March 23, 2021

There can be fatal consequences to being Black and selling loosies: Eric Garner. There are fatal consequences to being a Black man wearing sagging pants: Anthony Childs. 
The Bridgeport City Council, NAACP, and other Connecticut lawmakers are considering an ordinance that would ban the sale of all legal flavored tobacco, including menthol cigarettes. Black adults are the primary users of what is called ‘menthols’ by the community. 

As educators consider all we’ve done to support our students this past year and now glimpse a post-pandemic future, let’s not forget what we saw — and did — here. Prior to COVID-19, mainstream K-12 students either adapted to a curriculum or struggled. That’s quite different from the special education environment I work in, where our teachers adapt to our students’ needs to ensure their success.

The post-COVID world has made proximity to metro markets and even our towns, where most workplaces exist, a reduced or non-factor, as the working world shifts to norms that will see perhaps 50%+ of workers conduct their daily roles from home offices. Further, the opportunity for those in the state to become employed by firms all over the U.S. is now wide open, with companies recruiting their talent based on where the skilled workers are located, ignoring whether that talent is within a commutable distance to a headquarters or even satellite office. We now need to take full advantage of the changed landscape.