Month: September 2018

Senator Murphy Wants Criminal Questions Eliminated From College Aplications

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in introducing the Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act, new legislation that would encourage colleges and universities to remove criminal and juvenile justice questions from their admissions applications and give more Americans a chance to earn a higher education.

 

“A good education is a ticket to the middle class,” Senator Murphy. “If someone was convicted of a crime as a juvenile, served their time and got back on the right path, their past shouldn’t doom their future. This bill levels the playing field and gives everyone an equal shot at a good education.”

 

“Everyone deserves a fair chance to go to college and succeed,” Senator Schatz said. “This bill is about tearing down the barriers that keep people from pursuing a better life through higher education.”

 

Today, most colleges and universities ask criminal justice, juvenile justice, and/or school disciplinary questions in their admissions processes. Earlier this year, Murphy joined Senator Schatz’s letters

to the “Big Six” higher education associations and The Common Application asking them to remove criminal history questions from their admissions processes.  As a result, the Association of American Colleges and Universities and the American Association of Community Colleges urged their members to remove these questions.  And recently The Common Application decided to remove criminal history questions from their form starting in August 2019. The bill would assist colleges and universities as they change their policies by providing assistance in the form of guidance and training.


“Requiring prospective college students to answer application questions about old criminal or juvenile records is an unnecessary barrier to educational pursuits.  We must allow formerly incarcerated individuals to rebuild and move forward with their lives, and a college education can be an important step in that journey.  I’m proud to join Senators Schatz and Booker on this bill and help clear this roadblock,” Senator Durbin said.

 

About 70 million Americans have some type of criminal record. That record, which shows up on all routine background checks, makes it more difficult for those individuals to go to college, find a good-paying job, and rebuild their lives. Studies have shown that application rejection rates for individuals with convictions can be as high as 12 to 13 percentage points more than for those without. And many with a criminal background fail to complete their application once they reach the criminal history question, knowing responding to the questions would greatly diminish their chance of admission.

 

In addition to Murphy, Schatz, Durbin, and Booker, the original cosponsors of the legislation include U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).

 

The Beyond the Box for Higher Education Act would:

 

1.                  Direct the Department of Education to provide guidance and recommendations for colleges and universities to:

a.      Determine whether criminal and juvenile justice questions are necessary in the initial application for admissions process;

b.      Develop a process to determine in what situations criminal or juvenile justice information can be requested of students for non-admissions purposes, and provide a process for prospective students as well as training for staff on the use of such information; and

c.       Offer recommendations for colleges and universities that decide to keep criminal and juvenile justice questions, such as delaying the request for such information to avoid a chilling effect, and making transparent, specific, and narrow inquiries that offer prospective students the opportunity to explain their involvement.

2.                  Direct the Department of Education to provide colleges and universities with the necessary training and technical assistance to meet the above recommendations.

a.      The Department will also establish a resource center to serve as a repository for best practices as colleges and universities develop and implement new policies.

b.      Remove the drug conviction question from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

 

“There are still far too many barriers to a high quality higher education, especially for students who have been impacted by the justice system. The Beyond the Box Act would reduce some of these unnecessary barriers, particularly for low-income students and students of color who are disproportionately impacted.  We’re proud to stand with Sen. Schatz as we work toward a more equitable and just higher education for all students,” said Wil Del Pilar, Vice President of Higher Education at The Education Trust.

 

The legislation is supported by over 20 organizations including The Education Trust, Institute for Higher Education Policy, National Association for College Admission Counseling, and NAACP.

 

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Bridgeport News: Man Shot

Police UPDATE: A woman and three males came to the Rainbow Road residence. The group came to confront and accuse the mother of stealing items from a home. The males were confrontational and threatened the homeowner Timothy Pompey, who, fearing they would attack him shot one of the males with a licensed 38 revolver. The suspects fled and the person who was shot was driven by private vehicle to 167 Barnum Avenue. The person shot was identified as Phillip Mitchel and he went into surgery for a gunshot wound to the stomach. He was listed in stable condition.

 

8:30pm–#Bridgeport CT– Police received a call from a homeowner on Rainbow Road that someone was allegedly trying to enter his home and he shot the intruder. A short time later police received a call allegedly from the victim that he was at Old Town and Reservoir Avenue but when police arrived they found no one. A short time later police received a call that the victim was inside a residence in the 100 block of Barnum Avenue. They found a man shot in the side of the stomach. The man was alert and talking with EMS. He was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police spokesperson Av Harris confirmed the person shot on Rainbow Road was, in fact, the victim on Barnum Avenue.

11th Annual Teen Safe Driving Video Contest

WETHERSFIELD – The Department of Motor Vehicles and Travelers announced today their joint sponsorship of the 11th annual teen safe driving video contest for high school students around the state.  This year’s theme focuses on peer-to-peer collaboration to increase driving safety.  The teen-to-teen collaborative theme for this year’s video contest is: “Wait – what can WE do?”

“This contest continues to engage high school students and empower them to use their creativity and talents to deliver an important peer safety message through the power of video,” DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said.  “We look forward to seeing their videos come to life and spread the word to young drivers about road safety and their responsibility behind the wheel.”

Young drivers account for a disproportionate number of motor vehicle crashes and these crashes are the leading cause of death for this age group.  The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16-to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DMV and Travelers partner each year to raise driving safety awareness among the state’s youngest and most inexperienced drivers. The goal is to influence peer-to-peer interactions to promote safer driving habits.

Travelers will award up to $26,000 in cash prizes to the winning students and their high schools.  The contest is open to all public, private and home-schooled high school students in Connecticut and the deadline for submissions is December 17, 2018.

“Travelers is committed to educating consumers about the importance of staying focused behind the wheel, and we are proud to continue to sponsor the Connecticut DMV Safe Driving Video Contest,” said Michael Klein, Executive Vice President, and President of Personal Insurance at Travelers. “Through initiatives like this one, teens are empowering each other to speak up when they see a friend driving dangerously, which can help make Connecticut’s roads safer for everyone.”

A group of 13 student advisors to the Connecticut DMV helped create the theme “Wait – what can WE do?” to foster proactive group decision-making.  Video submissions should highlight interactions between the driver and other teens to take pause and illustrate ways to practice safer driving habits while obeying Connecticut’s teen driving laws.

Student advisors who worked on the project are Ryan Bair of Newington High School; Anna Bonaiuto, Alanna Rodinone and Alyssa Rodinone all of Mercy High School; Michael Dellaripa and Connor Silbo both of Xavier High School; Samantha Getsie of Berlin High School; Samantha DeFrance, Brandon Parker and David Sands all of Middletown High School; Esha Shrivastav of Kingswood-Oxford in West Hartford; Will Carson of Conard High School in West Hartford; Michael Torres of Northwest Catholic, and Evan Wolkner of Farmington High School.

Since the contest began, nearly 4,000 students across the state have participated, representing more than 100 high schools. More information about the contest can be found at https://ct.gov/teendriving/contest

Past contest winners can be found on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/teensafedriving12

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Bridgeport News: Moore Gets City $$

BRIDGEPORT, CT—Senate Democratic co-chair of the General Assembly’s Bonding Subcommittee Senator Marilyn Moore (D-Bridgeport) today announced the expected approval of $14.8 million in state bond funding for several projects in Bridgeport. “I am very excited to be able to bring back state funding to help Bridgeport move forward with critical projects like demolishing Pleasure Beach Bridge, restoring McClevy Hall, capping the Seaside Landfill, and making improvements to our local housing facilities,” Sen. Moore said. “This major funding from the state will also help to ease the burden on local taxpayers by underwriting the cost of these projects.” The State Bond Commission is slated to approve the items at its meeting on Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 10:30 a.m. in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building. The bond agenda items include:

 $5.5 million grants-in-aid to Park City Communities to assist with installation of site utilities and streetscape improvements associated with the Crescent Crossing mixed-income housing development in Bridgeport which replaces the storm damaged Marina Village housing project. These phases include 130 housing units.

 $4 million for a preliminary design for improvements on I-95 from exit 19 to exit 27A .

 $1.6 million for the demolition of the Pleasure Beach Bridge.  $1.5 million for the exterior restoration of McLevy Hall.

 $1.2 million to cap the Seaside Landfill.  $1 million grants-in-aid to Bridgeport Economic Development Corporation to finance a loan to Hancock Avenue Partners I and II LLC to assist with utility infrastructure for the development of Phase III of the Cherry Street Lofts which will provide for 157 units of mixed-income rental housing.

 

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Fraudulent Firefighter Fundraiser

#Westport CT– Recently the Westport Fire Department has received inquiries from several residents who were solicited by telephone for donations to the Westport Volunteer Fire Department. The caller identified themselves as representing the Fire Department Foundation. To our knowledge no such organization exists. The Westport Volunteer Fire Department & the Westport Uniformed Firefighters Charitable Foundation are two fundraising organizations within the Westport Fire Department. We are both registered with the IRS as nonprofit corporations and we do not contract with any third party to solicit donations by telephone. We only seek support from the members of the Westport community through an annual town-wide mailing, never through telephone solicitation. Any organization calling a resident or business in Westport claiming to represent either of our organizations is not acting in our interests. We caution all residents and businesses to be on the alert for suspected phone scams such as this. Even if the organization is, in fact, legitimate, we do not receive any financial assistance from any third party firefighter’s organization. Please call (203) 341-5003 if you have any questions or concerns.

 

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Connecticut National Guard To Assist Hurricane Victims

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that ten Connecticut National Guard soldiers are anticipated to arrive in Tennessee this afternoon aboard UH-60 Blackhawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters to support those in need in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which is anticipated to hit the southeast United States later this week.  The crew and equipment will stage in the area to help cut down on the response time required to provide assistance.

“In Connecticut, we know how firsthand what it’s like to experience extraordinary weather events, and we know how important the help of neighbors can be during recovery,” Governor Malloy said.  “The men and women of the Connecticut National Guard are among the most well-trained and well-prepared in the country, and I thank them for dropping everything at a moment’s notice so that we can assist our neighbors to our south with what is looking like will become a devastating situation.”

“As our country anxiously waits to see Hurricane Florence make landfall in the Carolinas, I’m proud that Connecticut has sent some of our National Guardsmen and aircrafts to assist with this colossal storm,” Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said.  “We wish our troops and everyone aiding in relief efforts Godspeed and a safe journey home.  We will continue to keep the Carolinas and surrounding areas in our thoughts and prayers during Hurricane Florence.”

“I wish our Guardsmen a safe journey and the best of luck as they head south to support fellow Americans who may be in need,” Major General Francis J. Evon Jr., Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard, said.  “The Connecticut National Guard is well versed in relief operations, and I thank each and every one of our members departing today for their service and selflessness to leave at a moment’s notice to be a part of this mission.”

Both the UH-60 Blackhawk and the CH-47 Chinook are transport helicopters capable of moving personnel or equipment.  A Blackhawk can seat up to a dozen passengers, and a Chinook is capable of carrying over 30 passengers, not including crew.

 

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