Category: Local News

2020-05-03@6:06pm–#Milford CT– Firefighters on the way to Charles Island to rescue two people trapped on Charles Island because of the high tide.

 

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2020-04-25@1:56pm–#Milford CT– Today’s vehicle fire was a dirt bike on Old Point Road.  Firefighters reported the bike was fully engulfed in flames and that there was no driver to be found.

 

 

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2002-04-21@2:40pmm–#Easton CT– Firefighters quickly extinguish an attic fire on Pheasant Lane.  There were no reported injuries, the fire marshal was called to investigate the cause of the fire.

 

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Greenwich, CT – Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) announced that colleges and universities in Southwest Connecticut will receive a total of $37,855,848 from the newly created Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Half of this fund, $18,927,926, is specifically designated for emergency cash grants to eligible students in need of assistance.

“The emotional, educational, and economic toll that the coronavirus has inflicted on colleges and students has been massive,” said Himes.  “Higher education has always been a priority for our communities, and having the year cut short so abruptly is disruptive and costly. These funds are needed to mitigate the damage, and I am especially pleased that such a large portion has been set aside for direct student aid.”

Using this funding, the schools listed below will be able to provide financial aid grants to cover students’ expenses such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare. Schools can also use the funds to purchase technology to expand remote learning capabilities and defray expenses such as lost revenue.

School	Total Allocation	Minimum Allocation to be Awarded for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students
Fairfield University	$2,137,358	$1,068,679
Housatonic Community College	$3,450,869	$1,725,435
Norwalk Community College	$3,189,661	$1,594,831
Sacred Heart University	$4,305,177	$2,152,589
University of Bridgeport	$3,271,938	$1,635,969
University of Connecticut	$21,500,845	$10,750,423

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund created by the CARES Act provides colleges and universities national-wide $14 billion, of which $6.28 billion is specifically designated for emergency cash grants to students.

“We must act quickly to meet the immediate needs of our neighbors,’ Himes continued. “Helping our students and schools will always be a priority for me, and I’ll continue to fight for support now and down the road.”

 

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HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he is directing his administration to boost Medicaid payments for all of the state’s 215 nursing homes by an additional five percent above the recently announced ten percent increase. Together, the 15 percent across-the-board financial relief will provide an additional $65 million in Medicaid payment increases to the state’s nursing homes.

 

The administration notified nursing home association leaders and representatives of the nursing home employees’ union in letters that were delivered this weekend.

 

“Connecticut’s nursing home operators and their employees provide an incredible service to the people of our state, including the 22,000 residents receive direct care in nursing homes on a daily basis,” Governor Lamont said. “I want to extend my profound gratitude to them, particularly during this unprecedented global pandemic that is having a particularly adverse impact on the elderly and individuals with disabilities residing in long-term care settings.”

 

The state’s increased financial support will be applied toward:

 

·       Employee wages, including staff retention bonuses, overtime, and shift incentive payments;

·       New costs related to screening of visitors;

·       Personal protective equipment;

·       Cleaning and housekeeping supplies; and

·       Other costs related to COVID-19.

 

In addition, in recognition of the continuing needs of nursing homes during this crisis, the Lamont administration is also announcing implementation of the following additional measures to the state’s Medicaid program:

 

·       The state will provide an across-the-board rate increase of 10 percent for non-COVID beds, retroactive to March 1 (previously, the 10 percent increase was to take affect April 1).

·       The state will provide an additional across-the-board rate increase of 5 percent for non-COVID beds for the period of April 1 through June 30, bringing the total increase during this period of 15 percent.

·       The state will reimburse at $400 per day for COVID-positive residents in non-COVID recovery facilities. This rate is in effect for a maximum of 30 days per bed.

·       The state’s advance of $11.6 million from the initial 10 percent rate increase, which was received by skilled nursing facilities on April 7, is now being extended back to March 1 – adding $12 million in immediate revenue.

 

The state is also assisting with start-up costs and $600 per-day payment to all facilities that are designated by the Department of Public Health as suitable to be re-opened for the purpose of serving residents with COVID-19 who are being discharged from hospitals and who need nursing home level of care.

 

Altogether, the extra across-the-board Medicaid payments for all nursing homes totals $65 million. Another $15.4 million is dedicated to special nursing home services for COVID-positive residents.

 

In addition to the increased state assistance, it is also anticipated that nursing homes will receive enhanced support through the federal government from Medicare, a program wholly administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. For example, a significant percentage of symptomatic COVID-positive nursing home residents will be able to shift over to Medicare coverage at the Medicare per diem (estimated at $536), providing financial relief to the nursing home industry. The federal government is also providing general relief for all Medicare providers under the recently adopted Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that is expected to provide substantial resources to nursing home facilities.

 

State begins site visits to every nursing home in Connecticut to extend additional support

 

To provide additional support to the state’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities, the Connecticut Department of Public Health has announced that its staff will be making physical, on-site visits to all of Connecticut’s 215 nursing homes and long-term care facilities over the next seven to ten days. The department’s Healthcare Quality and Safety Branch, with guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, will conduct infection control surveys during each visit. This will be a first among states in the region, as all nurses in the Facility Licensing and Investigations Section have been fit-tested for N95 respirators, which is a federal requirement.

 

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It’s great that we are having parades for many of the first responders during this pandemic.  One group that seems to be ignored is the EMS paramedics.   Even the state shunned them when they passed a bill that expanded workers’ compensation benefits for first responders who suffer from emotional and mental impairments that result from being on duty.  Paramedics were not considered first responders in this bill.  Yet I often hear police call into the radio to “step up the medics” in some of the more traumatic calls.

 

To give you some perspective of what paramedics are feeling,  here is a  message I received  from a paramedic regarding working during the pandemic:

“Today I am a little better. But I have to work tonight. There is anxiety with working I have never felt. But I push on. I push on because people need our help. My fellow first responders are ALL dealing with this. We need to ALL rise up and do what we need too. Stay home. Protect each other. As I type this I listen to all the cars in the road thinking where are they going? Nothing is open. “I am struggling today. I have been an EMT for decades and today I’m scared more than I ever have been. I’m run down. I don’t have a fever or symptoms but exhaustion. I’m scared because I don’t want this virus. Scared that simply doing our job will make us ill and I will give it to my kids and family”.

 

Maybe we can give them a word of encouragement or a prayer in the comments below.  Maybe just like this post to show them you care.  Or better yet, contact your legislators on including them in the first responder’s worker’s comp bill when the return to the legislative session.

 

Many of you may have had your school photo taken by Art Rich or maybe you had your wedding photographed by him.  It is with sadness to report that he has passed from the Covid virus today according to his daughter’s Facebook post.  She wrote “Today is a sad day as we had to say goodbye to my father. He passed around 1pm today due to complications from Covid-19. We are devastated. It just hasn’t become a reality yet. We appreciate all the prayers and everyone who has reached out .

Prayers go out to all the families that are also suffering from this pandemic and the health care workers who are doing God’s work.

We pray that your family stays healthy and safe and are forever grateful for your kind hearts and prayers.

Rest in peace Dad, we love you”.

 

The coronavirus pandemic has brought about major life changes and unexpected challenges. Millions are struggling to manage their finances, care for their family, pay their bills, and put food on the table.

My office is fielding countless questions about Connecticut’s unemployment insurance system and the steps Congress is taking to help those who are furloughed or laid off. Please read below to learn more about how those who have recently been laid off or furloughed may access the expanded benefits provided by the CARES Act, including an extra $600 in payments per week to help get through this current crisis. Much of this information can also be found on the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Frequently Asked Questions page . My staff is also on hand to help if you call 203-333-6600.

What is Unemployment Insurance (UI)?

Unemployment Insurance is temporary income for workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own and who are either looking for new jobs, in approved training or awaiting recall to employment. The funding for unemployment insurance benefits comes from taxes paid by employers. Workers do not pay any of the costs. To qualify for unemployment benefits, you must have earned sufficient wages during a specified time (monetary eligibility). To collect benefits, you must meet certain legal eligibility requirements.

To be eligible for UI, you must:

• Be fully or partially unemployed;
• Be unemployed through no fault of your own [the law imposes disqualifications for certain types of separations from employment];
• Be physically and mentally able to work full time*;
• Be available for full-time work*;
• Be registered with the American Job Center;
• Participate in selected reemployment services if you are identified as a dislocated worker by the profiling system;
• File your weekly claims as directed.

*Individuals who cannot work because of a physical or mental impairment that is chronic or expected to be long-term or permanent may qualify for benefits if they are available for suitable part-time work.

Individuals who have been furloughed or laid off are eligible to receive UI.

How much money will I get from UI?

Continue reading Congressman Himes Press Release On Unemployment

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the nonprofit organization AdvanceCT plans to form a panel of experts from within the state’s medical and business community that will consult with and advise his administration with respect to reopening Connecticut’s economy as the nation emerges from the unprecedented public health emergency caused by COVID-19.

 

That panel will be known as the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group and will examine issues concerning how best to allow commerce to begin, while also ensuring the state’s public health and well-being are protected. Established and governed by AdvanceCT, the group will consult with state and regional partners and experts on next steps, and will remain in frequent contact with the Lamont administration in the coming days and weeks.

 

“I’ve always been a believer that collaboration and relying on experts is the best way to be successful,” Governor Lamont said. “To make the reopening of Connecticut’s economy work in the best way possible, we must strike a proper balance between public health and the economy. To make this work, we need to make sure that Connecticut has a thoughtful approach to getting our state moving after this unprecedented, global public health emergency.”

 

The advisory group will be co-chaired by Indra Nooyi, who the current board co-chair of AdvanceCT and the former chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, and Albert Ko MD, who is a professor of Epidemiology and Medicine and a department chair at the Yale School of Public Health. Other senior advisors will include Ezekiel Emanuel, who serves as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Scott Gottlieb, who is a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. AdvanceCT expects to announce additional members in the coming days.

 

Nooyi said, “As a long-term resident of Connecticut and someone who loves this state deeply, I am proud to co-chair this group to restart our economy. Companies and workers are desperate to get back to normal operations and contribute to our economic growth. Our goal is to devise an appropriate and thoughtful plan for all public officials to carefully consider both public health outcomes and economic and social costs going forward. This will enable our state’s leaders to make decisions about the pace and timing of the states reopening.”

 

Ko said, “The public health priority is to prevent illness cause by the SARS-CoV-2 virus but also to protect the health and well-being of our communities from the consequences of lockdown and economic shutdown. As a public health professional, it is a privilege to serve as a co-chair of this group and to identify solutions that will enable us to reopen the economy and ensure the safety of our communities, especially those most vulnerable, such as the elderly and the underprivileged.”

 

AdvanceCT is a nonprofit organization that works to engage, retain, and recruit businesses and advance overall economic competitiveness in Connecticut. In collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, AdvanceCT strives to build a place where business, government, higher education, and nonprofits come together to implement high impact and inclusive economic development solutions for the state.  It was originally established in 1993 as the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) and changed its name to AdvanceCT in 2020.

 

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#WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) called on the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to utilize its emergency enforcement mechanism to require employers to develop and implement comprehensive plans to keep all essential workers who continue to perform their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic safe. The lawmakers asked OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), which would provide employers with a consistent roadmap of standards to follow to ensure all employees who continue to come into work across the country are protected, and eventually develop a permanent standard should another such emergency arise in the future.

“As the number of confirmed cases and fatalities related to COVID-19 continue to rise, frontline workers continue to keep desperately needed services in place – providing food, public transit, emergency services, healthcare, and ensuring construction projects move forward – despite the risks associated with exposure to the virus. Many of these workers lack the necessary personal protective equipment and other resources to keep themselves safe,” the senators wrote in a letter to DOL Secretary Eugene Scalia. “The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the immediate need for OSHA to issue such a standard to protect all those who are required to work during this public health emergency from exposure to the coronavirus.” 

The senators also called on OSHA to immediately issue an enforcement memo which would allow the agency to conduct on-site enforcement that ensures businesses are at the very least following current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance before the new ETS takes effect. They noted the precedent and framework provided by a similar enforcement memo issued in reaction to the H1N1 influenza in November 2009.

 

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