Opioid Epidemic Evident in CT Communities Large and Small; Data Show Rapidly Growing Health Crisis

In 2012-13, 111 of Connecticut’s 169 towns had at least one death attributable to opioids, and one city, Hartford, had more than 100 deaths that were caused by the drug.  Just four years later, in 2016-17, 138 towns saw at least one death during the two-year period, an increase of 24 percent, and the number of cities with more than 100 deaths had quadrupled, as Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury each saw the death toll climb past 100. A review of data from the Connecticut Medical Examiner by the Connecticut Data Collaborative found that “opioid deaths have doubled and tripled in some towns in Connecticut in only six years.” The analysis found that although Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, and Hartford have the highest rates per population, “many smaller towns have seen their rates of death triple as well.”

In comparing the average annual opioid-related death rates per 100,000 population in 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2016-17, the dramatic increases across communities statewide is quite evident. The data analysts point out that data are where deaths from 'any opioid' (meaning some type of opioid were found in the person) take place. Therefore, they explain, one would expect to see higher rates in places with large hospitals (hence high rates in cities). They add that one can also not discount that these places are also seeing higher rates among its residents.

In Danbury, for example, the rate of deaths nearly tripled from 2012-13 to 2016-17, from 6.88 to 18.20. In Enfield, it more than tripled, from 2.01 to 6.70.  In that northern Connecticut community, the rate translates to 9 opioid-related deaths during the two years of 2012-13 to 30 in 2016-17.

In Norwalk, the rate quadrupled from 2.57 in 2012-13 to 10.70 in 2016-17, when 25 people died from opioid-related causes.  The rate in New Britain more than tripled from 8.78 to 29.65 – from 24 deaths over a two-year period to 81 in the same period four years later.  In Hamden the number of deaths from opioid-related causes doubled from 8 to 16 in four years; in West Haven there were 7 deaths in 2012-13 and 29 in 2016-17.

The Connecticut Data Collaborative has posted on its website an interactive series of state maps that allows visitors to compare the number of opioid deaths in every town in Connecticut in each of the three years.  The maps indicate “the breadth of the problem” and “intensity of the issue.”

Earlier this year, Connecticut officials launched a statewide public awareness campaign aimed at reducing opioid misuse.  The "Change the Script" campaign provides information on prevention, treatment and recovery provided by local health departments, prevention councils, healthcare providers, pharmacists, and other community partners and stakeholders.

The state departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Consumer Protection (DCP) and Public Health (DPH) are working together on the campaign, which grew out of the Governor's Connecticut Opioid Response (CORE) Initiative, a three-year strategy to prevent addiction and overdoses.

https://youtu.be/Uy3IVFjUAjE

New Citizens Sworn In, Distinguished Immigrants Honored at State Capitol Ceremonies

Fifteen recent immigrants living in Connecticut took the oath of allegiance as American citizens on Wednesday during a special court session to be held at the State Capitol.  Minutes after the new Americans were sworn in as citizens, the Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition (CIRC) honored eight longtime state residents who have made significant contributions to life in Connecticut. The individuals honored on the 21^st Annual Connecticut Immigrant Day came to the United States from Belarus, Italy, Vietnam, Poland, Egypt, Pakistan, India and Taiwan.  The new Americans citizens came to the U.S. from Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Guatemala, Iraq, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Russia and Syria.

“Immigrants have always been – and continue to be – an abundant and enduring strength of our great nation,” said Robert Fishman, Executive Director of the Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition (CIRC), which sponsored the observance with the Office of Secretary of the State. “Connecticut is fortunate to have many remarkable individuals who have contributed tremendously to our state, and as we honor them we are also inspired by the newest group of proud and determined immigrants to take the oath of allegiance as Americans.”

The court session that administered the oath to 15 new Americans was presided over by The Honorable Donna F. Martinez, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of Connecticut.

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman shared brief remarks at the ceremony, recalling her grandfather’s journey to America.  The CIRC award recipients at this year’s 21st annual ceremony included residents of Avon, Trumbull, Farmington, Norwich, Monroe and East Hartford, in addition to West Hartford.  The National Anthem was led by Chris Nelson, a native of Ghana and current Goodwin College student.  The Governor’s Foot Guard presented the colors at the start of the ceremony, which was led by Chris George of Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services.

The mission of CIRC, a coalition of about a dozen organizations across Connecticut, is to promote the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees in Connecticut and to foster their civic participation.

The individuals honored are:

• Bassam Gayed, born in Egypt, is Multicultural Services Coordinator at the Otis Library in Norwich.
• Irena Rak Dzierzbinski, born in Belgium, teaches French and Spanish in middle school in Darien and is active in Girl Scouts. She hosts a Polish-English radio program at Fairfield University.
• Naeem Khalid, born in Pakistan, started Sam’s Food stores and employs 1,000 in his businesses. He formed a charity, Sam’s Children, to assist needy children in Connecticut and is active with the Pakistan American Association of Connecticut.
• Ruth Lazowski, born in Belarus, is a Holocaust survivor who speaks with school groups.
• Cary Lakenbach, born in Italy, is the current Board Chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford and an actuary.
• Bruce Tsan-Tang Liang, born in Taiwan, is the Dean of the University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
• Vani Nidadavolu, born in India, operates an Indian Dance School and works part-time for Edward A. Jones. She holds an MA in Commerce and is a Philanthropist.
• Trinh K. Duong, born in Vietnam, came to Connecticut as a refugee and now works with new refugees and immigrants, helping them to resettle. She received her degree in Accounting from UConn.

In addition, Alicia Kinsman, Director and Managing Attorney of Immigration Legal Services at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants received the Myra M. Oliver Memorial Award, and two student groups were presented with the Angela R. Andersen Memorial Award, created to honor students who demonstrate deep commitment to issues impacting refugees and immigrants.

Sixth-graders from the Interdistrict School for Arts and Communication in New London were recognized for their project, “Community Faces-Humanizing the Immigrant Label,” parts of which were on display at the Capitol.  The second group was Teens4Citizenship, a Hartford Public Library and Hartford Public Schools collaborative program. As "Citizenship Guides," these high school immigrant students support family and community members on the path to Citizenship and upon turning 18 pursue their own citizenship.

Member organizations in the Connecticut Immigrant & Refugee Coalition include: Milan Cultural India Association, Polish American Foundation of CT, The American Place at the Hartford Public Library, Catholic Charities Migration Services, Connecticut Coalition of Mutual Assistance, Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS), Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford, Legal Assistance Resource Center, Center for Urban Research, Education and Training, Pakistani American Association of CT, Hellenic Society of Paideia and World Affairs Council of Connecticut.

Goodbye Columbus? Indigenous Peoples Day Gains Another CT School District

West Hartford’s Board of Education voted this month to mark Indigenous People’s Day, rather than Columbus Day, in the town’s schools beginning next year.  Bridgeport schools made the change in 2015, and the New London school district replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in 2016. There are no Connecticut municipalities that have voted to change the name of Columbus Day. In 2017, Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden introduced legislation at the state level to make the change, but the proposal died in a legislative committee and was not voted on by either the House or Senate.

Instead of honoring Christopher Columbus, the Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes Native Americans, who were the first inhabitants of the land that later became the United States of America. Advocates for the switch to Indigenous Peoples Day argue that Columbus did not “discover” America in 1492 but instead began the colonization of it.

The states of Minnesota, Alaska and South Dakota celebrate Indigenous People’s Day or Native Americans Day, instead of Columbus Day.

TIME magazine has reported that with the exception of Santa Cruz, Calif., and the state of South Dakota, which adopted the similar Native American Day in place of Columbus Day in 1990, the jurisdictions that have chosen to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day have done so relatively recently, with cities like Minneapolis and Seattle voting to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead in 2014, and Los Angeles doing so last year, with the observance to begin in 2019.  In 2016, the state of Vermont (by gubernatorial proclamation) and city of Phoenix, AZ celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day. When the city of Austin adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October 2017, the resolution stated that the city wanted to encourage schools to teach this history.

For decades, Native American activists have advocated abolishing Columbus Day, which became a federal holiday in 1937.  On the 300th anniversary of Columbus’ landing, the Society of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, organized the first celebration of Columbus Day on Oct. 12, 1792, according to the Library of Congress. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Oct. 12 as the national holiday called Columbus Day. It became a federal holiday honored annually on the second Monday in October in 1971.

Tracey Wilson, a former social studies teacher at Conard who is also town historian, told we-ha.com that it’s important to “help our students distinguish between nostalgia and history.” Today’s world is different than it was when Columbus Day was first celebrated in 1892 and when the day became a national holiday in 1934, she said.

Women's History Month Focuses on Current Issues, Locally and Globally

As Women’s History Month unfolds in the light of #METOO and #TIMESUP, two Hartford-area events bookend the month and underscore the evolving contributions of noteworthy women on the local and global scene. The World Affairs Council of CT and the University of Saint Joseph Women’s Leadership Center “work to motivate women to continue to be bold, to press for progress and take groundbreaking action that truly drives the greatest change for women locally and across the globe.”  The two organizations will present “Global Changemakers” on March 7, in observance of International Women’s Day.  The event, on the University campus, opens with a 5 p.m. reception followed by a 6 p.m. program and audience questions.

On campus will be:

Bayartsetseg Jigmiddash has held senior government positions in the justice sector and has been at the forefront of Mongolia’s far-reaching reform initiatives. Currently, she is CEO and Founding Director of Veritas Consulting. From 2012 to 2016, Jigmiddash served as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice of Mongolia, becoming the first woman appointed in this position. Under her leadership, the legal policy on gender-based violence has been significantly improved, including criminalization of domestic violence. Prior to this top civil service post, she served as legal advisor to the president of Mongolia, and has been involved in the judicial reform as well as abolishment of death penalty in Mongolia. She has extensive civil society experience and pioneered an array of initiatives to promote human rights and access to justice.

Stephenie Foster is a Partner in Smash Strategies and a former Senior Advisor and Counselor to the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues at the U.S Department of State. As a member of the leadership team, she coordinated, managed and implemented a wide range of policies and programs, including the women, peace and security initiative, women’s political participation and women’s economic empowerment. At the State Department, Ms. Foster represented the United States in various multilateral and bilateral forums. She served at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, focusing on women and civil society, travelling extensively throughout the country to work with individuals and organizations advancing the role of women in Afghan society. Ms. Foster served as Chief of Staff to two United States Senators, Barbara Mikulski and Christopher Dodd.

Josepha M. N. Musabyemariya is the United States Rwandan Community Abroad (USRCA) Commissioner for Gender and Social Affairs. She also is President of Rwandan Community Abroad (RCA) in Maryland, District of Columbia and Virginia (DMV). She has more than 25 years of experience in handling special projects and initiatives designed to positively impact lives of people in her home country of Rwanda,  the communities in and outside DMV and around the globe. She works for the African Union in the U.S.  In this office, she was among the handful of individuals charged with setting up the African Union office in Washington DC which was just prior to the arrival and assumption of duties of the first Permanent Representative in 2006. Josepha’s passion lies in dealing with all issues concerning gender and women empowerment.

Later this month, “The Evolving Role of Women in Politics and Governance” will be presented by Duncaster, the Hartford area’s first LifeCare community, located in Bloomfield.  With more women than ever running for public office in the United States, including in Connecticut, organizers say, the discussion will focus on their evolving roles on the local and national political stage.  The panelists will include:

• State Senator Beth Bye of West Hartford
• Mayor Suzette De Beatham-Brown of Bloomfield
• Assistant Attorney General Claire Kindell of Bloomfield, a candidate for Connecticut Attorney General
• Mayor Erin Stewart of New Britain, who has an exploratory candidacy for statewide office.

The program will be moderated by Carole Mulready, the past president of the Great Hartford League of Women Voters.  It begins at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 23.  The event is free, but pre-registration is required.

Hurricanes v. Whalers: Words and Numbers Tell Different Stories

In the midst of the war of words between unrelenting fans of the former Hartford Whalers (joined by Governor Malloy) and the Raleigh News & Observer, which has aimed a cease and desist order at Hartford, it may be worthwhile to delve into the data. It prove to be a distinction without a difference, however. Gov. Malloy’s February 8 letter to Thomas Dundon, a Dallas businessman and new owner of the Carolina Hurricanes, urged that the team return to the Nutmeg State for a regular season game at Rentschler Field or the XL Center so the team could be “embraced by a grateful fan base.”  Doing so, Malloy pointed out, “would make clear that Hartford is a far more viable long-term home for the team than Raleigh.”

When asked days ago by The Sporting News about the 'Canes future in Raleigh, Dundon said: “As long as I’m involved, this is where we’re going to be. One of the best things about this is the people. They’re just nice people here. They care. There’s no reason to be anywhere else.”

In an editorial, the Raleigh newspaper added that if a game were to be played in Hartford, it would be preseason, not regular season, and only because it would be “a chance to hoover some money out of the pockets of long-suffering Whalers fans desperate to see NHL hockey again…  But that’s not going to happen.”

Last season, the Hurricanes had the league’s lowest attendance, averaging 11,776 per home game.  It was their second consecutive season at the bottom of the league in attendance.  In the 2015-16 season, average attendance was 12,203. Midway through this season, after 27 home games, the Hurricanes are averaging 13,039, 29th out of 31 teams in the league.

In the Whalers’ final season in Hartford, 1996-97, attendance at the Hartford Civic Center had grown to 87 percent of capacity, with an average attendance of 13,680 per game.  Published reports suggest that the average attendance was, in reality, higher than 14,000 per game by 1996-97, but Whalers ownership did not count the skyboxes and coliseum club seating because the revenue streams went to the state, rather than the team.

Attendance increased for four consecutive years before management moved the team from Hartford. (To 10,407 in 1993-94, 11,835 in 1994-95, 11,983 in 1995-96 and 13,680 in 1996-97.)  During the team’s tenure in Hartford, average attendance exceeded 14,000 twice – in 1987-88 and 1986-87, when the team ranked 13th in the league in attendance in both seasons.

During the 15 years prior to the past two seasons at the bottom, Carolina has been among the league’s bottom-third in  average attendance eight times, and the bottom-half every season but one.

The Sporting News has reported that Dundon purchased a 61 percent stake in the franchise last month, with Peter Karmanos, who relocated the Whalers to North Carolina in 1997, retaining a 39 percent minority stake. Dundon reportedly has an option to purchase the remainder in three years. He is a New York native, and lived in New Jersey and Houston before Dallas.

The arena's lease in Raleigh expires in 2024.  The team's current playoff drought is the longest of any team in the NHL - nearly a decade.

In the interview, Dundon pointed out “We have a really passionate, loyal season ticket base. The number is just smaller than you’d like it to be, but you have one. Every year that’ll grow. So the only challenge is just the amount of people that you have to touch. It’s inevitable that we’re going to touch them all and we’re going to get them.”

As Demographics Change, Connecticut Extends Borders, Colleges Seek More Diverse Student Population

When it comes to college tuition, Connecticut’s borders are expanding and colleges across the state are focused on potential students that likely wouldn’t have on the radar screen only a few years ago.  The impetus is a declining population of college-age students, expected to intensify over the next decade particularly in the Northeast, and declining financial support from state governments.  The results are dramatic efforts to further diversify the student populations - in geography, income, ethnicity and other factors, including offering the lower in-state tuition to out-of-state students. In the case of Connecticut, the state Board of Regents, which oversees four universities and 12 state colleges, has proposed merging the colleges into one statewide college with 12 campuses in a controversial plan that has drawn doubts and substantive questions from students, faculty, and legislators in Connecticut, and the region’s accrediting board, the New England Board of Higher Education, which is considering the plan.  It would be the largest merger of colleges in New England’s history, and the resulting college would be among the largest in the nation.

The number of high school graduates in Connecticut is expected to drop 14 percent from 2012-13 to 2025-26, according to reports citing U.S. Department of Education statistics, driven by the nation’s second-largest proportional decline in public school students over the next 10 years. CT Mirror reported this week that “The major organization that accredits colleges has said many questions need to be answered before the new college system is awarded accreditation, which is essential to make students eligible for federal financial aid and to guarantee the college’s degrees have educational value.”

Fall student headcount at the 12 colleges has dropped from a peak of 58,253 in 2012 to 50,548 in 2016, the lowest level in a decade.  The four state universities (Central, Eastern, Southern and Western) have seen enrollment decline from 36,629 in 2010 to 33,187 in 2016, the lowest level in this century.

Even in advance of the merger plan, the Board of Regents has been extending lower tuition offers in every direction, reaching out to students in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and even New Jersey, making offers that the Regents hope will be tough to refuse.

Eight of Connecticut’s public colleges and universities extended in-state tuition to residents of neighboring states this academic year, primarily in response to declining enrollment and seeking to boost income.  The initiative expanded a pilot program by previously implemented at Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, just south of the Massachusetts border.  Asnuntuck saw a 34 percent increase in students from the Bay State since the program began in June 2016.

Norwalk, Housatonic and the Danbury campus of Naugatuck Valley community colleges extended in-state tuition to New York residents, and t hree Rivers Community College in Norwich does the same for Rhode Island residents.  Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted offers in-state tuition to Massachusetts residents, and Quinebaug Valley Community College in Killingly offers in-state tuition to Massachusetts and Rhode Island residents.

At Norwalk Community College, for example, the in-state tuition program reduces the cost for full-time tuition from $12,828 to $4,276 for the 2017-18 academic year, a savings of $8,552 for New York residents, the Norwalk Hour reported.

In addition, students from New York and New Jersey considering Western Connecticut State University will be able to pay in-state tuition — less than half the current rate for out-of-staters – beginning in the fall.  After receiving Board of Regents approval, the university announced a two-year pilot program to combat declining enrollment. Under the new pricing, students from the two states will pay $10,017 a year instead of the $22,878 out-of-state rate, the Danbury News-Times reported.  The program extends a smaller across-the-border recruitment effort that offered seven Hudson Valley counties in-state rates last fall, which led to an increase in students residing in those counties from 74 in the fall of 2016 to 243 in 2017.

The Boston Globe reported this month that the nation’s high school population “is becoming increasingly diverse and increasingly unable to afford high tuition prices. Additionally, experts predict a major drop in the number of high school graduates overall after the year 2025 — especially in New England — because people have had fewer babies since the 2008 economic recession. As a result, local colleges will have to work harder to bring students to campus and offer them significantly more financial assistance. And some of them, experts predict, will find this a daunting new calculus, leading to more college mergers and even closures.”

At Trinity College in Hartford, the Globe reported, “Angel Perez, the vice president for enrollment and student success, met with his staff to formulate a plan for how they will recruit amid the expected demographic shifts.  “This is the biggest challenge higher education has right now,” Perez told the Globe. When Perez sends out his recruiters each year, he urges all of them to seek out low-income, first-generation students, even though it can be more time-consuming and expensive, the Globe reported. The paper noted that they “meet students not only during the day at high schools but increasingly at after-school programs that help such students successfully make it to college.”

The Globe also noted that in a report released in December, Moody’s Investors Service “changed its outlook for the higher education industry from stable to negative because of the expected slowing of tuition revenue growth.”

Insurance Department Recovers Almost $7 Million in 2017, Nearly Even with Previous Year; Industry Fines Increase

The Connecticut Insurance Department recovered nearly $7 million for policyholders and taxpayers in 2017, helping individuals, families and employers with their claims and complaints.  That’s slightly less than the $7.5 million recovered in 2016, but higher than the $6 million that was recovered for policy holders in 2015.  About $2 million in fines were issued against carriers, an increase from $1.6 million and $1.7 million during each of the previous two years. “Consumers have every right to expect that the promises made to them by their insurance companies will be kept and the Department is here to help them every step of the way. Protecting consumers is our mission and the Department makes certain that carriers adhere to all insurance laws and regulations are followed,” Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade said. “We assist thousands of consumers every year who have brought their questions and concerns to us.”

The Department’s Consumer Affairs Unit (CAU) fielded 5,800 complaints and inquiries in 2017 and helped policyholders recoup nearly $4.8 million from January 1 to December 31, 2017. Also in 2017, the Department’s Market Conduct Division levied approximately $2 million in fines against carriers and returned that money to the state’s General Fund. The fines resulted from a variety of violations and settlements ranging from untimely claim payments to improper licensing.

The majority of the funds recovered for policyholders stemmed from complaints over health, accident, homeowners and life and annuities policies. The following is the breakdown of funds recovered in 2017:

• Accident, Health - $2.9 million
• Auto - $584,200
• General Liability - $101,000
• Homeowners and Commercial Property - $344,600
• Life, Annuities - $739,000
• Miscellaneous - $89,000

A year ago, in 2016, the Department’s recoveries were somewhat higher than in 2017 - recovering $7.5 million for policyholders and taxpayers.  The Department’s Consumer Affairs Unit (CAU) fielded more than 5,800 complaints and inquiries during the year.

In 2015, there were more consumer inquires and complaints, which resulted, however, in a lower total of money recovered with the department’s assistance.  The department recovered approximately $6 million for policyholders and taxpayers in 2015, when the majority of the funds recovered for policyholders stemmed from complaints over health, accident, homeowners and life and annuities policies. That year, the Department’s Consumer Affairs Unit (CAU) fielded more than 6,100 complaints and inquiries.

Officials explained that the Department calculates its consumer recoveries based on what the policyholder received as a result of the Department’s intervention. The inquiries and complaints also help the Department identify industry trends that may adversely affect consumers and trigger investigation by the Market Conduct division, they added.

The Insurance Department also highlighted three matters that were dealt with during 2017 which resulted in recoveries for policy owners.

• When an individual who had health coverage through his employer complained about being overcharged for a visit to the emergency room, intervention by the Department’s Consumer Affairs Unit resulted in corrective action not only for that individual but for nearly 200 people whose employers used that same health insurance company for their health plans. The Department required the carrier to review similar claims for that plan, resulting in $47,000 in total recoveries for those affected individuals. As a result, the Department’s Market Conduct Division is investigating to determine if this was an isolated incident or is a systemic issue with the carrier.
• The Department intervened when a family was denied a $100,000 death benefit because the life insurance company said the deceased had pre-existing health issues that disqualified the payment. The Department determined the company issued the policy without first looking into the individual’s health history despite having the opportunity to do so and therefore was obligated to make good on the claim. The family received the full death benefit plus interest.
• The Department helped expedite a damage claim for a widow who was trying to get her husband’s gravestone replaced when it was one of several damaged by a car that crashed in a cemetery. The auto insurance company for the driver had the claim for three months but once the Department got involved, the carrier settled it within 10 days and paid nearly $30,000 to repair the cemetery damage.

Complaint data also help determine topics for consumer education and serve as tools to help the Department monitor the industry, officials noted. The Market Conduct enforcement actions are posted on the Department’s website at www.ct.gov/cid.

Number of World Language Students in Connecticut More Than Triples Over Past 25 Years

In 1991, 65,252 students were enrolled in world languages in Connecticut’s K-12 schools.  A dozen years later, in 2003, that number had climbed steadily, reaching 95,154.  By 2015, another 12 years later, the number of students taking language instruction had more than doubled, to 208,627 during the 2015-16 academic year. Data provided to CT by the Numbers by the state Department of Education also showed that nearly one-quarter of those students were taking Spanish.  Also, during those two and a half decades, the number of students taking Chinese language instruction has grown from less than 100 to more than 5,500.

Twenty-five years ago, in 1991, the most popular languages taught were Spanish, with 37,963 students; French, with 17,281; Latin, with 4,764; and Italian, with 2,989.  There was also a smattering of German (1,290 students), Russian (318), and Portuguese (193).  The number of students other languages was relatively tiny – 72 were learning Chinese, 67 were taking Japanese and 36 were in Polish language classes.   

By 2003, the most frequent world language choices for Connecticut students had not changed, but the numbers had jumped.  Spanish grew from just under 38,000 students to just over 62,000.  The number of French students was virtually unchanged, and would drop slightly in the years following, as the number of Latin students grew from just under 5,000 to just over 7,500 and the number of students taken Latin closed in on doubling from just under 3,000.

By 2015-16, there were 54,308 taking Spanish, plus another 2,142 taking Spanish for Native Speakers.  Just under 27,000 students were taking French, and 5,500 taking Chinese. The ratio of French students to Chinese students had dropped from more than 200 to 1 in 1991 to about 5 to 1 by the 2015-16 school year.

Slightly more than 7,000 students were learning Italian in 2015-16, more than double the number in 1991. Arabic, which barely registered in 1991, was being taken by 343 students and Russian was the language of choice for 86 students by 2015-16.

According to “The State of Languages in the U.S.: A Statistical Portrait,” Connecticut was one of seven states, along with New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vermont, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, where more than 30 percent of K-12 students were enrolled in language. As of 2014, only twelve states had more than one in four elementary- and secondary-school students studying languages other than English.

The report was published by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2014, noting in the introduction that “While English continues to be the lingua franca for world trade and diplomacy, there is an emerging consensus among leaders in business and politics, teachers, scientists, and community members that proficiency in English is not sufficient to meet the nation’s needs in a shrinking world.”

“What a lot of Americans remember is language as an academic pursuit,” Marty Abbott, director of education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages told the nonprofit organization Great Schools in 2016.  “They learned a lot about a language, how to conjugate every irregular verb. Today, the emphasis is on developing students’ communications skills — what they can do with a language. That’s a radical departure.”

There were approximately 191,000 students taking a world language in Connecticut in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years; that number jumped to more than 208,000 the following year, in the most recent data available from the state Department of Education.  Data for specific languages may vary, as course descriptions differ from district to district in Connecticut.

Harp Stands Out as Number of Big-City Black Mayors Diminishes Nationally

Last April, New Haven Mayor Toni Harp was sworn in as the first woman selected as president of the African American Mayors Association (AAMA).  In November, she was elected to a third two-year term leading the Elm City, earning more than 70 percent of the vote. In doing so, she ran counter to an apparent national trend – fewer African American Mayors in the nation’s largest cities.  According to an analysis by Governing magazine, in 2000, 19 of the largest cities in the country by population either had, or would soon have, black mayors.  By 2017, that number had fallen to six. Today, the Wall Street Journal recently reported, that number is four.

African Americans, and African American women, continue to be elected to City Hall.  Charlotte and New Orleans both elected their first black women mayors in November.  St. Paul and a number of smaller cities elected their first black mayors ever, the publication reported.

Among Connecticut’s largest cities, the mayors of Bridgeport, Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury, and Danbury are white males.  Hartford, which elected Thirman Milner and Carrie Saxon-Perry decades ago, hasn’t elected an African American since, but has seen two Latino men hold the office.

Carrie Saxon Perry was the first black woman to be elected mayor of a major New England city – in 1987. Milner was the first black mayor in all of New England, elected in Hartford in 1981. There hasn’t been a black mayor leading the Capitol City since Saxon-Perry’s term ended in 1993.

Were the current office-holder, Luke Bronin, to resign the office (a scenario that could result if he decides to run for Governor and if he is elected later this year) the newly elected City Council President, Glendowlyn Thames, could change that, if she succeeds to the office.

New Haven’s first black Mayor was John Daniels, who served from 1990 to 1993.  Like Harp, he previously served in the State Senate.

Across the country, Jacksonville, Memphis, Philadelphia and San Antonia had black mayors until recently, Governing reported.  Detroit elected its first white mayor in 40 years in 2013. The nation’s largest cities – New York, Los Angeles and Chicago – have each has one black mayor, years ago. Atlanta elected a black female as mayor in a run-off election, winning with just over 50 percent of the vote.

Harp is the only member of the AAMA from Connecticut.  The organization was formed in 2014.  Fifty years ago, the election of Carl Stokes in Cleveland in 1967 put him on the cover of TIME magazine as the first black elected mayor of a major U.S. city. Richard Hatcher, also African American, was elected mayor of Gary, Indiana that same year.

Colorado's Hickenlooper Reconnects to Middletown Years, Discusses Key Healthcare Issues

John Hickenlooper, mentioned in national political circles as a potential presidential candidate in 2020, is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, class of 1974, and the incumbent Governor of Colorado. His current career and Middletown roots come full circle this week, as Hickenlooper is the guest on the weekly podcast hosted by the leaders of Middletown-based Community Health Center, Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.

The podcast, Conversations on Health Care, has a national following and is also aired on more than a dozen radio stations across the country, including Atlanta, Chicago, Michigan and Minnesota.  The program focuses on the opportunities for reform and innovation in the health care system.  In addition to health care headlines, the centerpiece of each show is a feature story and conversation with an innovator in the delivery of care from around the globe.  Guests are drawn from healthcare organizations, policy makers, researchers, educators, nonprofit leaders and individuals breaking new ground in scientific research and the delivery of health care services in the U.S. and abroad.

Hickenlooper, who took office in 2011 and is term-limited and in his final year as Governor, discusses how expanded coverage under the Affordable Care Act has improved access to health care in his state, how embedding behavioral health in primary care is improving outcomes, and how they're fighting the opioid crisis in Colorado.  He addresses lessons learned from the state's marijuana legalization, and his bipartisan campaign with Governor John Kasich of Ohio, a past presidential hopeful, to promote sound health policies on the federal level including funding for CHIP, Community Health Centers and expanded coverage.  Kasich is a Republican; Hickenlooper a Democrat.

“States are the laboratories of democracy,” Hickenlooper said on the program. “We’re the ones that have to be doing the experiments and coming up with the innovations and then finding out whether they work or not.”

Masselli, founder and president/CEO of CHC, and Margaret Flinter, Senior Vice President and Clinical Director, each bring four decades of experience in overcoming the barriers that block access to care in their work at community health centers.  Their conversations with “creative thinkers and doers from all parts of the field” are aimed at “all who believe that Health Care is a Right, Not a Privilege,” according to the podcast’s website.

The program is recorded at WESU at Wesleyan University, and is underwritten by Community Health Center, Inc. Conversations on Health Care episodes are also broadcast by ReachMD, which can be heard on iHeartRadio. Past guests with Connecticut connections include former Middletown Mayor Paul Gionfriddo, CEO of Mental Health America; Save the Children CEO Carolyn Miles; and Aetna Foundation President Dr. Garth Graham.  Topics in recent months have include cancer therapy breakthroughs, telemedicine, innovations in caring for an aging population, obesity and efforts to transform healthcare through big data.

Hickenlooper graduated from Wesleyan University with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in geology.  He began his career as a geologist and later opened a series of restaurants and brewpubs across the country, including the Wynkoop Brewing Co. in downtown Denver, which helped spark the revitalization of the city’s now-thriving Lower Downtown (“LoDo”) district.  He served as the mayor of Denver, Colorado, from 2003 to 2011.  He is a past chair of the National Governor’s Association.

CHC serves 145,000 patients statewide, providing medical, dental and behavioral health services, and is a nationally recognized innovator in the delivery and the development of primary care services to special populations.