Lawmakers consider outdoor swearing-in
The 2021 legislative session kicks off in less than three weeks and lawmakers are eyeing a potential outdoor ceremony given coronavirus restrictions that make an in-person kickoff to the year unfeasible. “I think it’ll be sort of like this,” Gov. Ned Lamont said during a virtual news conference Thursday when asked how he planned to address the legislature on opening day.
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The big story
Opening day outdoors?: Connecticut’s newest class of lawmakers may be sworn in next month in an outdoor ceremony at the state Capitol, according to Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced legislators to rethink the traditional opening day, where 187 representatives and senators crowd the Hall of the House to hear the governor deliver his State of the State Address. That speech may be virtual this year, but legislative leaders are still hoping to have an in-person event when the General Assembly reconvenes on Jan. 6, particularly for new members who would like to be sworn in before friends and family. “The freshmen are excited and eager, and their families are proud of them,” said Deputy House Speaker Robert Godfrey of Danbury. “The jaded veterans like myself can be sworn in in our offices.” Opening day will also include the official election of state Rep. Matt Ritter of Hartford as the new House speaker, but it is still unclear whether that vote by all 151 House members would be done outside. Lawmakers in New Hampshire held their opening-day event outdoors earlier this month. In Maine, lawmakers met in a civic center that was large enough to ensure social distancing and the governor addressed them via a video message.
Five things you may have missed
Connecticut electors cast ballots for Biden, Harris: The state’s seven Democratic electors formally cast their ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in a masked, socially distant Electoral College vote at the state Capitol Monday. “It’s an honor,” said 94-year-old William Smith of Hartford, who was one of the seven people selected for the job. “I think this is the most monumental election we’ve had in this country.” The outcome of Connecticut’s electoral vote was never in doubt: unlike other states, Connecticut does not permit so-called faithless electors who could cast ballots for candidates other than the one they had pledged to support when they were chosen by party leaders for the role. Another one of the electors, Anthony Attanasio of East Lyme, said it was something he had wanted to do since he was in social studies club in high school. “When I was kid … I said, ‘One day I’m going to do that,’ “he said.
Lamont says $25M in aid coming for small businesses: Connecticut’s struggling restaurant industry will be able to take advantage of an upcoming round of grant funding for small businesses, Lamont announced last week. The governor said $25 million in total would be doled out. That’s on top of 10,000 grants of $5,000 each that went out this fall to the state’s smallest businesses, those with fewer than 20 employees or a payroll of less than $1.5 million. “That’s not enough to take care of everybody,” Lamont said of the new round of funding. “I hope it’s a bridge to the next round [of funding] we get from the federal government.” More than 600 restaurants in the state have closed since the start of the pandemic, according to the Connecticut Restaurant Association. And the winter weather has curtailed outdoor dining that was popular in the summer and early fall and helped keep restaurants in business.
Cardona in the mix for U.S. education secretary: State education Commissioner Miguel Cardona is being vetted as a possible pick to be education secretary under President-elect Joe Biden. The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Cardona was one of two front-runners being considered by Biden’s transition team and a Lamont spokesman confirmed vetting was underway. “His leaving would be bittersweet because he’s great and we’d miss him but it’s precisely because he’s great that he would be a valuable education secretary,” said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Lamont said Thursday that nobody from the Biden camp had contacted him in advance about Cardona. The Connecticut Mirror reported a California educator on the transition team knew of Cardona from panels she had served on. Cardona grew up in public housing and was a teacher and principal at an elementary ment would set a bad precedent. “Where school in the city before becoming an admindoes it end?” she asked. “Are we going to istrator. He was selected as state education examine the battlefield tactics of genercommissioner in July 2019. als Kosciuszko or Pulaski to ensure they
Employers in Connecticut cut jobs adhered to the social mores of today?” The in November: Connecticut employers council voted 10-4 to remove the statue, shed 1,600 jobs in November, according with several of Stewart’s fellow Repubto the state Department of Labor, the first licans in favor. The same margin would month since May the state’s workforce be needed to override Stewart’s veto. ... shrunk. State labor Commissioner Kurt Connecticut Attorney General William Westby said a full resurgence of coronaTong joined with 37 other attorneys virus infections “caused closures and a general Thursday to file suit against search pause in economic activity” and said the engine giant Google, charging the company job losses “generally reflect what people engaged in illegal conduct that’s allowed are seeing in terms of curtailed dining it maintain monopoly power over search and retail.” As of November, the state has engines and related advertising. “Google regained 64.5% of the jobs lost in March has unlawfully protected its own platform and April when Lamont ordered widewhile squeezing out the competition, to the spread businesses closures at the onset of detriment of consumers and advertisers,” the pandemic. Businesses have reopened he said. It’s the second antitrust lawsuit in phases, with nearly all but bars and Tong has joined in as many weeks following performing arts venues allowed to return one filed against social media giant Faceto operation at limited capacity and with book. … Brenda Mallory, a native of Watersafety measures in place. But Donald L. bury, has been chosen by Biden to chair the Klepper-Smith, an economist at DataCore federal Council on Environmental Quality, Partners in Durham, said the damage done she wrote on Twitter Thursday. The agency to employment growth in the state by the coordinates federal environmental efforts pandemic is deep-seated and job growth and works with other agencies to develop could take years to recover. environmental and energy policy. Mallory’s
Bond commission OKs athletic field father, the Rev. Thomas Mallory, was a wellin outgoing speaker’s district: The State known pastor in Waterbury and served on Bond Commission voted Friday to approve the Connecticut Commission on Human hundreds of millions of dollars in borrowing, Rights. “Waterbury is brimming with including more than $2.7 million in renovapride!,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy tweeted. tions and upgrades to athletic fields in Berlin, … Manchester Mayor Jay Moran is the hometown of outgoing House Speaker leaving his day job as athletic director of Joe Aresimowicz and the town where he is Southern Connecticut State University. head football coach. The money will pay for “I’m not at liberty to say right now, but I a scoreboard, restrooms and storage facilities do have something very special that I am at Sage Park, where the football team plays, pursuing at this time,” Moran told the New as well as upgrade to the track and a new turf Haven Register. Before he became the AD at field at Berlin High School. Asked Friday if Southern, Moran served in the same role at the funding was a gift for Aresimowicz, who the University of Bridgeport and Albertus is leaving the legislature after two decades, Magnus College in New Haven. … MacKenLamont said: “We provide a fair amount of zie Scott, the billionaire ex-wife of Amazon aid to different towns … we recently did a founder Jeff Bezos, donated $4.2 billion softball field in Canton. This was something to help those adversely impacted by the for Berlin, you’re right Joe Aresimowicz is COVID-19 pandemic, including $9 million from there, but that shouldn’t disqualify for the YWCA Hartford Region and $4 Berlin from the opportunity to have their million for the Housing Development Fund fields done.” of Stamford. Both are the largest donations in the history of those organizations. YWCA Hartford Region CEO Adrienne Cochrane said until the donation came, “the YWCA was looking at significant deficit going into 2021.”
Odds and ends
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart on Thursday vetoed a city council decision to take down a Christopher Columbus statue in a city park, condemning “cancel culture” and warning that taking down the monu