Kent Hicks knows a lot more about buildings than the average homeowner. He’s a general contractor and teaches sustainable design and building technology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. But on the morning of August 28, 2011, Tropical Storm Irene taught even Hicks a lesson. “I looked out the window and I saw that this hurricane thing is real. There’s a lot of water [that] just got dumped,” he said. Hicks and his wife Lynnlive and work right next to the Westfield River, in an old grist mill that dates back to 1850 in West Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Irene not only dropped a lot of w ..read more

People are rightly alarmed about PFAS, or Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, in the environment. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down over time in the environment, even when incinerated. They are found in thousands of consumer products and have spread throughout our environment contaminating water, soil, and plants, wildlife, and humans.  Susan Eastwood Most Americans now have PFAS in their body. They are found in blood, breast milk, and even umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. Exposures to PFAS are linked to testicular and kidney cancer, li ..read more

Between August and November of 2018, a New Haven official who oversees marriages reported 73 out of 215 marriage licenses issued to non-citizens as “suspicious” to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. This agency includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The official required additional documents from some applicants, including birth certificates for applicants not born or currently residing in Connecticut (i.e. coming to Connecticut from out of the country or state). Moreover, the official denied applicants who did not have the additional documents that satisfied ..read more

It is a well-documented fact that Connecticut is in a housing crisis. If the Connecticut State Legislature acts this session to approve bills that prevent people from becoming homeless and increase housing opportunities for people of all incomes, then Connecticut will be taking the first steps toward solutions to end this crisis. The Housing Growth Fund is one of the solutions Connecticut needs right now.  Today, roughly 20 percent of all the homes currently on the market are listed for over $1 million. Earlier this month, another town in Connecticut was added to Zillow’s “million-dollar ..read more

In closing statements during a hearing to determine her future leading the Division of Public Defender Services, Chief Public Defender TaShun Bowden-Lewis on Thursday offered an olive branch to the agency’s regulatory oversight body: “I am ready and willing to talk and find a common ground.”  Her remarks capped two public hearings, a result of the Public Defender Services Commission placing Bowden-Lewis on paid administrative leave following recurring disputes between her and the panel, a letter of reprimand and allegations that she improperly instructed a subordinate to access email acc ..read more

As bills aimed at dealing with climate change struggle to get through the current legislative session, a new report showing that Connecticut is struggling with its greenhouse gas emissions may be providing an extra push. Data from the state’s annual Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory, released Thursday, shows that there was a sharp increase in GHG emissions — the primary cause of planet-warming climate change — of 6% from 2020 to 2021. The two-year increase from 2020 to 2022 was 7%. It mirrors a similar increase of overall greenhouse gas emissions in the federal inventory released by the Envi ..read more

Minority House Republicans challenged their colleagues Thursday to balance the next state budget, pitching a $26 billion plan that prioritizes education but would end health care for undocumented women and children while continuing to downsize the state’s workforce. The caucus plan also would plug holes involving retirement benefits and Medicaid while eliminating a highway use tax on commercial trucks and scaling back overall revenue assumptions to reflect eroding sales tax receipts. But GOP leaders also conceded there likely would be far less funds available than Democrats are seeking to inv ..read more

As a college student who came to school with pre-existing mental health disorders, I can attest to the struggle of transitioning and maintaining my care, mainly because I moved to a new state to attend college. Since my conditions were pre-existing and I was already seeking outside treatment, I did not qualify for the resources my university had to offer. I had to look into alternate resources to obtain care from a psychiatrist and therapist through telehealth services. I was fortunate that my therapist was able to offer me care in Connecticut from my home state through the Interstate Counsel ..read more

A former Connecticut mayoral candidate has been sentenced to 10 days in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Gino DiGiovanni Jr., a former alderman who lost a mayoral race in Derby in November, was sentenced Wednesday for entering the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, as riots broke out to stop certification of the 2020 presidential election. DiGiovanni will serve his 10 days in a federal correctional facility in Danbury and self-surrender no earlier than 45 days from now. Following his incarceration, DiGiovanni will serve 12 months of supervised release, pay $500 ..read more

The prices everyone pays at the grocery store are determined by many factors. Transporting by truck or rail from major growing markets like Arizona, California, Iowa, Florida and elsewhere is reflected in higher fresh produce prices. The Arizona lettuce growers have to discard crops that are trampled by illegal trespassers. Imported or domestic commodities fluctuate for a variety of reasons: weather, war, labor, production costs, trade agreements. Storage facilities across the country have high energy and labor costs. Diesel fuel and business insurance are both expensive. ALL of these co ..read more