Christine Stuart - CT Women's Hall of Fame

There is an important event tomorrow night in Hartford. To be truthful, there are 5 or 6 important events tomorrow night in Hartford.  But this one is particularly cool. 

The Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame has an event scheduled which salutes some very important and interesting members of our community.

19th Annual Induction Ceremony & Celebration
Women's Perspectives:
Celebrating Voice and Vision
Thursday, October 18, 2012    6:00-9:00 P.M.
Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, CT

Christine Stuart

I don't know them all (and "Annie Lou" Leibovitz certainly wouldn't remember me from 1971 in San Francisco) but, among the honorees is Christine Stuart, a hero of mine.

It is a rah-thah pricey event tomorrow night, so instead of attending (and CHEERING) I am sending a donation (last button on the link page) to the online news outlet CT News Junkie, owned and edited by Christine Stuart.

A coupla Cute Mugs

All donations and subscriptions assist in keeping this site active and able to cover politcial news in our state, along with the fun and cool site CT Tech Junkie ("Covering the Future. Today").

CT News Junkie is also a terrific place to advertise your company or organization. A lot of eyeballs see those ads every day.

2012 Inductees

Anne Garrels - Ground-breaking journalist and 23-year NPR Senior Foreign Correspondent best known for her coverage of conflicts around the world  
Annie Leibovitz - Internationally renowned photographer whose large and distinguished body of work includes some of the most well-known portraits of our time
Faith Middleton - Thought-provoking Connecticut radio broadcaster and celebrated host of The Faith Middleton Show, now in its thirtieth anniversary year on WNPR

2012 Voice and Vision Honorees (in alphabetical order)

Dr. Regina Barreca - Celebrated humorist, academic and author Professor of English literature and feminist theory, University of Connecticut
Jolie Rocke Brown - Award-winning and acclaimed soprano  Performance artist and music educator
Judy Dworin - Choreographer and creative force giving voice to women and human rights through dance/theater  Artistic Director, Judy Dworin Performance Project and Professor of Theater & Dance, Trinity College
Ed Johnetta Miller - Recipient of the prestigious Connecticut Governor's Art Award  Fiber artist, quilter, teacher, curator, lecturer, author
Dr. Marilyn Nelson - Recipient of the 2012 Frost Medal, former Connecticut Poet Laureate Professor Emerita of English, University of Connecticut
Annie Keefe - Theatrical visionary and award-winning stage manager  Artistic Advisor, Westport Country Playhouse
Bessy Reyna - Recipient of the Library of Congress CT Lifetime Achievement Award for Service to the Literary Community  Bilingual poet, opinion columnist and activist
Diane Smith - Emmy-award winning TV journalist, radio broadcaster, author  CT-N producer and host, former on-air personality at WTNH, WTIC-AM, and CPTV
Christine Stuart - Editor and reporter who pioneered online capitol news coverage 
Editor-in-Chief, CTNewsJunkie.com

Katharine Weber - Award-winning author  Teacher of fiction writing at Yale University, Columbia University and Kenyon College

_________________________________________________

"Original journalism is expensive to produce. That's why you don't see as much of it in newspapers these days, because cutting reporters is the easiest way to improve the bottom line."

For individual annual membership donations of at least $60, CT News Junkie will send you a gorgeous CTNewsJunkie coffee mug.

A $99 dual membership for you and yours gets you two mugs  --  and continued coverage of Connecticut politics.

Click here.   NOW

Get the Point? Restore the Brickwork at 37 Howe Street

Good Stuff

NEW HAVEN PEOPLES CENTER
37 HOWE STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06511

MEDIA RELEASE

August 25, 2012

Information: 203- 387-0370

Veterans Support Funding for New Haven Peoples Center

A group of veterans called on Governor Dannell P. Malloy today to restore the request for funding for restoration of 37 Howe Street, site of the New Haven Peoples Center. 

The Governor removed the item from the state bonding budget after an opposition group from outside New Haven, citing their veteran status, protested the proposed funding on the grounds that Communists are part of the building. The bonding request would restore brick work on the 1851 Italianate structure which is a site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.

The announcement was made as the New Haven Peoples Center celebrated its 75th anniversary with a family backyard cookout and cultural event including music and children's crafts. After supporters crowded on the front lawn for a group photograph, messages of solidarity and support were delivered by elected officials, labor leaders and community activists.

Public support for the Peoples Center, an all-volunteer non profit institution, has continued to increase on the basis of the activities it hosts of benefit to the community including youth programming, and providing affordable space for unions and community groups including immigrant rights, peace and grass roots organizing.

The Peoples Center has been dedicated to social, cultural and educational activities for labor and community since it was founded in 1937 during the Great Depression. It is the site of the first inter-racial basketball team and first inter-racial theater group in the City of New Haven. The Peoples Center opened its doors to the nation's first homeless run daytime drop-in center in the 1990s. It is now the location of Unidad Latina en Accion which is organizing immigrant workers.  It is home to youth organizing and the New Elm City Dream.

The letter from the veterans reads in part: "We deplore the manipulation of a few Veterans, for narrow political purposes, who do not understand that the New Haven Peoples Center is an historic building, 1851, the active center since 1937 for organizations campaigning for jobs for youth and against violence, for immigrant’s rights, against racial profiling, decent jobs and medical treatment for Veterans, and for global peace, among others. We reject the spurious and dangerous “red baiting” charges used to deny the Peoples Center their legitimate request."

Signers include veterans from WW II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the war in Afghanistan. The letter to the Governor concludes, "We call for the restoration of the request of the New Haven Peoples Center for funding. "

----------------------------- Here's the Letter -----------------------------

NEW HAVEN PEOPLES CENTER
37 HOWE STREET, NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06511

A PETITION FOR THE BILL OF RIGHTS
IN SUPPORT OF THE NEW HAVEN PEOPLES CENTER

Governor Dannel P. Malloy
State of Connecticut
State Capitol
Hartford, Connecticut 

August 25, 2012

Honorable Governor Malloy:

We are Veterans who have served in various branches of the United States Armed Forces. We were citizen-soldiers deeply committed, then and now, to the protection of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. We support the legitimate request of the New Haven Peoples Center for State funding for essential brick and mortar repairs. 

We deplore the manipulation of a few Veterans, for narrow political purposes, who do not understand that the New Haven Peoples Center is an historic building, 1851, the active center since 1937 for organizations campaigning for jobs for youth and against violence, for immigrant’s rights, against racial profiling, decent jobs and medical treatment for Veterans, and for global peace, among others.. 

We reject the spurious and dangerous “red baiting” charges used to deny the Peoples Center their legitimate request. As Veterans, we know how the McCarthy period and the charge of “communism” led to the deaths of so many of our fellow soldiers and trashed the democratic rights of our people. We refuse to allow our comrades to be the instruments of intimidation and neo-fascist tactics. 

We call for the restoration of the request of the New Haven Peoples Center for funding.

• Alfred L. Marder, Company M. 14th Infantry Regiment, 71st Division, Recipient Bronze Star
• Fernando A. Ayala, U.S. Army Retired, January 1972 to March 1985
• Calvin Bunnell, USS JFK U.S. Navy, USS FDR U.S. Navy
• Anthony Butler (E-4), 438th MAC / 527 TAC, McGuire AFB, New Jersey, Okinawa, Japan
• Bill Collins, Norwalk
• Thomas Connolly, U.S. Army 2nd 68 Armor Battalion, Germany, 1962-1965
• Celestino Cordova, U.S. Army Korean War 1951-52
• Luis Acevedo Cortez, U. S. Army Vietnam 1968
• Joseph Dimow, World War II Veteran, 29th Armored Div.
• Francis E. Douglass Jr. , USMC
• Stephen E. D. Fournier, 6916th Security Squadron, U.S. Air Force Security Service
• Craig S. Gauthier, 82nd Airborne Div. 1962-1966
• Winston Heimer, Maj (Ret) U.S. Army, Signalcorps
• James D. Linn, Vietnam Veteran
• Raymond Milici, USATC FA, Fourth U.S. Army
• Luis A. Muniz-Rivera, U.S. Air Force Vietnam 1969
• Paul Neal, U.S. Army, Vietnam 1970
• James Pandaru, U.S. Navy 1962-66; Seabees, 1971-91
• Rafael A. Reyes, U.S. Army Vietnam 1967
• David W. P. Roy, SrA, USAF, Beale AFB, 100th Refueling Wing
• Charles Ruemmelez, 1st Marine Corp Div. 1966/67, 5th Marines, Head Quarters Company
• Roberto Santos, U.S. Army Afghanistan 2010

CT Comptroller Lembo sends Freaking Cool Letter to Democratic National Committee Chair

May 9, 2012

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz
National Chair
Democratic National Committee
Washington, DC

Madame Chair:

As the Affirmative Action chair of the Connecticut delegation, I feel compelled to write to you regarding the recent electoral action in the state of North Carolina and its impact on the decision of our party to hold the national convention in Charlotte this September.

In November 2010, I was elected as Connecticut’s first openly gay statewide official. I am one of a handful of LGBT people across the country to ever be elected statewide. On that election night, as Comptroller-elect, I remarked that as we had made electoral history, the people of Connecticut “shrugged” – a nod to the incredible progress our state has made toward equality, and a recognition that in this state being gay was neither an obstacle nor a qualification for public service. While full equality is a dream for people in many other states, yesterday’s election results in North Carolina must give us pause.

How can we, as a party committed to the rights and freedom of all Americans, tacitly endorse the North Carolina vote by marching our leadership and our President into Charlotte in September?

The advocates of a same-gender marriage ban in North Carolina have used their constitution – once again – as an instrumentality of discrimination. Our federal and state constitutions should only be used to broaden rights and protections for people, not restrict them.

While it may be logistically impossible to move our location at this late date, we must, at a minimum, have a conversation about the impact of our presence there on our credibility and our values as a party.

I am deeply troubled that we, the party of America, find ourselves in the position of celebrating our rich diversity in a location that now espouses the polar opposite. Please know that I am committed to help in any way that you deem appropriate. I am,

Sincerely,

Kevin Lembo

Intersection of Health and Law: Transgender Lives Conference

Transgender Lives

The Intersection of Health and Law Conference

Registration is now open for the 2012 Transgender Lives Conference to be held on April 28th, 2012 at the UConn Health Center, Farmington Connecticut. The event will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The conference will be held at the Academic Building of the UConn Health Center, located at 263 Farmington Avenue, Academic Building, Farmington, CT 06030.  Cross Post from The Rainbow Times Newsletter

The 6th Annual Transgender Lives Conference, to be held on April 28, 2012, provides important educational opportunities on topics important to the transgender community and the professionals who serve this diverse group. Jennifer Levi, Esq. will be the Keynote speaker for the event. Levi, Transgender Rights Project Director, is one of our nation’s leading experts on transgender legal issues. She has been with GLAD since 1998, and has served as lead counsel in a number of precedent setting cases establishing basic rights for transgender people.  Besides having Levi speak, CEU accreditation’s from NASW/CT and CHES will be offered! However, to take advantage of this unique and wonderful opportunity to listen to Jennifer Levi, Esq., as well as attend the many exciting and challenging workshops (found at othe organization's website) you must be registered for the conference. If you have not done so yet, you do need to register ~ so don’t delay and do it today!! You can support this effort through advertising, by becoming a sponsor, volunteering, or by making a donation.

ICYMI - Albis Family Does Good in East Haven

Cross post from Steve Fontana's blog

Recognizing educational excellence

Posted on March 28, 2012 

One of the best things to come out of the recent difficulties between East Haven’s town government and its Latino community has to be the response of so many residents of good will who refuse to allow detrimental publicity to define their town.  Mike and Jacqueline Albis, two prominent East Haven residents, deserve tremendous credit for coming up with just the latest innovative way to promote tolerance, understanding, and mutual respect.

To help mend relations in town and demonstrate a faith and pride in their community, the Albises have created a scholarship program to support Latino students who graduate from East Haven High School.  Dubbed the “East Haven Unity Fund,” its purpose is to recognize Latino students who excel academically, participate in extracurricular organizations, and aspire to pursue higher education.  Three trustees will administer the fund, and East Haven High School’s Scholarship Committee will select the fund’s annual award recipients.

If you’d like to donate to this worthy cause, you may either send a check to East Haven Unity Fund, c/o Jacqueline Albis, 23 Edwards Street, East Haven, CT  06512, or contribute online by visiting its website, at www.ehunityfund.org.

In Case the "Newspapers" don't "Report" this

STATEMENT BY UNDERSECRETARY FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE MIKE LAWLOR

Mike Lawlor, Under Secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, today released the following statement on the Federal Department of Homeland Security’s decision to activate their “Secure Communities” program statewide in Connecticut:

“While we are very mindful of the need to enhance public safety, there are legitimate concerns when it comes to the implementation of the Secure Communities program.  Six months ago, when the Department of Homeland Security announced that Secure Communities was scheduled to go “live” statewide in Connecticut, Governor Malloy asked for and received a delay in the activation because of these concerns.

“What this program does is it essentially converts local law enforcement officers into defacto agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).  The Governor shares the opinion of many police chiefs that this policy could lead to a situation where victims and witnesses in the immigrant community would be reluctant to cooperate with local and state law enforcement, something that would completely undermine the goals of this program.

“The Governor has asked Department of Corrections Commissioner Leo Arnone to create an ongoing review of how this program is implemented and what the ramifications are, and see what if any corrective action is needed going forward.  Decisions on how to respond to each request will be made on a case-by-case basis.

“As the report itself says: ‘DHS must ensure its immigration enforcement resources are focused on the removal of those who constitute our highest priorities, specifically individuals who pose a threat to public safety such as criminal aliens and national security threats, as well as repeat immigration law violators and recent border entrants. In fact, the expenditure of resources on cases that fall outside our enforcement priorities hinders our public safety mission by clogging immigration court dockets and diverting resources . . . .’”

For more information on the Task Force’s report, click here. DHS’s program will begin on Wednesday, February 22^nd. 

###

ps: Sorry for the gap in blogging - I have been in away and on a different set of issues.

A Generous Invitation - Even if you aren't Jewish

The Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut and the
Connecticut Asian Pacific American Affairs Commission
invites you to its
Annual Lunar New Year Celebration

"Year of the Dragon" 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Atrium of the Connecticut Legislative Office Building

(300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106) 

Join us for performances by local groups, meet community leaders and network with the larger Asian American community.

Light food and refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP to umeshvig@gmail.com by February 13

Union-Busting in Milford - Thin Edge of the Wedge

HealthBridge Management, owners of the West River Health Center (aka "The Grinch") locked out workers in mid-December - after what appears to be contract negotiations that smell fishy at best. Click here for SEIU 1199 post on this issue.

According to the Connecticut Post "The company has offered employees a 12 percent raise over three years, but union officials said the proposal also reduces sick and vacation time and allows hiring of per-diem staff, which could reduce the number of employees eligible for benefits."
I have spoken to some of the healthcare workers from the site and they report that their jobs are being covered by $18/hr hires brought in from out of state. The $18/hr is probably what the employment agency is being paid, not what the substitute workers are being paid. Generally this would be closer to $10/hr without benefits.

Sunday evening there was a vigil on the Milford Green. Participants included State Senator Gayle Slossberg as well as Rich Smith, Chairman of the Milford Democratic Town Committee, both of whom vowed full support for 1199 and the locked out workers. Smith spoke about the anti-union and anti-middle class sentiments of management and Slossberg spoke about the clients these caretakers were locked out from helping.

A previous vigil, in late December, was attended by Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is also calling for more attention to the abuse of seniors on many levels.

The inside talk on this is whether the management will simultaneously lock out healthcare workers at the Danbury or Westport locations they own, or continue using Milford as a test case.



Walk the Line at 245 Orange Avenue Milford, CT 06460 in Solidarity with locked out healthcare workers and in Sympathy for the clients who need them.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King opposed the Death Penalty

Courtesy of Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty

“I do not think that God approves the death penalty for any crime, rape and murder included. Capital punishment is against the better judgment of modern criminology, and, above all, against the highest expression of love in the nature of God."
                      -- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

Dr. Martin Luther King fought and ultimately sacrificed his life for the cause of justice and equality in this country. Despite the monumental achievements he helped realize in his short lifetime – most notably, the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act – King was the first to recognize that we as a country have a far way to go to realize his dream. His unshakeable commitment to nonviolence compelled him to continually push America closer to this ideal.  Most notably, he could not ignore reports of the atrocities in Vietnam and passionately called for an end to the war. And, domestically, he called for an end to America’s embarrassing institution of capital punishment, plagued by racism and error.

For King and his family, the death penalty was not an abstract issue. King himself survived numerous assassination attempts before finally being gunned down in 1968, while campaigning for striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. Despite these direct confrontations with violence and hatred, King and his family remained firm in their belief that solutions never would be found in further violence and hatred. Coretta Scott King made this point very clear:

"As one whose husband and mother-in-law have both died the victims of murder assassination, I stand firmly and unequivocally opposed to the death penalty for those convicted of capital offenses. An evil deed is not redeemed by an evil deed of retaliation. Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life. Morality is never upheld by legalized murder."

This coming week the CNADP will be joining local civil rights organizations to honor King’s legacy by working to repeal Connecticut’s death penalty. I urge you this Martin Luther King Day, January 16, to take a few hours out of your day to join us in either Hamden or Stamford as we call on Connecticut lawmakers to make sure 2012 is the year to repeal the death penalty (details for these events are below). The 2012 legislative session will start in less than a month. Now and the coming months will be critical to send a clear message to legislators that we cannot wait any longer – the injustice that is Connecticut’s death penalty must end NOW!
                                   ____________________________________________________

Press Conference and Rally for Repeal in Hamden
10:30 am, Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden (785 Ridge Rd.)

Come out and hear from The Most Reverend Peter A. Rosazza, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Connecticut; Rabbi Herbert Brockman, Congregation Mishkan Israel; State Representative Gary Holder-Winfield; Professor Khalilah Brown-Dean, Family Member of a Murder Victim; and Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson (pictured). This event is co-sponsored with the Theta Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
     ____________________________________________________  
MLK March and Rally in Stamford to End the Death Penalty
Meet at Bethel AME church in Stamford (150 Fairfield Ave.) at 10 am
March begins at Bethel AME at 10:45 am and ends at Yerwood center (90 Fairfield Ave.)
Talks on several topics, including the death penalty, will begin at 12 pm

Partnering with the CNADP on this event will be the Stamford NAACP, Stamford-Norwalk Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, and SEIU 32BJ.

We have Nothing to Fear ... except Bigotry.

Marginalization and Why this matters to you:


 Happy Holy Days from Lowes.

Thank you Congressman Chris Murphy, Connecticut's next Senator, for speaking out and up.

Ensuring Equality - Learn Your Rights

Implementing and Enforcing
the new Non-Discrimination law
Educational Session
October 26th
5:30 - 7:00 panel discussion
7:00 opportunity to chat!
Legislative Office Building
Room 2E
300 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
 

Guest Speaker-- Senator Beth Bye
Panel:
Jennifer Levi, GLAD
Alix Simonetti, CHRO
Cheryl Sharp, CHRO
 

A workshop about the new legal protections provided by the addition this year of gender identity or expression to Connecticut's non-discrimation law.

• LEARN what the new law covers and does not cover
  and 
• LEARN how to file a discrimination claim 

 Sponsored by: CT TransAdvocacy Coalition, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, and CT Women's Education and Legal Fund

Connecticut Women's Education and Legal Fund
One Hartford Square West
Suite 1-300
Hartford, CT 06106

Video Explanation for the Previously Mis-Informed

Republican for Rosa Speaks Out

h/t to Edward Anderson.
From the Hartford Courant, a Letter to the Editor published 9/9/11

In Rosa DeLauro's Defense  Chris DePino, East Haven

As the former Connecticut state Republican Party chairman, I am outraged at the response from your paper and the Connecticut Republican Party to congresswoman Rosa DeLauro's efforts to help her district recover from Tropical Storm Irene.

I live on Cosey Beach, the most devastated area of the state, and I have seen firsthand how people are hurting. Many are underinsured and suffering massive property losses and emotional distress.

I applaud U.S. Rep. DeLauro touring our area, and I know that she will do everything she can to help us.

Where she was when the storm stuck is not the issue to any of us who are experiencing the trauma of what this disaster brought to our community. What matters is how to recover from this storm.

Rosa is a friend to people. It is why Republicans like me support her even when they do not always agree with her. She is excellent, not perfect. She is a human being of substance, fairness and immense kindness.

To turn the suffering of our neighbors and community into a manufactured issue for political gain is inappropriate and wrong.

If I were still the chairman of the Connecticut State Republican Party, these kinds of political attacks would never be tolerated. It is a disgrace. Period.