#HARTFORD, CT)– Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Chair of the Board of Access Health CT (AHCT), the state’s health exchange, today released the following statement regarding open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA):
“I want to reassure Connecticut consumers that Access Health CT will continue to be a vital link, connecting them to high-quality, affordable health insurance. In Connecticut, we’ve seen more than 800,000 residents use the state healthcare exchange to find coverage. During this open enrollment period, just as we’ve done before, Access Health CT stands ready to assist consumers in finding and enrolling in the healthcare plan that best meets their needs. Our leadership on healthcare is well-established. If there are any changes in the federal ACA, we will address them—and, as always, the priority will continue to be ensuring affordable, accessible, high-quality healthcare for our residents.”
Open enrollment ends January 31, 2017. Enrollment in HUSKY Health (Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program) is open all year through Access Health CT and the Department of Social Services.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) Commissioner Evonne M. Klein today announced that the State of Connecticut is launching a new, first-of-its-kind initiative that will focus on building supportive housing for youths between the ages of 18 to 24 who are homeless. November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month and this funding comes at a time when Connecticut is focusing its efforts on expanding access to affordable housing opportunities for everyone.
A statewide count of youth homelessness conducted in 2015 estimated that 3,000 unaccompanied youth under the age of 25 are experiencing homelessness in Connecticut. The creation of supportive housing specifically targeted for this demographic will help fill a meaningful gap in the housing continuum.
“Homeless youth are a segment of the population considered to be particularly vulnerable, and even though they are legally classified as adults, their needs are incredibly different as they continue developing,” Governor Malloy said. “By targeting some of our housing efforts specifically for this population, we can focus services for young adults at a time in their lives when every choice they make may determine their future. This is a proactive step for us to ensure that this population can lead productive, successful lives and become active members of our communities and our economy.”
With the launch of this initiative, which complements existing programs at the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the state is making availableapproximately $12 million through bond authorizations within DOH for the creation of housing, in addition to approximately $3 million to pay for ten years of operating expenses at these youth developments. Additionally, service funding of $175,000 per year for the next ten years will be provided to these developments from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and DOH.
“We are fortunate in Connecticut to have the ability to rapidly identify and implement new and innovative ways we can end homelessness in our state,” DOH Commissioner Klein said. “I’m proud to say we have come together as agencies and providers to take the lead on ending homelessness among Connecticut’s youth. This innovative funding round is the next step towards ending homelessness. The State of Connecticut is a recognized, national leader in this effort and we received that distinction, because of our proactive and collaborative approach.”
“Supportive housing for young adults living with mental illness and substance use disorders provides them with a stable living situation and important supports to help them in their recovery,” DMHAS Commissioner Miriam Delphin-Rittmon said. “State agency partnerships that support housing for our most vulnerable citizens maximize resources to support recovery and citizenship.”
“We know from the data and from experience that when young people exit out of care without a permanent family, they are at significantly higher risk for homelessness,” DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said. “This expansion of our very effective supportive housing program will fill a critical need among young adults and help prevent more children entering care as a result of adult homelessness.”
The launch of this new housing initiative for youths will contribute toward the state’s goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020. The state has been making great progress in recent years toward ending homelessness among all populations. Last year, the federal government certified that Connecticut’s increased housing efforts have effectively eliminated homelessness among veterans, meaning that the state has the capacity and sustainable systems in place to quickly find and connect a veteran who becomes homeless to the assistance needed for him or her to achieve stable, permanent housing. The state was only one of two in the nation to achieve this goal.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board today approved an order for at least 60, and up to a total of 94 additional new M8 rail cars that provide train service on Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line. The cars, the first of which are expected to enter service in three years, will allow the railroad to lengthen rush hour trains, retire its last 36 older M2 cars, increase safety, and have flexibility to increase train service in the years ahead to meet ridership increases. The cars will supplement the 405 M8 cars already in use on the New Haven Line and New Canaan Branch.
The order approved today consists of a base order of 60 cars and an option for an additional 34 cars. The base order is expected to include the retrofit of 10 existing M8 cars into café cars.
The M8 cars have improved customer satisfaction levels and have achieved very high mechanical reliability, far in excess of expectations. Additionally, the new M8 are designed to be enabled with Positive Train Control from the time they enter service. Through September, the cars are averaging 460,277 miles between mechanical breakdowns, the best rate for New Haven Line cars in decades and 53% above the railroad’s goal for the cars.
“The approval of these additional railcars will improve service for commuters throughout the region on the nation’s busiest commuter rail line,” said Governor Dannel P. Malloy. “For decades, we as a state and nation have failed to make investments in transportation a top priority – and we have witnessed the results with failing roadways and aging public transportation systems. But today we are taking a new approach. Through actions like today’s, we are showing the public that investments in infrastructure must be made to continue the level of service the public, and our economy, have come to depend on. If we want to remain competitive, giving our residents and businesses the best chance to prosper, we must continue to make desperately needed investments across our entire transportation infrastructure.”
The M8 cars are the most technologically sophisticated in Metro-North’s fleet. They have third rail shoes that can receive 700- to 750-volt direct current to power the trains between Pelham and Grand Central Terminal, and the capability to run under two types of alternating current from overhead wire, known as catenary. The New Haven Line and its New Canaan Branch use 60 cycle, 12.5 kilovolt power. The cars can also operate at the higher, 60 cycle, 25 kilovolt power, which is used on the Shore Line East route east of New Haven.
“We appreciate this vote of confidence in our rail investment strategy,” said Connecticut Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker. “Connecticut commuters can look forward to the extremely high reliability of these cars and increased service on the New Haven Line. I want to thank the MTA Board for this prompt action on our request.”
Three hundred eighty of the current cars are in permanently coupled pairs; each pair’s “A” car has 110 seats and each “B” car has 101 seats plus a handicapped-accessible, airline-style vacuum toilet and space for wheelchair seating or bicycles to be stored on wall-mounted hooks.
Each row of seats is outfitted with electrical outlets, grab bars, coat hooks and overhead luggage racks. The color scheme is a vibrant red, the historical color of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, a predecessor to Metro-North. Outside, customers see prominent electronic destination signs and hear public address announcements from external speakers. Single leaf doors provide high reliability and less susceptibility to snow intrusion.
The existing M8 cars, like the rest of Metro-North’s fleet, are being upgraded to enable them to operate with enhanced Positive Train Control, a safety system designed to reduce the risk of human error contributing to derailments or collisions caused when a train travels too fast into a curve, onto tracks already occupied by another train, or through a misaligned switch. The existing cars are also being retrofitted to include security cameras in engineers’ cabs and in the customer areas of the trains. The new M8 cars will not need to be retrofitted, they will come enabled with cameras and Positive Train Control equipment when they are delivered to the railroad.
The M8 coach cars for use on the New Haven Line are funded 65% by the State of Connecticut and 35% by the MTA Capital Program. M8 café cars are funded entirely by the State of Connecticut.
Work to build the M8 cars was initiated in August 2006, when the MTA and Connecticut placed an initial base order for 300 cars with Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc. The first eight M8 cars entered service on March 1, 2011.
Since the initial order for the cars, New Haven Line ridership growth has been at or above the high end of expectations, and the railroad has responded with significant service increases every year since 2012. The M8 car fleet size has grown to meet increasing ridership and service levels. The initial contract contained two options for additional cars. The first contract, for 42 cars, and the second, for 38, were both exercised early in 2011. Then in July of that year, the MTA and Connecticut Department of Transportation agreed to amend their contract with Kawasaki to order an additional 25 M8 cars configured not as permanently coupled pairs, but as unpowered single cars, bringing the railroad to today’s total of 405 cars. Today’s announcement reflects a second amendment to the contract, and will bring the total number of M8 cars in existence to 465, or up to 499 if the option is exercised.
The M8 cars are manufactured in Lincoln, Nebraska; final testing takes place in New York and Connecticut.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-1), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Jim Himes (CT-4), and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) on Wednesday applauded over $600,000 in federal Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants to eleven community conservation projects throughout Connecticut. The projects will focus on coastal habitat restoration and improving water quality in the Long Island Sound and waterways that feed into the Sound. The federal funds are from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“Our state relies on a healthy Long Island Sound. Whether it’s training student conservation workers, creating fish passages at dams, or restoring coastal habitats for wildlife, community organizations across the state are doing incredible work to protect our coastline. These federal funds will go a long way to leverage increased investment in their projects. Congratulations to all the organizations that received Long Island Sound Futures Fund grants,” said the delegation.
Further details on the grant awardees are below:
Bridgeport: Coastal Stewardship and Youth Conservation Training Program at Pleasure Beach
The Connecticut Audubon Society will receive $35,000 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $35,100, to employ ten students at Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport to conserve beach-nesting coastal birds and provide training to twenty-five city employees on conservation efforts at the beach.
Bridgeport: Green Infrastructure for Beardsley Zoo
The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound will receive $149,833 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $75,880, to install green infrastructure, including enhancing existing lawn areas with bioretention gardens and tree pits and replacing 4,000 square feet of pavement to better capture and treat 1,000,000 gallons of stormwater runoff each year.
Centerbrook: Planning for Restoring Fish Passage on the Falls River
The Nature Conservancy of Connecticut will receive $59,982 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $40,960, to design fish passages at two dams along the Falls River, opening up 45 acres and a mile and a half of stream habitat for alewife and blueback herring. The Nature Conservancy will also expand public education programs on river health and the critical connection between freshwater habitats and Long Island Sound.
Fairfield County: Coastal Youth Stewards
The North American Marine Environment Protection Association will receive $6,917 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $5,236, to engage in beach clean-ups with 150 students from Bridgeport, Stamford, Ridgefield, Southport and Fairfield. The project will prevent over 1,500 pounds of debris from entering Long Island Sound waters and encourage students to become environmental stewards through hands-on education on the Sound.
Fairfield County: Engaging Student Scientists for Long Island Sound
Earthplace – The Nature Discovery will receive $32,829 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $34,050, to engage over forty high school and college students in Fairfield County in practical learning programs to prepare them for careers in conservation.
Farmington Valley: River Smart Community Stormwater Education in the Farmington River Watershed for Long Island Sound
The Farmington River Watershed Association will receive $31,173 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $32,810, to develop a community outreach program aimed at reducing polluted stormwater in towns along the Pequabuck and Still Rivers, including Simsbury, Farmington, Avon, Barkhamsted, Winsted, and Bristol.
Groton: Sound Engagement for Families at Mystic Aquarium, Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Pawcatuck, and Bluff Point State Park
The Sea Research Foundation at Mystic Aquarium will receive $9,300 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $11,895, to conduct community engagement programs, including a Long Island Sound Day celebration.
Norwalk:Village Creek Salt Marsh Restoration Demonstration
The Norwalk Land Trust will receive $20,000 in federal EPA funds for the restoration of eight acres of salt meadows in Norwalk.
Storrs: A Blue Marine Plan for Long Island Sound
The University of Connecticut will receive $34,997 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $29,997, to create an online resource for the Sound’s watershed along Connecticut and New York. The resource will help to develop a “Blue Marine Plan” to keep track of ecological, economic, and recreational activity along the Sound to better protect and restore it.
Stratford: Coastal Dune Restoration at Stratford Point
Sacred Heart University will receive $200,000 in federal EPA funds to restore 1.5 acres of coastal dune habitats of coastal birds and the tiger beetle at Stratford Point.
Stonington: Stonington Harbor and Coastline Water Quality Monitoring and Education Initiative
The Sea Research Foundation at Mystic Aquarium will receive $24,671 in federal EPA funds, along with a grantee match of $24,710, to monitor and identify local pollution sources, including nitrogen pollution, along the coast and conduct a public education program.
Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that Connecticut’s innovative and successful microgrid program will take another major step forward when the State Bond Commission meets Tuesday and is expected approve $30 million in funding for new projects that will strengthen the state’s resiliency against future weather events.
Microgrids can provide electricity to critical government facilities and town centers on a 24/7 basis. They include a system to isolate the microgrid and provide power within its network even when there is a largescale outage, such as the ones the state experienced in recent years. Power from a microgrid can be used for government services and businesses that are critical during extreme weather events – such as police, fire, and emergency response teams, hospitals and health care facilities, state and town emergency response centers, grocery stores, and gas stations.
“By creating microgrids, we can provide power for critical government operations, shelter for the public, and business services people need, even when the lights go out elsewhere,” said Governor Malloy. “This funding will mean further progress in our efforts to minimize hardships to our residents and businesses during times when the electric power grid goes down as the result of severe storms.”
Connecticut’s nationally recognized microgrid grant and loan program was created in 2012 as part of a legislative package offered by Governor Malloy following several major storms that led to widespread power outages. The package included a number of initiatives to enhance and augment the ability of the state, municipalities and utility companies to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters and intense weather situations.
“In addition to playing a critical role when the electric grid goes down, microgrids offer a real opportunity to diversify and decentralize our power system,” said Commissioner Robert Klee of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), which administers the state’s microgrid grant and loan program. “Microgrids can provide power for their designated service area through a variety of reliable and environmentally friendly resources, such as fuel cells, Combined Heat and Power Systems, and anaerobic digesters.”
The State Bond Commission’s approval of funding for the program will establish a rolling application process for microgrid proposals, which will allow for faster review and construction of new projects. Funds for the program could be used for design, engineering, and interconnection infrastructure to connect with the main power grid as a backup. They can also be used to purchase and install a generating system, including energy storage, to create power for the microgrid.
DEEP has previously awarded funding for ten microgrids across the state in two previous rounds of funding.
Of the ten projects funded, three have completed construction and testing and are considered operational. These include microgrids at Wesleyan University in Middletown, in the Town of Fairfield, and at the University of Hartford.
Two projects have completed construction and DEEP is awaiting confirmation reports from the testing and commissioning before declaring them operational. These include projects in the Town of Windham and the University of Bridgeport.
Four projects are in the design or construction phase. These projects should all become operational in 2017 or 2018 and include projects in the City of Hartford, the City of Bridgeport, the Town of Woodbridge and the Town of Milford.
#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy gave the following statement at a news conference this morning:
Good morning. We are blessed to live in not just the best country on earth, but the most magnificent democracy in the history of the world. While I am disappointed in the results of last night’s presidential election, I know that we are not weakened as a country or a state. We are resilient.
Here are three reasons why.
First, nationally we will have a peaceful transition of power from one leader to another, no matter how strongly any of us feel about the results.
We should not for one second take this transition for granted, or fail to recognize just how important it is, and how special it makes us and other democracies around the world. At the end of any election – federal, state or municipal – the peaceful transition of power is at the very heart of what it means to be free.
Second, each of us, and most importantly our friends in the press, can say whatever we want about the results of this election. We will ask questions of one another, and demand answers. We will analyze, and pontificate, and second-guess for months to come.
Some of us will be loud, some thoughtful, some angry, some resigned… but we will all be Americans, united in our cherished ability to be and say whatever we want.
Third, I believe that coming out of a period of partisan discord, we can and will return our focus to what unites us. At the core of this election, and perhaps at the core of the results, was that a very large portion of our country feels left behind or left out… they feel like they are no longer sharing equally in our nation’s promise of prosperity.
We may disagree on how to fix that, but the feeling is shared among people of different races, religions, genders, states, and political parties. Now, we can work to understand and even embrace that dynamic in our country, and work together to fix it, because we all deserve to participate in the American Dream.
Many people will be asking themselves, what comes next? Put simply, we continue to work. We take care of our children. We remember that regardless of party, there are good people working hard at every level of government. Good people working hard at businesses both large and small to grow jobs and improve our economy. Good people working hard in their spare time to make their communities, their schools, and their world a better place.
Here in Connecticut, we are presented with a unique opportunity to once again lead by example for our nation. In recent years, we have come together across party lines on many important issues. Now, with a different dynamic at play in the legislature, we have an opportunity and even an obligation to work even better together, to find even more common ground.
To that end, I plan to invite legislative leaders from both parties to begin informal discussions in the weeks ahead about how we move forward together. We should sit together around a table and have a frank discussion of our goals, but more importantly of how we achieve those goals. How we can change the ways we work together, share ideas, and make progress.
Connecticut can show the country that we can continue to make progress, even when we feel divided. We can demonstrate that it is possible to fight hard throughout a tough election, and then get back to work on behalf of our constituents.
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy and the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation today announced that the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship Training has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to assist the efforts of the state apprenticeship training program that targets the aerospace manufacturing and maintenance sector, known as the Connecticut Apprenticeship Expansion Rx project.
“Connecticut is known as a worldwide aerospace leader, not only because of the quality and number of international aerospace businesses that call our state home, but also because of the talented, well-educated workforce that continues to help these companies succeed in a 21stCentury, modernized environment,” Governor Malloy said. “We know that in order for companies to grow, they need an educated group of employees from which to hire, and that is why our apprenticeship programs, which are specifically aligned with the training needs of our employers, are so vital to expanding the number of high-skilled manufacturing jobs in our state.”
“This federal award is a win-win-win for Connecticut – for workers, employers, and the state’s economy as a whole,” the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation said in a joint statement. “Connecticut’s growing aerospace and aviation industry is second to none, setting the gold standard worldwide in innovation and quality thanks to their unparalleled skilled employees. On-the-job training through apprenticeship is a time-tested way to grow a skilled, successful workforce, and we will fight for federal dollars to continue this valuable program.”
“With recent expansion within several of the state’s largest aviation manufacturing employers, the demand for credentialed aircraft and power plant mechanics will continue to increase,” Connecticut Labor Commissioner Scott D. Jackson said. “Additionally, the influx of aviation-dependent shipping companies and distribution centers is also spurring an increasing need for aircraft mechanics and job-ready workers with related expertise. Recognizing that many of our workers in these areas are nearing retirement, developing a skilled workforce to replace these employees, as well additional workers to fill newly created jobs, is important in meeting the growing needs of Connecticut’s employers.”
The Connecticut Apprenticeship Expansion Rx project will engage employers to increase new sponsors, and provide underrepresented populations, including women and dislocated and under-employed individuals, an opportunity to acquire industry required credentials. The project will serve 1,672 apprentices. Target industries include aerospace, aviation, energy, and the building trades.
The Office of Apprenticeship Training and its partners will also develop multi-media resources as additional tools for sector outreach, a focus on stakeholder engagement, securing apprenticeship sponsors, fostering labor-management collaboration, and planning for increased strategic outreach.
#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy released the following statement regarding the decision of a federal appeals court today, which ruled that Indiana Governor Mike Pence cannot block federal funding that will help Syrian refugees resettle in Indiana:
“The federal appeals court today ruled on what we have been stating all along – individual governors cannot constitutionally or legally discriminate against a particular group of people based on their nationality. These refugees – many of whom are children fleeing a horrific, war-torn country – are vetted by the federal government through a rigorous process. We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a stronger nation because of it. Welcoming Syrian refugees who are escaping tragedy is the right way to address a humanitarian crisis.”
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Dannel P. Malloy released the following statement regarding the announcement made by the White House today that the United States has admitted 10,000 Syrian refugees:
“We are a nation of immigrants – and we are a stronger nation because of it. As a state that openly welcomed Syrian refugees when others wouldn’t, I want to congratulate the President and the White House for hitting his goal. When we open our hearts, and we strive to be more inclusive, we grow as a nation. Welcoming Syrian refugees escaping the tragedy and humanitarian crisis overseas is the right thing to do.”
#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) has distributed approximately 9,200 overdose prevention kits since 2014 through the agency’s overdose prevention, education, and naloxone access campaign, known as Overdose Prevention Education and Naloxone (OPEN) Access CT.
The Governor made the announcement on International Overdose Awareness Day, a global event held each year on August 31 to raise awareness of drug overdoses and reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths. International Overdose Awareness Day also acknowledges the grief endured by the families and friends of individuals who have died or experienced permanent injury as a result of a drug overdose.
“Families across the nation, from small towns to big cities, have been impacted by addiction. We must do everything we can to save lives. Overdoses are preventable, and we at the state level are acting every way we can,” Governor Malloy said. “We continue to focus on informing opioid prescribing practices, increasing the use of naloxone, and using medication-assisted treatment to move people into healthy, addiction-free lifestyles. This is an issue that affects many families, and we must continue to act.”
