Letter: Ledge Light Health District Affirms our Commitment to Equity

While so much of our attention is focused on COVID-19, it is clear that we cannot respond to this pandemic as though it is an isolated public health emergency, occurring in a vacuum and separate from any other community health concern. The data regarding COVID are no different from so many other health outcomes; Black, Latinx and Indigenous people are more likely to experience serious health outcomes and premature death. There are widespread and pervasive racial disparities in health in our country and region. We must recognize these for what they are – the unjust and preventable results of systems

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Needleman: Bipartisan Effort Works Toward Early Prevention of EEE Across Eastern Connecticut

In the last few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the importance of preparing for the worst-case scenario. It should also be a reminder to us that we need to be prepared for challenges to come. But we must also not allow current circumstances to let us lose focus on other important issues. If anything, the current pandemic reinforces the need to tackle other public health issues, including one that ended lives in our state last year. Three people died last year as mosquitos carrying Eastern Equine Encephalitis, a potentially deadly virus, spread across Connecticut. There are parallels in

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Letter: Lack of Communication Leaves Essex a One Party Town

As the Chairman of the Essex Republican Town Committee, I just needed to share my comments on the political process in Essex. However, this letter expresses my thoughts  alone. I did not submit it to ERTC for approval. A 2018 audit, found deficits in Region 4 Board of Education Budget. I want to thank our new Superintendent, Brian White for discovering the auditing errors in capital sinking funds, cafeteria fund and the underfunded health insurance reserve. Sadly, to correct them will be a financial burden to the three towns, all with declining enrollments. White’s decision to train Kelly Sterner to

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Opinion: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”

“Dad, did you see that another black man got killed by the police?” “Yes, I did. What do you think about that?” “It’s crazy, clearly he was down. People were standing there watching them telling them to stop. The other police was just standing there. It was crazy!” And so began another conversation about the realities of life with my fourteen-year-old daughter. Hate is a strong word. I don’t use it flippantly. But, I hate the abuse of power! That’s what we witnessed: bad police officers abusing their power. I like the police. I appreciate their service to our community.

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One Size Does Not Fit the Virus

The nation and Connecticut are reopening fitfully and unevenly from a shutdown that many think should not have happened – many including Pulitzer-Prize-winning columnist Thomas Friedman of the left-leaning New York Times and Dr. David L. Katz, a Connecticut MD and an expert with a public health degree from Yale. Our “one-size-fits-all” shutdown policy is strange in the face of a virus which afflicts different population segments in such wildly different ways. For those over age 65, who comprise only 16 percent of the country’s population, the virus has been devastating. This age group has sustained about 80 percent of

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“For certainly what others have done for us should be an inspiration to all to keep up their good work”

As I review my previous Memorial Day homilies, I’ve come to realize that there is a pattern unfolding.  Taken together, they help to tell us why we are here again in this cemetery. I’ve had the occasion, and the challenge, to explore with you how and why we voluntarily meet here on this designated day to celebrate the lives and mourn the passings of preachers, teachers, siblings, parents, ancestors, neighbors, heroes, government officials, duck hunters, bird watchers, conservation commissioners, friends, lovers, spouses, artists, musicians, fishermen, cow farmers and others. Truly a web of life. There were people I knew who

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Year Two

One year ago last Monday, CT Examiner went live with the goal of returning in-depth, nonpartisan, local news coverage to towns across southeast Connecticut. Funded with venture capital from David Kelsey, and edited by Gregory Stroud, CT Examiner began with a staff of two: Cate Hewitt and Julia Werth. Over time, we added a third reporter, Chris McDermott, and a small pool of freelancers, including arts writer Clare Byrne. Who knew that exactly one year later we would have an exclusive one-on-one interview with Gov. Ned Lamont to mark phase of one of the reopening of the economy? What better

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Letter: Mute Swan Controversy Based on Shoddy and Non-Existent Studies

Dear Editor: I read the article about Mute Swans being an invasive species in your recent article by Julia Werth, dated May 19, 2020. The article is filled with misinformation that has been discounted by current research and international swan and wetland habitat specialists. Furthermore, the information cited has been shown through research to be based upon shoddily conducted or non-existent studies.  I would like to have ample time to set the record straight. I have also included at the bottom of the page, my credentials regarding Swans. 1.      There has never been any environmental impact assessment conducted

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Letter: Attack on Swans Doesn’t Justify an Attack on Swans

An apparent attack on mute swans near Whalebone Cove in Hadlyme does not raise questions about whether they belong in our state. It just raises questions about whether the ignorant humans who brutally beat them should be allowed to live in the state any longer without being behind bars. Unfortunately, there is a sentiment among some boaters and recreationalists in the state that mute swans are picturesque pests that are better off dead. Mute swans are not aggressive birds, but when they are nesting or defending young, they become protective parents, which should be admirable to humans. It’s appalling that the

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Opinion: Move Forward or Sink

Addressing Americans in the wake of the Challenger explosion, President Reagan addressed a shocked and grieving nation, reminding us of an important truth: “The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave.” Today, Americans are grieving again – for deceased friends and loved ones, but also for the loss of prosperity, jobs, economic security and the dreams that go with them. The coronavirus pandemic has cost us dearly in many ways, especially in a state like Connecticut, which was already struggling with high taxes, exploding pension debt, an exodus of residents from the state, and an anemic

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