Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 88

A4 TUESDAY, )UNE 19, 2001 THE HARTFORD COURANT CONNECTICUT Parties D. A 1.1 lis a a. Expect A Done Deal On Budget Today two fiscal years $80 million below in 2001-02, and some lesser margin in 2002-03. Ryan said the margin in the second year was "nowhere near acceptable," and more spending cuts needed to be made. Democrats were not able to add as much as originally planned for education, or to restore a pool of money that now compensates hospitals for treating poor, uninsured patients.

Lyons said the final budget will set aside some of this year's surplus to help urban hospitals that will suffer most from an elimination of the so-called uncompensated care pool. By DAN HAAR And LISA CHEDEKEL COURANT STAFF WRITERS After weeks of optimism followed by dashed hopes, Democrats and Republicans stood on the verge of a deal early today for the main portion of a two-year state budget in which both sides compromised on virtually all major issues. "The operating budget is pretty well resolved and we're on to the surplus," said Sen. Kevin B. Sullivan, D-West Hartford, the state Senate president pro tern, shortly after 11p.m.

Monday. The operating budget comprises about $13 billion a year in spending for 2001-02 and 2002-03. Early today, the two sides were working toward agreement on Boy, 4, Drowns In Pool In Relatives' Backyard Roller Coaster Sensor Was Defective ed they expected an announcement today. "Everybody gave here," Ryan said. "In the first year, we're definitely there." Democrats and Republicans are expected toannounce a spending plan of $12.94 billion for 2001-02, or about $50 million more than the figure Gov.

John G. Rowland proposed in February although the final number can change substantially based on different methods of calculating revenues Some Rowland-proposed cuts, or reductions in agency increases, were largely restored, in higher education, town aid from the PequotMohegan slot machine revenue, welfare and other areas. At the same time, Democrats faced with a squeeze on available Sinow said. Tom Wages, general manager of the amusement park on the Bristol-Southington line, said that at no time was the safety of passengers an issue. A contingency plan in place at the time of the accident worked perfectly, officials have said.

The Zoomerang had completed its looping, twisting run about 11:25 a.m. Thursday when it passed through the station, climbed an incline, then rolled back through the station as if to start a new run. It stopped on a twisting section of track that left riders at the front and back of the worked on South Marshall for six years called drug sales a fact of life on the street. He said he must often ask the young men to stay off the property he tends, and that he is careful not to befriend them, or tee them off. "It's a fine line," he said.

He asked that his name not be used for fear of retribution. He1 said he recognized Daniels as one of those often on the street. Daniels had three convictions since 1997 for selling narcotics, carrying or sale of a dangerous weapon and escape, according to state prison records. His shooting is the latest in a wave of incidents, some of which West acknowledged to the prosecutor that she didn't just dislike her cousin Tammi, she hated her. Although West said she realized that she had wronged Tammi Cuyler by cheating on her with her husband, she said Tammi Cuyler wouldn't leave it alone.

"She continued to fuel the fire as far as my family not liking me or accepting me," she testified. West said her only motive in sending Grajales into Cuyler's house was to "aggravate her." That would be accomplished, she said, if Cuyler awoke one morning to find that someone had sneaked into her house and left a firebomb or some other kind of By LORETTA WALDMAN COURANT STAFF WRITER BRISTOL A defective sensor caused last week's breakdown of the Zoomerang roller coaster at Lake Compounce Theme Park, an investigation by the state fire marshal's office has concluded. The looping steel coaster was reopened Monday, four days after it sped past a boarding station and came to rest on a section of track 60 feet in the air. Twenty-six riders were stranded for about 90 minutes until firefighters could reach them with Slaying CONTINUED FROM PAGE A3 shortly after 1 p.m. at St.

Francis Hospital and Medical Center. Daniels, who had a history of convictions on drug and weapons charges, had been shot and wounded three months ago in the same alley duringadisputewitha man he knew only as Mike, police said. He was hit in the upper back and neck, but lived to return to the shadowy alleys in a row of seven, three-story brick apartment how to spend the projected $640 million in surplus revenues from this fiscal year. House Speaker Moira K. Lyons, D-Stamford, said talks were so close that an agreement could be announced shortly after midnight.

In the early morning hours, talks continued. She and others said they hoped a special legislative session could be convened Thursday or Friday to approve what leaders negotiated. But had the two sides finally arrived at a pact in principle on state operating expenses for the next two years? It depended on who was doing the talking. Republicans, including the governor's budget chief, Marc S. Ryan, were somewhat more cautious, although they still indicat ladders.

The sensor is supposed to regulate the braking system of the ride and its failure caused the brake not to be applied where intended, Florence Sinow, a spokeswoman for the state fire marshal's office, said Monday. The malfunction triggered safety devices, however, that ensured the cars did not move once the ride came to a stop, Sinow said. Park maintenance workers replaced the part after consulting with the ride's manufacturer, Ve-koma International. State officials deemed the ride ready to operate after reinspecting it Friday, buildings. Monday, detectives, jacketless against the midday heat, were checking into a possible link between the two shootings.

Trying to reconstruct the last 24 hours of Daniels' life and nail down a motive, they knocked on apartment doors and spoke with young men and women sitting on stoops. South Marshall, which runs between Capital and Farmington avenues, is home to several dozen Albanian refugees. It's where ashes the size of Frisbees drifted when the city's biggest fire in 25 years consumed a former factory on Hawthorn Street in 1999. One man who has lived and any truth in the state's theory that she, with Grajales, broke into Cuyler's home to kill the children so they would no longer be in the way of her becoming Arnold Cuyler's wife. In her first chance at cross-examination, Assistant State's Attorney Rosita M.

Creamer seized on West's adm issions to explore the 26-year-old's capacity for "making up stories." The prosecutor questioned West heavily about fictional stories she wrote that had striking similarities to the life of her boyfriend and his divorce. Some of those stories had lead female characters named Chasity and Tammi. Earlier in the trial, Arnold Cuyler testified that he disliked those stories because they too closely resembled his own life. Monday, during cross-examination. West accused Cuyler of lying about the stories on the witness stand.

"Arnold co-authored them," she said. Cuyler, who was present in the courtroom at the time, sat mo tionless but looked straight at West during her testimony. dication of foul play. Dylan's parents were on a trip in Cape Cod, Mass. They were notified of the incident by Barnstable, authorities.

His parents were then transported by the Barnstable Police Department to the Connecticut-Rhode Island border. There, they were met by Connecticut police officers who took them to William Backus Hospital in Norwich, where Dylan's body had been taken. The Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Farmington will conduct an autopsy, police said. "They were just a loving group of young men going on to bigger and better things in life." Brown, who had just graduated from Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport, was going to study graphic design at Gibbs College in Norwalk. Conceicao was born in Lisbon, Portugal.

He graduated from Central High School in Bridgeport in 1999 and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. He was stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter Reliance, based in Portsmouth, N.H. Dixon and DeShields were students at Bullard-Havens Vocational Technical School in Bridgeport. Jeffreys was a senior at Joseph A.

Foran High School in Milford. Two Wounded In Parking Dispute Associated Press Two people have been hospitalized after a dispute over a parking space ended with gunfire. City police went to Fair-mount and Green streets Sunday just before 10 p.m. after a report that shots had been fired. Police found Latoya Outlaw, 22, with a gunshot wound to the ankle and Derrick Richardson, 30, with abdomen and leg wounds.

According to police, the two were shot after they had an argument over a parking spot with someone who pulled out a gun, opened fire, then fled. I- lladams I I mill restaurant 1 165 Adam St mancn ester 646-4039 mm PLAINfTELD A 4-yearold boy staying with relatives drowned in an above-ground swimming pool Monday, Plain-field police said. Dylan Paradis of ,59 Oakwood Boulevard was staying at the home of his aunt and uncle, Christine and Greg Harpin, at 83 Kate Downing Road, police said, when he fell into the backyard pool. Police were called to Kate Downing Road at 12:38 p.m. after the boy was found in the pool, police said.

The state police major crime squad was called to investigate, but there was no in Crash CONTINUED FROM PAGE A3 the car caught fire. Motorists flagged down trucks for their fire extinguishers, he said. When state troopers arrived, Lamy said, the fire had gotten worse. By the time the fire was out, the bodies could be identified only through dental records, police said. Family members recounted how the teenagers had been friends since fifth grade at Black-ham Elementary School in Bridgeport.

"They loved one another," Brown's cousin, Indi Brown, said. Lottery MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2001 Connecticut Mid-Day 3: 880 Mid-Day 4: 0738 Play Three: 160 Play Four 5846 Cash Five: 9, 10, 14, 24, 28 Tonight's estimated Classic Lotto jackpot: $6.2 million Wednesday's estimated Powerball jackpot: $10 million New York Daily: 406 WinF6ur2174 Pick 10: 11, 14, 19, 20, 24, 39, 47,50,52,53,54,55,58,71, 72,74,76,78,80 Take Five: 1,5, 12, 27, 29 Massachusetts Daily: 6719 Mass Millions: 13, 19, 20, 30, 41, 47; Bonus: 32 Maine-Vermont-New Hampshire: 738 and 8182 Rhode Island Daily: 7975 ai i revenues for the coming year agreed to reduce their proposed speeding on public health and social services. Both sides agreed that one sticking point is how much of the surplus should be used for projects that would otherwise require bonding to finance, such as school construction. Democrats say they have earmarked close to $300 million of the surplus for that purpose; Ryan Republicans want at least $400 million, to avoid taking on that much debt. Earlier Monday, there had been little agreement on what was in agreement Lyons and Sullivan said their budget proposal fell well below the state-mandated spending cap in both of the next train seated nearly sideways.

The incident came a day after a 23-year-old maintenance worker, Wilfredo Martinez, was killed by the Boulder Dash, the park's mountainside roller coaster. Martinez was trimming grass beneath the tracks and was struck during a test run before the park opened. The ride was back in operation the next day after officials ruled out mechanical failure as a cause of the accident. An investigation by Southington police, the state and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration is still under way. coincide with a resurgence of drug sales in Asylum Hill, Barry Square and the North End.

"We're seeing individual drug dealers out there, and we're staying on top of the problem," Marquis said. "We've responded with five areas of the department, vice and narcotics, patrol, the community-response division, gang intelligence even the traffic division. "And we had meetings with the U.S. attorney's office, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the state's attorney," Marquis said. "They've pledged their cooperation." For Lies message.

"She was getting on my nerves," she added. Creamer asked West why, since she had made a copy of the key, she didn't just slip into Cuyler's house herself. "It was too scary," she said. "I didn't want to get that involved." Before West testified Monday, Judge Thomas P. Miano ruled that several audio tapes made while West was in prison could be used in the trial.

Those tapes have not yet been played in court, but both sides of the case have said they are of West's conversations with others regarding testimony in the trial. quit friends of Labrador who were also charged in McMillen's death Michael Spicer, 37, of Albemarle County, and Alexander Benedetto, 35, of New York City. Prosecutors argue that there was enough evidence for the case against the two men to go to a jury. They have not appealed the judge's ruling to acquit a fourth man who was charged, Evan George, 23, of Washington, D.C. In Labrador's appeal, his lawyers argued the trial judge pressed jurors to continue deliberating after they announced they could not reach a unanimous decision after five hours and 40 minutes.

Judge Kenneth Benjamin asked the jurors to consider the case further, and thoy returned with a guilty verdict little more than an hour later. West Testifies About Reasons CONTINUED FROM PAGE Al who has confessed to being West's accomplice and has become a state's witness in the trial had her meet with one of his friends after the attacks. Grajales' friend, Roberto Mar-quez, "scared me," West said. "He intimidated me. I told him that I would keep my mouth shut." Marquez, 23, has refused to testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself.

He is charged with hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. West on Monday repeated her contention that her only part in the crime was agreeing to help Grajales break into 73 Ixivell Ave. in Windsor by supplying him with a copy of a key she had stolen a few weeks earlier. She has claimed that she believed Grajales had planned only to scare the children's mother because she was making West's love life difficult. West was dating Cuyler's husband.

Arnold, both before and after the couple were divorced. West denies that that there is Appeal Planned In McMillen Murder (Eourant. A TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY Jack W. Davit Jr. President, Publisher and Chief Exvciilivv Officer Associated Press ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands An appeals court plans a special October sitting to hear an appeal from an American convicted of killing a Connecticut woman, and will also hear from prosecutors who believe two other men accused in the slaying should not have been acquitted.

William Ivibrador.37, is appealing his conviction for murdering Iois McMillen. of Middlebury. McMillen, 34, was killed in January 2000 while vacationing on the island or Tortola and I'ibra-dor was convicted of the crime in May. Chief Justice Dennis Byron of the Eastern Cariblx-an Court of Appeal said Monday that the court also will hear in (Xtolxr prosecutors' appl icat ion to apiienl the lower court's division to ac Business Executives Nawi Executives Brinn Tootan I dtlor unci Vtrr Prrlclrrrt Clifford LTruttch Q. Claude Albert Deputy Mmwqhu I itrtur Barbara T.

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