As a clinical social worker turned independent educational consultant focused on four-year academic planning and the college application process, I have seen how changing times have affected students and parents alike, catapulting their anxiety levels to ultimate proportions. We have lost sight of what higher education truly means, the value of it and access to it. … So, as disappointing as it is, I am not shocked that some individuals have circumvented the college admissions process.
The college admissions process — who’s at the helm?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
School districts weaponize Child Protective Services
It seems that along with their duty to make referrals to Child Services to insure a child’s safety, school districts, in a misuse of power, are weaponizing threats of referrals in order to force parents to agree to programs and placements that they don’t feel are in the best interest of their children. This practice was the topic of an investigative report released by Hechinger & HuffPost and an article in Foundation for Economics and Education. Both led me to reflect on an incident in our town, approximately two years ago, while I was serving as an advocate for a parent and child.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Lawmakers, is this any way to make policy?
In the thick of a long legislative session, like the one we are about halfway through, each day brings forth a surprising proposal for addressing an issue that cries out for public policy innovation. Some of the proposals never make it to a public hearing. Some are heard but never seen again. A few survive and change our political landscape for the better, and some, unfortunately, survive and change the landscape for the worse. Connecticut’s legislative history is littered with bills often cobbled together in the hectic wee-hour, waning days of the session that somehow survive the rough and tumble of the process but end up as the poster laws for unforeseen consequences.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Package stores offer dime recycling fee in lieu of liquor bottle deposits
Connecticut’s package stores have proposed a 10-cent “recycling fee” as a compromise alternative to the 25-cent deposit Gov. Ned Lamont recommended last month.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Doctor assisted suicide should not be legalized
We are told that doctor assisted suicide should be a choice for patients who have tried everything. This ignores the fact that having access to “everything” is a luxury that not everyone has. We must address healthcare inequities in Connecticut and beyond before we even consider legalizing doctor assisted suicide.
Posted inHealth
Family members plead for passage of aid-in-dying bill
A public hearing on legislation that would give terminally ill patients access to medication to end their lives is expected to draw both supporters and opponents today.
Posted inPolitics
Solidarity in a Connecticut mosque, and polarization
At an interfaith vigil called in response to the attack on Muslims in New Zealand, President Trump was rebuked in Connecticut for his refusal to recognize the threat of white nationalism.
Posted inEducation
Bills address school discipline, faculty diversity, college costs
A slew of lesser-known education bills could change the way kids learn.
Posted inHealth
Trump budget offers $291M to fight HIV
The Trump administration’s strategy works to end the AIDS/HIV problem here, but reduces efforts abroad.
Posted inNews
Hatred in New Zealand felt around the world
The monstrous slaughter of 49 Muslim worshipers in New Zealand by a single gunman spread alarm throughout the world last week. Mosques in the United States went on high alert against similar attacks; and the online world attempted to cope with the implications of the terrorist’s live video stream of his hateful work.
Posted inSponsored Content
Men: Sound Too Good to be True? It Probably is.
By Dr. Jared Bieniek Medical Director, Men’s Health Hartford HealthCare Tallwood Urology and Kidney Institute If you were among the 50 percent of adult males between the ages of 40 and 70 with erectile dysfunction, would you pay thousands of dollars for shock-wave treatment, which has uncertainties about long-term effectiveness and safety? Would you be concerned […]
Posted inPolitics
Is Connecticut ready for iLottery?
The technology exists to offer lottery tickets on your phone. Next week, a legislative committee will debate if Connecticut is ready to use it.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Millstone deal reached, set to run for another 10 years
The Millstone Nuclear Power Station and Connecticut’s two utilities beat a negotiating deadline to keep the plant running for at least another 10 years.
Posted inEducation
Judge rules magnet school discrimination case belongs in federal court
LaShawn Robinson, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the state’s magnet school lottery, holds up a sign outside the court house before the hearing. LaShawn Robinson, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the state’s magnet school lottery, holds up a sign outside the court house before the hearing. A civil rights case alleging […]
Posted inMoney
Progressive Dems offer new tax hike aimed at millionaires
The state House of Representatives’ Progressive Democratic Caucus intensified its push Friday for higher income taxes on the wealthy.