Power of Nature to Help Cities and Local Residents Being Revealed in Bridgeport

What would happen if ways to integrate nature into a major urban community were pursued?  In Connecticut, the largest city is Bridgeport, and the Connecticut chapter of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has been undertaking an effort to find out. Nature offers a lot of benefits to communities, TNC points out. “Trees provide shade and help clean the air. Gardens absorb and filter water, which reduces flooding and runoff into nearby rivers. Healthy dunes and wetlands protect coastlines from storms.”  In addition, the organization points out, “nature can also transform the way people experience their neighborhood.”

With 70 percent of the world’s population predicted to live in cities by 2050, heat and air pollution constitute a major public health concern, TNC points out, underscoring the importance of the organization’s initiatives to plant trees in urban areas across the country, among a series of related undertakings.

“People are at the core of our efforts to identify how neighborhoods are addressing daunting challenges in this formerly industrialized city,” said Drew Goldsman, Urban Conservation Program Manager. “We want to partner with communities to implement natural solutions in Bridgeport that help both people and nature.”

Their Eco-Urban Assessment looked at areas in Bridgeport that have poor air quality, high risk of flooding, and limited access to nearby green spaces and layered it with data on income level, impervious surfaces and asthma rates. The team was able to pinpoint neighborhoods where trees, green stormwater systems and open spaces will make the biggest difference for people and nature.  Air quality and flood risk topped the list of most acute needs.

In collaboration with local partners, the Conservancy is supporting a neighborhood-led greening effort known as ‘Green Connections’ in Bridgeport’s East Side neighborhood. Creating a plan for ways natural resources can shape the future of the community while making immediate changes to the landscape —through tree plantings and green stormwater infrastructure projects— is one of the initiative’s main goals, along with empowering volunteer stewards living in the community to take ownership of these natural areas. All of this helps create safe spaces for the community to gather, provides cooler and cleaner air, and improves wildlife habitat in the city.

According to the Nature Conservancy, Bridgeport currently has a 19% tree canopy cover, for example.  If all open spaces, vacant lots and parking lots could be planted, the city would have a 62% tree canopy cover.  The ramifications would be substantial, impacting various health and quality of life factors.

“Healthier people, cooler temperatures in the summer, cleaner air, reduced flooding, more urban habitat, parks and forests, less sewage overflow, a clean Pequannock River a more resilient coastline and green jobs” are cited as potential benefits.

The national publication Governing pointed out last year that “Streets cover about a third of the land in cities, and they account for half of the impervious surfaces in cities. Impervious surfaces don’t allow water to soak through them, which means they can alter the natural flow of rainwater. City streets collect, channel, pollute and sometimes even speed along water as it heads to the sewers.”

Goldsman indicates that currently efforts are focusing on the city of Bridgeport, but the Eco-Urban Assessment model is available to urban communities that want a deeper understanding of where nature can bring solutions to some of the most pressing urban issues.

“With the Eco-Urban Assessment model, we’re able to help municipalities identify the places and ways we can work together to use nature to improve residents’ quality of life and build more sustainable communities,” said Dr. Frogard Ryan, Connecticut state director for The Nature Conservancy. “From the beginning, we wanted this to be a community-led and TNC-supported program. Residents help us identify areas of other focus that aren’t highlighted by the model and be sure our study reflects what people experience day-to-day.”

Statewide Sustainability Initiative to Launch Nov. 28 As Municipalities Take the Lead

With momentum to accelerate sustainability practices in Connecticut,  local and regional representatives from Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities, along with key agencies and businesses, have spent the past year developing Sustainable CT.  The new statewide initiative will be formally launched at the end of this month with expectations of influencing sustainability practices across the state. Meeting for much of the past year, an Advisory Committee, consisting of state and municipal leaders , developed the initiative and adopted the overarching concept, “Sustainable CT communities strive to be thriving, resilient, collaborative and forward-looking.  They build community and local economy.  They equitably promote the health and well-being of current and future residents.  And they respect the finite capacity of the natural environment.”

Created by towns and for towns, Sustainable CT aims to be a voluntary certification program to recognize Connecticut municipalities for making their communities more vibrant, resilient and livable. It includes approximately 55 best practices along with opportunities for grant funding. Towns may choose which actions they will implement to achieve differing certification levels. The program is designed to support all Connecticut municipalities, regardless of size, geography or resources.

Organizers say that sustainability actions, policies, and investments deliver multiple benefits and help towns make efficient use of scarce resources and engage a wide cross section of residents and businesses. The official launch of Sustainable CT will occur at the Annual Convention of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities on November 28.

“Sustainable CT will foster creative thinking and problem solving within and between municipalities.  It will be the tool communities can use to bring together seemingly divergent stakeholders for the common goal of sustainability,” said Laura Francis, First Selectwoman, Durham, and Vice-Chair of the Advisory Group.

Officials indicate that all of Connecticut’s 169 towns and cities have been represented in Sustainable CT’s development in some way, either by directly by a municipal official or staff person, by a highly engaged local volunteer, or by a regional entity charged with representing member municipalities.

The Sustainable CT framework includes:

• Sustainable CT is a roadmap of voluntary actions that will help municipalities be more sustainable.
• Resources and support, including funding, help local communities apply the actions that fit them best.
• The Sustainable CT Certification publicly recognizes municipalities for their sustainability achievements.
• Sustainable CT is flexible. Any Connecticut municipality can find ways to become more sustainable – urban or rural, big or small, coastal or inland.

Municipal leaders and residents from across the state, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC), Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) and others from key agencies, non-profits and businesses all partnered to help create the program. Burlington First Selectman Ted Shafer chaired the effort.  A CCM Task Force on Sustainability, which included 15 mayors, first selectmen, and municipal officials, assisted the Advisory Committee.

CERC’s Courtney Hendricson, Vice President of Municipal Services, served on the Local Economies Working Group, chaired by Patrick Carleton, Deputy Director of the Metropolitan Council of Governments, and Thomas Madden, Director of Economic Development in Stamford. The working group helped to define actions municipalities can take to create or enhance economic development that fosters energy-efficient and clean-powered commercial and industrial buildings, supports local products and businesses, increases local jobs and revenues and promotes environmental and community well-being.

The Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University coordinated the initiative. Support was provided by a funding collaborative composed of the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (EHTF), Hampshire Foundation and Common Sense Fund.  Advisory Board members included, in addition to Shafer and Francis, Carl Amento, David Fink, Bryan Garcia, Emily Gordon, Donna Hamzy, Scott Jackson, John Kibbee, Rob Klee, Kurt Miller, Kristina Newman-Scott, Christine Schilke and Christina Smith.

The Worst Is Yet to Come: More Hurricanes Headed Our Way

Expect more hurricanes in Connecticut, New England and the New York metropolitan area. That’s the take-away from an article published by the scientific website Massive by a fourth-year PhD student at Oregon State University researching microbial ecology.  Michael Graw draws on a new study, led by climate scientists Andra Garner from Rutgers University’s Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and David Pollard from Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, that found that “climate change might be having an additional, unexpected effect on hurricanes: they’re moving north, bound increasingly often for northern New England rather than the mid-Atlantic states.”

The article points out that “the connection between climate change and hurricanes has become hard for anyone to ignore.”

The research by Garner and Pollard, Graw points out, indicates that only eight hurricanes in the last century have made landfall on the New England coast.  That is in the process of changing.  He recalls that “Sandy infamously ravaged the Connecticut coastline and caused $360 million in damages,” adding that “with the effects of potential future storms amplified by sea level rise and even higher wind speeds, that destruction could increase sharply from the next major storm.”

Commenting on the article, Anna Robuck, a Ph.D. student at the Graduate School of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, points out that “New England climate is noticeably in flux; the Northeast U.S. has experienced a 70 percent increase in heavy precipitation events between 1958 and 2010.”  She warns that “public awareness regarding risks associated with extreme weather and climate change has yet to fully embrace the implications climatic shifts holds for the region."

Graw also points out that a research team led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “looked at tropical storm tracks around the globe for the past 30 years, finding that tropical storms have slowly been shifting poleward in their respective hemispheres.”  He concludes that “this suggests that climate change is disrupting the balance of atmospheric pressure between land and ocean.”

The result of the shifts?  Increasing likelihood of New England-bound hurricanes.

A handful of hurricanes in the region are in the history books, but also still linger in many memories.  The Great Hurricane of 1938 is renowned for the damage it caused, and is often considered the worst hurricane in New England history.  Other notable hurricanes occurred in 1954, 1955, 1985, 1991, 2011 - and 2012.  That year’s Superstorm Sandy was the second-costliest hurricane in United States history, with New York, New Jersey and Connecticut absorbing the worst of the storm.

Two weeks ago, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and officials from across state government  highlighted the progress made over the last several years to strengthen resiliency and harden infrastructure from future potential storms, as severe weather has continued to severely impact our nation.  On the fifth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, officials said that while the state has "made significant progress on these fronts, more needs to be done to combat the impact of climate change, which has resulted in an increase in the frequency and power of storms."

Six state agencies - Housing, Economic Development, Labor, Transportation, Energy and Environmental Protection, and Emergency Services and Public Protection have each taken steps to initiative or strengthen preparedness and responsiveness in the event of another major storm.

"As the state continues to rebuild, we are doing so with the understanding that another storm of this magnitude could hit Connecticut again. Which is why we continue upgrading our infrastructure as well as rehabilitating and building homes that are more resilient to this type of storm," said state Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein.  Added state Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker:  “Hardening Connecticut’s infrastructure – particularly our rail infrastructure which serves tens of thousands of people every day – has been a priority at the DOT for years now."

Gov. Malloy emphasized that the state has "taken a number of steps that are strengthening our resilience against future storms, including creating the nation’s first microgrid program, investing millions to hardening infrastructure along our shoreline to protect from flooding, designating thousands of acres of forest along our shoreline as open space that serve as a coastal buffer against storm waters, and we’ve made significant investments to protect housing in flood-prone areas.”

https://youtu.be/59IzWNOzzD8

State Energy Policy Needs Further Revisions, Environmental Advocates Say

Connecticut Fund for the Environment has formally submitted its comments on the state’s draft 2017 Comprehensive Energy Strategy to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The plan is intended to shape the state’s energy policies and investments for the next three years. “The draft energy strategy includes some important recommendations that will reduce dependence on outdated fossil fuels, landfill gas, and biomass, but it still doesn’t map out how the proposed policies will put Connecticut on a path to achieve the greenhouse gas reduction targets of the Global Warming Solutions Act,” said Claire Coleman, climate and energy attorney at CFE.

The final CES should do the following to sustain Connecticut efforts to combat climate change, CFE urged:

• Incorporate a quantitative analysis of how its policies will achieve the emissions reductions necessary to meet Connecticut’s 2020 commitment under the Global Warming Solutions Act;
• Go forward, not backward, on renewable energy by proposing a more ambitious annual increase to the renewable portfolio standard, with the minimum goal of powering 45 percent of Connecticut’s needs from renewable sources by 2030;
• Recommend a full-scale shared solar program to allow access to renewable energy for the 80 percent of Connecticut residents who can’t install solar panels on their own roofs, and remove the proposed cap on behind the meter solar;
• Bring Connecticut’s energy efficiency investment in line with neighboring states;
• Create incentive and marketing programs to encourage consumers to switch to efficient heat pumps; and
• Rapidly get more electric vehicles on the road by strengthening the CHEAPR rebate program, expanding charging infrastructure, and establishing a regional cap-and-trade program for fuels to reduce emissions.

  “Meeting these goals isn’t optional—it’s required under state law that’s been on the books now for almost a decade,” Coleman stressed. “State agencies and lawmakers need to get serious about rapidly ramping up renewables and energy efficiency, cutting emissions from cars and trucks, and clearly identifying how state policies will work together to meet the 2020 and 2050 targets. That’s what we’ll be looking for in the final plan.”

The Connecticut Electric Vehicle Coalition, of which CFE is a founding member, submitted its own comments last week. The coalition emphasized the urgency of more specific plans to get EVs on the road and meet the state’s commitments under the Zero Emissions Vehicle Memo of Understanding to get have 150,000 EVs on Connecticut roads by 2025.

CFE, Consumers for Sensible Energy, RENEW Northeast, and Sierra Club also released an analysis by Synapse Energy Economics  which concluded that a 2.5 annual increase in Connecticut’s renewable energy growth would yield significant public health, economic, and climate benefits. Increasing the Connecticut RPS to 2.5% per year, the report indicated, would add an estimated 7,100 additional jobs to New England between 2021 and 2030, or about 710 jobs per year.

The Sierra Club noted that “even the administration's own analysis shows the draft energy strategy is not sufficient to protect the climate, and that more clean energy would create jobs, grow the economy, and improve public health.”

New Haven Chamber Recognizes Business Success Stories, Starting with "Juice"

The annual Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce awards luncheon on Thursday, September 28  will celebrate the diverse accomplishments of members of the region’s business community – including an entrepreneurial business with the “juice” to grow from a home-based start-up in Wallingford to employ more than 120 people in New Haven in less than a decade. The company - FreshBev LLC - produces two primary lines of beverages - RIPE Craft Juice and RIPE Craft Bar Juices, bringing real fresh juice to the market, and connecting local farmers to consumers by using only ingredients that could be traced back to the grower and region.

“We don’t heat our juice, we don’t pasteurize it. It’s cold-pressed,” founder Michel Boissy told NewsChannel 8 earlier this year. “We use an amazing new technology called high-pressure processing, which does everything that pasteurization does minus the heat. So we’re not heating the juice, we’re not killing the color, flavor, aroma, nutritional profile and all of what fresh juice is.”

The company’s website explains that “In the fall of 2008, tired of being subjected to the big ol’ bottle of day glow “margarita” mix, childhood friends and founders Michel Boissy and Ryan Guimond came to the conclusion that they had no choice but to create the first line of legit, handcrafted bar juices. With Mike's experience in high end kitchens and behind the bar, coupled with Ryan’s picky palate and a shared love of a good cocktail, these drink mix mercenaries set forth to create the nation's first pure squeezed, cold pressed, Bar Juice™.

The results are making local history, and spreading.  RIPE Craft Juices are available nationally through Whole Foods and select regional grocery chains.

The Chamber’s business leadership event is highlighted by the presentation of the Community Leadership Award to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the Greater New Haven Community.   That award will go to longtime Quinnipiac University President John Lahey, who has announced his retirement.  The other awards to be presented by the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce include:

Small Business Achievement Award  Four Flours Baking Company

Legislative Leadership Award   First Selectman Mike Freda, Town of North Haven

Achievement in Manufacturing Award  Cowles & Company

Leadership in Healthcare Award  Cornell Scott-Hill Center

Community Partnership Award  Easter Seals Goodwill Industries

Developer Investment Award  Randy Salvatore, RMS Companies

Alumnus of the Leadership Center Award  Paul Bartosic, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Volunteer of the Year Award  Mary Grande, New Reach

The awards will be presented on September 28 at the Omni Hotel in New Haven.

https://youtu.be/X56KIS8TEd0

National Leader, Connecticut Green Bank Reaches Milestone in Project Financing

The Connecticut Green Bank’s C-PACE program recently surpassed $100 million in closed project financing. Out of the 19 states with C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs, this project financing level is second only to California, according to officials. The Connecticut Green Bank’s C-PACE program reached the milestone of $100 million in total closed project financing. The solar photovoltaic (PV) and energy efficiency projects, which vary in size and scope, are saving more than $9.29 million annually in energy costs for nearly 170 building owners across multiple sectors. 

The Green Bank, which administers the C-PACE program, seeks to make green energy more accessible and affordable to commercial and industrial property owners by providing no money down long-term financing for meaningful energy upgrades to their buildings.

C-PACE enables building owners to finance qualifying energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements through a voluntary assessment on their property tax bill. As the program grows, more Connecticut businesses can achieve lower energy costs. Reaching $100 million in closed project financing reaffirms Connecticut’s program as a national leader, officials indicated.

Since its inception in 2011, 166 C-PACE projects have been closed in 69 of the 128 municipalities that have opted into the program. C-PACE funds have been used in manufacturing facilities, non-profits, houses of worship, retail establishments, office buildings, and other business entities.  The projects consist of solar installations, new boilers, energy efficiency lighting measures, HVAC systems, and other energy improvements that help building owners to take control of their energy costs.

“Connecticut’s Green Bank has really been the national leader for C-PACE,” said David Gabrielson, the Executive Director of PACENation, the national non-profit that supports development of PACE programs nationwide. “The way they administer their program has really served as a great example for other program administrators throughout the U.S., and we congratulate the entire Green Bank team on this impressive milestone.”

The project that propelled the Green Bank over this milestone will be installed at Farmington Sports Arena (FSA). FSA is a 130,000-square foot modern indoor sports facility that is home to four indoor and three outdoor artificial turf fields as well as four natural grass outdoor fields. The project, which will be installed by 64 Solar, consists of two solar PV systems (170 kW total).

Connecticut’s C-PACE program maintains an open market approach, allowing private capital providers to finance projects for building owners, and, in 2015, the Green Bank reached an agreement that provided it access to up to $100 million in private funding for C-PACE projects. Today, nearly 70% of the funding in the program consists of private capital.

“The Connecticut Green Bank is a leader in the green energy movement, but the rapid growth of C-PACE wouldn’t be possible without the support of our contractors, capital providers, municipal officials, and other stakeholders who have contributed to the C-PACE movement,” said Mackey Dykes, Vice President of Commercial, Industrial and Institutional programs at the Connecticut Green Bank. “There is still significant potential for energy improvements for Connecticut businesses and non-profits, and we look forward to bringing cleaner and cheaper energy to more building owners across the state.”

The website Energy Collective noted recently that “states have and will continue to play a key role in leading the clean energy transition,” highlighting the work in Connecticut as among the national models.

“Connecticut has found a way to make the financing of clean energy deployment more accessible and affordable for consumers and businesses. In 2011 the state legislature created the Connecticut Green Bank, the nation’s first green bank. It uses public funds to attract private capital investment in green energy projects. By leveraging private investment, the Green Bank significantly increases the total amount of financing available for clean energy projects.

The site highlighted that “Among the Green Bank’s most successful initiatives is the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, which allows commercial property owners to pay for clean energy or efficiency upgrades over time through their property taxes.

The Connecticut Green Bank is the nation’s first green bank. Established by the Connecticut General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80, the Connecticut Green Bank evolved from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA), which was given a broader mandate in 2011 to become the Connecticut Green Bank.

https://youtu.be/kPqO4QlTkDU

Rebuffed Again in CT, Tesla Explores Growth in Westchester

Tesla’s goal of selling vehicles direct to consumers in Connecticut remains elusive, dismissed out of hand by Connecticut’s legislature this year, as last year and the year before.  Even the sole “gallery” the electric car manufacturer and retailer has been operating in the state, in Greenwich, has been ordered by the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles to “cease all functions.” Within a stone’s throw of the state line, in Westchester County, NY, the company is actively exploring potential locations for a new car dealership and customer education center, according to published reports. Under Connecticut’s dealer franchise law, automobiles may only be purchased through independent car dealerships.  Tesla’s business model relies on direct-to-consumer sales.

Both a retail center and warehouse in the town of Greenburgh are currently under consideration, Westfair Publications reported this week.  “We’ve been working with Tesla for quite some time now in searching for a proper facility in the area where they can house both sales and service,” said James MacDonald of Simone Development Cos., a Bronx-based company that owns both potential Tesla properties, Westfair reported.

In June, as the Connecticut legislature’s regular session concluded, a proposal that would have permitted Tesla to sell cars directly to consumers was never raised for debate. It made it through the Transportation and Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committees, but was never called for a vote in either chamber.

House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz said at the time that he was reluctant to say that it was the objections of the state’s car dealers, who are subject to the regulations under the state’s motor vehicle franchise system, that killed the Tesla bill, CTNewsJunkie reported.  The Connecticut Automobile Retailers Association strongly advocated for defeat of the proposed legislation this year, as in previous years.

In New York, Tesla is currently limited to five sales locations, in accordance with a law passed in that state in 2014.  Efforts are underway in New York to increase that number.

A spokesman for Tesla said in June that the company wasn’t quite ready to give up on Connecticut.  Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's vice president of business development, said in an interview with the Hartford Business Journal in May that the company hoped to open 10 stores if the legislation was approved, which would "conservatively" employ 25 full-time workers.

"We're talking 250 jobs in the near term," O'Connell said, adding that some locations could employ as many as 50 people, the newspaper reported. The company also released a Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll showing that 74 percent of Connecticut residents "strongly" or "somewhat" support allowing direct sales in Connecticut.

Tesla is prohibited from selling directly in Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and West Virginia, according to the company. There are about 1,300 Teslas registered in Connecticut, nearly two-thirds of the electric vehicles in the state, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

In a recent op-ed published in New York, Nick Sibilla of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, indicated that in a review of employment figures for car dealerships in Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, the Acadia Center, a nonprofit focused on creating a clean energy economy, concluded that “there has been no negative impact on auto dealer job levels or trends” in nearby states that allow direct sales of electric vehicles.  The Union of Concerned Scientists recently pointed out that “between January and June of 2016, dealers in the Bridgeport to New York City metro area had 90 percent fewer electric vehicles listed for sale than Oakland, when adjusted for relative car ownership.”

Tesla is currently in the midst of raising $1.5 billion as it ramps up production of the Model 3 sedan, its first mass market electric car, with an anticipated pricetag hovering around $35,000, about half the cost of Tesla's previous models, and thought to be more attractive to consumers.  The loss in sales tax revenue to Connecticut could be substantial if sales of the Tesla are not permitted in the state, according to some estimates.

Will the company’s plans impact legislatures in Connecticut or New York?  Back in June, CTNewsJunkie reported Connecticut House Majority Leader Matt Ritter said he thought the issue might be resolved “when you see more Teslas” on the road.  That day may be coming, emanating from Greenburgh if not Greenwich.

Connecticut and TESLA: The Battle Lines Expand

It was a one-two punch from Connecticut aimed at Tesla, in the marketplace and in the boardroom. On Tuesday, at the company’s annual shareholder meeting at the Computer History Museum in Mountain view, CA, a shareholder resolution advocated by the Office of State Treasurer Denise Nappier was on the agenda.

And on Wednesday, the Connecticut legislature concluded the 2017 regular session, leaving behind a proposal that would have enabled Tesla to sell cars directly to Connecticut consumers, as is done in many other states.  It was the third consecutive year that the plan did not receive approval from legislators, in the face of strong opposition from the Connecticut Automotive Trades Association.

The Tesla proposal was approved by two legislative committees - Transportation and Finance, Revenue, and Bonding - but was never voted on by House or Senate members in their respective chambers.  The bill pitted the state’s longstanding car dealers against the new model that Tesla prefers.

The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds shareholder resolution called for the declassification of Tesla’s board and for the annual election of all of Tesla’s directors.  The $32 billion Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (“CRPTF”), of which Treasurer Nappier is principal fiduciary, owned 32,837 shares of Tesla, Inc. common stock with a market value of $11.6 million as of June 6, 2017.

Tesla’s board currently is classified, which means that each year only a portion of the directors are elected by shareholders.  This year shareholders had the opportunity to vote on three of Tesla’s seven directors. The company’s board recommended that “our stockholders vote against this proposal.”

“Independent shareholders gave Tesla a clear message: it's time to sharpen the company's governance profile and strengthen board member accountability to shareholders, whose interests they are elected to represent,” Nappier said after the shareholder vote.

Connecticut’s resolution, the first ever filed to declassify Tesla’s board, received an estimated 47 percent of the votes not controlled by directors and officers, indicating strong support for the annual election of directors, according to the Treasurer’s Office.  Representing the Connecticut Treasurer’s Office at the annual meeting, and presenting the proposal, was Aeisha Mastagni, a Portfolio Manager in the Corporate Governance Unit of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Overall, according to a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission filing, 74.7 million shareholders voted against the proposal, with 32.7 million voting in favor.

“And now that Tesla has joined the ranks of the Fortune 500, we encourage the company to take particular heed of the recent vote,” Nappier added, “given that most of its largest U.S. company peers have already embraced annual election of directors.  It should reconsider its opposition to this fundamental provision of good governance.”

“At the end of the day, Tesla has and will continue to develop and deploy new technologies and products that will be an important part of the global economy’s clean energy future.   The company’s corporate structure should likewise evolve toward a more accountable governance framework that will fortify its bottom line and sustainable value,” said Nappier, a veteran shareholder activist.

In the aftermath of the Connecticut legislative session, a spokesman for Tesla told CT NewsJunkie that the company wasn’t quite ready to give up on the state. Tesla is allowed to sell direct to consumers in most jurisdictions in the U.S. and around the world. They are prohibited from selling directly in Connecticut, Michigan, Texas, and West Virginia, according to the company.

“The residents of Connecticut overwhelmingly want Tesla to be able to freely operate in the state, and despite inaction during this session,” a company spokesman said.  There are approximately 1,300 Tesla vehicles registered in Connecticut.

Minorities, Children with Autism at Greater Risk of Drowning; Legislative Response Launched

“I understand all too well the dangers that water can represent,” said Karen Cohn, founder of the Zac Foundation, pointing out that drowning is the second leading cause of death for children under age 14.  “Many of these deaths could have been prevented.” Cohn’s 6-year-old son drowned in 2007 after his arm became stuck in the suction of the drain in their backyard pool.  Although he was a strong swimmer, “swimming skills are not enough to combat an entrapment,” she said.  The foundation named for her son is dedicated to educating parents about water safety, which goes beyond swimming skills.  The ZAC Foundation held its first water safety awareness camp, called ZAC Camp in Greenwich in April 2011. “We can save lives,” Cohn stressed.

Cohn was among advocates and legislators who held a State Capitol news conference to announce the creation of a legislative task force to bring awareness to the issue of childhood drownings.  Steven Hernández,, Executive Director of the Commission on Women, Children and Seniors, said the goal of the effort was “to prevent tragedies like these,” adding that “we need a multi-pronged response to a multi-pronged problem.”

The initiative was launched during National Water Safety Month, held each year in May, driven by statistics including:

• Almost 800 children die the U.S. every year from accidental drowning;
• 54% of these deaths are among children ages 0-4;
• African-American and Latino children are more than twice as likely to die from drowning, compared to Caucasian children; and
• According to the National Autism Association, accidental drowning led to 90% of the deaths of children with autism ages 14 and younger.

The statistics about children’s drowning deaths have not changed over time, implying that current strategies for prevention are not enough, officials said. Increasing children’s access to swim lessons, encouraging schools to teach water safety skills to students and giving parents easy-to-use and engaging tools to talk to their children about how to be safe around water are just a few actions that can have a big effect in reducing drowning rates, officials stressed.

An issue brief on the subject, prepared by Jennifer L. Masone of the Institute for Educational Leaders, and Principal, Wolfpit Elementary School in Norwalk, indicated that “from 2004-2014, 62 children from birth to 19 died from unintentional drowning. Of those, 35% were white and 34% were minority while the general population averaged 75% white and 25% minority. These data do not include children who experienced other short or long term effects.

The State Department of Public Health corroborates this information with its summation that for 2000-2004, “The Non-Hispanic Black population experienced a drowning rate twice that of the Non-Hispanic White population, and 33% higher than the Hispanic population.”

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff said the issue needs to be “seen as a community solution through education.”   He said “this is an issue we can solve,” saluting the effort to bring interested parties together to work collectively.

In addition to establishing the task force, proponents of the initiative highlighted their support for HB 6260, which would require police officers to be trained to handle incidents involving juveniles with autism.  The measure has passed the House and is awaiting Senate action. Rep. Liz Linehan, who introduced that bill, said, “Children with autism are at an increased risk of drowning because they have a tendency to wander away from adult supervision and to seek out bodies of water.”

Rep. Cathy Abercrombie said “accidental drownings in Connecticut are a serious problem that deserves our full attention and one thing we can stress is the need for more education for parents and people overseeing children, especially now as we approach summer.”

https://youtu.be/CULPxBSa_10

https://youtu.be/hkmY3oZWxyU

Connecticut Main Street Center Award Winners Reflect Excellence, Community Involvement

A downtown management organization engaging the community in envisioning two underutilized parks as places that downtown residents, visitors, workers and families can mingle with artists and creatives, and a regional planning organization that created a program focused on supporting local businesses, creating jobs and filling vacant spaces in eight village centers are just two of this year's Awards of Excellence winners being recognized by the Connecticut Main Street Center (CMSC). In total, eight recipients have been selected to receive the prestigious awards, including organizations and initiatives from Bridgeport, Unionville Village in Farmington, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, and the Northwest Corner.  The awards will be presented at CMSC's Vibrant Main Streets event in the atrium of the Legislative Office Building on May 18 in Hartford.

The other winning entries include:

• a 14-acre flood control project that created a public park and mixed-use economic development in downtown Meriden;
• a comprehensive and complete overhaul of the City of Hartford's zoning language and process;
• an interpretive wayfinding/signage program that connects Walnut Hill Park, Little Poland and Downtown New Britain;
• the restoration of a historic ball bearing mill on the banks of the Farmington River into a mixed-use campus in the heart of Unionville Village;
• a Twilight Bike Race & Street Festival that celebrates biking, food, culture and entertainment in Downtown New Haven; and
• the redevelopment of a 1903 factory building into 72 units of market rate housing within easy walking distance of jobs and transit in downtown Hartford.

"This year's winners represent both catalytic and keystone initiatives that ignite and support significant positive change in Main Street communities," said CMSC Associate Director Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker. "From engaging the community in playing a proactive role in local economic development and envisioning new life for their historic public places, to the complex redevelopment of historic mills and factories for modern residential and commercial uses, our 2017 award recipients are leaders in re-imagining Main Streets."

In addition to its Awards of Excellence, CMSC also named the recipient of its 2017 Founder's Award, presented by Eversource Energy. CMSC founding President & CEO John Simone, who will retire in August, was selected to receive the Founder's Award for his more than 17 years of leading the organization's evolution as the voice of downtown, and for championing the tools, resources and political will needed for Connecticut's Main Streets to thrive.

Connecticut Main Street Center's mission is to be "the catalyst that ignites Connecticut’s Main Streets as the cornerstone of thriving communities."  CMSC works at both the local and State level to create and implement successful downtowns that meet the needs of residents and visitors. The organization describes a successful downtown as "one that incorporates housing, retail, social and business opportunities with transportation options for all users – walkers, cyclists, motorists and more."   Created in 2003 to recognize outstanding projects, individuals and community efforts to bring traditional downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts back to life, socially and economically, the Awards of Excellence are presented annually.

2017 Connecticut Main Street Center Awards of Excellence

CT Main Street Catalyst Awards

•  Meriden Green - Recipient: City of Meriden. Partners: State of CT (DECD, DEEP, DOT); U.S. EPA; FEMA; Army Corps of Engineers; Meriden Flood Control Implementation Agency; Milone and MacBroom; AECOM; and La Rosa Construction.
• Downtown Bridgeport Placemaking Program & Downtown Farmers Market at McLevy Green - Recipient: Bridgeport Downtown Special Services District. Partners: Project for Public Spaces; New Venture Advisors LLC.
• ZoneHartford: Form-Based Code Zoning Regulations - Recipient: City of Hartford. Partners: Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc.

CT Main Street Keystone Awards

• Collaborative Shared Economic Development Services Project - Recipient: NW Hills Council of Governments. Partners: Goman+York; One Eleven Group; State of CT (OPM); Towns of Canaan/ Falls Village, Cornwall, Goshen, Kent, North Canaan, Norfolk, Salisbury/Lakeville and Sharon
• New Britain Historic Trails & Signage Program - Recipients: City of New Britain; TO Design LLC. Partners: National Parks Service
• Upson Market Place, Unionville - Recipient: Brian Lyman of Parker Benjamin Real Estate Services LLC. Partners: Town of Farmington.
• New Haven Grand Prix: a Twilight Bicycle Race & Street Festival - Recipients: CT Cycling Advancement Program; Town Green District (New Haven). Partners: City of New Haven; Taste of New Haven.
• Capewell Lofts, Hartford - Recipient: CIL. Partners: Capital Regional Development Authority; State of CT (DECD); InsurBanc; Guilford Savings Bank; Crosskey Architects; TO Design