing. The bears appeared to blare the horn and play the radio.

The northwestern part of the state has the highest concentration of black bears, according to DEEP. Last year, bears were found in all but three cities and towns across the state, with sightings in 165 of 169 municipalities. This past week, there have been three publicly reported bear-related incidents.

The black bear population is growing in the state, and based on data published in DEEP’s 2024 State of the Bears, there are an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 bears in the state, adding that “the population has a high potential for growth,” given their habitat and food sources.

In June 2023, a state law passed that allows individuals to seek permits to kill a bear if it is damaging livestock and agriculture, as well as establishing the right to use deadly force in defense of an attack.

A year after the law was passed, this June, a Connecticut resident shot and killed a 450-pound adult male black bear, claiming it was in self-defense.

This past week, three bear-related incidents were publicly reported, including a bear being killed after being hit by cars and another euthanized after reportedly biting a woman.

DEEP requests residents to report bear sightings on its website. So far this year, there have been 7,674 reported bear sightings, with 2,255 “bear conflicts” in the state, according to the state’s wildlife sighting public viewer.

In February 2023, DEEP launched it’s “Be Bear Aware” public campaign to raise awareness and lower the total human-bear conflicts in the state through education programs and conflict management advice.

In an email to CT Insider regarding the July 15 incident, DEEP Senior Advisor Ethan H. Van Ness said: “DEEP would like to remind residents to remain bear aware. Always lock your car doors, particularly if you live in areas with regular bear activity.”

CONNECTICUT — Since 1940, the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (formerly the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance) has presented Gold Keys to deserving individuals who had made a considerable impact on the state’s sports landscape. In addition to the Gold Keys, other awards are meted out in various categories, and the CSMA has named the final nine recipients who will be honored at the 82nd annual dinner this fall.

Receiving accolades at the dinner will be:

• Hal Levy High School Achievement Award – Paula Fitzgerald, Westbrook High School. Athletic director for 33 years, longtime varsity girls’ tennis coach with more than 500 career victories, assistant girls’ basketball coach for eight state championships, 2024 inductee into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Bo Kolinsky Memorial Special Recognition Award – Rick Leddy, North Haven. Worked for 36 years at his alma mater, Southern Connecticut State College/University, as sports information director and then associate director of athletics. Member of the SCSU Athletics and New England Basketball halls of fame.
• Bob Casey Courage Award – the family of Charlie Capalbo, Fairfield. Charlie, a standout ice hockey goalie, fought non-Hodgkins lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia for five years before passing away at 23 in 2022. His family has since worked tirelessly to raise funds for AML research and create awareness of childhood cancers.
• John Wentworth Good Sport Awards – Marc Forster, Ledyard, a history professor at Connecticut College who has been an unpaid volunteer assistant softball coach at Ledyard High School since 2011; Mary-Jane Hussey, Windsor Locks, volunteer in the Suffield Special Olympics program from high school through 1991, co-founded what became the Windsor Locks Special Olympics program in 1996, overseeing its growth from four special needs athletes to more than 40; Bob Rafferty, Trumbull, facility manager at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven since 2002, Hillhouse Football Booster Club president since 2006, longtime volunteer with New Haven Gridiron Club, National Football Foundation Casey/O’Brien New Haven County Chapter, North Haven youth basketball and Trumbull youth softball; Jim Reynolds, East Haven, began working at Farnam Neighborhood House in New Haven in 1986, started seventh- and eighth-grade travel basketball program.
• Art McGinley Media Award – George Albano, Norwalk. Began sportswriting career in Nov. 1974, celebrating 50 years this fall. Spent 42 years with the Norwalk Hour; the George Albano Press Box at Jack Casagrande Field at Brien McMahon High School was dedicated in 2019. Member of the FCIAC and McMahon halls of fame.
• Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship – Casey O’Brien, Ridgefield High School. Lead sports writer and social media manager for school newspaper, The Ridgefielder, and broadcast girls basketball games via livestreaming on RHS YouTube channel. Will be majoring in sports communications at Clemson University.

Gold Key Award recipients for 2024, announced in the spring, are former Daniel Hand High School and Yale University football coach Larry Ciotti, longtime Windham High School wrestling and football coach Brian Crudden, retired Pomperaug High School field hockey coach Linda Dirga, award-winning sportscaster George Grande and Wesleyan University women’s basketball coach Kate Mullen.

Proceeds support the Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship, a $3,000 annual award named in memory of the noted high school sports editor of the Hartford Courant and past CSMA president, who passed away in 2003 at age 49.