(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont is reminding Connecticut residents that the state’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $13.00 per hour to $14.00 per hour beginning on Friday, July 1, 2022.
The change is the result of legislation he signed into law three years ago that schedules several increases in the minimum wage over a five-year period.
“For too long, while the nation’s economy grew, the income of the lowest earning workers has stayed flat, making already existing pay disparities even worse and preventing hardworking families from obtaining financial security,” Governor Lamont said. “This is a fair, gradual increase for workers who will invest the money right back into our economy and continue supporting local businesses in their communities.”
“Governor Lamont and I are committed to making sure that our Connecticut economy works for everyone, and that includes our state’s low-income earners,” Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said. “That’s why we voted three years ago to increase our state’s minimum wage at a steady rate, providing more financial security to families and providing residents the ability to continue supporting our local economy.”
Signed into law by Governor Lamont in 2019, Public Act 19-4 requires the minimum wage to increase five times over a five-year period, from the then-rate of $10.10 per hour to:
$11.00 on October 1, 2019;
$12.00 on September 1, 2020;
$13.00 on August 1, 2021;
$14.00 on July 1, 2022; and
$15.00 on June 1, 2023.
Ultimately, beginning on January 1, 2024, that same law requires the minimum wage to become indexed to the employment cost index, which is calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor, and for the first time in Connecticut the rate will grow according to economic indicators.
(HARTFORD, CT) – Earlier this week, State Representatives Jennifer Leeper (D–Fairfield, Southport) and Kate Farrar (D–West Hartford) commemorated World Refugee Day by celebrating the inclusion of $1 million in the state budget to provide financial assistance to refugee resettlement agencies and to help close the ‘welcome gap’ faced by Connecticut’s refugees. The Representatives have worked directly with refugee assistance agencies across the state, including Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Connecticut Institute for Refugee and Immigrants (CIRI), and Jewish Family Services (JFS), in response to the influx of refugees arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine and the crucial need for additional funding.
The funding secured in the state budget will provide each arriving refugee with a one-time grant of $1,000 to compensate for high costs of living in Connecticut by covering expenses such as rent, utilities, transportation, food, English language instruction, and job training. The funds will be directly allocated to the sponsoring refugee resettlement agencies.
The U.S. Department of State allocates a per capita allowance of $2,275 per refugee to resettlement agencies, with $1,225 supporting direct client expenses, including rental assistance. Connecticut’s high cost of living drains these funds during refugees’ first few months of living in the state, but it typically takes five months for refugees to find employment that will cover their living expenses. These interim months are known as the ‘welcome gap’. The additional funding in the state budget works to close that existing gap.
“I am so proud that we were able to secure this critical funding for our refugee resettlement agencies to support the influx of refugees arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine and further work to close the ‘welcome gap’. We want to keep refugees in our state and ensure that they have the necessary resources to live fulfilling and productive lives here,” said Rep. Leeper. “Thank you to Governor Lamont for approving these funds. I look forward to continued work with State Representative Farrar and our resettlement agencies to see how we can further support our refugee communities.”
“As the wife of a refugee, I’ve learned firsthand how critical immediate resources and support are as families resettle in a new community,” Rep. Farrar said. “I am proud of our work to secure funding for hundreds of refugees to rebuild their lives and thrive in our state.”
With trees causing 90% of outages during storms and severe weather happening more often, Eversource is launching a new, data-driven approach to vegetation management. The energy company has identified electric lines on its network with the worst reliability performance and is looking to collaborate with individual property owners and their community leaders to look at the vegetation along those lines. Using 10 years of outage data, Eversource arborists are working to understand how concentrated tree work, including retention and planting of appropriate utility-compatible trees can strengthen the grid to make it more resilient during powerful storms.
“Our goal is to find a collaborative solution with our customers and communities that has the potential to significantly reducetree-related outages during storms,” said Eversource Vice President of Operation Services Steve Driscoll. “We have the data that shows how and where trees are impacting service to our customers and we’re looking to develop new ways to turn the worst performing lines into the most reliable circuits in our state, while planting appropriate trees to maintain the state’s character.” Using reliability data and storm outage history over the past 10 years, Eversource has identified 15 segments of the electric system in 13 communities to include in the program – Chester, Clinton, Guilford, Mansfield, Middletown, Naugatuck, Newtown, Redding, Sharon, West Hartford, Windham and Woodstock. The total length of the segments is approximately 20 miles – a relatively small area in comparison tothe roughly 4,000 miles the energy company trims across the state each year and more than 16,000 miles on the system. The work in these data-selected problem areas involves tree removals within a targeted “fall zone” on over 700 properties to help protect critical electric infrastructure for more than 8,200 customers and critical facilities such as fire and police stations and community storm shelters. At the same time, Eversource will work with individual property owners on opportunities to retain and plant new “wire friendly” trees and pollinator plants in appropriate locations. The process kicked off in Redding. Eversource is in talks with local leaders to determine if the community would like to work together to improve reliability. Tree wardens in each community will serve an integral role in the program, working collaboratively with the company to address this issue while being mindful of aesthetics. “Connecticut has a tree problem,” added Driscoll. “Drought, invasive insects and overall age are taking a toll on the state’s trees. We’d like to do something about it and at the same time improve reliability for our customers. Our goal is to collaborate with the communities and customers to educate them on the tree risks and the tree work that can have a positive impact on day-to-day reliability and resiliency during storms.” Eversource will be reaching out to municipal leaders in the other communities to discuss segment locations and company arborists will work closely with community leaders and residents in the coming weeks to discuss opportunities to work together.
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong announced that Connecticut, along with 45 other attorneys general, has obtained a $1.25 million multistate settlement with Florida-based Carnival Cruise Line stemming from a 2019 data breach that involved the personal information of approximately 180,000 Carnival employees and customers nationwide. Connecticut will receive $67,505.86 from the settlement.
In March 2020, Carnival publicly reported a data breach in which an unauthorized actor gained access to certain Carnival employee e-mail accounts. The breach included names, addresses, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, payment card information, health information, and a relatively small number of Social Security Numbers. More than 1,200 Connecticut residents were impacted.
Breach notifications sent to attorneys general offices stated that Carnival first became aware of suspicious email activity in late May of 2019—approximately 10 months before Carnival reported the breach. A multistate investigation ensued, focusing on Carnival’s email security practices and compliance with state breach notification statutes.
“Unstructured” data breaches like the Carnival breach involve personal information stored via email and other disorganized platforms. Businesses lack visibility into this data, making breach notification more challenging—and consumer risk rises with delays.
“It’s important that Connecticut residents are notified quickly when their information may be at risk due to a data breach” said Attorney General Tong. “This settlement sends the message that companies need to take stock of what information they maintain and take reasonable steps to protect that information. Storing large amounts of information in unmanageable formats, such as email, does not excuse delays in notifying state attorneys general or impacted individuals about a breach.”
Following the Carnival breach, Connecticut shortened the time limit for companies to provide notice of a data breach under the state’s breach notification statute from 90 days to 60 days.
Under the settlement, Carnival has agreed to a series of provisions designed to strengthen its email security and breach response practices going forward. Those include:
Implementation and maintenance of a breach response and notification plan;Email security training requirements for employees, including dedicated phishing exercises;Multi-factor authentication for remote email access;Password policies and procedures requiring the use of strong, complex passwords, password rotation, and secure password storage;Maintenance of enhanced behavior analytics tools to log and monitor potential security events on the company’s network; andConsistent with past data breach settlements, undergoing an independent information security assessment.
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement in support of President Biden’s announcement urging Congress to approve a three-month suspension of the 18.4 cent per gallon federal gas tax.
“I’ve urged for months that the federal gas tax be suspended and commend President Biden’s support for this action. The savings from this measure must be passed along to consumers – not hoarded by major companies – to make a measurable difference at the pump.”
“After this good first step, more must be done to combat Big Oil’s rising prices and profits. I’m demanding a windfall profits tax to give hundreds of dollars back to consumers through quarterly rebates because Big Oil companies continue to pocket record profits while consumers pay sky high prices. As I’ve advocated, we must stop price gouging with new powerful FTC enforcement tools, and pressure OPEC and producers sitting on unused leases to increase supply. Congress must take swift action to provide meaningful relief to American communities. Republicans should join us in passing this measure.”
As gas prices at the pump rise, Big Oil companies have pocketed billions in profits, with 25 top oil and gas companies announcing an astonishing $237 billion in profits in 2021 alone. To deliver relief to consumers, Blumenthal has cosponsored the Gas Prices Relief Act to temporarily suspending the federal gas tax through the end of the year; the Big Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act to curb profiteering by oil companies; and the Price Gouging Prevention Act to authorize the FTC and state attorneys general to enforce a federal ban against unconscionably excessive price increases.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) will call for an immediate recall of the Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker and Newborn-to-Infant Rocker, as well as the Kids2 Bright Starts Rocker, which have reportedly caused 14 infant deaths from 2009 to 2021.
Last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a product warning about Fisher Price’s Infant-to-Toddler Rocker and Newborn-to-Infant Rocker and the Kids2 Bright Start rocker. These rockers come with reclined seats that can put an infant at risk of suffocation and violate guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The 14 deaths linked to these rockers were not disclosed for over a decade, raising particular concerns about the safety of these products and the public transparency at Fisher Price.
Senator Blumenthal is calling for a swift recall of the rockers, as well as a repeal of Section 6(b) in the Consumer Protection Safety Act, which keeps consumers in the dark and prevents critical information from being shared with the public that could impact the health and safety of their families. Currently, the CPSC must go through extensive negotiations with manufacturers before issuing product warnings or recalls. The Blumenthal-led Sunshine in Product Safety Act would repeal this provision, allowing CPSC to act quickly and efficiently in sharing information about potentially dangerous products.
Plans include water fun, camping, grilling? Then these tips are for you.
FARMINGTON, Conn. (June 17, 2022)— How do you plan to enjoy this summer? Whether your plans include fun in the water, camping or grilling your favorites, the American Red Cross in Connecticut has some resources you can use to help you have a safe summer. And don’t forget your furry friends — there are even some safety tips to follow to help protect your pets as the weather warms up.
“Summer is a great time of year to get outside and have fun with your friends and loved ones,” said Mario Bruno, CEO, American Red Cross Connecticut and Rhode Island Region “But there are dangers if you don’t swim, camp or grill properly. We here at the Red Cross want you to have a safe summer and offer these steps you can follow.”
WATER SAFETY
Every day, an average of 11 people die in the U.S. from unintentional drowning — and one in five of those are children 14 or younger according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Red Cross wants everyone to know critical safety knowledge and skills that could save your life in and around the water. We encourage families to build confidence in the water by learning to be safe, making good choices, learning to swim and how to handle emergencies.
Preventing unsupervised access to water, providing constant, active adult supervision and knowing how to swim are critical layers of protection to help prevent drowning.
Classes to learn how to swim are available for both children and adults. Check the map for Learn-to-Swim providers in your community. Everyone should learn first aid and CPR too, so they know what to do in an emergency.
Download the Red Cross Swim app, sponsored by The ZAC Foundation, for safety tips, kid-friendly videos and activities, and take the free Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers online course in English or in Spanish.
It’s best to swim in a lifeguarded area. Always designate a “water watcher” whose sole responsibility is to keep a close eye and constant attention on everyone in and around the water until the next water watcher takes over.
Drowning behavior is typically fast and silent. Unless rescued, a drowning person will last only 20 to 60 seconds before submerging. Reach or throw, don’t go! In the event of an emergency, reach or throw an object to the person in trouble. Don’t go in! You could become a victim yourself.
CAMPING SAFETY
If a camping trip is in your plans, know the level of ability of the people in your group and the environment around you. Plan accordingly.
Pack a first aid kit to handle insect stings, sprains, cuts and bruises and other injuries that could happen to someone in your group. Take a Red Cross First Aid and CPR course and download the First Aid app so that you will know what to do in case help is delayed. You’ll learn how to treat severe wounds, broken bones, bites and stings and more.
Share your travel plans and locations with a family member, neighbor or friend.
Bring nutritious food items and water, light-weight clothing to layer and supplies for any pets.
GRILLING SAFETY
More than three-quarters of U.S. adults have used a grill — yet, grilling sparks more than 10,000 home fires on average each year. To avoid this, the Red Cross offers these grilling safety tips:
Never grill indoors — not in the house, camper, tent or any enclosed area.
Make sure everyone, including pets, stays away from the grill.
Keep the grill out in the open, away from the house, deck, tree branches or anything that could catch fire.
Use the long-handled tools especially made for cooking on the grill to help keep the chef safe.
PET SAFETY
Summer’s heat can be dangerous for your family pets. Follow these steps to take to help ensure your pet stays safe this summer.
Don’t leave your pet in a hot vehicle, even for a few minutes. The inside temperature of the car can quickly reach 120 degrees even with the windows cracked open.
Animals can suffer heat stroke, a common problem for pets in the warmer weather. Dogs with short noses or snouts, like the boxer or bulldog, are especially prone to heat stroke, along with overweight pets, those with extremely thick fur coat or any pet with upper respiratory problems such as laryngeal paralysis or collapsing trachea.
Some of the signs of heat stroke in your pet are heavy panting and being unable to calm down, even when lying down, brick red gum color, fast pulse rate and being unable to get up.
If you suspect your pet has heat stroke, take their temperature rectally. If the temperature is above 105 degrees, cool the animal down. The easiest way to do this is by using the water hose. Stop cooling the animal when the temperature reaches 103 degrees.
Bring your pet to the veterinarian as soon as possible as heat stroke can lead to severe organ dysfunction and damage. Download the Red Cross Pet First Aid app for instant access on how to treat heat stroke, other emergencies and general care for cats and dogs and take the Cat and Dog First Aid Online Training course.
Blood donations decline in late spring and early summer – especially during holiday weeks, like Memorial Day and Independence Day – but the need for blood and platelet transfusions doesn’t take a summer break. Generous blood and platelet donors are critically important in ensuring lifesaving care is available the moment patients need it. Toschedule an appointment to donate, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
2022-06-19@10:19pm–#Milford CT- #cttraffic– A report of a crash I-95 north near exit 35. Radio reports say crashed vehicles in all lanes and people walking on the highway. Detour if you can.
