New Britain is beginning to shift it’s culture to become a trauma-informed city. In other words, it is working to recognize that 25 percent of children under 17 have suffered some form of trauma in their life, and to help them heal and move on rather than punish them for how they have responded.
To be a trauma-informed city takes a cultural shift and partnership
Posted inEducation
McHaelen: Despite social changes, LGBT kids continue to have more difficult adolescence
By the time she was 13, Robin McHaelen knew she was a lesbian, but she didn’t come out until she was in her early 30s. In the meantime she attempted suicide more than once, used drugs heavily through high school and college and felt continually depressed. Now the executive director of True Colors Inc. in Hartford, the Connecticut native has dedicated the past 22 years to meeting the needs of the sexual and gender minority youth. She shares her insights in this Sunday Conversation.
Posted inNews
Ah, summer, with few things to worry about in Connecticut
Ah, the lazy days of summer, when the only things to worry about are the state’s crushing debt and a president on the warpath.
Posted inEducation
Childhood torment, social isolation can turn minds toward hate
What may be in the minds of those inside the far-right fringe groups whose actions have ignited raw, angry passions across the country? What are people thinking when they spew hate? Are they all true believers? What’s more, how does someone get that way?
Posted inPolitics
Pro-Russian bots take up the right-wing cause after Charlottesville
There were hordes of automated bots generating Twitter posts and much more last week to help make right-wing conspiracy theories and rallying cries about Charlottesville go viral.
Posted inHousing, Politics
As state loosens affordable housing rules, Milford does the same
Updated Monday at 3:54 p.m.
MILFORD — Twenty-two days after the General Assembly voted to loosen the state’s affordable housing standards despite the governor’s objections, at least one community is following suit.
Posted inJustice
Travelers, other insurers, accused of discriminating against low-income tenants
WASHINGTON – Travelers Insurance Co. is being sued over allegations it has refused to insure properties that house federally subsidized low-income tenants — and other insurers in Connecticut may have done the same.
Posted inNews
Navy finds remains of Suffield sailor, casualty of USS John McCain collision
WASHINGTON – The Navy on Friday announced it has recovered the remains of Dustin Doyon of Suffield, the second confirmed casualty from a collision on Monday between the USS John McCain and a merchant ship in the waters near Singapore.
Posted inHealth
New Obamacare replacement plan would hurt CT, report says
WASHINGTON – A proposal by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy to replace the Affordable Care Act would increase the number of uninsured nationwide, cut Medicaid and have a particularly costly impact on Connecticut and a handful of other states, a new study says.
Posted inEducation, Money, Politics
Malloy defends his track record on aiding cities and towns
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy tried to defend his efforts to shift more costs onto cities and towns Thursday, releasing a report asserting that municipal aid has grown 21 percent over the last five years.
Posted inPolitics
Q Poll: GOP too far right, Democrats too far left
In a new report released today, the Quinnipiac Poll says many American voters believe the Republican Party is moving too far to the right and the Democratic Party too far to the left.
Posted inNews
Navy: Suffield sailor among missing in USS John McCain collision
WASHINGTON– The U.S. Navy confirmed Thursday that a sailor from Suffield, Petty Officer Dustin Doyon, is among those missing following the USS John S. McCains collision with an oil tanker near Singapore on Monday.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy names DeFronzo to chair lottery board
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy named New Britain Democrat Donald DeFronzo, a former state commissioner and senator, to serve as chairman of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation’s Board of Directors.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The budget problem is that we can’t agree on the problem
I’ve got some bad news. My prognosis for budget negotiations is fairly dire. It is not because the legislature is lazy, or because of political posturing. It is because we do not agree on the problem. Of our tentative $2.6 billion budget deficit, over half is a result of past lawmakers abdicating their responsibility of fully funding the pension obligations. The remainder comes from anticipating significantly more revenue from the income tax than we actually received. While, many of my peers are determining ways to punish the middle class and our state workers, I would like to direct our attention to the wealthy. The ones who have direct access to politicians. Who pay half or less, as a percentage of income, than what the rest of us pay. This, while the top 1 percent of Connecticut income earners obtained 84 percent of the income gains over the last few decades, while the rest of our wages stagnate or decline.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The irrational inequity of ECS administration continues
Whether viewed through the lenses of wealth, District Reference Groups, or student achievement, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s recently announced distribution of Education Cost Sharing grant money has obvious flaws and inconsistencies that defy logic and lead one to the conclusion that this is just an extension of the arbitrary and capricious administration of the program that has plagued it in the past.