Gun Buyback Program in Hartford on Saturday As Controversy Swirls

In the midst of a heightened public debate regarding gun control, in the aftermath of mass shootings around the country and an increased homicide rate in Hartford in 2015, the Capital Region Gun Buyback program – now in its 7^th year – will take place on Saturday, December 19 at the Community Renewal Team in Hartford. “Unwanted firearms in the home are dangerous,” officials point out, asking that Connecticut residents “turn in a working gun in a clear plastic bag” in exchange for a gift card.  Guns may be turned in anonymously.  Those doing so will receive a $200 gift card for an assault rifle, $100 gift card for a handgun or revolver, and $25 gift card for a shotgun or rifle.  Although held in Hartford and focused on the capital region, the buyback is open to all state residents.

Participating sponsors include Hartford Hospital, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, Stop & Shop, Lamar Advertising and the Community Renewal Team, at 555 Windsor Street, which is the drop-off location for the weapons.

The program also occurs in the midst of renewed efforts by gun control advocates including Gov. Dannel Malloy. On Monday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Charles Schumer announced plans for New York to join Malloy in banning gun sales to those on federal no-fly lists.  Malloy proposed the ban last Thursday, announcing he would issue an executive order to ban the sales.  A similar law was passed by New Jersey's legislature two years ago, according to published reports.

Officials in Worcester, Mass. report that the local annual Goods for Guns buyback program there saw over 271 firearms and 54 pellet guns to law enforcement throughout central Massachusetts last Saturday (Dec. 12).  Local residents were able to trade in guns for supermarket gift cards at police departments across the region.  Rifles, replica guns and pellet guns were exchanged for $25. Pistols could be traded in for $50, while $75 was given for semiautomatic weapons.  The Associated Press, citing local officials, reported that 103 rifles, 125 handguns and 43 semiautomatic weapons were turned in.  Worcester collected weapons for the towns of Shrewsbury, Northborough and Westborough.

Hartford police also conducted a gun buyback program in June, which brought two dozen weapons, according to published reports.  And reports leading into last December’s buyback program in Hartford indicated that more than 800 unwanted firearms were collected in the first five years of the annual program.  On December 14, 2014, a total of 104 weapons were collected, according to local officials.  That compares with the first year of the program, in which 78 weapons were turned in.

A similar program in Bridgeport since 2012 has netted more than 1,000 guns.  The most recent buyback program was held in August, according to local news reports, led by the Bridgeport Police Department’s Community Services Division, in which 127 weapons were turned in.  In Stamford, a gun buyback program in 2013 brought in 63 firearms and in 2014 the city’s police department saw 76 firearms turned in.

Officials point out that non-working guns, black-powder weapons, flare guns, pellet/BB guns and ammunition /magazine clips may be turned in, however they will not be eligible for a gift card.  More information about Saturday’s program in Hartford is available by calling 860-249-1072.

In Rochester, New York last month, a one-day gun buyback program saw more than 200 working firearms turned in.  A gun buyback program was held in San Francisco this past weekend.  That city has seen 950 guns turned in during gun buyback programs since 2011.  Totals for this year were not yet available.  That same day in Clearwater, Florida a total of 458 guns were collected by local police officers in about four hours.

CT Ranks 15th in Increase in Gun Permit Background Checks in Recent Years

Last Friday – Black Friday – the number of background checks in the U.S. hit an all-time high for a single day, up five percent from the same day a year ago.  The increase shouldn’t have come as a surprise to those watching the trends in recent years. In seven states, the number of federal firearm background checks more than doubled from 2008 to 2014. No states reported a decrease. Connecticut’s increase ranked the state 15^th highest in the nation.

The 50 states and the District of Columbia were ranked by the percentage increase in number of NICS firearm background checks from 2008 to 2014, in an analysis of data from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System done by Bloomberg media.

The largest increases during the six year period were in North Carolina (240%), Indiana (194%), Delaware (137%), New Jersey (127%), Illinois (118%), Alabama (107%), Florida (105%), D.C. (97%), California (89%) and Tennessee (88%).

The number of background checks in Connecticut grew from 155,885 in 2008 to 270,297 in 2014, and increase of 73.4 percent.

The largest number of background checks in 2014 were in Kentucky (2,492,184), California (1,474,616), Texas (1,465,992), Illinois (1,344,096), North Carolina (1,182,349) and Florida (1,034,546).  Connecticut, with 270,297 background checks in 2014, ranked 25th in the nation.

Because of varying state laws and purchase scenarios, Bloomberg points out that the statistics do not represent the number of firearms sold.

On Black Friday, a record 185,345 background checks – roughly two a second – were processed, according to published reports of FBI data.

Hartford, Stamford Among Nation's Most Congested Highways

A new study by the American Highway Users Alliance identifies America’s 50 worst bottlenecks and finds that the very worst bottleneck, as measured by hours of delay, is in Chicago, IL. Los Angeles, CA owns the next six of the top 10.  While Connecticut’s highways did not reach the top 50, two bottlenecks did receive honorable – or dishonorable – mention. The I-84 section in Hartford between Trumbull Street and Park Street, and the I-95 section in Stamford between Fairfield Avenue and Elm Street, both made the list of 43 “Other Zones of Congestion” in the U.S. -thereby earning status as among the nation's 100 most congested traffic tie-ups.  According to the data, the average length of the back-up in Hartford is 1.4 miles; in Stamford 1.3 miles.  The average total annual delay at the Hartford bottleneck is 705,000 hours; in Stamford 494,000 hours of lost productivity.

Speaking at the American Highway Users Alliance press conference where the report was released, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “This report furthers the unassailable truth that America is stuck in traffic. The good news is that this problem is solvable, and Congress can be part of the solution. As a long-term surface transportation bill moves through conference, I urge our elected leaders to provide the funding growth and policies that are necessary to improve commutes, to raise the bar for safety, and to keep the country moving in the 21st century.”

Hartford and Stamford were among 43 “zones of congestion” around the country that were noted in the report in addition to the top 50.  The report indicated that “although congested, the worst segments of highway do not have the same severe delays/mile as the nationally ranked bottlenecks.”  They are, the report points out, in many cases “the most congested in their states.”

I-84 in Hartford may be receiving a re-make over the next decade.  The Department of Transportation is in the midst of determining the preferred option among three possibilities - to replace the I-84 raised viaduct or replace it with a ground-level highway or dig a tunnel.  The various options have been presented in a series of public meetings in recent months, and a decision is anticipated early next year.

The work, which has yet to be funded, is likely to include moving or eliminating some exits and entrances – and possibly adding others in new locations - to improve traffic flow.  Cost estimates range from $4 billion to $12 billion, depending on the option selected. Upcoming public meetings are to be held in East Hartford on Dec. 2 and Hartford on Dec. 10.

In the top-ranked Chicago traffic bottleneck highlighted in the report, the Kennedy Expressway (I-90) between the Circle Interchange (I-290) and Edens junction (I-94), was found to extend 12 miles, costing motorists 16.9 million hours’ worth of time, equivalent to $418 million in 2014. More than 6.3 million gallons of fuel is wasted on I-90 while cars idle or crawl in traffic.

Besides identifying and ranking the nation’s 50 worst traffic bottlenecks, the study, Unclogging America’s Arteries 2015, examines the top 30 chokepoints closely and details many of the major benefits that will accrue to society by fixing them. In addition to improving mobility and quality of life for motorists, the report indicated that fixing the top 30 bottlenecks alone would, over 20 years:

• Save $39 billion due to lost time,
• Save 830 million gallons of fuel,
• Reduce over 17 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions (CO2), and
• Prevent 211,000 vehicle crashes

“These findings are critically important and mean that our nation will derive huge benefits from fixing the worst gridlock in our nation’s highway system: benefits that go way beyond improving mobility for highway users,” states Greg Cohen, President and CEO of the American Highway Users Alliance.

Amongst the top 10 was New York City with the 8th and 9th worst bottleneck at the notorious Lincoln Tunnel and on I-95 from Manhattan across the Bronx. Metropolitan New York also had the 18th, 19th, 21st, 31st, 33rd, 37th, and 42nd – ranked chokepoints.

As for the bottlenecks themselves, the study’s top 50 list includes trouble spots in the following Metropolitan Areas: 12 in Los Angeles, 9 in and around New York City, 3 in Chicago, 3 near Washington DC, 3 in Houston, 3 in Boston, 3 in Dallas, 3 in Miami, 2 in Atlanta, 2 in Philadelphia, and 2 in San Francisco/Oakland.

The report notes that bottlenecks can be fixed and points to specific chokepoints that have been addressed and, as a result, were not included in the rankings. Projects cited include the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement on I-495 in the Washington, DC area, the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee, and the Katy Freeway reconstruction in Houston.

Will CT School Buses Be Required to Add Seat Belts? New Federal Policy May Spur Change

When word came down from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last week that the longstanding preference for school buses without three-point lap/shoulder seat belts was being reversed, one Connecticut town could say: been there, done that. Wilton, which has about 4,200 school children on busses each day, has had the three-point safety belt system installed on its school busses since August 2012.  They apparently were the first in the state to do so.

Earlier this year, Massachusetts legislators considering a requirement for seat belts on school buses were told that passenger restraint systems would add between $11,000 and $13,000 to the cost of buses, which currently range from $90,000 to $105,000.

Frank Underhill, executive director of the School Transportation Association of Massachusetts, which includes more than 100 school bus contractors and municipalities who run their own school buses, told members of the legislature’s Public Safety Committee that six states require seat belts on school buses, but said that none of those states has fully implemented the requirement, due to a lack of funding.

Those states - California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas -- have some sort of legislation in place requiring seat belts on school buses, according to Governing magazine. The states’ laws vary in levels of enforcement; some simply require two-point seat belts to be present on school buses, while others require that all passengers use the more secure, three-point belts.  Connecticut does not have a statewide requirement.

Wilton Transportation Coordinator Mary Channing isn’t aware of other Connecticut communities that have followed her community’s lead.  The town included the three-point belt as an option in their most recent RFP, in 2012, for student transportation, and the winning bid included the lap/shoulder belts.  It is not a board policy.

Statewide, nearly 500,000 children are transported on buses to and from school each day.  National policy, based on numerous studies, has been that buses are designed to be inherently safer than cars because of the high backs/fronts creating a “compartmentalization” and providing better crash protection.  It has been noted, however, that when students lean outside the seating “compartment” – which can occur as students, backpacks, winter gear, overcrowd seats – their level of safety diminishes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is endorsing three-point seat belts on school buses for the first time.  NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind acknowledged that the agency "has not always spoken with a clear voice on the issue of seat belts on school buses. The position of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is that seat belts save lives," Rosekind said. "That is true whether in a passenger car or in a big yellow bus. And saving lives is what we are about. So NHTSA's policy is that every child on every school bus should have a three-point seat belt."

The issue of seat belts on schools buses garnered considerable attention in Connecticut in 2010 when 16-year-old Vikas Parikh was killed in a school bus accident. The Rocky Hill High School student sustained a traumatic head injury while riding a school bus that tumbled down an embankment off of I-84 after hitting another car.  As a result, state lawmakers reopened the debate on whether to require Connecticut's roughly 10,000 school buses to install three-point seatbelt systems.  They did not.

Instead, Public Act 10-83, created a Connecticut School Bus Seat Belt account to help school districts respond to the cost of equipping school buses with lap/shoulder (3-point) seat belts, should they choose to do so.  In June 2010, the office of then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced that “under the law, the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin offering a program in July 2011 that offsets a portion of the sales tax bus companies pay for school buses equipped with three-point seatbelts. The program will be funded through a $50 increase in the fees paid for restoring suspended or revoked driver’s licenses, commercial driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations. The program will run through at least 2018. During the 2018 legislative session, lawmakers will hold a hearing on the program and decide whether it should be continued.”

Said Rell: “This law provides a modicum of state assistance to districts wanting to add seat belts to their fleet but does not impose a costly new mandate on all districts –- striking a good balance between incentive and choice.”

It is unclear if funds have accumulated in that account, or if any towns or companies have sought the assistance.  Some published reports suggest that the funds have been diverted to other uses in recent years.  The law requires that “school district participating in the program shall provide written notice concerning the availability and proper use of such seat belts to a parent or legal guardian of each student who will be transported on such school bus,” and that participating  school districts “instruct such students on the proper use, fastening and unfastening of such seat belts.”

A 2010 editorial in The Hartford Courant noted that “A study of emergency room visits by Columbus (Ohio) Children's Hospital found 17,000 school bus injuries in the U.S. every year — two to three times National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates, which use only a sampling of data and exclude field trips like the one on which Vikas Parikh died.  Seat belts work best in rollover and side-impact collisions in which students are thrown out of their seats, as Vikas was. The American Academy of Pediatrics supports restraints on buses.”

The website of the Connecticut School Transportation Association (COSTA) points out that a three-point system, “similar to the ones in automobiles, works with compartmentalization and, according to NHTSA, could provide some additional benefit to occupants of school buses, if it is consistently and properly used. But the federal government does not believe that a mandate for lap/shoulder belts is justified, because the safety benefits are very small and the cost is high. Furthermore, there are several potential negative factors, such as children wearing the shoulder portion improperly, that could mitigate the benefits of the restraints and result in a net loss of safety.”

The organization goes on to “emphasize that school buses without restraints are still safer than any other current mode of transportation—whether it’s walking to school, riding bikes, or traveling in parents’ cars,” adding “the biggest mistake that districts could make is to reduce the number of students who qualify for transportation in order to afford new buses with restraint systems. Any possible benefit of the restraints would be completely overshadowed by the increased risk to students who were denied school bus transportation.”

Last week, however, the Parikh family was among those lauding the federal change and looking for follow-through from Connecticut policy makers.  Vikas’ mother told NBC Connecticut, “If it can save at least one life, it is worth it.”

https://youtu.be/LGqmgUy2BrM

Safety in Sharing the Road Urged for Drivers, Cyclists, Pedestrians

Bike Walk Connecticut, the statewide organization that works for active transportation and making Connecticut a better place to bike and walk, has released a new brochure to remind drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians on the rules for sharing the road, as the organization prepares for its annual fundraising dinner and awards ceremony. Entitled Give Respect, Get Respect:  Share the Road, Connecticut, the brochure is available for download at www.bikewalkct.org. Connecticut's roads are traveled by walkers, runners, and cyclists who are welcome and expected to use the roads for transportation, fitness, and recreation, the organization emphasizes.

Marking the launch of the new Share the Road campaign, this year's featured speaker is Colleen Kelly Alexander.  Bike Walk Connecticut officials describe her remarkable story:  After undergoing brain surgery in 2007 for a chiari malformation, Colleen overcame a lupus and cryoglobulinemia diagnosis in 2009, pushing forward to become a successful, competitive triathlete. In 2011, while on a routine bike ride, she was run over by a freight truck. Crushed, ripped apart and bleeding out, she flatlined twice, spent five weeks in a coma and has since endured over twenty surgeries. Defying diagnoses, dire predictions and death, Colleen stunned doctors by bucking the odds and coming back to run more than 50 races and complete 15 triathlons, including 4 half Ironman events since her trauma. Colleen and husband Sean Alexander were elected to the Bike Walk Connecticut board of directors in 2015.  

The annual event will be held November 20 at Central Connecticut State University.  Proceeds fund Bike Walk Connecticut's work to make Connecticut "a great place to bike and walk."  Regarding the Share the Road initiative, Bike Walk Connecticut officials point out that "with common courtesy, common sense, and respect for the rules to share the road, Connecticut's roads can be safer for everyone."  The brochure urges state residents to “please do your part whether you're driving, cycling, walking, or running.”  The brochure includes the following guidelines:

For Drivers:

• Please slow down.  Obey speed limits.  A pedestrian hit by a car going 40 mph has an 85% chance of being killed.  At 20 mph the risk is 5%.  Drive at a speed that's safe for all.
• Expect cyclists, walkers, runners and others on the road.
• Yield to pedestrians at or in any crosswalk.  It's been the law since 1978, but it's not widely observed in Connecticut.  Every intersection is a crosswalk, even if it's not marked.  "Yield" means slow down or stop.
• Come to a complete stop at stop signs and red lights.  Be vigilant at intersections.
• Signal your turns and look both ways before changing lanes, turning, and at driveways.
• Expect the unexpected around curves and over hills, where visibility is limited.
• Let cyclists ride as far to the right as is safe.  Cyclists should ride as far to the right as they judge to be safe.  Give them space to avoid hazards like potholes, debris and drain grates.
• Expect cyclists in the travel lane.  Cyclists may ride in or near the middle of the travel lane when it's not safe to ride on the far right side of the road.  Cyclists should ride in the travel lane to avoid hazards and when the road is too narrow for cars and bikes to proceed safely side by side.
• Pass with care.  Give cyclists at least 3 feet.  It's the law since 2008.  Keep at least 3 feet of space between your vehicle and a cyclist.  You may cross the center line to pass a cyclist if it's safe.
• Mind the door zone.  Check for approaching cyclists before opening your car door so you don't hit them.
• Avoid distracted driving, aggressive driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• 2014 Vulnerable User Law Mandates $1000 Fine.  Connecticut requires a fine of up to $1000 on drivers who cause the death or serious injury of a pedestrian, cyclist or other vulnerable road user who used reasonable care.

For Cyclists:

Bike Walk Connecticut urges all cyclists to be good ambassadors for cycling and always follow these rules to share the road in Connecticut. Cyclists who follow the rules of the road are visible, predictable, safer, and earn respect from other road users.

• Follow the rules of the road.  Obey stop signs and traffic signals.  Ride on the right in the direction of traffic.  Riding on sidewalks is prohibited in many Connecticut towns.
• Ride as far to the right as is safe.  If there's no bike lane, ride in the travel lane when necessary for your safety.  The extreme right edge of the road isn't always the safest place to ride.  Riding in the travel lane makes it easier for drivers to see you and reduces the chance that a driver may pass too close.
• Be visible.  Always ride with lights at night.  Wear bright clothes during the day and reflective materials at night.  For night riding, Connecticut requires a headlight visible from at least 500 feet and a red tail light visible from 600 feet.
• Be predictable.  Ride in a straight, predictable manner.  Don't weave, swerve, or stop suddenly.
• Signal all turns.  Use proper hand signals in advance to tell others where you are going.
• Ride single file in traffic.  You may ride two abreast if traffic can pass you safely.  Common courtesy usually requires riding single file in traffic, except when passing others.
• Stay out of the "door zone."  Ride 3-4 feet away from parked cars so you don't get hit by an opening car door.
• Alert others that you're approaching or passing.  Allow plenty of space when passing others.  Cyclists must yield to pedestrians in or at crosswalks.
• Don't ride distracted.  Distracted riding is dangerous riding.  Wait to use your cellphone until you're off the road.  Riding with headphones is unsafe if you're distracted and can't hear other road users.
• Wear a helmet correctly on every ride.

For Pedestrians:

• Be aware.  Watch for cars that are turning, at driveways, or backing up.  Never assume a driver sees you or will stop or slow down at an intersection.
• Use sidewalks.  No sidewalk?  Walk facing traffic.
• Use crosswalks and obey crosswalk signals.  No Crosswalk?  Yield to Traffic.
• Be Alert.  Don't be distracted by devices that take your eyes and ears off the road, especially at intersections.  Distracted walking is dangerous walking.
• Be Visible.
• Wear Bright, Reflective Clothing. 
• Runners are Pedestrians Too.  Like walkers, runners should run against traffic, cross at crosswalks whenever available, and obey crosswalk signals.

Front Seat Passengers Could Be Killed; Repairs for CT Cars May Take Until 2019

Connecticut drivers – likely numbering in the thousands - have been advised not to allow anyone to ride in the front passenger seat of their car, due to the risk of an airbag explosion that could be deadly. A nationwide recall of cars with airbags supplied to automakers by Takata Corp. is being handled differently in different parts of the United States, and it appears that Connecticut and the Northeast have the longest waits – already more than six months in some cases.

And the wait may not nearly be over.  Deadlines for repairs to the 19 million vehicles under recall nationwide will run through 2019, according to federal officials.  The NHTSA website indicates that “completion deadlines for fixing the 19 million vehicles under recall will begin in 2017 and end in 2019.”

An April letter sent by Toyota to owners of its affected vehicles in Connecticut read in part “we will send you another notification once sufficient parts have been produced and the remedy can be performed. Until the remedy becomes available in your location, we recommend that you do not operate the vehicle with an occupant in the front passenger seat.”

The potentially fatal malfunction, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), is that the inflator can causes its air bag to explode. The letter indicated that “in the event of an inflator rupture, metal fragments could pass through the air bag cushion material, striking the vehicle occupants potentially resulting in serious injury or death.”

Last week, U.S. auto safety regulators fined Takata Corp. of Japan $70 million for lapses in the way it handled recalls of millions of explosion-prone air bags that are responsible for eight deaths and more than 100 injuries worldwide.  It is the largest civil fine in NHTSA history and marked the first time the agency used its authority to accelerate recall repairs. Regulators also ordered Takata to stop making the air bag inflators unless the company can prove they are safe, NBC News reported.

So far, about 23.4 million driver and passenger inflators have been recalled on 19.2 million U.S. vehicles sold by 12 automakers, the network reported. Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal responded that the $70 million fine seems like a slap on the wrist and should be larger.  The penalty “provide(s) no meaningful deterrence for continuing reprehensible and irresponsible behavior that costs countless preventable injuries and lives,” Blumenthal said.

The company, and impacted automakers, are making parts necessary to accomplish repairs available in regions of the country with humid climates first, because humidity has been said to increase the risk of air bag rupture.  Connecticut residents, living in a region not known for its humidity, are not a priority for the repair, and continue to wait for word when repairs for their recalled vehicles can be made.

NBC Connecticut reports that one local Toyota dealer indicates that “If it’s not available we go in and check every week to 10 days with that VIN (vehicle identification number) to see if parts are available,” he said. “We’re kind of at the mercy of not only the supplier but also the manufacturer.”

In the meantime, car companies are left to “apologize for any inconvenience” and affected car owners need to remember that front seat passengers could be in serious danger. The situation may not change for some time, especially for parts of the country including New England. 

Blumenthal has also urged Takata to commit to compensation for victims, but the company has thus far refused to do so.  There have also been calls for compensation for the millions of car owners unable to have someone ride in the front passenger seat.

The website safercar.gov has additional information about vehicles subject to the recall, and those that can now be repaired. Individuals can enter their vehicle’s VIN number to learn if they are eligible for a repair under the recall.

Safety of Fields with Crumbs From Rubber Tires Face Renewed Questions; CT Study Proclaims They’re OK

Despite a series of NBC News reports over the past year – the latest last week - on the growing debate about the safety of crumb rubber artificial turf, the federal agencies that regulate the product have remained largely silent of late, the network reported.  The Administrator leading the Environmental Protection Agency, former Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy, would not answer a direct on-camera question about whether the surface found on playgrounds and athletic fields across the country is safe for kids to play on, NBC News said in a story aired on the network’s flagship news program. Now members of Congress are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to weigh in on whether crumb rubber used in artificial turf fields in thousands of schools, parks and stadiums is safe for young athletes.  A bipartisan panel gave the agency until Nov. 6 to answer 10 questions about what tests have been done to determine whether turf made from recycled tires poses a health risk and what investigators have found, NBC News reported.

NBC News said that after a story about University of Washington women's soccer coach Amy Griffin aired on the network’s Nightly News last fall, many people contacted her, and the list she has developed of soccer players – especially goalies – afflicted with cancer has grown from 34 goalkeepers to at least 63. Griffin began keeping the list after she discovered that several goalies she knew had been diagnosed with the same cancer, the network reported. She and some of those athletes questioned whether crumb rubber could be exposing them to chemicals and carcinogens.

NBC News reviewed dozens of studies, the network’s story pointed out. “Several studies that concluded crumb rubber does not present acute health risks also included the caveat that more research is needed,” according to NBC News.  “No study has examined the effects of regular exposure to shredded or crumb rubber on young children, over an extended period of time — something some experts believe should be done.”  Industry officials have stressed that the products are safe, and cite numerous studies supporting that view.

In Connecticut, like elsewhere around the nation, artificial turf fields have become a popular alternative to natural grass fields in many communities, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).  The department’s website points out that “the advantages of these fields include less maintenance costs, ability to withstand intense use and no need for pesticides.”

The state site notes, however, that “concerns have been raised about potential chemical exposures coming from the crumb rubber infill and the plastic grass blades commonly used in these fields.  The crumb rubber usually comes from recycled tires that contain man made compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).”

To address public safety concerns, four Connecticut state agencies collaborated in 2010 to evaluate the potential exposures and risks from athletic use of artificial turf fields, the DPH website explains. A two year, comprehensive investigation of releases from five fields during active play was conducted by the Connecticut departments of Public Health, Energy and Environmental Protection, University of Connecticut Health Center, and The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. The study was peer-reviewed by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

The overall conclusion of the report, according to the DPH website, is that “use of outdoor artificial turf fields does not represent a significant health risk.” The CT study did not find a large amount of vapor or particle released from the fields - findings that confirm prior reports from Europe and the US, according to the state public health agency.  “CT DPH put these exposures into a public health context by performing a risk assessment analysis. This analysis did not find elevated cancer risk,” the site emphasized.

An agency news release noted, however, that “higher contaminant levels at one indoor field indicate that ventilation of indoor fields should be considered.  Storm water run-off findings indicate that proper management of this run off is prudent to address possible environmental effects.”

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting indicated in an article earlier this year that David Brown, director of public health toxicology for the North Haven, Connecticut-based nonprofit Environment and Human Health, Inc., warned that as more is invested in artificial fields, it will be harder for state and local officials to change their position even if new information shows harm.

“A natural experiment is being conducted in which thousands of children are being exposed on playing fields to rubber,’’ said Brown, a former chief of Environmental Epidemiology and Occupational Health at Connecticut's Department of Public Health. “Given the high stakes, it is prudent to take action to protect children from this known hazard rather than wait for definitive evidence of harm.”

Brown’s organization reports that “there are now 153 cancer cases reported, and of those, 124 are soccer players with 85 being soccer goalies. Many of them are student athletes.” Gaboury Benoit, Ph.D., Yale Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering and lead investigator of a study conducted by Yale in 2007, said, "Not surprisingly, the shredded tires contain a veritable witches' brew of toxic substances. It seems irresponsible to market a hazardous waste as a consumer product."

Of the state’s study released in 2010, then-DPH Commission Dr. J. Robert Galvin said: “This study presents good news regarding the safety of outdoor artificial turf fields.  While the findings indoors were below the health risk targets, the elevated contaminant levels suggest a need to ventilate these fields so they can be brought to the level of safety outdoors.  What we’ve learned from this study in Connecticut will provide valuable guidance to municipalities, schools and others who operate or are considering installing artificial playing fields.”

In this month’s NBC News report, Paul Anastas, former head chemist for the EPA, is said to disagree that studies have proven crumb rubber to be safe.  "Tires were not designed to be playgrounds," Anastas, who is now Director of the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale, told NBC News. "They were designed to be tires."

Listen, Look and Respond to Texts While Behind the Wheel – Legal in Connecticut?

In Connecticut, Public Act 10-109, enacted into law in 2010, states that “no person shall operate a motor vehicle … while using a hand-held mobile telephone to engage in a call or while using a mobile electronic device while such vehicle is in motion. An operator of a motor vehicle who types, sends or reads a text message with a hand-held mobile telephone or mobile electronic device while such vehicle is in motion shall be in violation of this section.” Now, technology and the nation’s automakers are doing their best to skirt the language of the law, with in-car electronics that allow drivers to listen to, read and send text messages while at the wheel. 

The technology, now being widely advertised as 2016 new car models reach showrooms, “may unintentionally cause greater levels of cognitive distraction,” according to AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

One advertisement seen recently on local television and appearing on-line, from Chevrolet, is for the company’s Text Message Alert system. The description of the new feature explains “When you’re in your vehicle, this convenient feature alerts you when a new text has been received and allows you to listen to messages, view messages (when your vehicle’s not in motion) and reply with a preset message with a compatible smartphone.”

Whether or not the new technology meets the letter and spirit of the Connecticut law, now five years old, has yet to be tested.  And if it does, is that in the best interest of Connecticticut drivers, or should the law be revised to address changing technologies?  Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, points out that “Technologies used in the car that rely on voice communications may have unintended consequences that adversely affect road safety.”

“We already know that drivers can miss stop signs, pedestrians and other cars while using voice technologies because their mind is not fully focused on the road ahead,” adds Bob Darbelnet, President and CEO of AAA.

The Chevrolet ad exclaims that “Life doesn’t stop when you’re driving. With MyLink you can stay in touch and up-to-date safely with hands-free calling and access to your personal address book through Bluetooth® wireless technology.”  But data indicates that hands-free is not necessarily safe, according to AAA.

AAA has pointed to recent research which indicates that “the accuracy of voice recognition software significantly influences the rate of distraction.”  For example, a team led by Dr. David Strayer and researchers at the University of Utah found that using a speech-to-text system to listen to and compose emails or texts was a greater distraction than talking on a hand-held or hands-free cell phone or listening to the radio.

With three out of four drivers believing that hands-free technology is safe to use, AAA officials caution, Americans may be surprised to learn that these popular new vehicle features may actually increase distraction, according to the new research.  AAA is urging manufacturers to “continue their efforts to develop and refine systems that reduce distractions: while encouraging drivers to “minimize cognitive distraction by limiting the use of most voice-based technologies.”

To assess “real-world” impact, Dr. Joel Cooper with Precision Driving Research evaluated the two most common voice-based interactions in which drivers engage – changing radio stations and voice dialing – with the actual voice-activated systems found in six different automakers’ vehicles. On the five point scale, Toyota’s Entune system garnered the lowest distraction ranking (at 1.7), which is similar to listening to an audio book. In comparison, the Chevrolet MyLink resulted in a very high level of distraction (rating of 3.7). Other systems tested included the Hyundai Blue Link (rating 2.2), the Chrysler Uconnect (rating 2.7), the Ford SYNC (rating 3.0) and the Mercedes COMMAND (rating 3.1).

Chevrolet also offers a feature called Siri Hands Free.  The company’s website explains that “The system allows limited hands-free interaction for when you need to compose important messages on the go.”

“It is clear that not all voice systems are created equal, and today’s imperfect systems can lead to the perfect storm for driver distraction,” continued Darbelnet. “AAA urges vehicle and device manufacturers to use this research to improve their voice systems and promote road safety.”

As someone once described it during the consideration banning texting while driving in Connecticut earlier in this decade, “cell phones don’t cause accidents, distractions do.”

https://youtu.be/kY6ohMfY2gQ

Building Police-Community Connections As Diversity Lags in Hartford

When Governing magazine examined the diversity within local police departments, compared with the communities they serve, Hartford was among the ten cities with the largest disparity.  But two recent programs that have also received national attention underscore the city’s efforts to strengthen relationships between police and the community. The data indicated that Hartford’s police department was 35.3 percent minority, in a city where the population is 84.1 percent minority.  That was the 7^th largest gap in the nation, after Fontana, CA; Edison, NJ; Irving, TX; Grand Prairie TX; Daly City, CA; and Allentown, PA.  Using 2013 data, Governing reviewed 269 local police agencies across the country.

The article points out that “although no national standards regarding diversity levels exist, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies does require accredited agencies to adopt steps to ensure their workforce mirrors their communities.”  It also indicates that “law enforcement experts emphasize that mending fractured relationships with communities takes much more than merely a diverse force.”

Two locally developed programs, one at the Hartford Public Library (HPL) and the other at the Charter Oak Cultural Center, are working at building police-community relationships.

HPL is one of 10 public libraries in the U.S. that have been participating in the American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) initiative since April 2014. The initiative, in collaboration with the nonprofit Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, is an 18-month community engagement training program where libraries learn how to address challenges facing their community.

Hartford’s work was recently featured on the national website of the American Library Association.

Through eight community conversations in Hartford’s North End neighborhood, HPL found that residents’ main concerns were public safety, community violence, and their relationship with the police. In response, a three-session community dialogue on public safety with police and community members was held, led by HPL community engagement director Richard Frieder.  Participants ranged in age from 18 to 87.

During the three sessions, according to published reports, the groups got to know each other; talked about what makes a good neighborhood and what they liked about theirs, what they would like to change, how safe community members feel, and what they believed the residents’ and police officers’ roles were in making the community safe; and figured out how to take action and solve the problems.

Some of the ideas generated include having the police and the community members participate in more activities and learning experiences together, such as block parties and community theater, where they address these issues.  Even though the 18-month project officially ends this month, HPL’s staff hopes to sustain the values and goals they developed.

At the same time, another initiative in the city was taking root – one which soon reached the pages of The New York Times and the attention of the White House.

The Charter Oak Cultural Center’s Good Vibrations program began with a conversation between Hartford’s police chief, James Rovella, and the Center’s director, Rabbi Donna Berman.  The innovative program, which began earlier this year, sought to pair middle school age students who were at a crossroads in their lives with Hartford police officers to inspire and inform the youths involved as well as helping to change the community's negative perception of police officers.  Nearly two dozen students – and police officers – collaborate on musical instruments, and in composing rap lyrics.  The relationships built, and music made, has been described as transformative. Good Vibrations includes two free courses; a Rap Poetry/CD production class, and a guitar class. All the materials are free, including the guitars, which students get to keep.

Last month, a Hartford police officer and a seventh-grader who participate in the program were honored at the White House as "Champions of Change" for their role in helping to build "bridges between youth and law enforcement, while improving public safety," according to the White House. "During the three-and-a-half month program, officers and youth helped to lift the negative stigma between police and youth through open discussions about racism, crime, government, and family."

One participating middle-schooler told the Times: “I thought police officers were just to catch bad guys and be in a bad tone. But these guys are awesome. They’re always in a good tone with us. They play with us. They tag along in our jokes. They do stuff with us. They help us. They give us advice and everything.”

Middle Schools Use Lunchtime to Break Social Isolation, Prevent Bullying

No One Eats Alone is a lunchtime school event that seeks to reverse the trends of social isolation by asking students – for one lunchtime period - to engage in a simple act of kindness at lunch.  Students make sure that no one is eating alone and they make an effort to eat with new classmates and peers. Developed by a national organization – Beyond Differences - No One Eats Alone Day 2015, held in February, saw more than 400,000 middle school students participate -- in over 700 schools in 38 states, including Connecticut.

In 2015, just over a dozen participating schools in Connecticut included North St School (Windsor Locks), Broadview Middle School (Danbury), Eastern Middle School (Greenwich), O.H. Platt High School (Meriden), Fairfield Woods Middle School (Fairfield), Washington Middle (Meriden), Northeast (Stamford), Schaghticoke Middle School (Warren), King Street Intermediate School (Danbury), Dag Hammarskjold Middle School (Wallingford), Orville H. Platt High School (Meriden ), Avon Middle (Avon), and Moran Middle School (Wallingford).

Among the partner organizations from across the country is Sandy Hook Promise, based in Newtown.

As the 2015-16 school year got underway, one Connecticut middle school decided not to wait for the annual observance, scheduled for February 13, 2016.

Derby students were greeted on the first day of school by staff all sporting red t-shirts with the logo and words "No One Eat Alone.”  The shirts signify the kickoff of a new program that several education organizations hope to launch across every district in the state, the CT Post reported.  Derby Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway told the CT Post that he would like to see “no one eats alone” practiced every day.

Involved in the project in Connecticut are the Connecticut Education Association, Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents, Connecticut Association of Schools/Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, Beyond Differences and Derby Public Schools.

California-based Beyond Differences (beyonddifferences.org) is a non-profit organization dedicated to ending social isolation in middle schools across the country and creating a culture in which all kids feel included, valued and accepted by their peers. The organization is based on the tenet that students are in charge of their own campus culture of inclusion.

Social isolation is a problem in every school, officials say, emphasizing that the problem of social isolation to be universal. They also “acknowledge the relationship between social isolation and bullying and violence. By reducing social isolation, we believe we can help end much bullying and violence.”

Beyond Differences we are dedicated to helping teens and schools make social inclusion the new reality. The organization was founded by the parents of Lili Smith who was born with a cranial facial syndrome and was socially isolated during her middle school years, the organization’s website explains.  After Lili died at the age of 15 due to medical complications from her syndrome, a group of teens from the local community banded together to bring change to their local schools. They had not realized that they had been leaving Lili out from all the fun social get-togethers. Upon hearing about Lili's feelings of being left out, they were determined to never let anyone feel that way again.  The initiative was born.

Officials stress that “school communities with a culture of inclusion will have far fewer instances of bullying and cruelty. We believe that much of the bullying and violence in our schools can be addressed by treating the underlying causes, rather than just the symptoms.”

https://youtu.be/VPH4OSMBr_c