CT Sunday liquor sales expected to begin by May 20

The legislation allows liquor permittees to sell alcohol 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, as well as on the Memorial, Independence and Labor Day holidays, and on Mondays following any Christmas and New Year's Day that falls on a Sunday.

Connecticut residents may be buying alcohol on a Sunday for the first time, in this state, as soon as May 20. That’s what Gov. Dannel P. Malloy told reporters on Thursday morning (May 10) at a post-legislative session press conference.

The legislation allows liquor permittees to sell alcohol 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays, as well as on the Memorial, Independence and Labor Day holidays, and on Mondays following any Christmas and New Year’s Day that falls on a Sunday.

Also:

• No one will be allowed to own more than three package stores (which is an increase from two under the old law).

• Minimum prices will remain intact, with one exception; retailers can sell one item per month for 10 percent below the cost of acquisition.

• Discounted items cannot be sold for less than 90 percent of the permittee’s wholesale cost.

The governor said Thursday the bill hadn’t arrived on his desk yet, but added that by early next week, he expects to receive the bill, give it a final review and sign it.

To read the full story, click here: http://www.ctmirror.org/story/16313/sunday-liquor-sales-should-begin-may-20

Posted May 12, 2012

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Sen. Prague set to retire, has served since 1994

Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia has decided to heed the advice of her doctor after recovering from a stroke and has announced she will retire after serving 18 years in the Connecticut legislature.

Longtime State Senator Edith Prague, D-Columbia, has decided not to run for re­election and thus bring to an end an 18-year career in the state Senate.

Prague has represented the 19th Senate District since 1994. Her district serves Columbia, Franklin, Hebron, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Marlborough, Montville, Norwich and Sprague. (Bozrah will be dropped from this district as a result of redistricting.)

After suffering a minor stroke Christmas morning, 86-year-old Prague returned to work in January 2012, but she is heeding the advice of her doctor, who is concerned about the level of stress campaigning entails.

“She gave me a fair warning,” said Sen. Prague.

Former state Rep. Joan Lewis, D-Coventry, spoke to the passion and dedication Prague has demonstrated in her job.

Lewis ended her fourth term as state representative after losing to current state Rep. Tim Ackert, R-Coventry in November 2010.

As state representative, Lewis served constituents in Coventry, Columbia and Vernon. She also worked with Sen. Prague during Lewis’ 17 years on the Coventry Town Council.

At that time, Sen. Prague was serving Coventry as state representative.

Lewis remembers Sen. Prague’s “energy and enthusiasm” about issues in the state legislature. Sen. Prague has been “an outspoken advocate for the people,” said Lewis.

During her time as a legislator, Prague has been an advocate for senior citizens and aimed to improve access to affordable health care for all citizens.

Prior to her time in the state Senate, Prague was a state representative for eight years and served as commissioner of the former state Department on Aging – during that time, she established a statewide health insurance program, originally called “HICAP” and now operating under the name “CHOICES.” The program provides counsel­ing services to seniors with ques­tions about insurance coverage.

Sen. Prague is currently serving as assistant president pro tempore of the state Senate and is chair of the aging and labor and public employees committees. She is also vice chair of the appropriations committee and a member of the public health committee.

Rep. Ackert has been working closely with Prague since beginning his first term in November 2010. Although they are from two different parties, he has a great deal of respect for Sen. Prague and the work she has done in the legislature.

“We may have disagreed on our philosophies, but never on our philosophies for our constituents,” said Ackert. For example, the pair has been a “voice” for Columbia regarding the minimum budget requirement law, which Town Administrator Jonathan Luiz testified against in February.

The law requires school districts to allocate at least the same amount of funding that was in the budget the previous year.

Columbia failed to meet the MBR requirement; the budget is $158,723 less than the prior year. And so, the town is required to come up with the remaining funds by June 31, the end of the fiscal year.

Thus far, no action has been taken on the measure, so the town faces a possible financial penalty, which would be double the amount of Education Cost Sharing Grant funding the town would typically receive.

Rep. Ackert said Sen. Prague’s retirement will give her an opportunity to take time for herself and spend more time with her family. “I care about her health — I truly do,” he said.

Sen. Prague said the highlight of her legislative career came Wednesday, when Bill 5312 passed in the Senate – it makes changes in the state employee health benefits statutes to correspond with employee concessions in the state employee collective bargaining agreement.

It has also passed in the state House of Representatives.

“That’s what serving in state government is all about, improving the lives of people in this state,” Sen. Prague said.

She said she is proud of her record in the state legislature and is “sad to leave” her position. She said if she didn’t have a stroke in December, she would have run for re-election.

“I’m grateful to the people of my district that they gave me this opportunity,” she said.

Those who have known and worked with Sen. Prague predict she will continue to be a presence in the legislature.

“I’m sure that Edith Prague will find a way to be engaged in the causes she believes in,” said state Rep. Gregory Haddad, D-Mansfield.

Haddad has known Prague for many years; he worked as her campaign manager before he was elected to the state legislature in November 2010.

“She is going to be missed by many people,” said Haddad.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn also praised Sen. Prague’s dedication and he also foresees her continuing as an advocate. “Helping others is what keeps Edith going,” he said.

“I’m going to miss Edith tremendously because she’s such a fighter for working men and women and their families, for senior citizens and for those who need a tireless champion,” said Sen. Williams. “There’s no one else like Edith. She has loved every minute of her time in public service.”

U. S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, also expressed admiration for Sen. Prague’s public service. “Edith has been a giant on the landscape of Connecticut for many years,” he said in a prepared statement. “We are a better state because of her commitment to investing in our people, which she realized is the true strength of the state she loves so much. Job well done.”

Sen. Prague earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Connecticut.

She is widowed and has four children and nine grandchildren.

Posted May 11, 2012

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State invites you to design 2013 cover of boating guide

“Learning to Sail” on the Mystic River (shown cropped on the 2012 cover of the Connecticut Boater’s Guide), a pastel by Tina Campbell Lyman of Stonington, CT

If you are artistically inclined and have a love of boating, here is your chance to share your work with a large audience.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is sponsoring a competition for artwork for the cover of the 2013 Connecticut Boater’s Guide. The guide is a pocket-sized booklet containing updated laws and regulations, safety tips, and environmental information of interest to the boating public.

Approximately 92,000 guides are distributed statewide through marinas, town halls, libraries, boating classes and boat shows, in addition to being posted on the internet. (To view the 2012 Connecticut Boater’s Guide, click here )

This year, the competition is being conducted in tandem with the Gallery at Firehouse Square’s OpSail Plein Air Event. Juried submissions for the Connecticut Boater’s Guide Cover will be entered into the Plein Air Competition.

Submitted images should showcase Connecticut waterways and/or boating and the scene depicted should have been created within the last three years.

For the submission form and more details, click here.

The deadline to submit digital copies of the images is Monday, May 14, 2012.

Questions? Contact Katie Fogg at Fogg@aol.com or 860-443-0344 during state office hours.

Posted May 10, 2012

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Connecticut gets $6 Million from settlement with drug company

Abbott Laboratories allegedly offered and paid illegal remuneration to health care professionals and long-term care pharmacy providers to encourage them to promote and/or prescribe Depakote

Connecticut Atty. General George Jepsen said Monday (May 7) the state will receive approximately $6 million from settlements with Abbott Laboratories in relation to charges the pharmaceutical company marketed the prescription drug Depakote for uses not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Depakote is approved by the FDA for treatment of seizure disorders, “mania” associated with bipolar disorder and to prevent migraine headaches.

According to complaints, Abbott also marketed the drug for behavioral disturbances in dementia patients, anxiety, conduct disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol and drug withdrawal, attention deficit disorder, autism and other psychiatric conditions – uses the FDA has not deemed to be effective.

According to the allegations in the complaint, Abbott Laboratories promoted Depakote for unapproved uses by:

• making false and misleading statements about the safety, efficacy, dosing and cost-effectiveness of Depakote for some of these uses;

• improperly marketing the product for use in nursing homes;

• and by offering and paying illegal remuneration to health care professionals and long-term care pharmacy providers to encourage them to promote and/or prescribe Depakote.

Abbott Laboratories’ marketing for non-FDA approved uses allegedly resulted in false claims to Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs.

Jepsen said these settlements “will serve as a deterrent to other companies who seek to benefit unfairly from government healthcare programs.”

“Most importantly, they will help to protect consumers who were prescribed an expensive drug with little evidence the drug could help their condition,” Jepsen said.

In the settlements, Abbott has agreed to pay the involved states and the federal government $800 million in civil damages and penalties.

Connecticut’s share of Medicaid claims is more than $3.9 million.

Connecticut will also receive $499,000 for state-funded benefit programs administered by the state Department of Social services.

Social Services Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby said, “Our claims data indicated a significant and inappropriate impact on Medicaid expenditures, a factor that will now be mitigated by this major settlement.”

The company has also agreed to a $700 million criminal fine and forfeiture for violating the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Another $100 million settlement with 45 states and the District of Columbia, resolves civil consumer protection claims that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices by illegal off-label marketing of Depakote.

Connecticut’s share of the consumer protection settlement is more than $1.5 million, including $150,000 for the state Department of Consumer Protection’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said, “The funding that the settlement provides for Connecticut’s Prescription Monitoring Program will directly benefit patient health by assisting pharmacists and physicians to better monitor potentially dangerous drug interactions and prescription errors.”

Abbott also agreed to enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the federal government.

For a period of five years, Abbott must also limit:

• the creation and use of responses to requests by physicians for non-promotional information about off-label uses of Depakote;

• dissemination of reprints of clinical studies relating to off-label uses of Depakote;

• and use of grants and continuing medical education.

It must also disclose payments to physicians and register and disclose clinical trials.

The healthcare fraud settlement was based on four qui tam cases, filed under federal and state false claim statutes that were consolidated and are pending in U.S. District Court in Virginia.

Assistant Atty. General Thomas Saadi handled the consumer protection settlement for the Attorney General with Assistant Atty. General Phillip Rosario, head of the Consumer Protection department.

Consumers can make inquiries of the Attorney General’s office by calling 860-808-5318 during office hours or sending email to attorney.general@ct.gov You can also follow the office on Facebook at Attorney General George Jepsen and on Twitter @AGJepsen

Posted May 9, 2012, based on a press release

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CT Gov Malloy, on signing bill to repeal capital punishment

"I saw people who were poorly served by their counsel. I saw people wrongly accused or mistakenly identified. I saw discrimination. In bearing witness to those things, I came to believe that doing away with the death penalty was the only way to ensure it would not be unfairly imposed." - CT Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, April 25 2012

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today (April 25) released the following statement after signing S.B. 280, An Act Revising the Penalty for Capital Felonies:

“This afternoon I signed legislation that will, effective today, replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of release as the highest form of legal punishment in Connecticut. Although it is an historic moment – Connecticut joins 16 other states and the rest of the industrialized world by taking this action – it is a moment for sober reflection, not celebration.

“Many of us who have advocated for this position over the years have said there is a moral component to our opposition to the death penalty. For me, that is certainly the case. But that does not mean – nor should it mean – that we question the morality of those who favor capital punishment. I certainly don’t. I know many people I deeply respect, including friends and family, who believe the death penalty is just. In fact, the issue knows no boundaries: not political party, not gender, age, race, or any other demographic.  It is, at once, one of the most compelling and vexing issues of our time.

“My position on the appropriateness of the death penalty in our criminal justice system evolved over a long period of time. As a young man, I was a death penalty supporter. Then I spent years as a prosecutor and pursued dangerous felons in court, including murderers. In the trenches of a criminal courtroom, I learned firsthand that our system of justice is very imperfect. While it’s a good system designed with the highest ideals of our democratic society in mind, like most of human experience, it is subject to the fallibility of those who participate in it. I saw people who were poorly served by their counsel. I saw people wrongly accused or mistakenly identified. I saw discrimination. In bearing witness to those things, I came to believe that doing away with the death penalty was the only way to ensure it would not be unfairly imposed.

“Another factor that led me to today is the ‘unworkability’ of Connecticut’s death penalty law. In the last 52 years, only 2 people have been put to death in Connecticut – and both of them volunteered for it. Instead, the people of this state pay for appeal after appeal, and then watch time and again as defendants are marched in front of the cameras, giving them a platform of public attention they don’t deserve. It is sordid attention that rips open never-quite-healed wounds. The 11 men currently on death row in Connecticut are far more likely to die of old age than they are to be put to death.

“As in past years, the campaign to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut has been led by dozens of family members of murder victims, and some of them were present as I signed this legislation today.  In the words of one such survivor: ‘Now is the time to start the process of healing, a process that could have been started decades earlier with the finality of a life sentence. We cannot afford to put on hold the lives of these secondary victims. We need to allow them to find a way as early as possible to begin to live again.’ Perhaps that is the most compelling message of all.

“As our state moves beyond this divisive debate, I hope we can all redouble our efforts and common work to improve the fairness and integrity of our criminal justice system, and to minimize its fallibility.”

Posted April 25, 2012

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Safely get rid of old medications on Saturday April 28

As a result of the DEA’s third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Oct. 29, 2011, people turned in more than 377,086 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal.

On Saturday April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can safely get rid of old medications sitting on your shelves, where they possibly pose a danger to young people – both the youngest ones who may mistake colorful pills for candy, and older ones who may begin their experimentation with drugs with your medicine cabinet.

Another good reason to take part in the annual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is to keep your medications out of the water supply.

Everything from antibiotics to hormones have turned up in local bodies of water and drinking supplies after being flushed in the toilet.

Throwing prescriptions away with the household garbage also makes them available to anyone picking through your trash.

As a result of the DEA’s third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on Oct. 29, 2011, people turned in more than 377,086 pounds (188.5 tons) of unwanted or expired medications for safe and proper disposal at the 5,327 take-back sites that were available in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

When the results of the three prior Take-Back Days are combined, the DEA and its state, local, law-enforcement and community partners have removed 995,185 pounds (498.5 tons) of medication from circulation in the past 13 months.

“The amount of prescription drugs turned in by the American public during the past three Take-Back Day events speaks volumes about the need to develop a convenient way to rid homes of unwanted or expired prescription drugs,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.

When you turn in your medications – including over-the-counter remedies – there will be no questions asked by the volunteers at the participating site. You may black out your name and other identifying info on the label with a permanent marker if you are concerned about your privacy.

You do not have to be a resident of the town where the collection is taking place.

Questions? Please call 1-800-882-9539 Monday through Friday during state office hours.

Within the HTNP readership area, the following towns are participating at these locations:

• Windham Community Memorial Hospital, 112 Mansfield Ave., in cooperation with Willimantic Police Department

• Lebanon, CT State Police, at Lebanon Town Hall, 579 Exeter Road

• RHAM High School (in Hebron), with the Hebron Resident State Troopers, in the high school parking lot, 85 Wall St. in Hebron

• Colchester Police-Resident State Trooper’s Office, at Colchester Town Hall, 127 Norwich Ave.

• East Hampton Police Department, at the East Hampton Town Office Building, 20 East High St. (in past years, the collection was done in the parking lot).

To search for other collection sites, click this link https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/SEARCH-NTBI

Posted April 25, 2012

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Chronicle Publisher Kevin Crosbie struck down by heart attack

Kevin B. Crosbie, 52, publisher of The Chronicle in Willimantic, CT died at his home on April 17, 2012. Photo source: The Chronicle

Local residents and members of the publishing world were stunned to learn on Tuesday (April 17) that Chronicle Publisher Kevin Crosbie, 52, had suffered a heart attack and died at his home.

The Chronicle is one of the last family-owned newspapers in the country, and has been the source of local daily news since 1877.

Kevin was the fifth generation of his family to be Publisher of The Chronicle, the role he took over from his mother, the late Lucie Crosbie, in 1992.

In the aftermath of his untimely death, friends and colleagues remembered him for the person he was behind the title – a family man, a constant in the community, an ally, an athlete and a very good friend.

News of Crosbie’s passing moved quickly through the community.

The Windham Town Council Tuesday honored Crosbie with a moment of silence before its meeting, and expressed shock and disbelief that such a prominent member of the community was gone.

Crosbie was remembered in many ways, not the least of which was for his forthrightness and honesty.

“If he liked something, he’d tell you. If he didn’t like something, he’d tell you that too,” said Windham Mayor Ernie Eldridge.

“Kevin and I didn’t travel in the same circle but I considered him my good friend,” he said.

Condolences also poured into the Chronicle Tuesday from newspaper heads around the state who knew Crosbie professionally and personally.

Michael Schroeder, president of the Bristol Press described Crosbie as “a dedicated journalist” who worked diligently to preserve community newspapers in Connecticut.

“He was committed to doing what was right in every situation and I took away new ideas from each conversation I had with him. The news media will be much weaker in this state with the loss of Kevin,” Schroeder said.

Crosbie was a hands-on publisher and ever present in the newsroom. He operating at times out of nothing more grandiose than a cubicle in the corner.

He was the go- to person for just about everything and would just as soon climb a ladder to change a light bulb as put on a jacket and sit down with the governor — as he did recently when Gov. Dannel P. Malloy paid a visit to the Chronicle.

Former Chronicle features editor Terese Karmel described Crosbie as “a soup-to-nuts guy.”

“At midnight he’d be at the paper, in jeans and a sweatshirt, ironing out some printing problems … and then that night, he’d be in a gray suit and tie hosting a Chamber of Commerce dinner,” she said.

Kevin Crosbie and his mother Lucy Crosbie in January 2002. Lucy May ( Bartlett) Crosbie, president of the Chronicle Printing Co. and former publisher, died at Windham Community Memorial Hospital on Jan. 1, 2012 after a brief illness. She was publisher of the daily newspaper from 1954 until 1992, when Kevin Crosbie took over that role. Chronicle file photo

Chronicle photographer Al Malpa said Crosbie treated everyone fairly. “There was no hierarchy with him,” said Malpa.

Crosbie as a forward thinker, he said, always drumming up innovative ways to make the paper better.

His business savvy ways and his nose for news combined to make him one of a kind, said Gary Farrugia, publisher of The Day. “Kevin was a smart businessman with the soul of a journalist… He was a fine human being,” Farrugia said.

Crosbie held several leadership positions in the greater newspaper community; he served as past president for the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association and as Chair of the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association’s legislative committee.

Richard Graziano, publisher of the Hartford Courant recalled, “As president of the association, he was a committed leader. He was a fierce advocate for our industry who successfully fought legislation that stood to negatively affect our business in a significant way.”

Despite trying economic times that continue to take a toll on newspapers around the country, the Crosbies have fought successfully to keep the Chronicle in the family.

“The fact that he was the fifth generation of a family that has led a local media organization since 1877 speaks volumes,” said Graziano.

Mike Killian Sr., vice president for the Record-Journal in Meriden, described Crosbie as a “fellow who loved the industry… He had a passionate commit­ment to journalism, as did Lucy, his mother.”

A graduate of Windham High School, Crosbie went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in English from Skidmore College in Saratoga, N.Y. He joined the Chronicle in 1984 and became publisher in 1992.

George Geers, who was the Chronicle editor when Crosbie made the transition to publisher, called Crosbie, “a class act… The closest I’ve come to George Bailey of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’”

Despite the Chronicle’s status as a smaller daily, Crosbie as its publisher was well respected as an industry leader among his peers.

“He was passionate about, and dedicated to, preserving the independence of the Chronicle,” said Shawn Palmer, publisher of the News Times in Danbury.

Outside of the news business, Crosbie nurtured his longtime friendships and enjoyed some 30 years of ice hockey with old high school buddies. The group began getting together to play pond hockey in the woods of Windham and while they all loved the game, their greatest fondness was for one other.

“They were terrific hockey players, but they were better friends,” said Mike Sypher, Chronicle sports editor, who went to high school with Crosbie and has worked at the Chronicle for 25 years.

Even though described as a hands-on publisher, Sypher said Crosbie was hands-off where it mattered most.

“He let us do our jobs and he trusted our abilities. He was the best boss I ever had and will ever have,” said Sypher.

Norm Miller, a longtime friend and fellow hockey player, said there were countless good times to be remembered with Crosbie, but mostly he was the best kind of friend. “He always seemed to be there when I needed a friend. When I came home from Iraq, he was the guy who picked me up. When I was down, he was there,” said Miller.

Michael Lemanski, Chronicle city editor, has known Crosbie since 1997. As a sports enthusiast, he admired Crosbie for his interests both inside and beyond the newsroom — especially his membership on the Boubere and Buzzard hockey teams.

“Kevin was the only publisher I’ve ever worked for who played ice hockey,” said Lemanski.

Lemanski added, “He cared about his staff, family and community and he represented what newspapers should be.”

That sentiment was shared by many others who knew Crosbie, including Eldridge.

“He was a man that you could trust,” said Eldridge. “There are not many newspaper people you can say that about, but Kevin was one of them.”

Posted April 18, 2012, as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

Charter Communications/Community Access also shares this link to a recent interview with Kevin Crosbie on “On the Homefront.” He was interviewed by Bruce John and John Murphy.

http://ctv14.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=ed987a90c9503e7c6c9983f5ae06dd7e

Kevin Bartlett Crosbie, Feb 22, 1960 – April 17, 2012

Kevin B. Crosbie, 52, of Willimantic, husband of Patrice A. Crosbie (nee Pernaselli), father of Caroline, Meredith, and Arthur, passed away suddenly on April 17, 2012.

Kevin was born in Willimantic, son of the late Arthur and Lucy Crosbie.

Kevin is survived by his wife, his brother Vincent and fiancée Emma Rodriguez Suarez, his cousins Diane Studley, Jennifer and Rob Smith and children, his aunt and uncle Joan and Bob Fraser, cousins Katie, Shawn and Denise, his father and mother in law Joseph and Marianne Pernaselli, brothers and sisters in law, Joseph Pernaselli, Michael and Meg Pernaselli, Mary and Michael Regensburg, and nephews, Christopher, Jeffrey, Brian, Evan and Sean.

Kevin graduated from Windham High School. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Skidmore College. In 1984 he joined The Chronicle, and has been Publisher since 1992. Kevin was the fifth generation of his family to be Publisher of The Chronicle which was founded in 1877.

Kevin was a past President of the Willimantic Lions Club, the Willimantic Chamber of Commerce and the Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association.

He was an avid hockey fan and member of the Boubere and Buzzard Hockey teams.

Visitation will be held on Friday, April 20, 2012, between 4 and 7 p.m. at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street (Rte. 195) Willimantic, CT.

His Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, April 21, 2012, at 1 p.m., at St. Joseph Church, 99 Jackson St., Willimantic, with assembly at the church. Burial will follow immediately.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to The Holy Family Home and Shelter, 88 Jackson St., Willimantic, CT. 06226.

USDA announces farm-to-school grants

“School cafeterias are great places to champion U.S. agriculture and to teach students where their food comes from,” said U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan. Image source: consumerwellness.org

U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced this week that the USDA will invest in farm-to-school programs nationwide to help eligible schools improve the health and well-being of their students and connect with local agricultural producers.

“School cafeterias are great places to champion U.S. agriculture and to teach students where their food comes from,” said Deputy Secretary Merrigan.

“More and more, schools are connecting with their local farmers, ranchers and food businesses each day and these programs are a great way to bring more local offerings into school cafeterias and support U.S. producers as well. As we struggle with obesity and associated diet-related diseases, farm-to-school programs give us one important tool to help our kids make lifelong healthy eating choices,” she said.

The Farm to School Grant Program is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which authorized and funded USDA to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in implementing farm-to-school programs that improve access to local foods.

Farm-to-school initiatives can also include agriculture- and nutrition-education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms, and cooking classes.

These grants, administered by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), will help schools respond to the growing demand for locally-sourced foods.

In this first cycle, $5 million will be provided to USDA to support grants, technical assistance, and Federal administrative costs.

Food and Nutrition Service anticipates awarding up to $3.5 million in grants, while the remaining $1.5 million will support a combination of training and technical assistance, administrative costs, and/or additional farm-to-school grants.

Letters of Intent are suggested but not required by May 18, 2012, while proposals are due by June 15, 2012.

To assist eligible entities in preparing proposals, USDA will host a webinar related to Implementation grants at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, May 15 and a webinar related to Planning grants at 1 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, May 17.

For more information on webinars, the farm-to-school grant program, or USDA’s farm-to-school efforts in general, please visit the USDA Farm to School website at http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFK) of 2010 marks a great win for the nearly 32 million school children that participate in the National School Lunch and the 12 million school children that participate in the School Breakfast Programs each school day.

The USDA is working to implement historic reforms that will mark the most comprehensive change to food in schools in more than a generation, which include:

• updated school meals nutrition standards to increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy;
• science-based standards for all foods and beverages sold on the school campus;
• performance-based funding increases for schools – the first real increase in 30 years;
• and training and technical assistance to help schools meet improved standards.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs that, in addition to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and National School Lunch Program, also include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), and the Summer Food Service Program. Taken together, these programs comprise America’s nutrition safety net.

Posted April 18, 2012

Related links:

FarmtoSchool.org http://www.farmtoschool.org

The Connecticut Farm to School program http://www.ct.gov/doag/cwp/view.asp?A=2225&Q=299424

WK Kellogg Foundation Food & Community program grants http://www.foodandcommunity.org/What-We-Do/Grantee-Stories/National-Farm-to-School-Network-Improving-Health-of-Children.aspx

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Calling all bird-watchers

Tom Harrington will speak and show slides at the NOS meeting. His topic will be The Birds of Wisconsin, and the International Crane Foundation. Image source: Natchaug Ornithological Society

The Natchaug Ornithological Society (NOS) will have its first meeting of the year at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 4, 2012 in the Buchanan Center at the Mansfield Library on Route 89 in Storrs-Mansfield.

Tom Harrington will speak and show slides at the NOS meeting. His topic will be The Birds of Wisconsin, and the International Crane Foundation.

The NOS board will meet before the program at 7 p.m.

All are invited to attend.

Also, a field trip is scheduled for Saturday, May 19, 2012 at Boston Hollow. In order to deal with the limited parking in Boston Hollow, we will meet at 7:30 a.m. at Ashford Elementary School on Route 89 and carpool from there.

Posted April 17, 2012

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UConn prepares for Spring Weekend

Police will set up checkpoints in Storrs (Mansfield) as well as Coventry (along Route 44) as Spring Weekend kicks off, Thursday April 19 through Saturday April 21. Spring Weekend is not sanctioned by UConn, but has for years been marked by parties focused on alcohol. File photo, April 23, 2011 by Marie Brennan

In response to the death of University of Connecticut student Jafar Karzoun in 2010, university officials are cracking down on enforcement measures during Spring Weekend for the second consecutive year.

The event is not sanctioned by the university and is celebrated the weekend before the last week of classes.

It is seen as a way for students to relax and party one last time before final exams. This year, Spring Weekend kicks off Thursday and runs through Sunday (April 19-21).

In years past, parties have become rowdy and at times violent. Police patrol throughout the campus and at off-campus destinations such as Carriage House and Celeron Square apartments, in an attempt to control crowds.

In an op-ed piece published in the Hartford Courant Friday, UConn President Susan Herbst noted that some areas may be “impossible to close off.”

“We do so for the sake of our reputation as one of Connecticut’s greatest points of pride and one of the best public universities in America, but more than anything, we want our community, our campus and our students to remain safe,” Herbst wrote.

Following the death of Karzoun, the weekend was relatively tame last year and police are hoping the same is true of this year’s event.

“We are hoping that based on the communication that we’ve had with the university community and surrounding community, that people understand the need to deescalate this weekend,” said UConn police spokesman Capt. Hans Rhynhart.

Karzoun, a Milford resident, was punched and killed by Edi Rapo of East Hartford during an off-campus fight during Spring Weekend, 2010. Rapo is now serving nine years in jail, suspended after four and a half years, for his crime.

In light of this incident, UConn was a ghost town last year during the popular weekend which typically attracts tens of thousands of people, including many non-students.

University officials have speculated that the weather and the fact the holiday fell during Easter weekend were reasons for lack of participation in Spring Weekend last year.

A Spring Weekend task force was set up by former UConn President Michael Hogan to review the university’s policies pertaining to the celebratory weekend.

The task force issued a report recommending ways to control Spring Weekend, including a voluntary, one-year moratorium.

State police troopers will set up DUI check­points on routes 195 and 44 in Mansfield from Thursday through Saturday.

UConn police will conduct some roving patrols. They will enforce trespassing violations.

Coventry police will work in conjunction with other departments at a DUI checkpoint set up on Route 44 beginning at approximately 7 p.m. on Friday and continuing until 2 a.m. on Saturday.

UConn and state police will block or limit access to certain roads, pathways and parking lots on and around campus.

Additionally, guests will be banned from residence halls and dining halls.

“These are some of the same measures that are in place as were last year,” said Rhynhart.

In the past, the university has sponsored a number of on-campus events during this weekend in an attempt to lure students away from off-campus parties centered on heavy drinking.

These included a spring concert and mud volleyball tournament, known as Oozeball. These events are now prior to Spring Weekend.

This year, most events are banned, including academic events.

Students are being encouraged to go home for the weekend and begin moving their belongings home in preparation for the end of the school year, if they choose.

Posted April 18, 2012 as edited by HTNP.com Editor Brenda Sullivan

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