State News

Connecticut Fallen Heroes 2018 Memorial Tribute

#Prospect CT--Recently, the Connecticut Fallen Heroes Foundation honored World War II Battle of the Bulge veterans Walter "Bud" Smith and Lou Celentano" as well as the US Navy Sailors killed onboard the USS John McCain when the ship collided with a tanker on August 21, 2017.  Also honored were Vietnam veteran Peter G. Curtis.  The event was emceed by Miss Fairfield County Outstanding Teen Emerson Forbes.  The Connecticut Fallen Heroes Foundation was found by Mike Mastroni.  To see the full ceremony go to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTePXqzPmtU&t=2739s  

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Flags At Half-Staff To Honor Bridgeport Sailor

HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that he is directing U.S. and state flags in Connecticut to be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Monday, October 8, 2018 in honor of U.S. Navy Water Tender 1st Class Stephen Pepe of Bridgeport, who was killed in action in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and whose remains were recently identified and returned to his family.  A burial with full military honors is being held Monday in Bourne, Massachusetts. [caption id="attachment_69844" align="aligncenter" width="618"] U.S. Navy PhotoWater Tender 1st Class Stephen Pepe[/caption]

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FEMA Presidential Alert

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and Emergency Alert System (EAS) on the backup date of October 3, 2018 due to ongoing response efforts to Hurricane Florence. The WEA portion of the test commences at 2:18 p.m. EDT, and the EAS portion follows at 2:20 p.m. EDT. The test will assess the operational readiness of the infrastructure for distribution of a national message and determine whether improvements are needed. The WEA test message will be sent to cell phones that are connected to wireless providers participating in WEA. This is the fourth EAS nationwide test and the first national WEA test. Previous EAS national tests…

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State Receives Grant For Out Of State Mental Health Victims of Hurricane Maria

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving a $750,000 federal grant to provide mental health support to children and their families who were evacuated from their homes and are living in Connecticut as a result of Hurricane Maria. The funding, which was granted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be used by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), in collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), to provide these services at child guidance clinics serving the most heavily affected cities in the state – Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Waterbury, and New Britain – that include mobile crisis, outpatient counseling, medication…

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$2.1 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT TO IMPROVE LABOR FORCE SERVICES RETURNING TO WORK AFTER AN ILLNESS OR INJURY

HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) has been awarded a $2.1 million federal grant as part of the Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN) initiative, designed to improve the retention of workers after an illness or injury.  The grant, which as a focus on providing more proactive stay-at-work/return-to-work (SAW/RTW) services, will test the impact of early intervention on SAW/RTW outcomes. “Connecticut is at its strongest when the diverse talents of our workforce are making meaningful contributions in the workplace and to our economy,” Governor Malloy said.  “The time is right for this initiative in Connecticut, where there is a significant need for earlier return-to-work communication and services to prevent…

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Senator Murphy’s Statement

#Washington DC-- Senator Murphy released a statement in today's Supreme Court testimony: “In her appearance today, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford was composed, thoughtful, and credible. She clearly did not want to be here, but she set aside her misgivings and faced life-changing consequences because her civic duty demanded it,” said Murphy. “I cannot fathom how any senator could see that and want to continue rushing forward without a full investigation. This is a lifetime appointment – it will weigh heavily on all of our lives for decades. We must take the time to gather the facts. The only reason to take a vote before a thorough investigation is to remain purposefully ignorant of the truth.”   This press release is made possible…

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$20 Million In Federal Taxes To Fight Opioid Epidemic

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the State of Connecticut is receiving over $20 million in federal funding to enhance the state’s efforts in fighting the opioid epidemic. “Far too many Connecticut families continue to be affected by the opioid crisis.  Far too many lives have been cut short.  Far too many communities torn apart,” Governor Malloy said.  “It is a public health emergency that knows no socioeconomic or geographical bounds.  My administration has made combatting the opioid epidemic a top priority, focusing on the root causes behind this scourge of addiction.  The good news is that this year, for the first time in years, we are projected to see a decrease in accidental overdose deaths.  Even…

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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…

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Murphy On Disinformation

#WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), both members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday introduced an amendment to the FY 2019 Defense Appropriations bill that would transfer $40 million to the U.S. Department of State for the Global Engagement Center (GEC), as authorized in law and agreed to in a joint Memorandum of Agreement, to expose and counter foreign propaganda and influence. The $40 million allotted for FY 2018 has not yet been transferred to the GEC.   Murphy and Portman introduced the Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act, which was signed into law  in December 2016. The law improved the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by establishing the Global Engagement Center (GEC),…

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Governor Plans To Spend $600,000 To Help Puerto Rico

#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy  announced that the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) has developed an allocation plan utilizing a $600,000 appropriation that was included in the recently adopted bipartisan state budget adjustment bill, which was adopted by near-unanimous votes in both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly, for the purpose of ensuring housing assistance for evacuees from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands following the devastation of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria last year. The plan, which was delivered to legislative leaders in a letter from DOH Commissioner Evonne Klein earlier today, continues the Malloy administration’s efforts to ensure that evacuees do not fall into homelessness. “There’s no denying that last year’s hurricanes were some of the worst on…

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