Last week the Senate unanimously passed a bill to ensure that the names of family violence victims are protected under the Freedom of Information Act. A practice in place since 1981 for victims of sexual assault, this change in the law is necessary to protect victim confidentiality and safety. Members of the media have criticized the bill saying it makes victims less safe by allowing dual arrests to go unreported. We disagree.

Legislation is being considered in Hartford to expand the list of beverage containers subject to the state’s container deposit law. This legislation is unnecessary as these containers are currently managed effectively and efficiently in Connecticut’s robust and well-established municipal and business recycling programs. An expanded bottle bill will mean higher costs for municipalities and loss of jobs at Connecticut recycling facilities.

There is a cadre of families and children that for decades has not been able to benefit from a regular education. The evidence will support the position that the present Pre-K-12 structure of our schools has exhausted its ability to meet the needs of these children. That their needs are as well defined, and unique as those which were the bases for the enactment CGS 10-76, the special education law. A response equal in intensity, is required to remedy their plight.

Gov. Ned Lamont’s 30-30-30 plan represents a long-needed, concrete goal for a well-operated New Haven Line. The travel times called for therein —30 minutes from New Haven to Stamford and 30 minutes further to Grand Central — are attainable using the right-of-way the state already has. The 30-30-30 plan has the virtue of replacing amorphous “state of good repair” programs that have no accountability attached to them.  However, the governor’s vision will go nowhere as long as the management of the railroad under the Connecticut Department of Transportation and its contractor Metro-North Railroad lags behind global best practices.

There is unanimous agreement that Connecticut’s infrastructure is in terrible shape: 300+ bridges are rated structurally deficient (their average age is 69 years vs. an expected life of 50 years; the average age of all state bridges is 53 and four are 100+). Today, trains must slow to a crawl to cross the worst bridges to lessen stress.