WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Director Michael Carvajal seeking an explanation for BOP’s failed response to the spread of COVID-19 at FCI Danbury. The letter follows a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing “Examining Best Practices for Incarceration and Detention During COVID-19,” during which Blumenthal questioned Carvajal on BOP’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak at FCI Danbury. As of June 5, 2020, 98 inmates and 61 staff members at FCI Danbury have tested positive and one inmate has died.
“In your testimony, you repeatedly told Senator Blumenthal that you would “get” or “look into” the information that you did not know then. Sadly, BOP provided minimal additional information following your testimony, and failed to seriously address any of Senator Blumenthal’s questions,” wrote the Senators.
This is the third letter Blumenthal and Murphy have sent to Carvajal regarding the COVID-19 response at FCI Danbury. Letters sent on April 13, 2020 and May 1, 2020 expressed significant concerns that FCI Danbury will continue to be a hotspot for COVID-19, putting inmates, staff, and the greater community at risk.
“Serving time or working inside a prison should not be a sentence to sickness or death. Your failure to answer questions both during the hearing and afterwards calls into question whether BOP is taking appropriate measures to protect inmates and correctional officers from this disease. That is why we are writing once again to seek a response to these important questions,” the Senators continued.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Tuesday questioned education officials on safely reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. During today’s hearing, Murphy pressed former Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. and Denver Public Schools Superintendent Susana Cordova on the need for more emergency funding for education and supporting students with disabilities as well as questioning the need for law enforcement in schools. Murphy has previously questioned college presidents on safely reopening on how athletes and fans are going to practice proper health precautions in sports arenas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the need to appropriate additional funding to schools, Murphy said: “…let me express alarm at the prospect of leaving for a two week recess in July without appropriating additional funding for schools. The CARES Act put in about as much money for the airline industry as it did for the entire American public school system… We need to get additional funding to states and order school districts before the July recess, because the planning that’s going to need to be done in order to make sure that schools can reopen safely is going to be done this summer.”
On the need to provide additional resources for students with disabilities, Murphy said: “I’m panicked about this, because many of them have not been able to engage in any distance learning because they can’t learn without support services while they’re home. So, talk to me about the need for schools to be able to plan and hire now, in order to be able to set up the support services they’re going to need around the students. And then what’s the impact of a 25% cut in funds for a school district on students with disabilities when they return?”
Expressing concerns about having law enforcement in schools, Murphy said: “When we think about how to create safe schools, we’re obviously talking about making sure that students don’t get infected with the virus. But we’re also talking about making sure that students aren’t targeted because of their race. And the reality is that while police officers have made a lot of students feel safe, they have frankly made a lot of other students feel unsafe.”
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2020-06-11@5:18pm–#Milford CT–#cttraffic– A crash involving a tractor-trailer and a car on I-95 northbound near exit 38 sends one person to the hospital.
WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced legislation to ensure student veterans do not face financial or academic penalties if they need to withdraw from classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill would give GI Bill beneficiaries additional flexibilities to ensure they do not face bills for overpayments or lose their academic or housing benefits due to unforeseen circumstances during this pandemic that may cause them to withdraw from classes.
“Student veterans should not be penalized for taking time out of the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” saidBlumenthal. “This is an unprecedented time and we must give GI Bill recipients the flexibility they need to address any health and family emergencies. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Brown to ensure our country’s student veterans do not needlessly lose their hard-earned, well-deserved academic and housing benefits.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted education for so many student veterans across the country,” said Brown. “This legislation will help ensure student veterans have the flexibility to take time off during this crisis and resume at a time that works best for them, without losing the benefits they’ve earned.”
This bill would allow GI Bill beneficiaries to withdraw from classes during the pandemic without penalty by not counting a withdrawal during the pandemic period against a student’s available benefits and allowing the same benefits to be used later through a restoration of benefits, extending the housing stipend by four weeks for those who withdraw, and allowing those who withdraw to use their six hour credit exclusion later. The full text of the legislation can be found here
The bill is endorsed by the National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators.
“The National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators (NAVPA) is pleased with the immediate response from our nation’s leadership to protect student veterans from unforeseen circumstances due to the COVID-19 crisis,” said NAVPA President Dr. Jan Del Signore. “As educational institutions across the country take action to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff, NAVPA appreciates the new measures being initiated by Congress to grant the Secretary of the VA the ability to address any disparities and ensure our student veterans have no detrimental impact from this national emergency.”
2020-06-10@6:00PMish–#Milford CT– Fire rescue and Eagle 2 helicopter searching for two people missing in the Housatonic River. At 7:33pm the search continues.
2020-06-09@11:45am–#Milford CT–Three people were overcome from carbon monoxide from a forklift truck at 90 Furniture Row (that’s the name of the street). They have been brought outside, one is semi-conscious according to radio reports.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Andrew N. Mais joined the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in asking everyone to be prepared to act if they are in the path of a hurricane. National Weather Service forecasters predict this year’s hurricane season, which officially began June 1, will be above average.
“As we focus on reopening Connecticut and recovering from the effects of COVID-19, we shouldn’t lose sight of hurricane season and doing what we can to protect our property and loved ones,” said Commissioner Mais. “Taking precautions and adequately preparing before catastrophe strikes is essential.”
Policyholders should discuss with their agent, broker or insurance company if their current insurance coverage is still appropriate and adequate, and verify that any new additions or updates have been properly reflected in the reconstruction cost and/or personal property coverages. In addition, consumers should take this time to make sure they fully understand their policy’s deductibles, including hurricane deductibles or voluntary wind deductibles.*
Commissioner Mais added that damage from flooding is excluded from homeowners, condo, and renters insurance, but separate policies can be purchased from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) or a private insurer
.
There is a 30-day waiting period before a flood insurance policy takes effect, so now may be the time to shop for quotes as coverage, deductibles and premium costs can vary.
In case a hurricane, severe storm, flood, or other emergency forces you out of your home, here are some essential items to gather and bring with you in a go-bag:
Cash: If the power goes out, credit cards won’t work. Keep cash on hand for replenishing supplies.
Medications: Pharmacies might be closed, and hospitals could be overwhelmed. Keep a backup supply (at least several days’ worth) of important medications like blood pressure medicine and insulin.
A Battery-Powered Weather Radio: If electricity is out and cell towers are down, this is your only way to know what’s happening.
A Back-up Cell Phone Battery Charger: You may need to recharge your phone should the electricity go out.
Important Documents: Social Security cards, passports, birth certificates, driver’s licenses and more could all be lost or destroyed in a flood. Keep copies of these documents in a waterproof container along with your home insurer’s telephone number and a copy of your flood insurance policy so you can quickly file a claim if needed.
List of Shelters: In this time of social distancing, not all shelters are open. Be sure to make a list of shelters where you can retreat and bring a change of clothes.
Masks and Hand Sanitizer: Should a disaster drive you out of your home and into a crowded shared space, you should have PPE supplies just in case.
of your possessions every year. Without this checklist, you may forget to claim items lost due to fire or another covered event. The NAIC offers the myHOME Scr.APP.book app
to capture images, descriptions, bar codes and serial numbers of personal possessions and stores the information electronically for safekeeping.
* Conn. State statute only permits a mandatory hurricane deductible in certain areas of the state. Wind deductibles are allowed for homeowners, however, a company may not mandate a wind deductible as a means for issuing or renewing a homeowner policy.
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HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that his administration is establishing the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program, which will set a process by which municipal governments will receive reimbursements from the state using the federally supported Coronavirus Relief Fund to offset their expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are certainly sympathetic to the needs of the municipalities during this unprecedented public health emergency and remain willing to assist them in offsetting their related expenses,” said Governor Lamont. “This first round of reimbursements to our towns and cities is only the beginning. This ongoing situation is dynamic, and we must adjust to the changing landscape in real time. Let there be no doubt, we are reimbursing municipalities for their full cost of their expenses to date, and we stand with them amid the continued efforts to protect our communities from this virus.”
“I can speak from experience as the former chief financial officer of Hartford that we understand how thinly municipal budgets are stretched in this environment,” said Melissa McCaw, Secretary of the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management (OPM), the state agency that will administer the program. “This is only a first step in addressing the municipalities’ direct costs related to the COVID-19 crisis through June 30. The towns and cities across this great state critically require this support through the Coronavirus Relief Fund, and will also be able to avail themselves to other federal and state programs to help with their expenses and hopefully we will soon see federal action that will allow us to backfill lost revenue at the state and local level as that is critically important but remains unaddressed by the four federal COVID relief bills to date.”
In April, the Lamont administration asked all 169 municipalities to provide the state with information on their actual and projected expenses expressly related to combating the public health crisis from between March 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020. To date, municipalities have reported nearly $40 million in direct costs during this period. Federal rules prevent states from using the CARES Act funding to backfill lost government revenue and require the money to only be used for direct expenses related to the pandemic. To fund this program, the administration is setting aside $75 million and will re-evaluate this allocation for reimbursements beyond June 30.
OPM sent a letter to every municipality in the state outlining the process for reimbursement under this program. The agency has also launched an informational website for municipalities, with the application portal to be open within the next several days.
In addition to this municipal reimbursement program, the state is using its share of CARES Act funding to cover the large costs associated with testing, the purchase of personal protective equipment, additional assistance to nursing homes, and increased state agency needs that will also, directly and indirectly, benefit municipalities.
The Lamont administration also previously notified Connecticut’s towns and cities and their respective boards of education about $111 million that is available to them through the Elementary and Secondary School Education Relief Fund (ESSERF), which is also part of the CARES Act. These funds will help offset increased education expenses, which are typically the largest annual expense incurred by municipalities. This funding will complement the $27.8 million already announced for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund and can be used to ensure each student has access to the technology and connectivity they need for remote learning, improving distance learning curricula, addressing how to safely reopen after the pandemic, and providing social and emotional supports for students. If municipalities and their respective boards of education have expenses beyond the amounts or eligibility of the ESSERF, they may then still apply for reimbursement under the Connecticut Municipal Coronavirus Relief Fund Program. There has also been a distribution of new Community Development Block Grant funds, Emergency Shelter Grant funds, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS, and direct Justice Assistance Grants to help with housing, shelter, and transition services for the impoverished, ill, and recently released from incarceration.
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the State of Connecticut is partnering with philanthropic organizations in an effort to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable residents in the state who are most directly impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency and are otherwise ineligible from receiving assistance through federal pandemic relief programs, including those from within the undocumented community.
The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was created at the outbreak of the pandemic to provide emergency assistance to those who have been impacted, excludes relief to any residents who are undocumented and any U.S. citizen who files taxes with an undocumented spouse or partner. This same measure also denies emergency benefits to the U.S. citizen children of these parents. To address this situation, the Lamont administration and its philanthropic partners are taking a several steps to providing assistance. Connecticut is the first state in New England to provide targeted relief to these groups of residents.
This includes $2.5 million in state funding that will be made available to provide rental assistance to those who are ineligible for similar aid by the CARES Act. The Connecticut Department of Housing will administer this program, which is currently in development.
, which was created with the express purpose of providing emergency assistance to the state’s residents during the current pandemic, will be making $1 million available to Connecticut families who are excluded from existing federal relief programs. These funds will be made available through a novel solution – the 4-CT Card – which will provide direct, one-time payments to families. The program will engage trusted community-based organizations as partners that will write “prescriptions” for cash assistance. Recipients will take these prescriptions to community health centers partnering with the program for validation, where they will receive gift cards to help pay for expenses like food and clothing. By utilizing community health centers to get this assistance, individuals receiving the prepaid cards can be offered health services (including COVID-19 testing) they might otherwise not receive. With the state’s testing strategy targeting densely populated urban centers, this approach brings individuals in those cities closer to testing and health services.
“The COVID crisis has taken a toll on many Connecticut families, none more so than those from within certain vulnerable populations,” Governor Lamont said. “Together with 4-CT and other partners in philanthropy, we will be able to provide much-needed assistance to Connecticut residents who are unable to access federal emergency supports. While more support for these families is needed, this is an important starting point, and we plan to move quickly to make this assistance available. I urge other philanthropic leaders to help grow the pot and meet the needs of impacted families. To these residents of Connecticut, I want you to know that you are not forgotten.”
