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Let’s talk alternatives to Wall Street Place proposal
The upcoming proposal by Citibank/McClutchy for the rescue of the POKO project “Wall Street Place – Phase 1” leaves a lot to be desired from the perspective of Norwalk’s citizens. It doubles down on the complexity of the previous deal with even more complex financing arrangements, puts an out-of-character and oversized anchor in a charming…
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NO EXIT: A road to nowhere
We’ve been at this for years, through multiple mayors, and we still seem to wind up right back where we started, with the flood of 1955 and the people’s hopes pinned to a plan that’s doomed from the start. The Citibank plan coming before the Common Council Planning Committee Thursday night permanently makes Isaacs a…
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Opinion: How much is your data worth to tech companies?
New proposed legislation by U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Josh Hawley seeks to protect privacy by forcing tech companies to disclose the “true value” of their data to users. Specifically, companies with more than 100 million users would have to provide each user with an assessment of the financial value of their data, as…
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Lamont, political leaders tout support for immigrants and refugees
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – As federal authorities prepared to deport thousands of migrant families from cities across the U.S., Connecticut leaders gathered in Bridgeport Friday morning to underscore the state’s support of immigrants and refugees. “We’re proud that you’re here, we’re proud that you’re going to our schools,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “We want you to go on to…
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Opinion: Keep waste tire rubber away from playing children
Connecticut landscape architects came out against a bill that would have protected our smallest children from dangerous playgrounds. Proposed Bill 7003 this year would have established a moratorium on the use of crumb rubber mulch being used as a surfacing material in municipal and public school playgrounds. Why was this bill proposed and why was it…
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CT Senate tries to change campaign oversight with no public debate
Tense for years, the General Assembly’s relationship with the State Elections Enforcement Commission is now so toxic that clean-election advocates speak wistfully about staging an intervention, finding some way to break a cycle of recrimination they say undermines campaign-finance reforms Connecticut adopted in 2005 to national acclaim. When it comes to rewriting laws dictating the…
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Love thy neighbor – even the undocumented ones
The actor James Naughton, who lives in Weston, recently called on all people outraged by the treatment of children and their parents at the border to come to the bridge in downtown Westport the morning of June 29th to publicly oppose Trump’s immigration policies.
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Latest POKO ‘deal’ will hurt Norwalk
There are so many issues and basic questions associated with the stalled POKO Phase I project that residents should ask our Mayor and Common Council about claims that this is the ‘best negotiated’ offer they can do with Citibank and the JHM Group. It’s hard to figure out where to begin, but I’ll try:
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Some are more equal than others in CT
The state legislature very recently approved a new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which will allow covered employees to take paid leave for up to twelve weeks. This leave will be paid by the state within certain set limits and, in exchange, employees will have to pay an additional 0.5% in payroll taxes. Much ink…
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Statewide report on traffic stops shows drop in racial disparities
Police officers pulled over fewer minority drivers relative to whites during traffic stops in 2017, according to a statewide analysis released Tuesday by Central Connecticut State University, but the threshold for which officers searched minority motorists was lower than that for their white counterparts.
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Shout out to Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program
Anthony Allison is the Chief Initiative Officer of Norwalk ACTS. Shout Out to Norwalk ACTS TEAM Summer Member Darlene Young and the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) and jobsite partners. The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program prepares youth ages 14-18 for jobs via pre-employment workshops and matches them with employment opportunities where they can acquire new skills, explore a profession, learn…
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Opinion: Borrowing from our children
How much money do you think is okay to borrow from your children to pay for your retirement? Gov. Ned Lamont and the Democratically controlled Connecticut state legislature have decided $27 billion is an acceptable bill to hand to our children – that is billion with a “B.” The linchpin supporting the recently adopted budget…
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High taxes, negative migration, and a study in cause and effect
No one likes being second best, and Connecticut Democrats seem intent on ensuring that we become the number one highest taxed state in the country. Our friends in Hartford have yet to meet a tax they don’t like. This year alone they’ve proposed new tolls, property tax increases, state car taxes, taxes on heating oil…
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Opinion: True civility needed amid tribal politics, dogmatic beliefs
In these polarized times, it’s time to take a hard look at civility. We need to forget the idea that civility is only about manners. If manners are all that matter, we’re actually in pretty good shape. Much political lunacy is clothed in politesse and parliamentary grace. And while our President behaves in ways that…
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Opinion: US lags behind most developed nations on LGBTQ+ human rights
Editor’s note: The following opinion piece originally appeared on TheConversation.com in 2017. Ordinarily NoN would prioritize more recent opinions, but we diverge from that policy in light of a Norwalk hate crime committed this week against a banner for Saturday’s Pride in the Park celebration. June is Gay Pride Month, but the sobering reality is that most…
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Pride is about love
The designation of June as LGBTQ+ Pride month sometimes seems like a misnomer to me. True, I know all too well how difficult it is for many in our community to feel proud of who they are. In an age when the U.S. President routinely attacks transgender military service members; when over 20 states still…
