In what should be centers of safety and security, a worldwide increase in violence has shown that houses of worship can also be targets of hate.
On a recent foggy morning, en route to my morning walk in the park, I almost collided with a flash of chartreuse on two wheels, when the flash abruptly took a sharp left in front of my Subaru. My car had won a top award for its safety features, and I put most of them to the test as I swerved…
Freedom of religion is freedom of belief and expression. It is not the freedom to do anything one pleases, though lately claims of religious freedom are being used to rationalize more craziness in Connecticut — the resurgence of dangerous diseases arising from the failure to vaccinate school…
Conservatives favor consumer choice. Consumer information is vital to make that choice meaningful. Corporatists, masquerading as conservatives, do not care about informed consumer choice. Donald Trump is a corporatist, as are the vast majority of Republicans in his Cabinet and in Congress. C…
In theory, replacing the nine-month school schedule with one that alternates shorter instruction periods with shorter breaks across all four seasons makes sense for all the reasons supporters give, beginning with a bump in student achievement.
Myself and Rose Buckens, are now official partners through Little Free Library at StoneHill with the global phenomenon that has registered 85,000+ lending library boxes in 72 countries.
Thank you to Litchfield and surrounding community
For all the rhetoric and all the charities regarding America’s children, the U.S. stands at the very bottom of western nations and some other countries as well, in terms of youth well-being. The U.S.’s exceptionalism is clearest in its cruelty to children. The U.S. has the highest infant mor…
With state government stumbling along with its usual insolvency and tax hunger, establishing a civil rights division in the attorney general’s office does not rank high among Connecticut’s needs, despite Attorney General William Tong’s advocacy of it.
Hon. Marsha Blackburn
I work for two small towns in the Litchfield Hills, covering night meetings for their respective Boards of Finance. The towns are diverse in demographics and personalities but have one thing in common — difficulty in filling slots for volunteers on all the boards and commissions that make th…
A pair of key economic indicators in Connecticut show both that things are not as dire as they sometimes seem and that any progress the state has made remains precarious.
Donald Trump is the most impeachable president in American history. Many Democrats, however, are running away from the word “impeachment” for tactical political reasons. Some Democrats say they have a sworn duty under the Constitution to present articles of impeachment for a vote in the Hous…
Connecticut's city leaders, including New Haven's, are always complaining about the huge amount of tax-exempt property within their borders, particularly regional facilities like government offices, colleges, hospitals, social-service agencies, and such. City leaders complain that these faci…
We are all a story.
I haven’t received a traffic ticket for many, many light years. But it was not always thus.
To the Editor,
Obliviousness characterized the last state administration and has started to characterize Gov. Ned Lamont’s as well, since a report the other day that Connecticut was the only New England state to lose population last year passed without official notice.
“Just get on a plane. I will get you to Roundman.” A buddy of my musician friend in Nashville — who doesn’t even know me — the buddy, I mean — sent me this Facebook message after I posted my desire to hear Ken’s band play at this awesome event. Roundman is probably not on the scale of Woodst…
Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont invited evaluation of his first 100 days in office, an arbitrary but traditional benchmark reached today, April 18.
Are all those Connecticut elected officials who have been joining the picket lines in the strike by the United Food and Commercial Workers union against Stop & Shop experts in the supermarket business? Or are the only numbers that matter to them, the numbers of their constituents on stri…
The famous anthropologist Margaret Mead once said to me that children have a distinct moral authority to change some of their parents’ habits or opinions. She gave use of seat belts and smoking cigarettes as examples.
We should have applauded 13 years ago. It was our only chance.
Two and a half years ago, I had an oncologist. I did not have cancer. But surgical removal of certain types of tumors requires a specialist. I was warned by my doctor that results could vary, and I should be prepared for anything. I assumed I knew what that meant — a biopsy would determine w…
What makes a city livable?
Snarling Donald Trump, after being selected as President by the Electoral College, brought one undeniable quality to the office — a lifetime of bullying people below him. During his career as a failed gambling czar and corporate welfare king, deceitful Donald bullied his employees, (many of …
My sister recently shared a photo on her Facebook page: my husband and I all dressed up and posing very professionally, looking, you know, younger — much younger. Seeing myself captured on film always comes as a shock. First of all, I don’t remember at all posing for a professional picture o…
Here is how to think about Joe Biden.
Few people would say they like the idea of debt. Being in debt means you owe something more than you can pay, which puts a crimp on future spending plans and can last for years after the initial purchase has been forgotten.
To understand the enormity of the Boeing 737 Max 8 crashes (Lion Air 610 and Ethiopian Airlines 302) that took a combined total of 346 lives, it is useful to look at past events and anticipate future possible problems.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has long been a favorite target of the president. The Connecticut Democrat’s past statements wrongly indicating he had served in the Vietnam War — he in fact served stateside — make him something of an easy target, but that’s not his main offense.
Dear President Trump.
My friend and I discovered what seemed to be the perfect solution to see high-quality community theater performances without buying tickets. No, we didn’t sneak in the backstage door. Just as the larger venues like the Warner Theatre rely on a phalanx of volunteers, small theaters with big t…
Asphalt plant a toxic slippery slope
My granddaughters recently crossed the bridge into teenhood, and I’m mindful that one of my commissions as an Oma is to be a good role model, and to present other good role models to them. Of course, the first one who comes to mind, given their German heritage, is Hildegard of Bingen.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the thing called March Madness, which technically stretches into April and is the only major sports event whose name tells you how to feel about it.
Whatever his reasons, Gov. Ned Lamont’s decision this week to backtrack on school regionalization plans should be recognized for what it is — a significant reversal.
As internal and external pressures mount to hold Boeing responsible for its criminal negligence, the giant company is exerting its immense influence to limit both its past and future accountability. Boeing whistleblowers and outside aviation safety experts are coming forward to reveal the se…
Dear Sharon Community,
If Connecticut is to meet its self-imposed goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, it will not happen via increased use of natural gas.
Let’s be honest, if we want Connecticut to grow — to be a place that attracts new jobs, new opportunities, higher home values and talented workers — we need to upgrade our outdated transportation network. We cannot expect to achieve our state’s full potential with aging bridges and highways …
Proposing to consolidate suburban and rural school districts with urban ones — by financial incentive if possible, by state mandate if necessary — Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic leaders in the General Assembly are threatening to overthrow Connecticut’s social contract.
Citizens challenging the towering threat of climate crisis should never underestimate the consequences of our dependence on fossil fuel corporations. Real engagement with the worsening climate disruption means spending more of our leisure hours on civic action. The fate of future generations…
The public does not need more secrecy from police. If anything, there should be less.
Raccoons have great looks — masks, bright eyes, striped Davy Crockett tails.
The phone rang at three in the morning. My sister Kathleen, like a banshee, come to proclaim the dead.
I would not have sought out this phenomenon from Japan since I don’t watch either reality TV or Netflix but recently, several friends mentioned how fabulous she was, so I had to check it out. Marie Kondo’s method of organizing is known as the KonMari method. It consists of gathering together…
The most commonly heard counter to a call for diversity in hiring is to say that, instead of bringing in people from a variety of backgrounds, the only choice is to hire the best person for the job. No other criteria should matter.
Many readers object to illegible print in contemporary print newspapers and magazines. In today’s print news, legible print is on a collision course with flights of fancy by graphic artists.
More than a hundred Connecticut teachers told a hearing of the General Assembly’s Education Committee the other day that they are being assaulted or threatened in school by disturbed students as young as 5 years old. Describing an epidemic of crazed behavior by students, the testimony should…
Growing up in the rural countryside on a subsistence Connecticut farm, I had a brother just a year older than me and four boy cousins just down the road. I was destined to begin childhood as a tomboy. I skated in my brother’s old cast-off hockey skates, just as I rode his hand-me-down bike a…
