This Saturday, Sept. 27, a collection of documents for shredding will be held at 5 Dump Road, Essex from 9 a.m.to 12noon
This collection is open at no charge to residents from the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme along with those of Chester, Clinton, Deep River, Essex, Haddam, Killingworth, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook.
Bring up to five boxes or bags (kitchen trash can size) of old personal papers, e.g., medical records, legal or financial documents, or tax returns.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
James Kuslan, a dynamic lecturer on operatic topics and well known for his insightful, amusing writing and lectures on the vocal arts, will discuss The Marriage of Figaro, answer your questions and share exciting, rare sound clips this coming Saturday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the Acton Library, 60 Old Boston Post Rd. This is a free activity, followed by refreshments.
Kuslan, a graduate of Yale University’s School of Drama, is a voice scout in the U.S. for the German classical recording giant, Deutsche Grammophon and has written the marketing copy for the company’s annual release books since 2009. Among his credits as a writer of liner notes is London Record’s 20 CD collection Opera Made Easy, which highlights the artistry of Luciano Pavarotti.
Kuslan also contributed the essays that accompany the DVD releases of the Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Pasquale, both starring Anna Netrebko.
This event is sponsored by the Salt Marsh Opera Guild in anticipation of Salt Marsh Opera’s performance of The Marriage of Figaro on Oct. 1, at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum Auditorium and Oct. 3 and 5 at ‘The Kate’ in Old Saybrook.
Connecticut River Watershed Council’s Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have removed more than 851 tons of trash over the 18 years of the river clean-up event. Now CRWC is also working on solutions to keep trash out of our rivers in the first place, particularly tires and plastic bottles.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council (CRWC) will use their 18th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup on Friday anS saturday, Sept. 26 and 27, as a way to push for solutions to river waste. The Cleanup supports policies and legislation that help keep waste from ending up in local rivers and streams. The Council also supports a new vision of zero waste for the Connecticut River and its tributaries.
Zero waste is a goal of a future free from waste. It is a concept being adopted by cities around the world, including Middletown, Conn., right on the Connecticut River. Zero waste aims for all discarded materials to become resources for another use. A zero waste community encourages individuals, businesses, and government agencies to take concrete steps towards rethinking how they treat their trash. “We all have a responsibility to solve this problem—individuals, manufacturers, businesses, and government,” says Andrew Fisk, CRWC Executive Director.
Initiatives such as increasing access and ease of curb side recycling, expanding existing recycling efforts to process all varieties of materials, and extending the responsibility of recycling to manufacturers are essential to the success of zero waste programs. Given what’s found in our rivers every year, CRWC would like to see existing bottle bills be expanded to include all single-use beverage containers, banning or establishing pay-per-use of plastic bags, and legislation allowing for free tire disposal.
“Each year we find thousands of single-use bottles and hundreds of tires in and near our rivers,” notes CRWC River Steward Jacqueline Talbot. “Eventually, this trash becomes part of the large ocean garbage patches that harm wildlife. We will use the data collected on these items during the Source to Sea Cleanup to help inform policies and practices that will get bottle and tire waste out of our rivers,” continues Talbot. “Healthy rivers are so important because they contribute so much, both to our economies and the beauty and enjoyment of our communities.”
Lead Source to Sea Cleanup sponsors NRG Middletown and TransCanada are pleased to support CRWC’s efforts. “TransCanada believes in partnering with organizations that help build stronger communities,” says Jasmin Bertovic, Vice President of the Eastern Commercial Region of TransCanada.
Jeff Araujo, manager of NRG’s Middletown Station, said “We’re pleased to sponsor this event annually, but also to go out and actually clean up the River. This is the community where we live and work, and it’s important to us.”
“We will address river pollution with innovation and teamwork,” says Talbot, “and you can be a part of it.” Volunteers of all ages and abilities are invited to head out to clean the Connecticut River and its tributaries on foot or by boat on Sept. 26 and 27. Volunteers remove trash along rivers, streams and stream banks, parks, boat launches, trails and more. Individuals can join a clean-up group by visiting www.ctriver.org/cleanup and clicking ‘Join a Group’.
Businesses are also encouraged to get involved by starting an employee clean-up group, making a donation of supplies such as gloves and trash bags, or becoming an event sponsor.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council works to protect the watershed from source to sea. As stewards of this heritage, we celebrate our four-state treasure and collaborate, educate, organize, restore and intervene to preserve its health for generations to come. Our work informs our vision of economic and ecological abundance.
To learn more about CRWC, or to make a contribution to help protect the Connecticut River, visit www.ctriver.org or call 413-772-2020, ext. 201.
From left to right, Democratic candidate Emily Bjornberg, Republican incumbent candidate Senator Art Linares and Green Party candidate Colin Bennett at Tuesday evening’s debate. (Photos by Jerome Wilson)
The three candidates in the 12-town 33rd State Senate District, one-term incumbent Republican Sen. Art Linares, Democratic challenger Emily Bjornberg, and Green Party candidate Colin Bennett, held a lively debate Tuesday that covered the economy and taxes, along with social issues such as reproductive rights and possible right-to-die legislation.
A crowd of more than 100 voters filled the auditorium at Valley Regional High School in Deep River with sign-waving supporters of the two major party candidates gathering outside the school before the start of the debate. The 90-minute session was moderated by Essex Library Director Richard Conroy, who posed questions that had been submitted in writing before the debate from district voters.
Linares, describing his record as “pro-growth and pro jobs,” attempted to tie Bjornberg to tax increases imposed during the administration of Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and the Democrat-controlled legislature. Bjornberg noted that she was not in the legislature when most of the higher taxes were approved, and pledged to be “very wary” of increases in “regressive taxes,” such as the sales and gasoline taxes, in any future budget decisions.
Objections from Linares to the Malloy Administration First Five program of grants and loans for business expansion prompted one of the sharpest exchanges of the session, with Bjornberg noting that Linares had accepted a $350,000 state low interest loan for his Middletown-based Green Skies solar power company while later voting against funding for the program. She also contended Green Skies resells cheaper solar panels from China at the expense of producers in Connecticut and the United States. Linares replied that Bjornberg’s comments show “my opponent is ready to attack a good thing,” describing the business he co-founded as a clean energy company that is providing jobs.
The candidates differed on possible right-to-die legislation for the terminally ill, with Bjornberg pledging support for what she called the “compassionate choices” bill that failed to win approval in this year’s legislative session. Linares said he is “concerned about human error,” under the proposed legislation. Bennett also expressed support for the bill that is expected to be considered again next year.
A question on reproductive rights and insurance coverage for birth control brought passionate remarks from Bjornberg, declaring that she is concerned about her young daughter losing rights that women have fought for and secured over the past 40 years. Linares said he was “born a Catholic” and is “not running for the U.S. Supreme Court,” before changing the topic to his support for new legislation to protect women from domestic violence.
Marijuana and the minimum wage brought the most passionate remarks from Bennett, who has run as the Green Party candidate in three previous elections in the 33rd District. Bennett said “ending the prohibition” on marijuana would help the state’s economy and finances. Linares dismissed the idea of legalizing marijuana, while Bjornberg said she would not support legalization at the present time but favors a “careful and measured” review of the option and possible further reductions in penalties for possession of marijuana.
Bennett said the minimum wage, set to increase to $10.10 per hour in the coming years, should be even higher and suggested there should be a “maximum wage” for the highest paid earners. Linares said he opposed the minimum wage hike adopted earlier this year because Democrats had blocked all amendments to establish a lower starting wage for workers under age 21. Bjornberg said Linares and state Republicans were “fear mongering” on the minimum wage issue and quoted Eleanor Roosevelt’s Depression era comment that “we all do well when we all do well.”
In her closing remarks, Bjornberg called on Linares to agree to hold another campaign debate in one of the northern towns of the sprawling district. Other sessions set for early October are more limited forums that include candidates for state House seats. The 33rd District includes the Town of Lyme as well as Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Portland, Westbrook, and sections of Old Saybrook.
Eleanor Roosevelt endorsing the candidacy of Essex resident Jerome Wilson, when he was a candidate for the New York State Senate in 1962
What with much of the country riveted by the PBS documentary on the “Roosevelt’s,” Essex resident Jerome Wilson has released a photograph of his one time meeting with Eleanor Roosevelt. The photograph was taken in the fall of 1962, and it pictured Mrs. Roosevelt’s endorsement of Wilson’s candidacy for the New York State Senate in Albany. Wilson won his race in 1962 and went on to serve three terms in the New York State Senate.
Wilson was a member of what was called the Reform Movement in New York City in the 1960’s. The leaders of the Reform Democratic movement were three notable national Democrats: Eleanor Roosevelt, former New York State Governor Herbert Lehman and former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Thomas Finletter. The purpose of this group was to defeat Tammany Hall, Democratic Party officeholders (the so-called “bosses”), and replace them with Reform Democrats.
On the West Side of Manhattan, the Reform Democrats had already beaten Tammany Hall candidates in the 1960 elections, electing a U.S. Congressman and a New York State Senator. Wilson’s election as a State Senator on the Manhattan East Side in 1962 would be yet another victory for the Reform Democrats. In addition to electing public officials, the Reform Democrats had set up Reform Democratic clubs on both on the West Side and the East Side of Manhattan. At the time of his election to the New York State Senate, Wilson was the President of the Yorkville Democratic Club, a Reform Democratic club located on East 79th Street in Manhattan.
Wilson’s most significant accomplishment during his service in the New York State legislature was to lead the fight to reform the state’s 179-year-old divorce law. New York’s divorce law up until 1966 had only one ground for divorce, which was for adultery. There was not even a ground for extreme physical cruelty. Through his efforts, as Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee and Family Law, Wilson exposed the inadequacy of the one-ground divorce law, and, as a result, the New York State legislature adopted new grounds for physical and mental cruelty, among other humane grounds for divorce.