Thumbs up, thumbs down
to a dreadful 115 increase from 2021 to 2022 in the number of incidents involving white supremacist propaganda in Connecticut, according to the ADL. The 207 incidents recorded last year include stickers and flyers containing hateful messages found in places such as neighborhoods and state parks. Connecticut is also near the top of the list of such incidents documented in the United States, placing ninth. But consider that 207 in context to the total of 852 in the nation. Connecticut has a problem, and needs to be vigilant to identify, condemn and address related behavior. to recruiting challenges resulting in staffing levels at local police departments dropping down from 25 percent to 30 percent. The reputation of police has been bruised in recent years as a result of abusive behavior by some officers, which also resulted in reforms. Lawmakers are doing their part to boost the ranks by trying to fund junior cadet programs around the state. Law enforcement has always been challenging work, and recruiting hasn't been made any easier in the wake of disdainful behavior by rogue officers. Still, this is an opportunity to channel trust through a new generation of members of the profession. to March Madness. The UConn men's and women's basketball teams learned their fates on Sunday for what they hope will be the next three weeks, though the nature of a oneand-done tournament means that dreams can die quickly. The men's team will play in Albany on Friday against Iona, of New Rochelle, N.Y., while the women are to play Vermont on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion, so there's a little extra regional interest in both first-round games. Each team is capable of going a long way, but it takes some lucky bounces to make a run to a title. The state will be watching every step of the way. to extending the deadline to apply for home heating aid. Winter is not over, as the arrival of Tuesday's storm shows, and March is frequently the month when snow piles up the highest. Spring may officially start this month, but the cold weather is going to linger. The state announced last week that it would extend a deadline for seeking winter heating assistance from March 15 to March 31, which is welcome news. At the same time, the state said it hasn't spent any of the $30 million in state funds the General Assembly committed last November to enhance heating assistance. It's been a mild winter, but that doesn't mean people haven't been in need. It's good to extend the deadline, but it's more important to make sure aid goes where it's needed. to job gains in Connecticut. The most recent employment report shows the state added 35,300 jobs through 2022, with the private sector having now recovered nearly 95 percent of the jobs lost at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. That's the good news. The other news is that the state's labor pool shrank by about 25,000 workers and businesses still have about 100,000 job vacancies they are trying to fill. Connecticut doesn't lack jobs, it lacks people. The answer, then, is to push policies that encourage more people to move to the state, which means adding housing. The state hasn't done enough of that, which explains why our economy is not as strong as it could be. to Connecticut hospitals losing money in 2022. Overall, expenses outpaced revenues by 1 percent, which a study cites as the result of rising labor costs and sicker patients in the wake of the peak of the pandemic. A visit back in time to the prepandemic data indicates state hospitals were operating with a 4.6 percent operating margin. Diagnosing the primary cause is not all that difficult: Contract labor costs for hospitals have risen by 61 percent since 2019. The end result surely won't benefit patients.
In the accompanying photo, there stands Gino DiGiovanni Jr., facing the camera among insurrectionists as they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. DiGiovanni is a Republican alderman from Derby's traditionally Democratic second ward, and now he's running for mayor.
If this political epoch has taught us anything, it's that some people forgot how to be embarrassed.
If you doubt that's DiGiovanni, his jacket has the name of his business stitched on it. More to the point, he freely admits he was not just at the Capitol that day, but inside it.
From Connecticut Public Radio: “I wasn't an elected official at that time, I wasn't going there to do anything nefarious,” DiGiovanni said. “I was going there to listen to the president speak for the last time.”
From NBC Connecticut: “Yeah, I was there. And obviously, you got the pictures to prove it … I was there, I went inside there, and, you know, I didn't damage or break anything.”
Last November, he told “Navel Gazing,” a Valley Indy podcast, that “I was standing with a bunch of retired Marines, and everybody started walking toward the Capitol. So obviously, I did, too.”
He has said he entered the Capitol during the mayhem because that was the only direction the crowd allowed him to move. Surveillance video shows him among some 250 people passing through the upper west terrace door of the U.S. Capitol that afternoon. He estimates he was in the building for 10-15 minutes, and then he left to go drive home.
He has asked voters to understand that on that day, he made his decisions based on tunnel vision, and the path of least resistance when he followed the crowd.
“I didn't have a game plan,” he said. Indeed.
Let's unpack DiGiovanni's explanations as to why he was in D.C. that day.
“I wasn’t an elected official at that time.” If anyone has statistics as to how many insurrectionists also held political office, I would love to see them, but DiGiovanni is among (according to Politico) at least 57 people who chose to pump up their resumes with participation in an attempted coup for subsequent elections. The issue isn't that DiGiovanni was an elected official. It's that he was an American citizen who was part of a mob whose members wanted to overthrow a free and fair election.
“I wasn’t going to do anything nefarious.” Here's where the First Amendment would work in his favor — protest is as American as a subpoena — but he entered a federal building illegally, and others certainly did nefarious things, including (but not limited to) defecating in public, destroying federal property, and (more to the point) injuring law enforcement officials. People died.
“I was going there to listen to the president speak for the last time.”
The rally was called “Stop the Steal.” If people were going to D.C. strictly to see their leader speak one last time — and Trump actually hasn't stopped talking — I'm the Queen of May and you should bow down. DiGiovanni has said in subsequent interviews that he believes there were “some discrepancies” in the 2020 presidential election, though he said in the Indy podcast that he didn't think there were enough issues to tip the election.
“I went inside there, and, you know, I didn’t damage or break anything.” Yet the eventual alderman still trespassed, along with a destructive mob who bit by bit, are getting theirs in court.
DiGiovanni insists he isn't the most politically plugged in of candidates, and that at the time, he wasn't a close reader of the news. That is not the defense he thinks it is.
DiGiovanni is challenging the town's Republican incumbent mayor, who has said discussions about DiGiovanni's field trip to the insurrection was “politics, pure and simple.” But from a Valley Indy interview, the mayor now appears to be annoyed he will face a fellow Republican. DiGiovanni is running for mayor of a burg that bills itself as the smallest (5.3 square miles) town in the state. In his announcement, DiGiovanni said that after he became an alderman in 2021, “I saw two separate teams
Letters: 300-word Maximum, or Where I Stand, up to 700 words; or a quick YouSaid It, Maximum 50 words, to letters@thehour.com. instead of one team working together for the betterment of our city.”
All that and a bag of chips. Instead, we ponder the timeless question: If you are a part of a group that does serious damage — physical and emotional — what responsibility do you bear? Derby voters would do well to watch the videos and listen to the court testimony before they choose their town leadership. Other Connecticut towns have elected insurrectionists to public office, and you have to ask yourself why. I've said it before — and I'll say it again – if a candidate was in D.C. at the Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021, they are unfit to hold office.
But let me add this: DiGiovanni made a horrible decision to put himself in the middle of a dark moment in American history, which will judge him. He doesn't need keyboard warriors hounding him, which he has had in spades already. What he needs, instead, is to not be mayor, and what his party needs is to find better candidates.
and Families, 211 operations and more public entities to provide resources for appropriate resolution of issues. This has contributed significantly to supporting the wellbeing of students, staff and their families.
School resource officers also have an impact beyond the school walls. Their presence within the schools provides reassurance to the community that schools are safe. Furthermore, the relationships between students and their SROs have inspired students to consider a career in law enforcement.
We firmly believe that the decision to establish and continue SRO programs should be decided by the individual municipality. These programs offer law enforcement agencies a way to cultivate positive relationships with the students in their community. It is the collaborative relationship between schools and law enforcement that supports an optimal environment for learning.