Got Equality? Not if you’re 51% of the population.

The new campaign slogan for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women certainly gets right to the point. And if anyone is unconvinced of their assertion, then I wish you could have attended Women’s Day at the Capital on Tuesday.  Invited speakers and the public submitted testimony on Tuesday and called attention to many issues like health care, domestic violence and protection, education, employment, women in politics, and childcare.  Two high school students from the Young Women’s Leadership Program essay contest also read their winning essays which focused on breaking the cycle of domestic violence and the need for more women in leadership positions. Read the full story

February 9th is fast approaching and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women is looking for oral or written testimony from the public on issues that are important to women.

Any interested individuals may testify by submitting oral and/or written or electronic testimony. For oral testimony, sign-up will begin at 9:00 a.m in the same room as the hearing. Oral testimony should be no longer than 3 minutes. Read the full story

Governor M. Jodi Rell finally will allow the state to pass a biennium budget this week.  Rell did not agree to sign the bill, but instead will wait five days to go by after the General Assembly passed it, therefore making it law.   However, Rell will make her presence felt in the form of line-item vetoes.   Democratic leaders had added approximately $8 million dollars in spending earmarks, which the governor called “a slap in the face of our taxpayers.”  Not surprisingly, what Rell also called “pork-barrel spending” includes programs and services for vulnerable CT populations.  Read the full story

Shawn Lang (CT AIDS Resource Coalition) and Matt O’Connor (SEBAC) of BetterChoicesforCT.org discuss advocacy efforts at the state capitol to create a more progressive and egalitarian state budget.

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Christine Stuart, of CTNewsJunkie.com, gives details about the CT Legislative session, including updates on the budget and other highlights from 2008-09.

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The latest blow to the museum field comes from the rejection of the We’re Making Connecticut History Interdistrict Grant program with the Connecticut Historical Society.  Funding provided by the State Department of Education, this program pairs Hartford 4^th and 5^th grade urban students with suburban 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms from all over Connecticut.  This study of Connecticut history partnered with students from diverse backgrounds helps to reduce racial and economic isolation and helps to build important relationships between urban/suburban children.  Read the full story

Dr. Douglas Hall discusses the timely new report “Who Pays? The Unfairness of Connecticut’s State and Local Tax System”

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A discussion about how Governor Rell’s proposed budget could affect mental health and addiction services in the state, featuring Dr. John Mehm of the CT Psychological Association.

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Governor M. Jodi Rell has repeatedly told Connecticut residents that they will have to sacrifice, in order for the state to get through the worst economic crisis of our generation. One group that has been exempt from the governor’s mandate is the state’s wealthy and corporations. Read the full story

During this economic crisis, Connecticut’s most vulnerable populations need help more than ever. Please make a commitment to contact Governor Rell & your legislators weekly thru June 3, the final day of the 2009 Legislative Session. Tell them that you oppose mental health / substance abuse treatment budget cuts & support increased taxes on the wealthy & corporations. Read the full story