CT Historical Society Kicks off Community History Tour 2014

Connecticut residents with an opinion on how the state – and its local communities - can best celebrate Connecticut’s history are being given an opportunity to share their views by the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS), which has launched Community History Tour 2014 in an effort to build deeper relationships with local communities throughout the state.

CHS is conducting nine regional town hall-style discussions, hosted by local organizations, with the public and area organizations with an interest in history encouraged to participate. With an active heritage organization in nearly every one of the state's 169 towns, the CHS has aspirations to build stronger bridges with local Connecticut residents throughout the state.

The purpose of the listening tour is to engage local organizations and residents in a broad statewide conversation exploring how to celebrate the state’s history in ways that are relevant to today’s audiences.

The sessions kicked-off on February 11 at the Stanley-Whitman House in Farmington, and the next session will be on Monday, March 3 in Hartford at CHS.  It will be followed by open meetings in New Haven, Willimantic, Fairfield, Greenwich, Waterbury, Old Lyme and Litchfield over the next two months.

"Connecticut is a state rich in history," says Jody Blankenship, director at CHS, "and we know people like to experience history in different ways. We want to better understand how the state's communities feel about that. Do they want to see more or less of it? How do they want to see that happen, and how can we help? We're ready for a no-holds-barred conversation."

The Connecticut Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit museum, library, research and educational center. The organization’s mission is to inspire and foster a life-long interest in history through exhibitions, programs, and Connecticut-related collections.  The CHS website notes that “improving knowledge of the past enhances understanding of the present and the ability to meet the challenges of the future.”

Founded in 1825, the Connecticut Historical Society houses an extensive and comprehensive Connecticut-related collection of manuscripts, printed material, artifacts and images that document social, cultural, and family history.  It is located in Hartford.

"Our goal is to better understand what makes each community special and how the history of that town or area is integrated into the Connecticut fabric. The best way to do that is ask those who are passionate to tell us," Blankenship added.

Community History Tour 2014 Dates and Locations: (All meetings occur at 4:30pm, unless otherwise indicated.)

February 11: Stanley-Whitman House, Farmington March 3: Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford March 10: New Haven Museum, New Haven March 15: Windham Textile Museum, Willimantic, 11:00am March 31: Fairfield Museum, Fairfield April 7: Greenwich Historical Society, Greenwich April 8: Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury April 15: Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme April 21: Litchfield Historical Society, Litchfield

CT Ranked 23rd in Nation in Pay Equity; Women Earn 78 Cents to Men’s Dollar

What do Connecticut, South Dakota, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Washington have in common?  The paycheck gap between women and men in the five states is identical – and ranked 23rd among the nation’s 50 states.  In Connecticut and the other four states, women, on average, receive 78 cents for doing equivalent work as men earning a dollar, according to an analysis published by Forbes magazine.

The top states – with the smallest earnings gap differential - were Maryland, Nevada, Vermont (a three-way tie for first place), New York, California, Florida, Hawaii, and Maine.

For more than a decade, the comparison between the median earnings of full-time employed men and women in the U.S. has remained a stubborn 77 percent – that is, women earn roughly 77 cents on the dollar. A glimmer of progress is reflected in the total of 16 states in which women are now earning 80 cents or more to every male dollar, twice the count of 2010.

In Connecticut, just a penny above the national average, full-time annual earnings for women is $47,900; for men $61,097, according to the data.

Forbes analyzed data from the latest 2012 American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, using the mean earnings for full-time, year-round female workers by state.

Forbes pointed out that in Connecticut and New Jersey, both contiguous with New York, “women can expect healthy salaries—upwards of $47,000 as a median isn’t bad—but they earn 79 and 78 cents on the dollar respectively. Historically speaking, where there’s a large concentration of jobs in very high-paying occupations like finance, media and law, you’ll often (and unfortunately) find more men in those occupations than women which can skew the overall pay gap.”

The top 25 states:

1. Maryland (tie-1st)
2. Nevada (tie-1st)
3. Vermont (tie-1st)
4. New York
5. California
6. Florida
7. Hawaii
8. Maine
9. Arizona
10. North Carolina
11. Georgia
12. Delaware
13. Rhode Island
14. New Mexico
15. Colorado
16. Minnesota
17. Texas
18. Massachusetts
19. Oregon
20. Virginia
21. New Jersey
22. Illinois
23. Connecticut
24. Washington(tie-23rd)
25. South Dakota(tie-23rd)
26. Wisconsin (tie-23rd)
27. South Carolina (tie-23rd)

Health Risks of Flame-Retardant Chemicals Require Policy Changes in CT, Nation, Report Says

The 2014 session of the Connecticut General Assembly is expected to include consideration of legislation designed to protect the public from potential health risks of flame retardant chemicals that are present in many consumer products.  Such a proposal, currently being developed, comes following a report from North Haven-based Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI), an organization of physicians and public health professionals, that calls on state and federal governments to institute new policies to protect the public from flame-retardant exposures that the researchers say “pose health risks to fetuses, infants, children and the human population as a whole.”

The comprehensive 107-page report, “Flame Retardants: The Case for Policy Change,” closely examines the health risks that flame-retardants pose to the general population and recommends sweeping policy changes to protect the public.

"It has become clear that flame-retardants are proving to be a health risk to both the human population and the environment,” said Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human health, Inc. “It is time for flame-retardants to be removed from all low fire-risk situations and products. As well, a certification program should be established where manufacturers certify the absence of flame-retardants, just as organic food programs certify the absence of pesticides.”

The report examines the history of flame-retardants and demonstrates the enormous scope of the problem, noting that flame-retardants “are now ubiquitous in our environment.”  The history of flame-retardant use in the United States is a story of substituting one dangerous flame-retardant for another, the report outlines. The country lived through decades when asbestos was used as a fire-retardant. Then when asbestos was proven too dangerous to be used, the country moved over to PCBs, and five decades later, when PCBs were deemed too dangerous for use, the country moved on to chlorinated and brominated flame-retardants.

The report points out that “the labeling of flame-retardant chemicals in consumer products is NOT required by Congress, EPA, FDA or the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  It is therefore impossible for consumers to avoid flame-retardants in their purchases.”  Sources of exposure cited in the report include carpets, mattresses, children’s and baby products, furniture, and electronics. 

In the 1970s, a flame-retardant called "Tris" was added to children's sleepwear. Tris was later found not only to be carcinogenic but also capable of being absorbed through the skin. Tris was finally banned in children's sleepwear in 1977, according to the report.  Tris is still used in many other infant products, such as crib mattresses, changing tables, nap mats, and infant car seats, the report indicated.

"Tris was, and remains, carcinogenic," said Dr. D. Barry Boyd, oncologist at Greenwich Hospital and Affiliate Member of the Yale Cancer Center.  There is ample evidence concerning the health risks from Tris to conclude that it should be removed from all infant products."

John Wargo, Ph.D., first author of the report and the Tweedy-Ordway Professor of Environmental Health and Political Science at Yale University, said, "Flame-retardants are not required to undergo health and environmental testing, and they are not required to be labeled on the products that contain them. Because exposures to flame-retardants carry health risks, they should only be used when the risk of fire outweighs the risk from flame-retardant exposures. When risk from fire is high, such as in airplanes, then the use of flame-retardants is warranted; when the risk from fire is low, flame-retardants should not be used."

Recent toxicological studies demonstrate that flame-retardants pose the greatest risk to the normal growth and development of fetuses, infants and children. "Manufacturers should start labeling their products so that consumers can understand when flame-retardants have been added," said Dr. Andrea Asnes, associate professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine.

Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) is a non-profit organization composed of physicians, public health professionals and policy experts, dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms. EHHI does not receive any funds from businesses or corporations.   The organization’s mission is “to conduct research to identify environmental harms affecting human populations, promote public education concerning the relationships between the environment and human health, and promote policies in all sectors that ensure the protection of human and environmental health with fairness and timeliness.

By promoting effective communication of environmental health risks to those exposed and to responsible public and private officials, EHHI hopes to empower individuals and groups to take control over the quality of their environment and be more protective of themselves and their families.  The report was issued in November 2013.  Among the recommendations :

• States should pass laws that protect their citizens from flame-retardant exposures.  Industry will always work to pre-empt states’ legal authority to set safety standards that are more stringent than those adopted by the federal government. States should have the right to protect their citizens when the federal government fails to do so.
• States should restrict flame-retardants in infant and toddler products.  Recent toxicological studies show that flame-retardants pose the greatest risk to the normal growth and development of fetuses, infants and children. Infants and small children’s body weight is so low that their exposures to flame retardants, in relation to their body weight, is simply too great. The health risks that all infants and children are experiencing, due to the federal law mandating that flame retardants be in many of their products, far outweigh the risk of fire.
• States should require that products containing flame-retardants be labeled.  Any product containing a flame-retardant should be labeled as such. Labels should include which flame-retardant has been used.
• States should promote fire-prevention programs.  States should invigorate their fire prevention programs. Promotion of fire prevention is the most effective, least expensive, least environmentally damaging priority our nation could pursue to reduce loss of health, life and property from fires. States should promote low-cost and highly effective early warning technologies. Smoke alarms save lives. They should be available to all, regardless of income status.
• States should offer opportunities to recycle electronic products.  Foam that contains flame-retardants remains a problem for landfills. State and local governments have primary responsibility for managing the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. Most solid wastes in Connecticut are disposed of via incineration, but some are still placed in landfills. The broad failure to effectively recycle electronics, building materials, auto plastics and foam means that most products containing flame-retardants are released to the environment at the end of their life-cycle.

State Mental Health Budgets, Cut During Recession, Increase After Newtown Tragedy, Report Finds

State mental health budgets were gutted during the recession, according to a report issued by the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI), and are only now beginning to return to previous levels in most states, even as mental health needs are becoming better known and growing.

“With reductions totaling $4.35 billion from FY2009 to FY2012, public mental health systems struggled to meet rising demand with diminishing resources,” the report indicated. Then, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown on December 14, 2012 provided “a major impetus for lawmakers to propose legislation which would impact children and adults living with mental illness,” the 63-page report indicated.

Nearly 60 million Americans experience a mental health condition every year, according to the organization. Regardless of race, age, religion or economic status, mental illness impacts the lives of at least one in four adults and one in 10 children across the United States.

NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.  NAMI advocates for access to services, treatment, supports and research and is steadfast in its commitment to raise awareness and build a community for hope for all of those in need.

“Realizing the risks of failure to provide adequate public mental health services, governors and legislatures in many states began the process of restoring state mental health budgets,” according to the report, “Trends, Themes & Best Practices in State Mental Health Legislation.”

The report concludes that “Dramatic changes in American healthcare finance and delivery systems combine with an improving economy and a growing array of best practices to provide a window of opportunity in the next few years to transform the mental health system and integrate care across systems.”

In addition, NAMI recommends that “advocates and policy makers should continue the work of building the mental health system of the future, one in which mental illness is identified as it emerges and an array of proven, cost-effective services are available as needed to provide children, youth and adults with the mental health care they need to stabilize, recover and live healthy lives.”

Looking ahead to the 2014 state legislative sessions, NAMI issued a series of recommendations including:

• Actively engage in outreach and enrollment
• Increase integrated care
• Increase the mental health workforce capacity
• Identify mental illness and intervene early
• Build the bridge from Medicaid to private health coverage
• Increase access to supported employment services
• Increase housing with supportive services
• Increase justice system diversion strategies
• Comply with mental health parity
• Expand Medicaid

Most states either increased or maintained state mental health authority budgets at current levels during 2013 legislative sessions. Of special note, the report indicated, is Texas which allocated a $259 million increase over the previous biennial budget, the largest mental health budget improvement in the state’s history. South Carolina reversed previous cuts to its mental health budget while Illinois restored $32 million that had been cut in 2011 due to an administrative error. In California, an additional $143 million was allocated to create crisis and triage positions throughout the state.

The report stated that “A tipping point on the heels of several recent mass shootings, the Newtown tragedy shaped the debate about the lack of access to mental health services and the barriers that many families and individuals face in light of the nation’s fragmented and grossly inadequate mental health system.”

After the Newtown tragedy NAMI advocated for policies supporting early identification and intervention, training for school personnel, families and the public, mental health services in schools and increased access to care.

The report highlights actions by states in 2013 in areas including mental health system monitoring, early identification and mental health screening, services for transitional youth, school mental health training and services, mental health facilities and suicide prevention.  Also included are elements of state legislation in law enforcement areas such as juvenile justice, incarceration and the courts.  A final section looks at stigma reduction efforts in the states.

Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.  Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder.

Connecticut resident Marilyn Ricci, a past president of NAMI Connecticut, serves on the national NAMI Board of Directors, and is on the board of NAMI Farmington Valley in Connecticut, which she helped found in 2004.  Kevin Sullivan, a former Connecticut Lieutenant Governor currently serving as Commissioner of Revenue Services, is a past Board member of the organization. The state legislative report was issued on October 28, 2013.

Connecticut Ranks #42 in Population Gain Between 2010 and 2013; New England Lags Nation

Connecticut’s population grew six-tenths of one percent between 2010 and 2013 according to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, ranking the state 42nd among the nation’s 50 states in population growth.  The state population, which was 3, 574,097 at the 2010 U.S. Census was estimated at 3,596,080 as of the official July 2013 estimate, announced at year’s end.

The 2013 estimates also show the nation's population grew by 2.4 percent in the three years since the 2010 Census, with the South and the West leading the expansion. The total for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico rose from 308,745,538 in 2010 to an estimated 316,128,839 in July 2013.  Only Rhode Island lost population (1,056 people) during the period, and the Southern and Western states accounted for more than 80 percent of the growth nationwide.

The bottom twelve states in population growth – all under one percent - include five from New England:  Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.  The remainder are in the Mid-West.  Massachusetts population grew by 2.2 percent, New Jersey by 1.2 percent, and New York by 1.4 percent.

The South, the nation's largest population center, also had the highest percentage-point growth at 3.3 percent: from 114,555,744 in 2010 to an estimated 118,383,453 in 2013. The West was close behind, with a 3.2 percentage-point growth during the period, from 71,945,553 in the 2010 Census to an estimated 74,254,423 in July 2013.

The Midwest region had the smallest growth, at 0.9 percent: 66,927,001 people in 2010 to 67,547,890 in 2013, according to published reports. The population growth for the Northeast was 1.1 percent between 2010 and 2013, growing from 55,317,240 in 2010 to 55,943,073, according to the census estimates.

The bottom twelve, including Connecticut, saw increases of less than one percent, including Rhode Island’s drop in population, and Maine standing essentially even, adding less than 1,000 people.

• Rhode Island -0.1
• Maine   0.0
• Michigan 0.1
• Vermont 0.1
• West Virginia 0.1
• Ohio 0.3
• Illinois   0.4
• New Hampshire 0.5
• Connecticut 0.6
• Pennsylvania 0.6
• Mississippi 0.8
• Missouri 0.9

The new figures from the Census Bureau shows Massachusetts is continuing to add to its population. The latest estimate as of July 1 puts the state's population at nearly 6.7 million, up by more than 47,000 from July, 2012.  Massachusetts' ranking is the 14th most populous state in the country.

New York remains the third most populous state in the nation -- behind California and Texas -- but the state's lead over fourth-place Florida continues to erode, according to 2013 population estimates. New York saw an increase of 1.4 percent from 19,378,102 people in the 2010 Census to 19,651,127 in the 2013 estimate, according to the bureau.

Florida's population in the 2010 Census was 18,801,310, about 576,000 fewer than New York's 2010 Census population. However, Florida's population rose an estimated 4 percent between 2010 and 2013, to 19,552,860 -- about 98,000 fewer than New York's 2013 population estimate.  Some have projected that Florida will overtake New York in population next year.

North Dakota, with its expanding oil and gas industry, led the growth chart between 2010 and 2013, at a 7.6 percent clip, including a 3.1 percent population increase in just the past year.

For the 12 months ending July 1, 2013, population growth nationwide was 0.71%, or just under 2.3 million people. That's the slowest since 1937, USA Today reported.  An aging Baby Boomer population and slower immigration combined for what the newspaper described as “nearly stagnant U.S. population growth,” the slowest pace since the Great Depression.

Maine and West Virginia were the only two states to lose population between 2012 and 2013.  The Census Bureau estimates that Connecticut picked up 4,315 residents in that 12-month period.

CT, NY, NJ Should Expect Unprecedented Flooding by Mid-Century, Scientists Predict

It will get worse, not better, for shoreline residents and businesses in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey within range of the Atlantic Ocean.  That’s the likely scenario based on newly completed research by a team of geoscientists who are predicting that the New Jersey shore will likely experience a sea-level rise -- about 1.5 feet by 2050 and of about 3.5 feet by 2100 – that will be 11 to 15 inches higher than the average for sea-level rise globally over the century.

That would mean that by the middle of this century, the one-in-10 year flood level at Atlantic City, for example, would exceed any flood level seen previously, including the natural disaster that was Superstorm Sandy.  The scientists suggest, based on their research, that “planners should account for rising sea levels,” noting that “where the consequences of flooding are high, prudent planning requires consideration of high-end projections” outlined in their study.

Geoscientists at Rutgers University and Tufts University base their projections in part upon an analysis of historic and modern-day records of sea-level rise in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Their research appears in the inaugural issue of the journal Earth's Future, published this month by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

While much to the work centers on the New Jersey shore and The Battery in Lower Manhattan, Rutgers researcher Ken Miller told Connecticut by the Numbers that their analysis included both Montauk on Long Island and Bridgeport.  Since Connecticut lies on bedrock, Miller said, it will largely behave like The Battery in New York City.  “I believe that the projections for bedrock locations are applicable throughout Connecticut,” said Miller, a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences. 

Miller collaborated in the study with colleagues Robert Kopp, Benjamin Horton and James Browning of Rutgers and Andrew Kemp of Tufts. Kemp, an assistant professor of earth and ocean sciences at Tufts since May, joined the faculty from Yale University, where he was a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI).  The new research builds upon a recent study by Kemp, Horton and others that reconstructed a 2,500-year record of sea level at the New Jersey shore. Horton is a professor of marine and coastal sciences in Rutgers' School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

"It's clear from both the tide gauge and geological records that sea level has been rising in the mid-Atlantic region at a foot per century as a result of global average sea-level rise and the solid earth's ongoing adjustment to the end of the last ice age," Miller told Rutgers Today. "In the sands of the New Jersey coastal plain, sea level is also rising by another four inches per century because of sediment compaction -- due partly to natural forces and partly to groundwater withdrawal. But the rate of sea-level rise, globally and regionally, is increasing due to melting of ice sheets and the warming of the oceans."

The researchers suggest that “additional work is needed to integrate site-specific sea-level rise projections with storm tide statistics to guide planning decisions and investments that may have time frames of 20 years, 40 years, or longer.”  They indicate that sea-level rise in the mid-Atlantic region also results from changes in ocean dynamics. The researchers said sea-level rise could be higher -- 2.3 feet by mid-century and 5.9 feet by the end of the century -- depending on how sensitive the Gulf Stream is to warming and how fast the ice sheets melt in response to that warming.

The study found that the eight inches of climate change-related regional sea-level rise in the 20th century exposed about 83,000 additional people in New Jersey and New York City to flooding during 2012's Superstorm Sandy.  The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Earth’s Future, with its inaugural issue, joins AGU’s prestigious portfolio of peer-reviewed research publications, including Geophysical Research Letters and Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres. Both are ranked among the top ten most-highly cited research publications on climate change over the past decade.  The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 62,000 members in 144 countries.

College Students from Connecticut in D.C. As White House Interns

Two Connecticut residents and five out-of-state students attending universities in the state are among scores of college students from across the nation who are spending the current semester as White House interns.

The Connecticut interns are Woodbridge resident Zachary Schreiber, a student at Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania, Westport resident Amy Vickery, a Princeton undergraduate.  Those attending school in the state: are Wesleyan student Samantha Jacobson of Needham, MA, Yale undergraduates Gabriel Perlman of New York, Reid Magdanz of Alaska and Jon Morgan of South Africa, and Yale Law School student Giselle Barcia of Miami, FL, Business New Haven reported.

The White House Internship Program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. The hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today’s young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities.

The assignments given to an intern on any given day could include conducting research, managing incoming inquiries, attending meetings, writing memos, and staffing events. While the interns’ responsibilities and tasks vary by department, all interns are united through weekly events including a weekly speaker series with senior staff members and small group meetings exploring different policy aspects of the Executive Office of the President through speakers, discussion and off-site field trips. Most importantly, the internship experience includes an emphasis on service and interns participate in regularly scheduled service projects at schools and non-profit organizations in Washington, D.C.

Selection as a White House Intern is based on the following criteria:  a commitment to public service, demonstrated leadership in the community, and a commitment to the mission of the Obama Administration.  The selection process is highly competitive. Applicants are encouraged to submit a thorough application that illustrates qualifications, character, and commitment to public service. A completed application includes two essay questions, two letters of recommendation, and a resume. The application for the Summer 2014 White House Internship Program is now open.  The deadline is January 4, 2014.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens, 18 years of age on or before the first day of the internship, and meet at least one of the following criteria:

Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a college, community college, or university (two-to-four year institution)

Graduated from an undergraduate or graduate program at a college, community college, or university (two-to-four year institution) no more than two years before the first day of the internship

A veteran of the United States Armed Forces who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent and has served on active duty, for any length of time, in the two years preceding the first day of the internship

Interns work in one of several White House departments, including the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, the Office of Cabinet Affairs, the Office of Chief of Staff, the Office of Communications, the Office of Digital Strategy, the Office of the First Lady, the Office of Legislative Affairs, the Office of Management and Administration, the Office of Presidential Correspondence, the Office of Presidential Personnel, the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, the Office of Scheduling and Advance, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of the White House Counsel, and the Office of White House Fellows.

Photo:  Amy Vickery

This Year, Brookfield, Cheshire, Simsbury Among Best Places to Live in America

The latest list of the best places to live in America, produced annually by Money magazine, places Sharon, MA atop the list, followed by Louisville, CO and Vienna, VA.  Three Connecticut towns made the list – Brookfield at #26, Cheshire at #39 and Simsbury at #50.

The annual published list varies from year to year because the criteria are not consistent.  A review of recent years indicates little overlap, as four Connecticut communities have made the list twice and eight others were “one and done,” not returning after a single appearance.

Overall, during the past four years, West Hartford has made the magazine’s list twice, in 2012 and 2010, as has Hamden, in 2012 and 2010, Simsbury in 2013 and 2011, and Cheshire in 2013 and 2011.  Single appearances were made by Norwalk, Stamford, Portland, Tolland, Greenwich, South Windsor, Fairfield, and most recently, Brookfield.

Carmel, IN, McKinney, TX and Eden Mairie, MN and Newton MA led the list of “America’s best small cities” in 2012, with Connecticut’s Greenwich (#28), Hamden (#53), Fairfield (#64), and West Hartford (#72) earning a place on the list.

A year earlier, in 2011, the top ranked Connecticut community was Tolland at #37, followed directly by South Windsor at #38 and Simsbury at #39.  That year, Cheshire was #73 and Portland was #88, and the list was dubbed “Money’s list of America’s best small towns.”  In 2011, Louisville, CO was ranked first, followed by Milton, MA and Solon, OH.

In 2010, when Eden Prairie, MN topped the list and Newton, MA ranked third, the leading town in Connecticut among “America’s best small cities” was West Hartford at #55.  The town was joined by Stamford at #78, Hamden at #87, and Norwalk at #90.

The highest ranking in recent years for a Connecticut community was Brookfield’s #26 this year, followed by Greenwich’s #28 last year.

The data for the published list is developed by Onboard Informatics, and the criteria and decision-making process is described on the CNNMoney website.

In 2013, the editors explained “we crunched the numbers in order to zero in on America's best small towns for families,” which included U.S. towns with populations of 10,000 to 50,000.   The previous year, “we looked at small cities, with populations between 50,000 and 300,000.”  In 2011, they investigated small towns, with populations between 8,500 and 50,000.  In 2010, the list was culled from a review of 800-plus U.S. cities with populations 50,000 and up.

In addition to the data compiled for the 2013 list, the magazine visited “36 towns and interviewed residents, assessed traffic, parks, and gathering places, and considered intangibles like community spirit,” according to the website.  The take-away from the visit to Brookfield, population 16,788?

“Surrounded by the largest lakes in Connecticut, Brookfield is a great spot for water recreation -- not to mention exploring lots of wooded hiking trails and open space. There are few employers right in town, so many residents commute within Fairfield County or to New York City, a 90-minute drive away.  While it is pedestrian-friendly, the town lacks a downtown. However, an area with residential and retail developments is under construction and should be completed within five years,” the website explained.

Attractive Candidates Have Evolutionary Advantage, Study Finds

Leaders of Connecticut’s Democratic and Republican parties declared victory in last week’s municipal elections around the state, and each had solid examples to back up their claims.  Writing in the Journal Inquirer, one columnist summed it up, stating that  “as usual the municipal elections were determined by local issues and personalities and both parties had successes and failures.”

 But was there a factor that crossed party lines and helped determine winners?  Were local issues and personalities only part of the story?  Was it the pretty faces that won the day, in a string of election upsets (and some less surprising results) that propelled proponents of both political parties into mayoral offices in cities and towns across the landscape?

In a new article in the journal Psychological Science, “people’s preferences for good-looking politicians may be linked to ancient adaptations for avoiding disease,” wrote Andrew Edward White, a doctoral candidates in social psychology, and Douglas T. Kenrick, a professor of psychology, both at Arizona State University.  “Modern humans,” they write, “may have a vestigial tendency to prefer attractive leaders when disease threats are looming.” (Flu season is approaching?)

The basis of their work is that “our ancestors frequently confronted devastating epidemics that wiped out many of the members of their groups; at such times, having a healthy leader might have been particularly important,” they wrote recently in The New York Times.

Their study, which tested their hypothesis in a series of tests of varying approaches and reviewed past voting patterns, produced these findings:  People who said they were concerned with disease were more likely to desire that a more attractive person take charge.  And the preference for attractive group leaders goes above and beyond the more general preferences for attractive group members.   In one segment of the study, for example, they found that “in congressional districts with elevated disease threats, physically attractive candidates are more likely to be elected.” Their study abstract points out that “experimentally activating disease concerns leads people to especially value physical attractiveness in leaders.”

In their research paper, titled “Beauty at the Ballot Box:  Disease Threats Predict Preferences for Physically Attractive Leaders,” they conclude that “the link between disease and leader preferences aligns with other new findings showing that disease concerns are connected in functional ways to a host of human decisions,” noting that their work is part of a “larger program of research exploring how human decision making reflects the influence of our evolutionary past.”

Photo montage:  First-term winning candidates of Mayoral elections in Connecticut on November 5, 2013.

Nationwide Effort by Newman’s Own Foundation to Help Veterans; Local Initiative Lagging

When Westport-based Newman's Own Foundation launched a national fundraising competition aimed at supporting the work of veterans organizations across the country – coupled with plans to contribute an additional $180,000 to the most successful efforts - the inclusion of a Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network (CPBN) job training initiative for veterans was encouraging.

With the deadline just hours away, however, the local CPBN effort is ranked 23rd among the 28 participating organizations, having raised a total of $691.

A select group of military service nonprofits – a total of 28 organizations across the nation - were invited to raise money and compete for additional funds.  The Honoring Those Who Serve Challenge is a fundraising initiative developed to help charities gain awareness, recognition, and most importantly, cash.  It is an element in the Newman’s Own Foundation’s commitment to military personnel, veterans, and their families, providing a public awareness platform and funding support to organizations that help those who serve.

As of November 10, a total of $388,922 has been raised by 28 participating nonprofit organizations.  The Challenge began on Monday, September 30, and closes on Veterans Day, Monday, November 11, at noon.  Only charities pre-selected by Newman’s Own Foundation were eligible to compete and win – among them Connecticut Public Broadcasting’s Veterans Vocational Training Program.

The CPBN program is free to veterans to train for a career in media arts and video production at Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network’s Learning Lab in Hartford.  Veterans learn from award-winning professionals in television, radio and new media production.  Participants gain experience working on digital projects and productions, ranging from live broadcasts to studio operations to web services.  Completion of the program leads to industry-specific certifications in digital arts or video production and includes portfolio development and business connections.

The charity that raises the most money during the Challenge wins a $75,000 grant. Second place will receive $50,000, and third place will receive $25,000.  Another $30,000 is being given throughout the campaign, through weekly bonus challenges.  As of November 10, the leading organizations were the Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services and Easter Seals ($122,194), Operation Finally Home ($53,331) and Hero Dogs Inc. ($41,531).  All the participating organizations in the Competition – operated through a specially designed Crowdrise website - will keep the money they raise, regardless of whether they receive the additional prize money contributed by Newman’s Own Foundation.

To carry on Paul Newman’s philanthropic legacy, Newman’s Own Foundation turns all net profits and royalties from the sale of Newman’s Own products into charitable donations. To date, Paul Newman and Newman’s Own Foundation have given over $380 million to thousands of charities around the world.

Among a range of programs supported by Newman’s Own Foundation – including the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang Camp in Ashford, CT and an array of nutrition programs nationwide, the organization has been a consistent supporter of veterans initiatives and public broadcasting.  Earlier this year, the organization announced a series of grants totaling $2.4 million over two years to 13 public broadcasting stations and organizations. The grants represent an ongoing commitment to support open dialogue and promote civic engagement.

Funds were used by some stations to generate increased donor giving through challenge grants. In other cases, funds will be directed to programming or special projects, such as National Public Radio’s Military Voices Initiative, where the experiences of military personnel, veterans, and their families are recorded and broadcast.  Among the affiliates included were Connecticut Public Broadcasting and WSHU Public Radio in Fairfield. 

This fall, Newman’s Own Foundation committed $7 million in grants over three years to support United States military men, women, and families through its “Honoring Those Who Serve” program. The grants will be awarded to more than 50 nonprofit organizations that help military personnel, veterans, and their families successfully manage deployments and the transition from active duty to civilian life.  The current Challenge that concludes on Veterans Day, along with $300,000 in grants for nonprofit organizations that assist female veterans with career development, are segments of the overall commitment.

“There is no greater sacrifice than serving and defending our country,” said Robert Forrester, President and CEO of Newman’s Own Foundation. “We have a responsibility to support our military men and women, since they protect the freedom and privileges we enjoy as Americans.”

The grants will help military service organizations across the country that deal with issues such as health, housing, education, career development, and family support. When veterans return home, they face vast and complex challenges. According to the Department of Defense, the military suicide rate hit a record high in 2012, increasing nearly 16 percent over the previous year. Over 60,000 veterans are homeless.  The unemployment rate for Gulf War-era veterans was 9.9 percent in 2012, compared to 8 percent for all Americans.

“Recalling Paul Newman’s service in the United States Naval Corps in World War II, we have been committed to supporting military nonprofits for over twenty years,” said Forrester. “Paul felt that we can all make a difference by helping others, and there is no better time to announce our military grant commitment.”   The actor and philanthropist who founded Newman’s Own passed away on September 26, 2008.

For more information on Newman’s Own Foundation, visit www.newmansownfoundation.org. Any questions regarding the Veterans Vocational Training Program can be answered by contacting Donna Sodipo, Director of Education Services at dsodipo@cpbn.org

UPDATE:  At the end of the challenge, a total of just over $670,000 was raised during the Honoring Those Who Served Competition, including $741 for the Veterans Vocational Training Program at CPBN.