Three Foundations Join Forces to Advance Obesity Prevention Efforts in Connecticut

If an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure, efforts in Connecticut may hold the key to turning around the nation’s obesity epidemic – especially among children. Connecticut has the 10th lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to a study released earlier this year. The state’s adult obesity rate is 26 percent, up from 16.0 percent in 2000 and from 10.4 percent in 1990.  That places Connecticut 42^nd among the 50 states.  The childhood obesity rate is 30 percent for 10-17 year olds, ranking 29^th among the states, and 15 percent for 2-4 year olds qualifying for federal nutrition assistance, the 12^th highest obesity rate in the country.  And that is where the focus of three Connecticut-based foundations will be, as they combine forces to award $194,884 in grants for obesity prevention projects in Connecticut.

The grants are being funded with contributions from the Children's Fund of Connecticut ($139,884), the Connecticut Health Foundation ($30,000), and Newman's Own Foundation ($25,000) and will be administered by CFC's non-profit subsidiary, the Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI).

Funded projects will inform and advance efforts to prevent obesity by improving early feeding practices for diverse socio-economic, racial, and ethnic groups across various early childhood settings.

"Childhood obesity is a wide-spread public health crisis disproportionately impacting racial and ethnic minorities and low-income children. Once obesity sets in it is very difficult to reverse; however, we are still searching for effective ways to prevent it," said Judith Meyers, President and CEO of the Children's Fund of Connecticut.

"New research on infant and toddler feeding practices shows promising results. These grants to improve infant and toddler feeding practices will help us learn more about what works so we can get ahead of the curve."

The competitive application process administered by CHDI yielded the following funded projects:

• Healthy Eating through Group Well Child Care: $59,904, Yale University

Under the direction of Marjorie Rosenthal, MD, MPH, the project examines the impact of embedding a healthy eating curriculum within group well child care, an evidenced-based model of primary care delivery at the Yale New Haven Hospital Primary Care Center. Expected outcomes include less rapid weight gain for infants in the first six months and improvement in mothers' weight over the first year of her child's life.

• Barriers to Participation in CACFP in CT: $64,998, UConn, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity

Tatiana Andreyeva, PhD, Associate Professor at the UConn Rudd Center, will lead a study that documents and addresses barriers to participation in the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) among Connecticut child care centers serving infants and toddlers from low-income families. Connecticut has one of the lowest CACFP participation rates in the nation. The project team will use surveys and stakeholder interviews to assess perceived and actual barriers to CACFP participation and assess outreach and recruitment strategies currently used in Connecticut to increase center enrollment in CACFP.

• Supporting Healthy Eating in Low-Income Toddlers: $64,982, UConn, Allied Health Sciences

Under the direction of Valerie B. Duffy, PhD, RD and Jennifer L. Harris, PhD, MBA, the project will develop and assess a coordinated communications program to deliver consistent messages to low-income parents in East Hartford about best practices for feeding toddlers (1-2 year olds). The messages will be delivered through pediatric clinics, WIC offices, and Family Resource centers in East Hartford. The project will coordinate infant feeding messages and promote responsive feeding across diverse populations and settings.

Funding is also supporting Connecticut Children's Medical Center's Office for Community Child Health to develop and disseminate training for pediatric primary care providers. The training will address key messages to educate parents about best practices in feeding infants and toddlers.

These projects represent the second cycle of funding from CFC in the early childhood obesity prevention arena. Since 2015, CFC has awarded more than $420,000 to advance early childhood obesity prevention.

The work of the first round of grantees helped CFC and CHDI identify public policies that contribute to obesity prevention, test the effectiveness of messages promoting obesity prevention in infants and toddlers, support breast feeding strategies for hospitals, and harness existing medical record data to identify early childhood obesity risks.

The current round of funding was informed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's recently released Feeding Guidelines for Infants and Young Toddlers: A Responsive Parenting Approach, which highlights new areas of research and practice in obesity prevention.  The data-rich State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, published earlier this year, was a project of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health.

With Continued Funding in Doubt, Gov. Rell, Former Legislators to Reprise Campaign Finance Reforms

Former Governor M. Jodi Rell, who supported and signed Connecticut’s landmark campaign finance reforms into law just over a decade ago, will be the keynote speaker later this month at a day-long conference that will bring many of the key players in that debate together again.  The October 26 event at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) comes the same week that the state legislature may be voting on a new state budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1, with the continued existence of public financing of state political campaigns – a core component of the reforms - in serious doubt. Among the panelists will be former Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams, former House Speaker James Amann, former Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, and former House Minority leader Lawrence Cafero. They will be joined by former House member Tim O’Brien, who served on the Government Administration and elections Committee, and Senate Co-Chair of that committee, Sen. Michael McLachlan.

In addition to the legislators, key players in the debate including Karen Hobart Flynn, President and CEO of Common Cause, Jeffrey Garfield, former Executive Director of the Connecticut State Elections enforcement Commission Tom Swan, Executive Director of the Connecticut Citizen Action group, will be part of a second panel.

A week ago, in an op-ed published in Connecticut, Flynn criticized those who would now eliminate public funding of campaigns, known as the Citizens Election Program (CEP), which she described as “a remarkably successful alternative to the corrupt system that earned our state the unfortunate moniker ‘Corrupticut’ in 2004.”  A budget narrowly approved by the legislature and vetoed by Gov. Malloy late last month would have eliminated funding.  It has been estimated that $40 million would be disbursed to statewide office and legislative candidates in 2018, surpassing the $33.4 million distributed to qualifying candidates in 2014.  Recent studies suggest that the program has been effective in reducing special interest money in campaigns.

Flynn added that the law, passed in 2005, “allows candidates and officeholders to look out for the interests of all their constituents rather than being consumed with the needs of their major campaign contributors. It gives talented, motivated citizens who've never had the money or the connections traditionally required for success in politics a chance to seek and win public office with neither big money nor connections.  Now, nearly 80 percent of all candidates for legislative and state offices use the program.”  Qualifying candidates must raise $5,000 to $250,000 — depending whether they are seeking a statewide office or legislative seat — in $100 increments or less in order to receive a grant of public funds from the CEP.

Rell, in signing the plan into law at an Old State House ceremony flanked by legislators from both political parties in 2005, said "This is the bipartisan spirit that people want.  It takes special interests out of elections and is putting elections where they should be, in the hands of the people."

At the time, Connecticut was the first state to pass a public financing system that affects all statewide races including the legislature. The law took effect on Dec. 31, 2006.  Additional reforms were passed by the legislature in 2008, designed to strengthen the 2005 law by expanding the authority of the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) and enabling the state’s public financing system to operate more smoothly, Gov. Rell’s office said at the time.

The Oct. 26 program is coordinated by the Center for Public Policy and Social Research (CPPSR) at CCSU. The CPPSR has been designated a Connecticut Higher Education Center of Excellence, and is noted for offering innovative academic research and outreach programs which promote a greater understanding of the history, structure, processes, personnel and policies of State government. The center incorporates the Governor William A. O'Neill Endowed Chair in Public Policy and Practical Politics.

The program, "Campaign Finance Reform  in Connecticut," will be held in the Constitution Room of Memorial Hall on the CCSU campus in New Britain, from 8:30 to 1: 30.

Connecticut's Top Teachers Lead Classrooms from Ashford to Westport

There will be an Awards Ceremony next month to honor Connecticut’s 2018 Teacher of the Year – Erin Berthold, who teaches at the Cook Hill School in Wallingford – along with Teacher of the Year nominees from throughout the state.  The ceremony is scheduled to take place in Hartford just days after Berthold’s application, representing Connecticut, is due at the National Teacher of the Year selection committee. Berthold’s selection was announced last week at her school.  She is the first Wallingford educator to be selected for the annual award.

“I’m beyond thrilled and surprised,” Berthold told the Meriden Record-Journal.  She is in her 11th year of teaching. “I never really thought I’d win an award for teaching. It’s my job, it’s what I do. Working with six-year-olds is the real reward of teaching.”

The teachers who were earned recognition as finalists in Connecticut, along with Berthold, included LeAnn Cassidy, Social Studies, Memorial Middle School, Regional School District 15; LeAnn Cassidy, Social Studies, Memorial Middle School, Regional School District 15; and Courtney Ruggiero, Social Studies, Bedford Middle School, Westport.  Their teaching will also be honored, along with a dozen semi-finalists.  It is the culmination of a process that touched school districts throughout Connecticut, as local districts shined a spotlight on outstanding teachers in their respective communities.

The process begins with the Commissioner of Education sending Teacher of the Year applications to every district superintendent in the spring, encouraging them to participate in the recognition program.  The Teacher of the Year Program seeks to recognize exemplary teachers and does not try to identify the “best” teacher in the state, according to the Teacher of the Year website.

District teams identify one exemplary teacher from within their teaching populations.  Each district nominee completes the state application in the ensuing months and submits it to the State Department of Education.  Applications are distributed to members of a reading committee, and the results are tabulated to identify approximately fifteen semi-finalists.

Semi-finalists are invited to an interview with the Selection Committee at which they present a prepared presentation and respond to several questions related to education issues and current trends.  Four finalists are chosen from among the semi-finalists.  A committee of 12-18 people then travels to each of the finalists’ schools to observe the teachers in action and to interview teams of parents, teachers, support staff, students, administrators, and Board members. 

Following the site visits, the selection committee travels to a neutral site where they deliberate and vote to determine who will emerge as the next Connecticut Teacher of the Year.  Once that selection is made, the announcement follows shortly thereafter, in early October.

The 2018 Connecticut Teacher of the Year semi-finalists teach in school districts all across the state are:

• Katie Amenta, English, Berlin High School, Berlin
• Rebecca Aubrey, World Languages, Ashford School, Ashford
• Kevin Berean, Technology Education, Amity Middle School, Regional School District 5
• Martha Curran, English Language Arts, Walter C. Polson Upper Middle School, Madison
• Cheryl Gustafson, World Language, Somers High School, Somers
• Brian Kelly, Music-Band, John Wallace Middle School, Newington
• Kristen Keska, Social Studies, East Hampton High School, East Hampton
• Yolanda Lee-Gorishti, Science, Crosby High School, Waterbury
• Jeanne Malgioglio, English Language Arts, Madison Middle School, Trumbull
• Candace Patten, Social Studies, Southington High School, Southington
• Colleen Thompson, Music, Simsbury High School, Simsbury
• Vincent Urbanowski, Mathematics, The Academy of Information Technology, Stamford

The Connecticut Teacher of the Year Program is made possible by contributions made to the Connecticut Teacher of the Year Council, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides recognition for exemplary teachers and excellence in teaching.

Berthold has taught at Cook Hill for three years and was previously a special education teacher at Yalesville School and Moses Y. Beach School in Wallingford, the Record-Journal reported. Earlier in her career, Berthold taught at Lincoln Middle School in Meriden and Woodhouse Academy in Milford.

The Connecticut Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year finalists serve as teacher-ambassadors for public education. They are appointed to various education advisory committees and become consultants to the Commissioner of Education. In addition, they present workshops; speak at education conferences and meetings; address student, civic, college and university, and governmental groups; and operate special programs in accordance with their interests and expertise throughout the coming year.

For Berthold, there is one additional assignment. The National Teacher of the Year application is due to the National Teacher of the Year office, Washington, DC on November 1.  Just two years ago, Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year, Jahana Hayes, a high school social studies teacher at John F. Kennedy High School in Waterbury, was also selected as National Teacher of the Year and was honored at a ceremony at the White House with President Barack Obama.

Lauren Danner, a General Science/Biology teacher and Science Department Leader at North Branford High School was Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year in 2017. Cara Quinn, a sixth-grade teacher at the Sunset Ridge School in East Hartford, was named the 2015 top teacher in Connecticut. In 2014, John Mastroianni, a music teacher at West Hartford’s Hall High School, was selected.

Photos:  (Above) Erin Berthold; (Below)  LeAnn Cassidy, Regional School District 15; Martha Curran, Madison; Courtney Ruggiero, Westport.

Municipal Leaders to Urge Community Involvement at Rell Center Forum

Municipal leaders from Essex, Hampton, Norwich, West Hartford, and Wethersfield will gather to discuss how citizens can make a difference in local communities at a panel discussion, “Better Government Begins at Home: How to Make a Difference in Your Community,” presented by the Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford. The discussion, to be held on Thursday, October 12, at 6 p.m. in the Harry Jack Gray Center’s 1877 Club on university campus, will include:

• Anne Gruenberg, the President of the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education and a member of the Hampton Board of Education;
• Norwich Mayor Deb Hinchey;
• Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman;
• former Wethersfield Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Rich Roberts.

West Hartford Town Manager Matt Hart will serve as moderator and lead a discussion about the importance of public involvement in local politics and how residents can take an active role in town governance.  Hart became town manager this summer, moving from Mansfield, where he was town manager since 2006.

Deb Hinchey was elected in November of 2013 and took the oath of office in December of 2013, becoming Norwich’s first female Mayor. Prior to being elected Mayor, Hinchey served on the city council.  She is not seeking re-election this year.  Norm Needleman is serving his third term as First Selectman, and is a successful local business owner.  He is currently seeking re-election.

Attendance at the program is free. More information is available at www.hartford.edu/rellcenter or 860.768.4234.

The program will focus on the many ways that individuals can get involved in local government service.  Some communities, such as Wethersfield, list individuals serving their local communities on the town website, also including vacant positions that need to be filled.

The mission of The Governor M. Jodi Rell Center for Public Service at the University of Hartford is to provide a community and academic forum for the discussion of ethics in government, the importance of civil discourse in politics, and citizen involvement in public service and government.

This fall, Leslie Smith of Hartford was named director of the Rell Center. Smith has taught American government at the University of Hartford since 2000 and directed the Politics, Economics, and International Studies Department’s internship program since 2005.  The Center seeks to encourage students and others to pursue careers in public service and to assist in providing a clearinghouse for student public service internships.

Unhealthy Food Marketing Targets Hispanic Youth, UConn Researchers Find

Hispanic children and youth, particularly youth in Spanish-speaking households, visited food/beverage websites at higher rates than their non-Hispanic counterparts, despite fewer visits to the Internet overall, according to a research study published by University of Connecticut faculty members. “The frequency with which youth in Spanish-speaking households visited popular food and beverage websites compared with primarily English-speaking Hispanic youth raises further concerns due to the potential for these sites to reinforce preferences for an ‘‘American’’ diet among less acculturated youth, which could contribute to Hispanic youth’s worsening diet with greater acculturation,” Maia Hyary and Jennifer Harris point out in the inaugural issue of the journal Health Equity, published in September.

They stress that “Further research is needed to understand why Hispanic youth disproportionately visit food/beverage websites to help inform potential actions to reduce their exposure to unhealthy food marketing.”

The researchers warn that “given higher rates of obesity and diet-related diseases among Hispanic youth, food and beverage companies should not target marketing of unhealthy products to Hispanic youth online.”

Dr. Jennifer L. Harris is Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Associate Professor in Allied Health Sciences at University of Connecticut. She leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers who study food marketing to children, adolescents, and parents, and how it impacts their diets and health. Maia Hyary is a PhD student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a former Rudd Center Research Associate.

Food and beverage companies often target marketing for nutrient-poor products such as candy, sugary drinks, snack foods, and fast-food restaurants to Hispanic audiences, including youth, the researchers state.  They cite previous research that has documented disproportionate exposure to unhealthy food marketing by Hispanic youth in their communities and on TV, but theirs is the first examination of the phenomenon on the internet.

Sites that were relatively more popular with Hispanic youth than with non-Hispanic youth included ChuckeCheese.com, HappyMeal.com, the Lunchables website, FrostedFlakes.com, and two Spanish language websites (ComidaKraft.com and McDonald’sMeEncanta.com). Among Hispanic children (under 12 years), ChuckECheese.com, FrootLoops.com, HappyMeal.com, TacoBell.com, LuckyCharms.com, and SubwayKids.com were relatively more popular.

Health Equity is a new peer-reviewed open access journal that “meets the urgent need for authoritative information about health disparities and health equity among vulnerable populations,” according to the publication’s website, “with the goal of providing optimal outcomes and ultimately health equity for all.” The journal intends to provide coverage ranging from translational research to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease and illness, in order to serve as a primary resource for organizations and individuals who serve these populations at the community, state, regional, tribal, and national levels.

PHOTO:  Dr. Jennifer L. Harris, Maia Hyary

Focus on UConn Funding Includes View of Money Paid to Football Coaches

The UConn football season is underway, and UConn is in the news in a big way.  It is, however,  about not only prospects on the gridiron as prospects on the bottom line for the state’s flagship university.  Officials describe the university as being under unfair and counterproductive attack by a budget recently adopted by the state legislature that would require substantial reductions in state funding.  The budget is expected to be vetoed by the Governor, continuing the legislative stalemate that has prevented agreement on a state budget for the fiscal year that began on July 1. Also within the past week, UConn was among a handful universities portrayed as the poster children for the practice of paying multiple head football coaches simultaneously.  UConn’s situation was listed as among the most costly.

The report, by The New York Times, indicated that “when the Huskies hired Randy Edsall last winter after three losing seasons under Bob Diaco, they got their once and future head coast for a reasonable $1 million salary.”  The article went on to point out, however, that “firing Diaco triggered a $3.4 million buyout.”  Thus, the University is paying $4.4 million in head coach salary this season, to two coaches – one employed by the university, the other not.

It could have been more costly.

“Even though the move was announced in December,” it was effective in January; “an effective end date in 2016 would have cost the Huskies $5 million.  The newspaper notes that “if it had not given Diaco a richer buyout as part of a two-year (contract) extension he negotiated only seven months before he was fired,” the buyout would have been significantly smaller – only $800,000.”

Leading the list of colleges cited in the Times article was Texas, “on the hook for the salaries of current and former coaches” this season to the tune of $12.45 million.  Next was Oregon, at $8.5 million; and Florida at $6.4 million.

Some doubted that Diaco would be fired, because of the continuing cost to the university of doing so.  The website theuconnblog.com said when the firing was announced in late December that “The primary driver behind Diaco’s assumed job security was a substantial buyout owed to him had he been fired right after the season. With UConn’s strapped financial situation, it could ill-afford to be paying Diaco millions to not coach the team.”

Diaco, in January, became the highest paid assistant coach in Nebraska history when he was hired by that university to be the team’s defensive coordinator for $825,000 this year and $875,000 next year.

At the time of Diaco’s firing, UConn emphasized that taxpayers would not be responsible for the buyout.

"It's not taxpayer money," Michael Enright, who oversees communications for UConn athletics told the Hartford Courant at the time. "It's from division of athletics revenues. So ticketing, concessions, licensing, conference revenue."

The Courant went on to report that “sports-related income isn't the only source of revenue feeding the department's $72 million budget. For the 2014-15 school year, student fees provided more than $10 million and the university contributed $18 million, according to a survey by USA Today. The school has taken pains to say the university's share comes from segregated accounts that do not include tuition or state funds. But critics see the university's and athletics department's budgets as homogenous taxpayer-supported piles of money.”

The state provides approximately 28 percent of the revenue funding UConn's overall $1.3 billion budget, the Courant noted, adding that Diaco's salary was $1.7 million last year, making him the third-highest-paid state employee, trailing only the UConn head basketball coaches.

In mid-2016, Diaco and his wife have announced "they will contribute $250,000 to the University to help fund the construction of several new UConn athletic facilities,” according to the UConn website. The Diaco gift, it was announced, would be used to help build new facilities for the UConn men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, and softball teams.

Personal Finance, Economic Education Curriculum Not Required in State's Schools

Connecticut has a curriculum for financial literacy for schools in the state.  But they’re not required to use it.  That’s true for economic education and personal finance education.  Despite having a 9-page state approved set of curriculum guidelines and expectations for student learning detailed on the website of the State Department of Education, there appears to be no indication as to where or whether courses are actually offered, taken and taught. Economic Education is included in the state’s K-12 standards in Connecticut, as it is in every state in the nation.  But Connecticut is one of only six states where the standards are not required to be implemented by districts, one of 27 states where a high school course is not required to be offered, one of 30 states where a high school course is not required to be taken, and one of 34 where standardized testing in the subject is not provided.

The numbers are similar for personal finance education.  Connecticut is one of 13 states that does not require standards to be implemented by local school districts, one of 28 states that does not require a high school course to be offered, and one of 28 that do not require a high school course in personal finance education to be taken. Connecticut, like most states (43) does not have standardized testing in personal finance.

That’s according to the Council for Economic Education’s “Survey of the States 2016,” a report on “Economic and Personal Finance Education in Our Nation’s Schools.”  Among the national findings:

• While more states are implementing standards in personal finance, the number of states that require high school students to take a course in personal finance remains unchanged since 2014 – just 17 states.
• Only 20 states require high school students to take a course in economics – that’s less than half the country and two fewer states than in 2014.
• There has been no change in the number of states that require standardized testing of economic concepts – the number remains at 16.

Connecticut’s seven “content standards” in personal finance focus on personal decision making, earning and reporting income, managing finances and budgeting, savings and investing, buying goods and services, banking and financial institutions, and maintaining credit worthiness, borrowing at favorable terms and managing debt.  The “frameworks” outline skills that students are expected to master, and “learner expectations” at various levels, from beginning to advanced.

“Some states offer little guidance to school districts related to what personal finance content to offer in schools at each grade level; others have pushed ahead, requiring courses from elementary to high school aged students, supporting and training teachers, and in some cases even testing students on learning outcomes,” said J. Michael Collins, of the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the report.

“Rigorous state standards can facilitate local schools to implement well-designed programs, which in turn expose students to concepts they otherwise would not learn. Communities may also benefit from having more financially competent households; perhaps stronger economics and personal finance standards could even be viewed ultimately as an economic development strategy, equipping young people with an increased ability to manage credit and invest in their future,” Collins added.

Statistics were not available in Connecticut on the number of school districts requiring financial literacy coursework, or the number of students who take such classes.

"States that combine personal finance and economics, support teachers, and hold students accountable for learning objectives have the best chance of promoting the development of young people who are better financial managers and stewards of their credit—behaviors with which many, if not most, young people tend to struggle," Collins pointed out.

The Council for Economic Education (CEE) is a leading nonprofit organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and education of students from kindergarten through high school.  The 65 year-old organization is based in New York City.

Constitution Day in the Constitution State - Celebrate?

Constitution Day, celebrated this year on Sunday, is a national holiday to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.  Connecticut is known as the Constitution State, but that designation has its roots more than a century earlier. Congress first established “Constitution Week” in 1956. It became a national holiday 44 years later when  Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.V.) introduced an amendment to the omnibus spending bill that made the observance a national holiday, and to require that all schools receiving federal funding, as well as all federal agencies, to provide relevant programming to celebrate the Constitution.

Written in 1787, ratified in 1788, and in operation since 1789, the United States Constitution is the world's longest surviving written charter of government, according to the U.S. Senate website.   Its first three words –– "We the People" –– affirm that the government of the United States exists to serve its citizens.

The National Constitution Center (NCC) devotes space on its website to the question of whether the "constitution" celebrated by Connecticut really a constitution?

The site explains that although the Connecticut Compromise at the 1787 convention in Philadelphia was a critical part of the process of agreeing to and ratifying the U.S. Constitution, Connecticut celebrates – and its nickname is derived - from an event that happened in 1639.

On January 14, 1639 (in the old Julian calendar), the residents of three Connecticut towns - Wethersfield and Hartford - approved a list of rules for running local government called the Fundamental Orders. Most historians agree the Fundamental Orders are significant, but the state of Connecticut decided in 1959 to call itself the Constitution State based on the premise that the Fundamental Orders were the first constitution in North America.

The Fundamental Orders document has a structure that is similar to a constitution, the NCC explains. There is a preamble and a list of powers about local government, taxation and voting rights.

Prior to the legislature determining in 1959 that Connecticut would be known by the official nickname of the Constitution State, it was known as the Nutmeg State.  Before that, in the post-Revolutionary War era, Connecticut was known as the Provisions State.

Officially, the state is not known as the Land of Steady Habits, but that too is commonly used. A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles, published in1951, defines “Land of Steady Habits” as “1. Connecticut, applied in allusion to the strict morals of its inhabitants.”

State’s Money Woes Earn National Spotlight

The cover of the national magazine depicts a waterfront home in Mystic Seaport, under the headline that reads “The fiscal mess in America’s richest state.”  Connecticut, without an approved state budget for all of July and August and nearly half of September, is earning some notice.  And it is not particularly friendly. The article, in the September issue of Governing, begins with the question, “How could the nation’s wealthiest state become a fiscal basket case?”  The answer is complex, and the magazine devotes a full six pages to walking through how the state got into this mess, and how it might navigate its way out.

Along the way, the magazine suggest that the state “may be too rich for its own good,” pointing out that “long blessed with a disproportionate number of high-income residents, the state has entertained lavish spending habits for decades.” It also cites statistics that underscore the problems and challenges:

• Over the past 20 years, job creation numbers have ranked in the bottom five among the 50 states
• Connecticut has the nation’s second-highest rate of income inequality, after New York
• The state has lost population for three years running
• Last year, Greater Hartford ranked fourth and New Haven fifth in population loss among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas

The ineffective state spending cap, approved by voters more than 20 years ago but routinely circumvented since, is cited as a contributor to the fiscal cliff the state sits on, along with an overreliance on the income tax, political infighting, increased taxes, the lack of regionalism and a host of other decisions made by Governors and legislatures for decades.

One glaring example cited:  “Connecticut, which is home to 3.6 million people, has 111 police dispatch centers.  By comparison, Houston, which as 2.3 million residents, has just one emergency dispatch center, which handles fire as well as police.”

With a circulation of 85,000 in print and a widely viewed website, Governing is described as "the nation's leading media platform covering politics, policy and management for state and local government leaders." It is among the most widely read and most influential among government leaders - with an audience that also includes "journalists, academics, advocates and activists."

The article did point to some silver linings, past and present.  “Connecticut clearly has the means to change course. Not only is its median income still high, but the state boasts assets such as proximity to Boston and New York, amiable coastlines and river valleys, and notable institutions of higher education.  In addition to the continuing presence of a thriving financial sector, Connecticut is home to aerospace and defense contractors and other advanced manufacturers who can’t hire help fast enough, as well as a growing medical and life sciences sector.”

On the other hand, the publication points out, “Connecticut is 80 percent white, but its population of white children under the age of 10 is falling faster than in any other state.  Racial and ethnic minorities already make up more than 50 percent of infants and toddlers and are about to become a majority of 3- and 4-year olds.”  There is, the publication adds, “a pronounced achievement gap among racial groups and by geography.”

The conclusion reached by the Governing article?  “Connecticut is not in a death spiral but it has failed to position itself to react to changing demographics and location preferences… it’s clear that what’s worked so well for Connecticut in the past isn’t working now.”

Summed up House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, one of many political leaders, including the Governor and legislators from both political parties, as well as city officials and economic analysts, who were interviewed for the article: “We are the land of steady habits and the world has changed around us.”

How Connected is Connecticut? State Ranks 6th in the USA

Internet access is as good in Connecticut as just about anywhere else in the country.  A new report on the Top Connected States in America ranks Connecticut as the 6th most connected state in the nation. The analysis, by USDish.com, found that the top 10 states showing excellent connectivity to broadband all value connecting rural citizens to the resources they need to succeed economically, both in school and at work. “Overall we found that the most important factor in these states’ ability to connect rural citizens to the internet were the use of government funded broadband task forces, infrastructure maintenance, and local support. The states that listened to the community were more likely to connect them to proper resources and economic growth flourished.”

While Connecticut ranked 6^th overall, the state’s ranking varied in each of the categories of the analysis:  Connecticut ranked 10th in Access, 1st in Rural Access, 12th in Speed, and 21st in Support (by government).

Analysts compiled and ranked the report using data from the American Community Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, the EducationSuperHighway non-profit, Fastmetrics, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Connecticut ranked 10^th in Access, 1^st in Rural Access, 12^th in Speed, and 21^st in Support.  The top five states for Rural Access were all in the Northeast – Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. “Perhaps the emphasis on education and communication makes it easier to access the internet as a student, even in a rural area like Connecticut,” the analysis stated.

The analysis points out that a main reason why people don’t have access to broadband internet is due to a lack of income. Cited is a Pew Research poll that found 23 percent of people making under $30,000 per year don’t use the internet, possibly because of the high price for something they don’t consider a basic need. Most rural schools across the country still lack access to fiber and pay more than twice as much for bandwidth.

In contrast, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Maryland all have state government broadband task forces which promote the expansion of internet access throughout their rural areas, the analysis points out.

For internet access per state, the USDish team analyzed the percentage of school districts meeting a minimum of 100 Kbps per student.  They also examined the percentage of those with an internet subscription, and the total percentage of users with any access to the internet at all, be it in the form of a community library, town hall, or school.

Speed was analyzed by the average Mbps per state, and they evaluated states on whether they had a stimulus project, broadband task force, or whether the state had barriers preventing them from expanding the connectivity of those living in the area (i.e. laws, infrastructure support, prohibitions, etc.). As for rural area access, data on the number of households that had broadband internet in both urban and rural areas was used.  USDish.com is an authorized retailer of DISH Network.