In April, former Commissioner of Department of Correction (DOC) Rollin Cook issued a department-wide memorandum requiring staff “to wear protective face-masks while on duty whenever social distancing is not possible.” Corrections officers in Connecticut aren’t obeying this instruction.

Gov. Ned Lamont, our sturdy and steadfast champion against COVID, is unfortunately not quite so heroic on economics. Coming from Greenwich, he has imbibed the local Kool-Aid about taxes.  This means he has absorbed the propaganda that a 2% increase in the tax rate on incomes over $1 million a year will send the wealthy scurrying to Arkansas and Tennessee to avoid such confiscation.

There’s an old saying that adversity doesn’t build character, it exposes it. As such, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has truly shown the nefarious side of the pot industry.

Where will the Republican Party go in the post-Trump era after the illegal storming of the nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6? Who will the Connecticut GOP select as its next chair after its dutiful and long-serving Chair J.R. Romano resigned less than one week later on January 12, citing difficulty raising money? The Connecticut GOP could become a thought leader in our land and facilitate the raising of contributions across our fellow 330 million citizens.

With input from prominent community leaders of color and backing of the 38 congregations of the multiracial Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA), we sent Gov. Ned Lamont a letter dated June 15, 2020, asking to meet with him around urgently declaring racism a public health crisis in Connecticut.  To date, we have not gotten a response from him to this request.

News of the closing of Northern CI left many within the social justice community elated. Weeks ago, then-acting Commissioner Angel Quiros publicly stated at least two prisons would be closing. Many of us felt it made sense that Northern would be on the short list, especially with recent news surrounding it. It has faced numerous lawsuits since its opening in 1995, one affirmed on the very day the commissioner was confirmed.

Gov. Ned Lamont recently signed an executive order extending Connecticut’s state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. We undoubtedly remain in a state of emergency, but one component of Connecticut’s pandemic response should not be continued: the travel advisory enacted through Executive Order No. 9S.  It requires that anyone traveling into Connecticut from an “Affected State” — any state or territory other than New York, New Jersey, or Rhode Island – quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of arrival.