Best of 2019

In the blink of an eye, most towns in Connecticut will be expecting the next property tax check from property owners. And most people writing those checks will ask themselves, as they do semi-annually, “just what am I paying for?”

In the last two months, 11 academic senates or faculty and staff governing bodies have voted to endorse an online petition opposing the BOR’s plan for the consolidation of Connecticut’s community colleges — or have passed their own statement opposing consolidation. Nine out of 12 of the state’s community colleges have done so. They have done so, it should be noted, emphatically.

If you think men and women are fundamentally equal in America, try this. Open Google and in the search box, type: your vote is your voice. Then click on the IMAGES tab, scroll down, and you’ll see something striking. Hundreds of graphics appear, dominated by male images. A man’s sleeve, a man’s hand, a man’s mouth shouting, a figure of a man in a suit, and a giant hand of a man being held up by what appears to be dozens more men. A man stuffing a ballot box. A man lecturing. A man holding a protest sign. A superhero image, in the shape of a man.

Connecticut landscape architects came out against a bill that would have protected our smallest children from dangerous playgrounds. Proposed Bill 7003 this year would have establish a moratorium on the use of crumb rubber mulch being used as a surfacing material in municipal and public school playgrounds.  Why was this bill proposed and why was it important for the health of our smallest children?