Argument may have preceded triple shooting, police say
Slain man, others knew each other, officials say
An argument appears to have sparked a triple shooting in Hartford near Colt Park Tuesday evening which left one man dead, police said.
Shots rang out in the residential neighborhood on Norwich Street at dinnertime, leaving three men wounded. Two men in their 20s were shot, one in his leg and the other in his back, police said.
The third man was shot in the chest, they said. That man, Chaquan Jones, 33, of Congress Street, later died at the hospital.
The three men knew each other
workers have a very strong equity argument there.”
Despite the dangers of COVID-19, health care workers worked long hours over the past year, with many getting sick and some dying from the virus, the speaker noted.
While Ritter called improving compensation for health care workers “a moral obligation,” he also noted those who argue the state can’t afford to do so would have a tough time making their case.
SEIU District 1199 New England officials have released very limited details about the closeddoor negotiations going on between the bargaining unit and the 33 nursing homes that were formally notified last week of a potential strike starting May 14 involving a total of 3,400 employees.
But District 1199 spokesman Pedro Zayas said Tuesday that workers currently earn anywhere from the state minimum wage — $12 per hour — up to $15 per hour.
The union is asking for a new floor of $20 per hour, as well as increased staffing. And while some members have good health benefits, Zayas added, some have insurance that needs to be improved.
But if the state increases compensation and benefits for unionized workers, it also would have to upgrade the same for workers at non-union nursing homes.
“These workers, after all they’ve been through, deserve livable wages and benefits and affordable health insurance and safe staffing” levels, Zayas said. “The question is whether Gov. Lamont will make them a priority.”
When asked why he singled out Lamont, when the governor and legislature will jointly write the next state budget and spending plan for federal pandemic relief, Zayas added, “We feel that the General Assembly is pretty much on our side.”
He added, “We agree that Connecticut is very capable of generating the money that is needed.”
Max Reiss, the governor’s communications director, said “Gov. Lamont has demonstrated time and again how critical these workers have been during the pandemic. He’s followed up his word of support with action, providing extra pay to these workers” using an earlier round of federal pandemic relief in 2020.
Lamont also proposed using the latest tranche of federal aid to bolster compensation further, though not at the level sought by the unions.
Connecticut has a record-setting $3 billion in its rainy day fund, and a new report last week projected it would close this fiscal year with nearly $950 million more left over.
Complementing all of that is more than $6 billion in the latest round of federal pandemic relief earmarked for Connecticut, including $1 billion for school districts, almost $1.6 billion for municipalities and regional government entities, and $2.6 billion in very flexible funds for state government.
That’s morethan enough to close the $2.5 billion deficit analysts projected last February for the next two-year state budget, as well as meet the union’s demands.
But things aren’t that simple. Lamont and legislators are facing many other demands, and the nursing home industry itself is facing a fiscal crisis.
In February of 2020, just before the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Connecticut, nursing homes were 87% occupied on average, state data show. Ayear later, the average occupancy had fallen to 72%.
Federal and state Medicaid funding has long been inadequate to meet patient care costs. On average, more than 80% of nursing home revenues involve patients whose care is covered by federal and state Medicaid dollars. Before the pandemic, though, that share was closer to 70%.
Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities — which represents more than 140 facilities — called the Democratic legislative leaders’ comments “reassuring on many levels, especially as a signal to keep all parties at the bargaining table while the state budget deliberations continue.”
But Barrett estimates the nursing home industry needs an extra $312 million annually from the state to offset the revenue losses and rising costs that have developed since the pandemic began — a figure that doesn’t include any additional funds for enhanced pay or benefits for workers.
And nursing homes and their members are just two in a long line queuing up before state officials for more funds.