Le Journal

Man critically injured in Bloomfield shooting
Bloomfield police are investigating after a man was shot multiple times Tuesday evening. Officers were called to a home on Elizabeth Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on the report of gunshots. Officials said several vehicles were involved, and one victim was shot. Investigators found multiple spent shell casings at the scene. The gunshot victim, who police describe as a 40-year-old man, was taken away from the scene in a red car and admitted himself to Hartford Hospital. Police said the man was shot in his chest, side, and arm. The victim underwent surgery for life-threatening injuries. Police believe there are no other victims. No suspect information is available at this time, and Bloomfield police continue to investigate the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Bloomfield Police Department at 860-242-5501.

Smelly saga in Berlin ends as noise problem persists from food recycling facility
People in Berlin have complained about a stench that was coming from a food recycling facility, but after some changes, the odor has mostly cleared. Neighbors described the smell as pungent and like rancid meat in 2024, two years after Bright Feeds began operations. The air seems to be clear thanks to an industrial air pollution control device called a regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO). Bright Feeds finished installing it in April 2025. An RTO is an air destruction device that destroys volatile pollutants and odors via heat, before exhausting them through the stack. It also removes emissions-related odors, similar to a catalytic converter. “When we had the smell, it was terrible. It was nauseating at times,” Shawn McLaughlin, the commercial truck manager at Tasca Ford around the corner, said. “But that was over a year ago, I think. And it’s very good now. We don’t notice it maybe, maybe once or twice since then.” There were also concerns about health risks. The state Department of Public Health evaluated health risks from exposure to contaminants emitted by the facility into the air. DPH’s final report found that “breathing contaminants at the ambient air concentrations modeled by DEEP is not expected to harm the health of community members.” At a town council meeting Tuesday night, Cheryl Fields, a toxicologist with DPH, said chemicals released during food processing can cause headaches or nausea, but her analysis found the odor doesn’t pose any long-term risk. “Smelling something doesn’t always mean it’s dangerous,” Fields said. “Oftentimes odors can be noticeable at concentrations that are far below the levels that harm your health.” Laxmi Stebbins Wordham, the chief growth officer at Bright Feeds, issued a statement: “Bright Feeds welcomes the findings of the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s report that confirms the operation of our facility does not pose any adverse health impacts to the surrounding community. We remain committed to the continued operation of our facility that protects the well-being of our workers and the surrounding community.” The noise remains a problem for some. One neighbor says it’s disrupting his quality of life. He played a recording of what he heard outside his window. “It’s like a fan, very low-pitched sound,” he said. “Low frequency that’s like penetrating walls, and it’s really throbbing in your head.” The town passed a noise ordinance last June, lowering the decibel levels emitted at certain times and places in town. The mayor said Bright Feeds has been compliant.

Timothy Busfield can be released while awaiting trial, judge rules
A judge has ordered that actor Timothy Busfield be released from jail during a detention hearing on child sex abuse charges. The order Tuesday by state district court Judge David Murphy is linked to accusations that Busfield inappropriately touched a minor while working as a director on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.” The judge ordered the defendant released on his own recognizance, pending trial. Busfield will be supervised upon release by a pretrial service in Albuquerque, and can leave the state to live at home, the judge said. Busfield, an Emmy Award-winning actor who is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” was ordered held without bond last week at his first court appearance. Busfield called the allegations lies in a video shared before he turned himself in. Celebrity News Jan 13 Actor Timothy Busfield turns himself in amid child sex abuse allegations Actors Jan 10 Actor Timothy Busfield accused of child sex abuse in New Mexico At the hearing Tuesday, Busfield was handcuffed and dressed in an orange jail uniform at the hearing in a New Mexico state district court, while wife and actor Melissa Gilbert watched from the court gallery. Gilbert was tearful while exiting the courtroom after the judge ordered Busfield’s release. Gilbert, who played Laura Ingalls in the 1970s to ’80s TV series “Little House on the Prairie,” is on the list of potential witnesses submitted ahead of the hearing. Albuquerque police issued a warrant for Busfield’s arrest earlier this month on two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. A criminal complaint alleges the acts occurred on the set of the series “The Cleaning Lady.” According to the criminal complaint, an investigator with the police department says a child reported Busfield touched him on private areas over his clothing on one occasion when he was 7 years old and another time when he was 8. The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was also touched by Busfield, but did not specify where. He said he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble. On Monday, Busfield’s attorneys submitted two brief audio recordings of initial police interviews in which the children say Busfield did not touch them in private areas. The attorneys in a court filing argue that the complaint characterizes the interviews as a failure to disclose abuse, but an “unequivocal denial is materially different from a mere absence of disclosure.” According to the criminal complaint, one of the boys disclosed during a therapy session that he was inappropriately touched by the show’s director. Those records were obtained by police during the investigation. Arguing Tuesday for Busfield’s continued detention, Assistant District Attorney Savannah Brandenburg-Koch called evidence of abuse against Busfield strong and specific. “The boys’ allegations are supported by medical findings and by their therapist,” Brandenburg-Koch said. “Their accounts were specific and not exaggerated.” She also described a documented pattern of sexual misconduct, abuse of authority and grooming behavior by Busfield over the past three decades. Prosecutors also say witnesses have expressed fear regarding retaliation and professional harm. “GPS is not going to tell this court if he is around children or talking to witnesses,” Brandenburg-Koch said. Busfield’s attorneys have argued that the allegations emerged only after the boys lost their role in the TV show, creating a financial and retaliatory motive. The filings detailed what the attorneys said was a history of fraud by both the boys’ father and mother. They cited an investigation by Warner Bros. into the allegations that found them unfounded. Busfield also submitted letters vouching for his character, and his attorneys say he passed an independent polygraph test. Legal experts say New Mexico is among a few states that allow polygraph evidence in…

Family of Meriden shooting victim remembers him as loving dad, pursing career in healthcare
He was a loving father and son who had a bright future pursuing a career in the medical field. That’s how the family of a young man killed in a shooting in Meriden on Monday is remembering him. The family of 22-year-old Deron Johnson is holding onto his memory tightly as they mourn an unimaginable loss. Meriden police say Johnson was shot and killed on Cook Avenue in broad daylight. Johnson’s cousin, Louis L. Reed, is still processing what happened, but is trying to pay tribute to Johnson by leaving candles at the scene. “DJ is a reflection of us. DJ is a reflection of what we want our children to be,” Reed said. “For us to be right back here planning a funeral rather than planning a future, that’s completely devastating.” Reed says Johnson, whom they called DJ, was a loving father of a 2-year-old son and worked locally as a surgical tech. He says DJ was driven to pursue his job after losing relatives recently to cancer and other health-related issues. “I think that catalyzes a drive in you to want to help people, and if there’s nothing else, that’s what DJ wanted to do. He wanted to help people,” Reed said. That was evident in his personality, which Reed says was warm and friendly with a unique voice he will always remember. “His smile. He had a voice that would rival Barry White. He just couldn’t sing like him, and he had a deep baritone voice,” Reed said. Reed said the family believes the shooting wasn’t random and wants whoever is responsible to be held accountable. “You didn’t just take a life, you took a life that meant something to us,” he said. A life that had so much potential for the Johnson family. “For DJ to take his first breath in his mother’s arms and then take his last breath in his mother’s arms, that in itself is tragic,” Reed said. As for the investigation, there’s still no word on any suspects, but officers were at the scene for more than eight hours yesterday. Police said there’s no threat to the public.

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Don’t let the shooting stats fool you, Dallin Hall remains crucial to UVA basketball’s success
Things are going well for Ryan Odom and the Virginia Cavaliers, to say the least. The ’Hoos are firmly back in the top-25 once again at 16-2 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, with a gigantic opportunity this Saturday against a struggling North Carolina team at home inside JPJ. A huge part of this team’s success, despite what anyone who only looks at the scoring column might tell you, is the leadership and all-around play of Dallin Hall. The easy-to-knock, low-hanging fruit of his game as of late has been his shooting, rather the lack thereof throughout stretches this year, especially in UVA’s last three games. In the last three wins over Stanford, Louisville, and SMU, Hall’s combined for an ugly 3-of-16 from the floor, with all but three of those attempts coming from beyond the arc. 19% shooting is bad; there’s no defending it in a vacuum. But pointing at that percentage alone to poke a giant hole in Hall’s game, as UVA’s narrow leader in minutes played per game (27.5), would be disingenuous for what he does for this team, and a misunderstanding of why Odom and his staff brought him to Charlottesville in the first place. Hall does a handful of things well that you’ll never see in the box score or on a graphic flashed across on TV. He boxes out guards gunning for boards to open space for others to get their hands on rebounds, plays sound team defense, and does the things that make coaches pump their fist in a film session like funneling ballhandlers into the human skyscrapers of Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso for tough looks around the basket, or simply making the easy, productive passes in halfcourt offense for second or third assists. You’ll never hear anyone talking about a hockey assist in a basketball game, but those are the plays that shine like flashing green lights to a coaching staff making playing time decisions. Dallin Hall is a box score-watcher’s worst nightmare.Affects the game even when shots aren’t falling pic.twitter.com/JcBRSsykev— Garrett Keogh (@garrett_keogh01) January 19, 2026 Besides, was the expectation when UVA secured his commitment in the summer that he would be averaging 13 points a night? Safe to say, probably not. In his first three years at BYU, he averaged 7.3, 9.0, and 6.8 points per game, respectively. Today, his scoring average sits at 5.8. And while there was serious talent on a few of those Cougar teams, the jury is still out on whether or not this UVA group is the best Hall’s been a part of — I lean more toward that being the case. Hall starts and plays heavily because of his ability to distribute, defend intelligently, and be in the right spots. Guys like Thijs De Ridder, Malik Thomas, Chance Mallory, and Sam Lewis have shown they’re able to carry the scoring load. That’s part of why this team is up to No. 14 in the AP Poll. Odom and co. constructed this roster with a clear vision in mind for each guy’s role. Hall is out there to help run the show on both ends of the floor. "He's just a winner."UVA coach Ryan Odom says Dallin Hall has made a tremendous impact on the team both on and off the court this season. Adds how valuable his mentorship with Chance Mallory is this year.Also says he wants Hall to continue shooting.— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) January 19, 2026 And sure, I can find clip after clip of great plays, and if you think differently, you can go find a share of bad ones. That’s as endless a game as someone still saying the SEC is the best conference in college football at this point. But overall? Hall is a net positive when he’s out there. In fact, the analytics suggest that to be true when you look at how effective UVA’s lineup combinations are with him on the floor. Of the ACC’s top 15 rated three-player lineups measured by CBB Analytics, the ’Hoos own four of them. The only player included in each of those four? Dallin Hall. The top '3-player lineup combos" by Net Rating in the ACC (min. 150 MP) pic.twitter.com/OU4uh1AlJK— CBB Analytics (@CBBAnalytics)…

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