Senator Needleman Encouraged as Essex, Westbrook Receive Grants for Transportation, Accessibility Upgrades
Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) was encouraged to hear Essex and Westbrook will receive just under $800,000 in collective grants supporting upgrades to transportation and accessibility infrastructure in those two towns. The grants were released under the Department of Transportation’s Community Connectivity Grant Program, which provides funding for local initiatives improving safety and accessibility for bicyclists and pedestrians in and around community centers. The grants are intended to support health and environmentally sustainable local travel, also supporting underserved communities by providing equitable levels of access to safe, affordable transportation.
“I’m grateful to Governor Lamont and Transportation Commissioner Guilietti for their support of local, healthy transportation,” said Sen. Needleman. “These grants will play a significant role in supporting pedestrians and bicyclists in Essex and Westbrook, especially valuable in giving them safer means of transportation in enhancing sidewalk conditions. I am encouraged to see how our communities benefit from this commitment to health, exercise and access.”
In the most recent round of grant funding, Essex received $595,611 to support sidewalk construction and improvements along River Road. Westbrook received a grant of $197,578 to support YMCA pedestrian accessibility sidewalk connections on Essex Road and Spencer Plains Road.
Duff, Miller, and Haskell Call on Darien Board of Education to Reconsider Open Choice Program
Duff, Miller, and Haskell Call on Darien Board of Education to Reconsider Open Choice Program
Today, State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), Senator Pat Billie Miller (D-Stamford), and Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport), called on the Darien Board of Education to reconsider the Open Choice Program. This week the Darien Board of Education voted to not participate in the Open Choice Program and not receive students from Norwalk this fall. Senators Duff, Miller, and Haskell have released the following statement in response to this action:
“Last legislative session we were proud to expand the successful Open Choice program to include Norwalk, opening the door for students to attend public schools in surrounding towns, including Darien. Open Choice is a win-win, allowing both urban and suburban students to gain exposure to new communities and experiences. Strengthening the understandings of diversity and inclusion among our young people cannot be done with just a mission statement. Diversity and inclusion are lived, not just promised. We call on the Darien Board of Education to reconsider their rejection of the Open Choice Program and do what is best for both Darien and Norwalk students.”
The Board of Education voted 5-4 last night against the Open Choice Program, with all ‘No’ votes coming from Republican board members. The four ‘Yes’ votes came from three Democratic board members and one Republican board member.
The Open Choice program allows urban students to attend public schools in nearby suburban towns. Enrollments are offered by school districts on a space-available basis in grades K-12. If the program was to move forward, it would have allowed 16 kindergartners from Norwalk to attend Darien’s four elementary schools this fall.
According to the U.S. Census report, 91% of the population in Darien is white, 0.9% is Black or African American, 5.6% of the population is Asian, 0.1% is Native Hawaiian, 4.1% is Hispanic or Latino, and 2.1% is two or more races. The Open Choice program helps to diversify the classrooms which leads to better education outcomes for students. Young children benefit from different perspectives and a variety of backgrounds in the classroom. Without a program such as Open Choice, young children lose out on opportunities that make for a successful future.
Senator Slap Named AARP Older Worker Champion
Senator Slap Named AARP Older Worker Champion
The AARP of Connecticut has named State Senator Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) an Older Worker Champion for leading the passage of a landmark bill fighting age discrimination in Connecticut. Sen. Slap first introduced the bill in 2019 and was lead sponsor and advocate for three years, leading to its passage with overwhelming bipartisan support in both the Senate and House. The legislation prevents employers from asking for age-related information on initial job applications, specifically date of birth, employment attendance or graduation dates barring required occupational need, helping applicants get their foot in the door and increase their chances of success.
“I am honored to receive this award from AARP, and am glad that my colleagues and I were able to get this done,” said Sen. Slap. “We built a consensus, worked collaboratively, mobilized older workers, and partnered with the Senior Job Bank and AARP to pass this legislation. Beginning on October 1 of last year, when it took effect, this key bill removes a key loophole, where employers cannot ask about a candidate’s age in the interview process but can do it on an application, from the hiring process.”
“AARP thanks Senator Slap for his years of support to level the playing field for experienced workers,” said Nora Duncan, State Director of AARP Connecticut. “Job candidates should be judged on their experience and skills, not their date of birth or graduation date. Age discrimination against age 40-plus has been illegal in the U.S. for 50 years and Connecticut is now a leader in closing big loopholes in the hiring process.”
With Connecticut having the sixth-oldest population in the United States, a workforce where as many as 35% of workers are at least 50 and 61% of those surveyed by AARP either seeing or experiencing age discrimination – as well as 44% of those surveyed being asked age-related questions during the hiring process – taking steps to fight age discrimination is more important than ever.
With the bill’s passage in 2021, Connecticut became the fifth state, after California, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, to ban age questions during the hiring process, with other states considering similar legislation.
The AARP has several programs for experienced workers seeking career changes, including Encore!Connecticut, which assists professionals and managers aged 50 and older in transitioning from corporate work to nonprofit careers; scholarships for older students aged 50 and up enrolling in Connecticut community college manufacturing programs; and upcoming programs for experienced workers to improve their training in digital skills.
Workers who have experienced age-related discrimination during the hiring process should contact the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities to file a complaint by visiting the Commission’s website or calling the central office at 860-541-3400
Senator Needleman Leads ‘Staring Into the Storm’ Forum on Connecticut’s Energy Grid
Senator Needleman Leads ‘Staring Into the Storm’ Forum on Connecticut’s Energy Grid
Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), along with his fellow Energy & Technology Committee Chair State Representative David Arconti (D-Danbury), Ranking Member State Senator Paul Formica (R-Old Saybrook) and Ranking Member State Representative Charles Ferraro (R-West Haven) held “Staring Into The Storm,” a forum on energy focused on the state’s electric grid, pressures that could harm or compromise the grid’s operations, and what the state needs to do in the future to achieve better results.
Attendees and speakers at Tuesday’s forum included energy analyst Meredith Angwin, ISO New England President and CEO Gordon Van Welie, UIL Holdings Corp. President and CEO Franklyn Reynolds, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes, Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Chair Marissa Gillett, and Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan.
“I’d like to thank the many people who participated in this informational forum,” said Sen. Needleman. “We covered many topics today – I’m happy, for instance, that utility companies and PURA are planning for a worst-case scenario well before it could happen, and I’m hopeful that ISO New England and DEEP can mitigate the impact of climate change, fix reliability issues currently existing and, most importantly, manage the cost to our ratepayers. Ratepayers need to be front and center in this conversation.”
Above all else, this event’s purpose was to spread information to the public, gathering a number of energy experts in one day to speak, listen to each other and explain their perspectives. This also allowed the Energy & Technology Committee to have a deeper understanding of the impact of policies we introduce – we cannot afford unintended consequences of legislation that could harm the state. We now have a better framework for our future work: we must find the best ways forward for the benefit of our entire state and region.”
Topics of conversation during the forum included the design of Connecticut and New England’s energy market; grid reliability in terms of resources available and pressures on the market, including increased demand from users, fluctuations in other energy markets and potential extreme weather; and how best the state can move closer to net zero carbon emissions from the electric grid to meet environmental standards.
The full forum, recorded and livestreamed Tuesday morning and afternoon, is available on-demand online on the Energy and Technology Committee’s Youtube page.