http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/ Colchester, CT News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/e8d719df6b94053b64bb163d62aa5d6d.html Efforts to clean up Long Island Sound and Jamaica Bay got a 33 million boost this week thanks in part to two settlements in pollution cases http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/e34c32cf86f35c76429619ebc67d2c21.html Lisbon After more than a decade Winner Ford on Route 12 is closing its doors and scrapping plans to relocate to a more http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/8e95c1c8af9545701e896d380435e41c.html Colchester Phil Ziegler scored with just over two minutes remaining in overtime to give the East Lyme High School boys39; soccer team a http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/eca4c9ae18c1af7acf9c48fbc87fe7e2.html Eight gay couples are challenging the state law that prohibits them from marrying From the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders Web site here is a look at the couples: http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/069ca1c31b703297fffea1a1a3895699.html WASHINGTONJORDAN ZAPPALAHour Washington Correspondent The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry making Connecticut the third state in the country to allow samesex marriage following Massachusetts and California In a 43 ruling that reversed a lower court decision the Supreme Court determined that the state's marriage law discriminated against gays and lesbians because it violated the state constitution's equal protection principles The case was brought by eight samesex couples who were denied marriage licenses and sued the state in 2004In light of the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody the segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm Justice Richard Palmer wrote in the court's majority opinion Janet Peck a plaintiff with her partner of 33 years Carol Conklin said that she started crying immediately upon hearing the decision We are just so so happy there are not enough words to express how happy we are said Peck a mental health counselor from Colchester I am thrilled that after our 33 years together we have finally been legally recognized and that so many other gay and lesbian couples will have the equal protection they deservePeck said that she and Conklin will be getting married soon but that their families have been waiting so long for this it is important that they be able to celebrate with usWe are thrilled with the ruling said Carisa Cunningham public affairs director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders GLAD the group that represented Peck and the other plaintiffs in the case Today's decision represents the hopes and dreams of lesbian and gay couples to live as full and equal parties in the eyes of the lawThe Connecticut Legislature passed a law in 2005 allowing civil unions for samesex couples but the plaintiffs argued and the court agreed that the unions did not afford the same benefits or protections as marriage The Family Institute of Connecticut a political action committee opposed to gay marriage quickly spoke out against the rulingEven the legislature as liberal as ours decided that marriage is between a man and a woman said the group's executive director Peter Wolfgang This is about our right to govern ourselves It is bigger than gay marriageGov M Jodi Rell said she disagreed with the court's decision but said Friday that she would not fight itShe is opposed to the ruling said Luigi Fulinello assistant to Rell However it is a Supreme Court decision and there's nothing she can do to overturn that She does not believe any attempts to reverse the decision through the Legislature would be successful at this time Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement that an appeal to the US Supreme Court is impossible since the decision was based solely on an interpretation of state constitutional law The State Supreme Court is the ultimate authority on all state law and its ruling on the state constitution must be respected he said Friday http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/cdbb61e962a9a871363d576f71cdc48c.html The organizers of a protest planned for next week are hoping to light a fire under residents and officials to oppose a hazardous waste transfer facility in Hartford's South Meadows http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/cd13fb7803abb762e4dc436051936936.html It was a simple line but Thaddeus Kobus summed up the Crescent Lake experience rather perfectly http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/connecticut/colchester/content/2919358ce4b9ac082cc79a5b36791625.html A former paralegal at a South Windsor law firm faces a prison term at sentencing Jan 6 in federal court in Bridgeport after pleading guilty this week to stealing 17 million from the firm to cover her gambling debts