The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is launching a payment pilot program for all CTtransit and CTfastrak customers on April 1. The pilot program, launched in partnership with Token Transit, will allow customers to buy two-hour Adult, Senior/Disabled, and Youth bus passes for all local CTtransit and CTfastrak buses on their smartphones. To use Token Transit, customers can download the Token Transit mobile app or use Transit App, Moovit, Agile Mile, or Google Maps, which are all integrated with Token Transit. Here’s how it works: As buses approach, customers who purchased passes via Token Transit will be able to open their app and tap on the pass to activate it. The two-hour time period for which the ticket is available begins once the pass is…
AMERICAN GAMBLING ASSOCIATION’S “RESPONSIBLE MARKETING CODE”
[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released the following statement in response to a new Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering issued by the American Gaming Association (AGA), which includes a prohibition on college partnerships that promote, market or advertise sports wagering activity: “The American Gaming Association’s new sports betting code of conduct is a serious effort to protect young people from gambling addiction. I applaud AGA for seeking to set meaningful industry standards that specifically prohibit college partnerships that promote, market or advertise sports betting. Unfortunately, the benefits of this new code are limited given that not all sports betting companies – in fact, many of the largest ones – aren’t members of the AGA and don’t…
CT’s Immigrant Community and HealthCare Advocates Demand Connecticut “Invest in Our Health”
Hartford, CT - Today on Monday March 27th at 5pm, immigrant’s rights advocates, community members, and healthcare providers gathered for Rally and Visibility Action demanding that our CT state legislators invest in the health and future of our state by funding an expansion of HUSKY Healthcare program for income eligible immigrants under 26 years of age, which according to estimates, will cost around $15 million or 1% of the total medicaid budget. During the event, immigrants and advocates called for Legislators to include funding in the state budget for an expansion of the HUSKY Healthcare program for income eligible immigrants under 26 years of age, conveying urgency by sharing their personal struggles of accessing healthcare - from having to rely…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG CALLS FOR JUUL VAPING SETTLEMENT FUNDS TO BE DIRECTED TO REGIONAL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ACTION ORGANIZATIONS
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong this week submitted testimony calling for funds received through the $438.5 million multistate vaping settlement with JUUL to be directed to Regional Behavioral Health Action Organizations (RBHAOs) to combat youth vaping and nicotine use. His testimony, in support of House Bill No. 6914, An Act Concerning the Use of Funds in the Opioid and Tobacco Settlement Funds and Funds Received by the State as Part of Any Settlement Agreement with a Manufacturer of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems and Vapor Products, addresses safeguards and reporting requirements for both opioid and tobacco settlement funds. Connecticut led 34 states and territories last year in brokering the settlement with JUUL, resolving a two-year bipartisan investigation into the company’s…
INITIATIVE TO STRENGTHEN TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS
(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Charlene M. Russell-Tucker today announced details of a new state initiative that aims to strengthen Connecticut’s efforts to recruit and retain a strong and diverse educator workforce through the reimagining of teacher evaluations and the modernizing of teacher certifications. The initiative focuses on ensuring that teachers are evaluated on a fair and consistent basis, and that they receive the support they need to improve their skills and knowledge. The Connecticut State Department of Education’s Educator Evaluation and Support (EES) Council, codified in Conn. Gen. Stat. 10-151b as the Performance Evaluation and Advisory Council, has worked collaboratively over the past 20 months to develop an educator evaluation system based on research, best…
Energize Connecticut℠ Accepting Submissions for 18th Annual eesmarts™Student Contest
New contest prompts encourage students to show off their energy efficiency smarts; deadline March 31 NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Energize Connecticut℠ sponsors, Eversource and AVANGRID, Inc. subsidiaries United Illuminating, Southern Connecticut Gas and Connecticut Natural Gas, announced today that the 18th annual eesmarts™ Student Contest is now accepting student submissions until March 31, 2023. Updates to grade-specific prompts have been made this year to foster students’ creativity and allow for new technologies and social media platforms to be used in responses. The contest is open to Connecticut students in grades K-12 and topics are focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability solutions. “For almost two decades, the eesmarts Student Contest has engaged students throughout Connecticut and has asked them to use their imagination and knowledge to come up…
COALITION URGING KIA AND HYUNDAI FOR SWIFTER ACTION TO PROTECT VEHICLE OWNERS, PUBLIC SAFETY
(Hartford, CT) -- Attorney General Tong, along with a nationwide coalition of 23 attorneys general, is calling on Kia America (Kia) and Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) to take swift and comprehensive action to help remedy the crisis of car thefts that has occurred due to the companies’ failure to equip vehicles with anti-theft immobilizers. Alarmingly high theft rates for Kia and Hyundai models continue across the country, including several instances in Connecticut. As the attorneys general note in the letter, Kia and Hyundai chose not to include anti-theft immobilizers as standard equipment on several vehicle models sold in the United States during a period when every other car manufacturer was doing so, and even though the same Kia and Hyundai vehicles…
Bus Fares To Return
Bus Fares To Return The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is reminding transit users that bus fares return on April 1, 2023, for all buses and ADA paratransit in Connecticut. Fares have been suspended on all public transit buses in Connecticut since April 1, 2022, as a result of a state law Governor Lamont signed last year. Federal restrictions prevent the state from extending this suspension for any longer than 12 months. Customers are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time to avoid lines at customer service centers and at fareboxes when boarding buses. CTtransit tickets and passes can be purchased at retail locations in Connecticut, online, or through the mail. For all fare options, included monthly and 10-day passes,…
CONNECTICUT DELEGATION ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL $10.6 MILLION FOR HOME HEATING ASSISTANCE
(Hartford, CT) – The Connecticut Congressional delegation today announced that Connecticut will receive an additional $10.6 million in regular Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds to assist homeowners with their energy bills. The $560 million in LIHEAP funds, of which Connecticut will receive $10.6 million, is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and comes at a time when energy assistance remains in high demand. “Connecticut families should not have to choose between heating their homes, keeping the lights on or putting food on the table,” the delegation said in a statement. “This $10.6 million is a lifeline for Connecticut families and comes at a time when heating assistance programs are cutting back to meet…
ATTORNEY GENERAL TONG SUES VISION SOLAR OVER UNFAIR AND DECEPTIVE SALES, VIOLATIONS OF HOME IMPROVEMENT ACT
(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today announced the filing of a lawsuit against Vision Solar, LLC following more than a dozen consumer complaints regarding predatory high-pressure sales tactics, misrepresentations about financing and tax credits, and unpermitted work that left homeowners saddled with nonfunctioning systems and unaffordable loans. “We’re investigating numerous complaints regarding high-pressure solar industry sales tactics, but Vision Solar’s predatory practices are far and away the worst we have seen. Vision Solar preyed on low-income, elderly, and disabled homeowners, pressuring them into unaffordable loans for solar panels that in some cases were never activated. Their egregious misconduct appears to have violated multiple laws, and we’re going to hold them accountable. Our lawsuit seeks to get money back…