Water is life! Clean water is essential to our health, our environment and our economy. As a public health advocate and a homeowner with a private well, I was alarmed to read reports of PFAs found in Greenwich wells  and in water supplies all over the country.

This note is in response to a recent op-ed by a community college student published in CT Viewpoints. The Connecticut State College and University system fully agrees that community colleges can and must continue to be the most affordable, accessible option for students to receive a quality education in Connecticut. I applaud the author for being engaged in public discourse and making his voice heard on an important topic.

Hunters will be incentivized to kill wildlife and hunting will be expanded in the state under a revised version of a bill approved by the General Assembly’s Environment Committee that was aimed at establishing a black bear hunt in Connecticut.

I want to comment on the “Future of the Gas Tax? Running on Empty” article. The number of dedicated electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing as the article the article indicates, and Connecticut is collecting no road use tax, which needs to be addressed soon. The “Governor’s Council on Climate Change” looked at 2030 and out to 2050, but did not place much emphasis on near time transportation period and technology needs.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont is backing clean solar power as an important way to address two economic goals: creating good-paying jobs, and lowering energy costs for commercial and residential ratepayers, to get our economy moving again. He has answered the challenge put forth by voters for the state to combat the most pressing issue of our time – climate change. He has set substantial, aggressive renewable energy targets for 2030 and 2050.

When it comes to misnomers, you can hardly beat SB 1051, the bill erroneously entitled An Act Strengthening Home Care Services, which passed the Human Services committee and is now before the General Assembly.  Rather than strengthening the homecare industry, this proposal would impose burdensome new mandates, while threatening the privacy of our valued employees.

College consolidation will be damaging to many students, including me. As more students these days make their choice in going to community college to save money and figure out what they want to pursue in their degrees, it will be harder for them to get help from the financial aid department since college consolidation will move everything into one place (more of an unitary system).