Vaccine rollout shifts to age-based approach
Gov. Ned Lamont announced a significant shift in his vaccine rollout plan Monday, moving forward with vaccinations by age group rather than prioritizing people based on underlying health conditions or frontline occupations. “I’m going to focus on the old business motto, KISS: Keep it simple, stupid,” he said of the new plan, which he and his administration argued would mean a faster rate of vaccination statewide.
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Lamont shifts vaccine rollout to age-based approach:
Bucking guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lamont Monday announced a new, age-based approach to COVID19 vaccinations that he argued will speed up the distribution of shots and avoid complexities that have caused confusion elsewhere. Those 55 and older can begin making vaccine appointments Monday. Educators and child care workers will also be eligible on that date. Other age groups will follow. Lamont said he arrived at the decision after weighing concerns about how the state would determine what types of frontline workers would qualify and what underlying health conditions would make someone eligible if the state was to put those two categories of people into the next phase. Numerous questions arose such as, if grocery store workers were deemed eligible, would that extend to employees of big-box stores that sell groceries? And how would vaccinators determine if someone had a health condition that qualified? Would a doctor’s note be required? Or would it all be on the honor system? “My goal is to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, and I believe this is the best path to meeting that challenge,” the governor said of moving forward with the age-based plan.
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Emotional debate continues over aid-in-dying legislation: Christopher Rossetti, a 67-year-old Avon lawyer, has long supported allowing doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to terminally ill patients. But the issue became personal for him recently when he was diagnosed in September with a rare form of eye cancer that currently has no effective treatment and typically ends in liver failure. “It’s a real-life situation here for me,” said Rossetti, one of more than 125 people who signed up to testify at a public hearing on aid-in-dying legislation Friday. Coloring this year’s debate was the coronavirus pandemic, with those in favor saying COVID-19 had highlighted the need for such a law with many people dying in isolation and those opposed saying it was the wrong time to bring up the bill again at a time when many seniors already feel particularly vulnerable and fragile.
Attorney general investigating Connecticut Port Authority: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is investigating the quasi-public Connecticut Port Authority over a $500,000 fee it paid to a consultant that helped find an operator to run the State Pier in New London. He had been asked to investigate by Republican state senators Kevin Kelly of Stratford and Paul Formica of East Lyme. “We are aware of public allegations concerning the so-called ‘success fee’ paid to Seabury Capital and possible conflicts of interest, and we will investigate those allegations,” Tong wrote in a letter to the two senators. An executive with Seabury Capital previously served on the port authority’s board of directors. The authority has come under scrutiny for its past business practices, including $3,000 that was paid to a past board chairwoman’s daughter for office art. State auditors have also raised concerns about excess spending on meals and lodging.
Lawmakers eye tax breaks for data centers: The state House of Representatives Wednesday overwhelmingly approved legislation that would create tax breaks for newly constructed data centers, with Rep. Sean Scanlon, a Guilford Democrat and co-chair of the legislature’s finance committee, urging his colleague to consider the centers “the new manufacturing,” adding “this is a job of the future.” The centers are located across the country and house computer systems for everything from Amazon and Facebook to credit card companies and stock exchanges. The bill passed Wednesday would offer sales and property tax exemptions was well as protecting the centers from any future state taxes on financial transactions. Those taxes are being considered in New Jersey and New York, so supporters of the proposal see it as a way for Connecticut to gain a competitive edge in the region. The tax breaks would be easier to achieve if the center is built in an economically distressed area.
Metro-North ridership down 80% nearly a year into pandemic: Supporters of President Joe Biden say he could make a big difference on the financial future of the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, where ridership is still down 80% nearly a year since the coronavirus pandemic first took hold in the region. Trains have remained running daily thanks to billions in aid from the federal government, but the railroad’s future remains uncertain. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Biden, known as “Amtrak Joe” for having rode the rails from Delaware to Washington for decades as a senator and later vice president, has an appreciation for rail travel that he hopes will pay dividends for Metro-North. But Jim Cameron of Darien, a longtime rail advocate, wondered how much ridership would rebound, predicting some commuters who used to take trains daily to New York City will pare back to once or twice a week, the pandemic having proved they can successfully work remotely.
Lamont administration makes its pitch for legal marijuana: Top officials from the Lamont administration spoke at a lengthy public hearing Friday in favor of the governor’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana, arguing it was time lawmakers act on a proposal that has failed to gain traction in the General Assembly in past years. Public safety Commissioner James Rovella, a former Hartford police chief, said he supported the bill because Lamont’s budget included more than $2 million over the next two years to train troopers in drugged driving enforcement. Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman said in written testimony he supported the bill because it would create “a safe and well-regulated cannabis industry” while at the same time placing equity at the forefront of that process with a special commission tasked with ensuring those most affected by marijuana prohibition benefit from its legal sale. But several Democratic lawmakers were skeptical and argued for further equity provisions.
Odds and ends
First lady Jill Biden will visit Meriden on Wednesday, her office said, the hometown of state education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, who is expected to be confirmed early in the week as the U.S. education secretary. “The White House has informed us of the visit, and the governor is honored to host Dr. Biden for one of her first trips as first lady,” Max Reiss, a Lamont spokesman, said. Biden, like Cardona, is an educator. She has been an English professor at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009. … Linda McMahon, who headed the federal Small Business Administration under President Donald Trump and was a two-time GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in Connecticut, came in at No. 12 on a recent Forbes list of billionaire donors who contributed the most during the 2020 election. Forbes said McMahon, who is married to WWE CEO Vince McMahon, made $18.4 million in total contributions, the majority going to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action. … Joseph Duffey, whose anti-Vietnam War-fueled 1970 Senate race helped launch the careers of senators, congressmen, TV hosts and a future president, died Thursday at the age of 88. Duffey’s Senate bid was for the seat held by fellow Connecticut Democrat Thomas Dodd, who had been censured as part of a corruption investigation and was not endorsed for reelection. The three-way race (Dodd ran as an independent) was won by Republican Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who went on to become governor. … John Durham is resigning as U.S. attorney for Connecticut, a post he has held since 2018 after being nominated for the job by Trump. A veteran federal prosecutor, Durham’s prior work included cases involving the New England Mafia as well as political corruption cases like the one against ex-Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland. Its expected Durham will continue in a special role he was appointed to investigating the origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. Roxbury First Selectman Barbara Henry, who has led the tiny Litchfield County town for the past 24 years, will not seek reelection this November. “Being your first selectman has been a great honor and privilege for me, so it was not an easy decision,” Henry, a Republican, said in a phone call to residents, according to the Republican-American newspaper of Waterbury. “I love my job and this town. But it’s time.”
Gladys "Margaret" Brown (née Lillywhite) of West Hartford, CT, passed away peacefully, at the age of 90, on Thursday, February 25, 2021, with family by her side, at the Saint Mary Home.
“Margaret,” as she was known to all her friends, was predeceased by Richard Brown, her husband of sixty-two years, in May of 2020. She is survived by her son Geoffrey, daughter Angela Bennett, granddaughter Danielle Bennett, brother Derek Lillywhite of Toronto, Canada, along with nephew John Lillywhite and niece Catherine Dixon and her husband Chris. Margaret was also predeceased by her sister Joyce Pilbeam of England, and is survived there by nephew Alan Hagon and his wife Chris, niece Coral Key and her husband Paul, as well as many dear cousins.
Born on August 9,1930, to George Frederick Lillywhite and Gladys Beatrice Grist, in London, England, Margaret grew up during WWII, having experienced first-hand, along with her siblings, the air raids over London and surrounding towns. Watching London burn during The Blitz, from a nearby hilltop, left an indelible and lasting impression, as well as the countless nights spent in air raid shelters as war planes flew overhead, which she would count as they went by. Also at this time, her father served as one of the many volunteer fire fighters who helped to protect Britain during the war.
Those experiences would stay very close to her for the rest of her life, along with much fonder memories of life at home with her own mother preparing Christmas pudding, custard tarts and homemade bread when times allowed.
After the war, Margaret went on to pursue a career in nursing and midwifery, attending University College Hospital in London, Queen Charlotte's Hospital, and Oxford University Hospitals.
Continuing her career as an RN, Margaret travelled to Toronto, Canada to work as an operating room nurse at Toronto Western Hospital. It was in this city that she would meet the love of her life, Richard L. Brown. Richard and Margaret would soon marry in July, 1958. Richard's career as an aerospace engineer took them to the U.S., eventually landing in Phoenix, Arizona where Margaret also continued her nursing both in general practice and in the operating room.
In 1963, Richard's career brought them to West Hartford, CT where they would happily spend the rest of their lives. It was here that Margaret worked as a volunteer for the Red Cross, and as a nurse for West Hartford schools. After raising her two children, Margaret went on to work in the offices of Dr. Michael T. Ergin, a Surgical Oncologist with Hartford Hospital, for nearly twenty years.
During their time in West Hartford, Margaret was deeply committed to St. James's Episcopal Church, where she actively participated in The Women of St. James's, sang in choir, and served on the Altar Guild for 15 years, serving as Director of the Guild for nearly half that time. She was also a member of the Widows Society, volunteered with Loaves & Fishes Ministries, and lovingly served as a Girl Scouts Brownie troop leader. Embracing the traditions passed down from her own mother, Margaret loved cooking and baking, hosting dinner parties, and enthusiastically preparing each year for the holidays. The familiar and heart-warming sights and scents of her Christmas and Thanksgiving meals, along with special treats for the occasion, will forever be a part of her family's memories of her. A lover of outdoor activities, Margaret embraced her passion for skiing, tennis and swimming, as well as a profound appreciation for the beauty of the picturesque New England fall foliage, sentiments of which she passed along to her children, and shared with her husband throughout much of their lives together. In retirement, Margaret and Richard shared their love of travel, exploring cities in Europe, the Middle East and numerous locations across North America.
Beyond her home in Connecticut, Margaret adored the time spent at the family summer cottage in Leith, Ontario. It was here that she developed many special and lasting friendships, and always felt safe and peaceful on the shores of Owen Sound, with its spectacular sunsets, endless starry skies, and wondrous Northern Lights.
Even on the coldest days, Margaret would insist on dipping into the water at least once, feeling that a daily swim, in the waters off Georgian Bay, was something that she could not, and should not, pass up.
Always a loving and caring mother to her two children, it was the arrival of her granddaughter, Danielle (who knew her as Nana) that brought the most joy to her life in her later years.
Margaret's unending kindness and compassion was evident to all who knew her, and she endeared herself to many with her distinctly sweet, British accent.
Her family would like to provide a special thank you to the personal caregivers who provided both Margaret and Richard with love, care and support for many years while in their home, and would also like to extend their deepest gratitude to the staff at Saint Mary Home in West Hartford, CT for the loving care provided during Margaret's final months.
Due to the current pandemic, a date for a memorial service has not yet been set, but will ultimately take place at St. James's Episcopal Church in West Hartford, CT.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made be to: St. James's Episcopal Church, 1018 Farmington Ave, West Hartford, CT 06107. https://stjameswh.org/resources/ or The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association, PO Box 417005, Boston, MA 022417005 https://www.stroke.org Online condolences may be made at: https://www.sheehanhilbornbreen.com/ obituaries
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