Eversource CEO sorry for ‘stress and anxiety’

By Russell Blair week, Eversource executives appeared before the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority which is reviewing rate hikes that took effect July 1 and led to a flood of criticism from homebound residents who saw their electricity bills skyrocket. Gov. Ned Lamont has said Eversource’s rates should be more closely tied to their performance in restoring power after severe weather events, penalizing them for extended outages but offering an incentive to get the lights back on quicker. a $12 million infusion of cash after they were forced to cancel their spring, summer and fall productions due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. “The arts and culture sector is going to need relief,” said Hartford Stage Managing Director Cynthia Rider. “Our industry was one of the first to close because of the pandemic and is likely to be one of the last to reopen.” The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Goodspeed Musicals, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse and the Yale Repertory Theatre said their financial losses far exceed the $12 million they are seeking but the money would “take a little pressure off” as they look toward resuming live performances at some point in 2021. The theaters say they are responsible for $42 million in direct economic activity each year.

GOP loyalists energized by RNC: They didn’t get to witness President Donald Trump’s speech in person, but about 50 hardcore Republicans gathered under a tent in Waterbury Thursday evening to watch the president formally accept the GOP nomination to run for another term. Jeff Santopietro, the Connecticut state coordinator for the Trump campaign, said the national economy “was second to none” until the coronavirus pandemic and that Trump’s opponents have worked to undermine him since the day he took office. “They will not give this president one bit of credit for anything,” he said. Annalisa Stravato of Wilton, a former vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, she said has been willing to overlook Trump’s “boisterous personality.” “I want someone who keeps the country safe and the future bright and prosperous,” she said. Raymond

Work, a computer consultant who ran last year for mayor of Waterbury, said Trump is the country’s “best hope for the future” while Biden “is the worst hope.”

Judge OKs public campaign funds for child care: A Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that candidates participating in the state’s public campaign financing program can use those funds to pay for child care expenses. The ruling comes two years after Caitlin Clarkson Pereira, a Fairfield Democrat, was blocked from using her Citizens’ Election Program grant to pay for child care during a 2018 bid for state representative. “Moving forward, to know that we’ve taken that roadblock away, that feels like a massive win,” Clarkson Pereira said Friday. At the time of its initial ruling, the State Elections Enforcement Commission said child care fell into the category of personal expenses that could not be paid with campaign funds. Clarkson Pereira and her supporters argued that child care was a necessary campaign expense because candidates may need to pay for someone to watch their children while they go door-knocking or attend campaign-related functions.

State fines nursing homes who didn’t test workers: The state Department of Public Health issued $1,140 fines to nursing homes in Hartford and Hamden for failing to test all their employees for COVID-19. The agency is also investigating whether other facilities have failed to follow a state order that they test all employees weekly. “Testing employees is a key part of our strategy so it is important to monitor that policy and enforce it,” state public health Commissioner Deidre Gifford said. Under current guidelines facilities can stop testing staff if they go 14 days without a positive test but Gifford said the state plans to change that policy. As the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Connecticut the state’s nursing home residents were among the hardest-hit populations. State data released Thursday show 8.777 nursing home residents contracted COVID-19 and 2,849 died. There have been 268 cases and three deaths among facility staff members.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, the last Republican to represent Connecticut in Congress, has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in the November election. Shays’ endorsement shouldn’t come as a surprise: he publicly broke with his party in 2016 and supported Hillary Clinton. A moderate Republican, Shays represented the state’s 4th Congressional District that includes most of Fairfield County for 21 years before losing his 2008 reelection bid. … U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy will release his first book on Tuesday. “The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy,” chronicles the toll gun violence has taken on the country and how Murphy has made the topic a signature issue throughout his career in the Senate. “This book is essential to understanding America’s gun violence epidemic, our history of gun ownership, and the nature of violence itself,” said Tommy Vietor, a former spokesman for President Barack Obama who cohosts the podcast Pod Save America. … The Town of Putnam has found a way to make a centuries-old staple of American democracy — the town meeting — and adapt it for the coronavirus era. After a discussion held over Zoom on Sept. 8, residents can head to the town hall parking lot for “curbside voting” to decide whether the town should spend $250,000 to buy a vacant building in the downtown area for redevelopment. Voters will mark “yes” or “no” on a slip of paper while sitting in their cars. Vernon held a similar meeting in late March. … Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton vowed to rename the city’s sewage treatment plant after John Oliver after the HBO host launched a tirade against the Hat City on his popular “Last Week Tonight” program. During a show about juror bias, Oliver mentioned Danbury in passing before exclaiming “[Expletive] Danbury. … If you’re from there, you’ve got a standing invite to come get a thrashing from John Oliver — children included. [Expletive] you.” Boughton said he was renaming the sewage treatment plant after Oliver because “they’re both full of [expletive].” … Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business released what they’re referring to as the “Back to Normal” index, estimating what percentage of each state’s economy has recovered since the shutdown of businesses in March due to coronavirus restrictions. Connecticut’s economy has recovered 81%, according to the analysis, ranking 23rd among the 50 states. That’s better than neighboring New York (72%) and Massachusetts (75%) but surpassed by the rest of New England. The U.S. economy is 79% recovered, according to the analysis, which relied on economic data and other factors.