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www.NHRegister.com | Thursday, January 28, 2021 | $2.00

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1 The state’s epidemiologist haswarned Connecticut school adminis-trators of the potential threat of aCOVID-19 variant that the CDC ex-pects to be the dominant strain hereby March. A3

1 Virus chart — See the total num-bers of COVID-19 cases and deathsin Connecticut by county since thebeginning of the pandemic. A2

VACCINE PLANSee how the Pfizer andModerna COVID- 19vaccines will get to you at:

nhregister.com/vaccine-plan

INSIDE &ONLINE

OLD SAYBROOK — After receiving aletter from the Board of Selectmen in-dicating 32 officers have left the depart-ment during Chief of Police Michael Spe-ra’s tenure, the police board requested apublic report on department turnover.

The selectmen’s letter requested the“Police Commission undertake an exam-ination of the issue of past turnover ofsworn personnel” since Spera becamechief in 2009.

“The Board of Selectmen appreciatesthe Police Commission acting in a non-partisan fashion on the Selectmen’s re-quest,” First Selectman Carl Fortunawrote in an email to a reporter Tuesday.“Nearly all the information requested is

OLD SAYBROOK

Board toexaminepoliceturnoverBy Meghan Friedmann

See Turnover on A4

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

The Old Saybrook Department of PoliceServices on Oct. 15, 2020.

Merrill Gay helped hiselderly mother, sequester-ed alone at home, make anappointment last week toget a coronavirus vaccina-tion.

Meanwhile, the thou-sands of child care work-ers who are members ofthe coalition he leads, theEarly Childhood Alliance,

Black, Latino residents:Left behind on vaccines?Critics say white people are getting inoculated at a disproportionately high rate in Connecticut

Joseph Prezioso / Getty Images

Frank Tate receives the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19vaccine from a mobile clinic in Hartford on Friday.

By Jacqueline RabeThomas, KasturiPananjady and Jenna CarlessoCTMIRROR.ORG

See Vaccines on A7

NEW HAVEN — Robb Barto-lomeo has owned Gotham CitiCafé for 25 years, one of the city’sprime nightspots catering to thegay community.

But since March, the club hasbeen mostly dark. Bartolomeo isin the midst of a legal dispute,claiming he should be able toreopen after the city Health De-

partment closed him down, tell-ing him his club was not follow-ing the state’s reopening rulesduring the COVID-19 pandemic,including that he was not servingfood and is not a restaurant.

Throughout the reopening,Gov. Ned Lamont has not allowedbars to reopen. The club wasopen for two nights since March,June 20 and 21.

Bartolomeo filed suit against

the city and Health Director Ma-ritza Bond in July, but given theway the COVID-19 pandemic hasslowed down the court system, hedoesn’t have a trial date scheduledfor another year.

Meanwhile, between licenses,rent, insurance, utilities andmaintenance, he said he has spentmore than $50,000 “and coun-ting.”

Lawsuit: Not ‘a matter of making money’By Ed Stannard

Arnold Gold /HearstConnecticutMedia

TheGothamCiti Cafeon OrangeStreet inNewHaven onJan. 19.

See Gotham on A2

HAMDEN — With goals centering onequity, the Hamden Democratic TownCommittee ratified its first-ever munici-pal platform in a move leaders said re-presents a recent shift in the member-ship and goals of the organization.

At times, the document is critical ofthe town’s government, currently headedby Democrat Mayor Curt Leng.

HAMDEN

Mayor: FellowDemocrats’new platform‘inaccurate’Leng says it’s ‘laudable’ butignores efforts, progress

By Meghan Friedmann

Clare Dignan / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Hamden Mayor Curt B. Leng

See DTC on A7

ORANGE — The future of the RaceBrook Country Club is on the mindsof residents.

Among the most prevalent ques-tions residents have expressed as thetown moves forward with a plan tobuy the property the club has occu-

pied for more than 100 years is: Whatwould happen if the club were toclose?

The proposal is for the town tospend $8.5 million to buy the club’s287 acres, 27-hole golf course, 23,000-square-foot clubhouse, 9,000-square-foot maintenance facility, drivingrange, two private homes, multi-mile

irrigation system and more. But RaceBrook Country Club would managethe club and golf course.

First Selectman Jim Zeoli said thisweek that if the club ever were toclose, a decision would be made at thattime on what to do with the site, andbuying the property now would be the

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media

The driving range at Race Brook Country Club in Orange on Jan. 14.

OUT OF BOUNDS?

HOLE IN ONE

Residents concerned by town of Orange’s plans to buy country club

See Club on A4

By Pam McLoughlin