The contrast could not be more stark. As the pace of preparation accelerates for the annual induction ceremony for the Immigrant Heritage Hall of Fame in Connecticut, the daily headlines trumpet a more hesitant, even hostile, view of immigrants and their continuing contributions to our state and nation. Immersed in the histories of immigrants thriving in our state, historically and currently, the invective aimed lately at the next generation of immigrants is concerning, as they, like others before them, seek to contribute to this nation while providing their families with the safety and opportunity that America has long exemplified.
Celebrating immigrant heritage reflects Connecticut’s strength
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Connecticut’s travel trainers
Imagine being afraid to ride the bus, or being unable to read a timetable. Can you think of what your life would be like without access to a car or mass transit? There are hundreds of our neighbors who live lives of isolation because they are physically, emotionally or mentally unable to ride the bus or train. Some have physical handicaps while others are autistic or have learning disabilities. Shouldn’t they be able to travel like the rest of us?
Posted inNews
‘It gets harder and harder to make choices’
NEW BRITAIN – Behind a rusting iron fence, inside an aging red-brick building leased from the 170-year-old St. Mary Roman Catholic Church next door, Farrell Treatment Center offers a way out for people gripped by drug and alcohol addiction.
Posted inNews
Luckier than many, but an uncertain future
Robert Embardo is a 29-year-old guy in a Red Sox cap who weighs upwards of 300 pounds. Approaching with a slightly unsteady gait, he greets visitors with a left-handed handshake and a nod. But he doesn’t say much, even to his mother. The word he uses – the only word – is “key.”
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Change is coming for nonprofit human service providers, but will it make or break them?
It is a time of reckoning for Connecticut’s private, nonprofit social services. After two decades of flat or reduced funding from its chief client — state government — community-based agencies are struggling to retain both their programs and the low-paid staff who deliver care for thousands of poor, disabled and mentally-ill adults and children.
Posted inNews
True, false, real, fake: What or who to believe?
The contemporary American’s dilemma last week: Deciding what is true or false, real or fake, and what to believe. President Donald Trump, at a rally in Wilkes Barre, Pa., told the nation last week that what they read in the American press is “fake, fake disgusting news” – or at least that’s what the media reported.
Posted inHealth
Depression affects Connecticut women much more than men
Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, and affects women at about twice the rate that it does men. In Connecticut, 21.4 percent of women report experiencing depression, compared with 13.4 percent of men, according to 2015 Department of Public Health data. Millennial women in the state experience […]
Posted inNews
Election commission documents cast doubt on Trump’s claims of voter fraud
In May of 2017, President Donald Trump established a presidential commission to explore the threat of voter fraud — staffing it with multiple Republicans who had theorized that fraud was a substantial problem in American democracy. The commission, widely called the voter fraud commission, was immediately criticized as a political creation aimed at a phony problem.
Posted inGovernment
Feedback sought on data plan that could improve Connecticut life
It sounds kind of abstract and nerdy, but state officials want feedback on a draft data plan they hope could lead to better outcomes in the opioid crisis, climate change resiliency, and the workforce pipeline.
Posted inPolitics
Hatfield opposes 3D-printed guns, loses endorsement of gun group
With the gun lobby, it seems to be all or nothing. Susan Hatfield, the endorsed Republican candidate for attorney general, said Friday that her opposition to untraceable 3D-printed firearms — a position the President Trump has hinted he might adopt — has cost her the support of the state’s largest gun owners’ group, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League.
Posted inNews
Boughton visits home with crumbling foundations, calls on insurance companies to help
WILLINGTON — Republican gubernatorial contender Mark Boughton on Friday visited one of thousands of Connecticut homes whose concrete foundations are crumbling beneath them, making the pitch that if elected, he would tackle the slow-motion disaster by initially taking the insurance companies to task.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
In the year of #MeToo and Time’s Up, legislators helped some
In the year of #MeToo and Time’s Up, what was the General Assembly’s record addressing policy issues that impact women and girls disproportionately? Similar to last year, the results were a mix of wins, losses, and missed opportunities.
Posted inPolitics
Bysiewicz v. Zimmerman: Experience v. ‘a different kind of candidate’
The Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor, Susan Bysiewicz and Eva Bermudez Zimmerman sparred over taxes, experience and Connecticut’s massive pension debt Thursday during their only debate, a live-streamed forum at NBC Connecticut in West Hartford.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT poised to catch brunt of Trump’s auto standard rollbacks
The Trump administration has unveiled its proposal to dramatically weaken auto emission and efficiency standards. Few states will feel the consequences of it more than Connecticut.
Posted inHealth
Blumenthal presses state for protections in ‘short-term’ health plans
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Thursday said he’s talked with state officials about placing consumer protections on any new health insurance policies sold in Connecticut once the new Trump administration regulation on short-term plans takes effect in about 60 days.