May 15, 2012

New marijuana measure is a model for the nation

By Robert L. Painter, M.D.

Dr. Robert L. Painter is a policy analyst at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain.

Legislature has enacted a model law on medical marijuana.

May 4, 2012

Same Day Registration Makes Sense for Nutmeg Voters

By Miles Rapoport

Former Connecticut secretary of the state, Miles Rapoport is president of Demos, a national, nonpartisan public policy center.

Connecticut has another opportunity to show the way forward on progressive reform. While many other states are suppressing the vote through strict new voter ID requirements, restrictions on community voter registration drives and shortened early voting periods, Gov. Dannel Malloy and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill are championing legislation to expand voter participation.

May 4, 2012

Same Day Registration Makes Sense for Nutmeg Voters

By Miles Rapoport

Former Connecticut Secretary of the State, Miles Rapoport is president of Demos, a national, nonpartisan public policy center.

Connecticut has another opportunity to show the way forward on progressive reform. While many other states are suppressing the vote through strict new voter ID requirements, restrictions on community voter registration drives and shortened early voting periods, Governor Dannel Malloy and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill are championing legislation to expand voter participation. A Same Day Registration and online voter registration bill crafted and introduced by Governor Malloy and Secretary Merrill passed the state House of Representatives late Monday evening.

May 3, 2012

Support Nurse Delegation, for the Love of Joe

By Janet Ferracci-Carter

Janet Ferracci-Carter of Southington is a volunteer with AARP.

Allowing nurses to delegate medication administration to home health aides makes a lot of sense for this family and would relieve some of the burden that people go through with their struggle to comfort the sick and elderly.

April 30, 2012

Bringing Respect Back to Teaching

By Taylor Miller

Taylor Miller is a junior at the University of Hartford in the teacher prep program for elementary and special education. She is a member of Students For Education Reform at the university, a national nonprofit group that mobilizes college students in the fight for educational equity.

The original S.B. 24 makes teaching a more competitive profession, geared toward finding the best and bringing them into teaching, then making sure that we teachers continually improve and get professional advancement based on our actual performance in the classroom. That's what teachers in my generation want.

April 30, 2012

Your Medical Records: New CT Laws Take Away Patient Control & Privacy

By Susan Israel, M.D.

Dr. Susan Israel practices in Woodbridge.

If you value your privacy and want to keep control over your medical records, tell your legislators to restore the original RAISED SENATE BILL 368 (Feb. 12) that gave Connecticut residents almost complete control over their electronic medical records.

April 30, 2012

Fix Remedial Education System

By Liz Dupont-Diehl

Liz Dupont-Diehl is the policy director of the Connecticut Association for Human Services.

We can't consign thousands of adult learners to a system that is not working for them just because change is uncomfortable.

April 30, 2012

Who Will Stand for Children on Education Reform?

By Patrick Riccards

Patrick Riccards is the chief executive officer of the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), a leading statewide education reform advocacy organization.

130,000 Connecticut students attend failing schools, 9,000 won't graduate this year, and thousands more will 'graduate' but will be unprepared for the challenges of work and life. Who will speak for these children?

April 24, 2012

People with Mental Illness and Comprehensive Community-Based Treatment

By Sheila B. Amdur and Tom Behrendt

Sheila B. Amdur is with the Connecticut Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness(NAMI-CT), and Tom Behrendt is counsel emeritus with the Connecticut Legal Rights Project.
Judiciary Committee correctly rejected a repressive law regarding people with serious mental illnesses.

April 17, 2012

School-Based Mental Health and the Achievement Gap

By Eric R. Arzubi, M.D.

Dr. Eric R. Arzubi is co-chairman of the Children's Committee of the Keep the Promise Coalition; a child and adolescent psychiatry Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center; and a member of the Schools Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

School-based health centers are particularly helping Connecticut children with emotional-behavioral issues.