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On characterizing Woodbridge as racist without evidence The March 1  article “Open-housing debate in Woodbridge: Define racism” described the latest developments in the push to require affordable housing in Woodbridge. The article symbolizes a much broader contemporary philosophical battle than that involving Woodbridge and affordable housing. Alan Calandro Regarding the Woodbridge case, the state passed a housing law in 1989 (C.G.S. Sec. 8-30g) requiring towns to adopt a certain amount of “assisted housing” and “set aside developments.” Assisted housing is defined as any housin...

Monthly CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut It’s time to fulfill Sheff v. O’Neill’s legacy and reform Connecticut’s zoning The Zoning Atlas developed by Desegregate Connecticut identifies the extent to which communities limit housing choices. With the 25th anniversary of the Sheff v. O’Neill decision coming up in July, it’s time to fulfill the ruling’s true legacy and reform exclusionary zoning in Connecticut. Thomas Broderick Since the 1996 decision, the state has spent billions building new magnet schools (see Jacquelin...

Yehyun Kim :: CT Mirror A healthcare workers union, SEIU 1199, rallies outside the State Capitol last July as the pandemic raged. They asked for providing personal protection equipment to frontline workers, holding private sectors such as nursing homes accountable and strict social distancing. For the past year frontline health care workers stood in the way of danger, working throughout the pandemic in nursing homes, home care, substance-abuse counseling and helping children in need. Yet, somehow, health care workers and their patients are forgotten in Connecticut’s proposed budget, freezin...

State legislature to decide fate of Long Island Sound Blue Plan Do a Google search on “puzzle sales during pandemic” and you’ll find phrases like “going bonkers” and “sales up 370%.” While rediscovering the simple pleasure of jigsaw puzzles as a way to unwind, many of us are also experiencing the mental health benefits of turning off the brain noise by focusing on a pleasant challenge. But what if there were no picture on the puzzle box? And what if the pieces formed a three-dimensional sculpture? For most of us, tackling that kind of puzzle would be anything but relaxing.

Participatory budgeting builds trust in government The year 2020 was challenging for most of us and, when people are suffering, they tend to blame their governments – local, state, and federal.  If we’re being honest, however, trust in our governmental, academic, scientific, and civic institutions has been eroding for some time.  The polarization of our society has made it increasingly difficult to work together to solve our shared problems, and the barriers erected by those in power have discouraged easy engagement by community members in civic life, especially voting, which only serve...