The Budget is here but the schools are still behind

By Owen Kingsley

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One hundred and twenty-three days without a budget. The longest the state of Connecticut has ever endured without one has finally come to a close. Most state-run facilities, programs and anyone receiving state funding are breathing a sigh of relief. The state is feeling the effects from the transportation department to health services. The difficulties of running these departments without knowing how much they can spend were highlighted in these past months.

However no area has been more affected by the lack of a budget than education. All across the state, schools had to manage and operate well through the summer and fall without knowing how much money they were able to spend for this school year. Schools are used to making cuts but due to this budget situation, schools were forced to really cut back on everything without knowing what they could afford.

“We unfortunately had a difficult decision, we had to reduce five teaching positions that we had, including one at Cheshire High School, and not fill several other positions that we had budgeted that were open,” said Jeff Solan, the superintendent of Cheshire Public Schools.

Larger towns and areas are feeling the budget’s impact the worst. However recently the schools in larger towns such as here in Hamden, are questioning the state’s budgeting procedure.

“More money is supposed to go to needier towns. Hamden has been underfunded in the state cost-sharing amount by approximately $18 million dollars a year,” said Hamden Superintendent Jody Goeller.

In a 1977 Connecticut Supreme Court hearing, the courts found that the states’ means of giving out financial aid to schools was insufficient and through that decision came Equal Cost Sharing or ECS.

Hamden especially is in a unique situation where it has been underfunded for years because the state has shown that it has not used the ECS formula and has drifted away from it year after year since the original ruling.

Hamden has seen an influx of people in poverty in recent years. Its children on average have had a harder time bringing their own supplies and resources to school, so the school is in a situation to provide it.

State Representative Michael D’Agostino has been fighting for this change for awhile on the state’s use of the ECS formula. He believes that the state could see a change to its education funding with this new budget.

“Recently, the courts had a chance to revisit the ECS formula and what they found was the state wasn’t following any kind of predictable, methodology for distributing aid. Very similar to the original court case. So after months of trying to figure out a budget, the state seems to have factored in the need for proper education funding.”

With the new budget towns and cities will look to further implement the ECS formula and regain proper education funding in the state.

Local soup kitchen keeps people fed during the holiday season

By Shauna Golden and Jenelle Cadigan

Lucy Fernandez, manager of Christ Bread of Life Soup Kitchen

Only a few miles up the road on Dixwell Avenue, volunteers spend time cooking large meals at the Christ Bread of Life Soup Kitchen.

According to manager Lucy Fernandez, the soup kitchen – formerly known as St. Ann’s Soup Kitchen – provides meals to anywhere between 50 to 150 homeless, unemployed and underemployed people a day.

Fernandez greets each person by name, with a bright smile on her face, as they walk through the door.

“We feed them on a daily basis, from Monday through Friday and we serve them lunch. We serve them a full course meal, which would be with a starch, a soup, a vegetable, a meat and dessert,” Fernandez explained. “It’s like a restaurant.”

Aside from serving people home-cooked meals, the volunteers at the soup kitchen also offer access to a food pantry. The pantry is stocked with various canned goods and other non-perishable food items.

“Every Friday, we give them bags of groceries. They get on a list. For the holidays we give them a special meal. If we have any coats, as part of a new program, we give them clothing and coats,” Fernandez said.

And since the kitchen is closed on Christmas because it’s an official church holiday, Fernandez thinks ahead to make sure no one goes hungry.

“What I do is I bag food to take with them. So what I will do is, I make them a big holiday dinner the day before. And then I give them the bags to make sure they have food,” Fernandez said.

She also communicates with other local churches to see who is going to be open on days like holidays.

“Other churches give us flyers, so we give flyers out. No one goes without eating that day … nobody goes a holiday without eating,” Fernandez said.

Aside from food, Fernandez says the most important thing they give to the individuals is a sense of hope.

“We speak to them and encourage them and build them up. We’re friends to them. I don’t want just know a face, I want to know their name, I want to interact with them.” Fernandez said. “They’re already suffering, so we nurture them and we care for them.”

What do the students want in a new president?

By Owen Kingsley

With his announcement to retire in the spring 2018, Quinnipiac has been searching for a new president to replace long standing President John Lahey.

In light of that search I asked four Quinnipiac students three simple questions to find out what they would like to see in their new president.

Lauren McGrath, Junior

What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?

“I am not a fan of President Lahey, he has made himself completely inaccessible to the students. I think he cares more about money than his students. I am very mad with the way he went about converting the Blackbox Theatre into the Catholic Center without telling all of the faculty of CAS (College of Arts and Science), or without telling anyone really. We are supposed to be non-denominational, he clearly doesn’t care about the arts.”

What qualities are important to you for a new president?

“Honestly just someone who is more accessible. I want to feel like I’m able to talk directly to him or her if I have a concern or issue that I think they can fix. I’m not asking for much when I just want to feel like my president is someone who can be reached.”

Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?

“Mark Thompson is a way better candidate, way more qualified and way more caring. And I think he would be an excellent choice for president.”

Chris Brachlow, Senior

What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?

“I think too many people don’t recognize the fact that he brought this school from a college to a university. He gave us a reputation. He put us on the map. We went from 2,000 students to 10,000 students under his reign. When people hear Quinnipiac now, I hear people think Quinnipiac is a pretty good school. Now I think he is plateauing and it’s time for him to leave, but what I think what he has done for Quinnipiac, well, we should all be grateful.”

What qualities are important to you for a new president?

“Really simply, I think the new president just needs to care about this school and want to see it continue to grow because that’s something we’ve seen a lot in the past few years.”

Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?

“I think Mark Thompson would make a great president, but I trust the school to make the right decision.”

Emma Spagnuolo, Junior

What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?

“To me he doesn’t really represent our school. I think you could compliment him on the growth of our school, but even when you look at it, we are growing way too quickly to the point where it feels we are scrambling every school year to make sure we can house every student and fit them in classrooms.”

What qualities are important to you for a new president?

“Someone who is caring and more concerned about the students than the endowment.”

Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?

“Mark Thompson for sure, I think he represents this school better than John Lahey does already.”

Tom Conley-Wilson, Junior

What are your thoughts on President Lahey and his leaving?

“He has kind of been a non-factor overall. I don’t care that he is leaving, I am not upset about it. He seems to be more in tune with making us look good rather than being good. The change in leadership should make us a better school overall. I understand he has done some good things for this school, but what has he done recently? I don’t think you can coast off the same achievements forever if you aren’t consistently proving that you should have this job.”

What qualities are important to you for a new president?

“I just hope they show their face more around campus. I want to feel like he is a member of the school in which he is president of. I don’t want to think of them as a figure head but rather getting involved hands on at this school.”

Who do you think should be Quinnipiac’s next president?

“Mark Thompson, baby.”

As Quinnipiac continues to search for a new president they have yet to tell us the names of the candidates but have said that there are five remaining, three men and two women.

The one consistency in my conversations with students was that vice president Mark Thompson is a popular guy.

What we are watching this week …

Latest on Connecticut Budget Struggle

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By Angela Varney

Gov. Malloy and Connecticut legislative leaders are scrambling to compromise on the budget deal this week to meet the Oct. 1 deadline. The battle to agree on a budget deal has been raging since the the fiscal year began on July 1 while the potential loss of more than $1 billion in local aid on the line.

“For me–and for any of us–we wanted a budget by July 1,” Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said Sunday morning. “October 1 is certainly another deadline. A bipartisan budget is the goal. Whether it’s possible or not is anybody’s guess.”

Without coming to an agreement on the budget deal, dozens of the state’s wealthier towns will receive an executive order from the governor, causing them to miss out on the first four scheduled payments for local schools.

However, sources said Sunday that if there isn’t a compromise made on the budget deal isn’t cleared through the House and Senate, or signed by Gov. Malloy, by Oct. 1, a special one-day session will be held this week to “assure that $70 million in federal Medicaid reimbursement funding flows to state hospitals,” according to the CT Post.

Connecticut Notified of Possible Russian Voting Hacking

By: Julius Saporito

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Connecticut claims to have had their voting system targeted by Russian hackers during the Presidential campaign last year between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. According to the federal government, “Russian agents attempted to breach Connecticut’s election system before the 2016 election.”

After feeling their state’s voting system had been hacked, many were worried their votes were not safe and action was needed to prevent this from happening again. The Department of Homeland Security did however notify Connecticut as 1 of 21 states that were possibly being targeted by russian hackers before the election even started.

According to the Hartford Courant Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said news that Connecticut’s system was targeted “reaffirms the urgency and importance of the ongoing federal investigations.

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla has also voiced his opinion over how the Department of Homeland Security has responded to states over potential voter hacking. “It is completely unacceptable that it has taken DHS over a year to inform our office of Russian scanning of our systems, despite our repeated requests for information.”

Senate Republicans Propose New Health Care Bill

By: Angela Varney

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Senate Republicans are making a last-minute effort to pass a bill to repeal Obamacare this week before the deadline to pass repeal with a simple majority ends on September 30th.

The bill also referred to as the Cassidy-Graham bill, has been updated multiple times throughout the weekend with the latest version providing increased federal funding and other benefits to Alaska, Arizona and Kentucky. All three of these states are also home to vital GOP swing voters that have opposed or voiced concerns with the bill.

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The revised version of the bill would “reduce federal funds to states by $120 billion between 2020 and 2026”, according to Politico.

It is still not clear whether or not the bill will be voted on this week before the deadline. However, if it does, the Cassidy-Graham health care bill will need 50 of the 52 Senate Republicans to vote in favor of it if no Democrats vote on it, as is expected. The Congressional Budget Office is expected to come out with an analysis of the bill on Monday.

Latest on the Connecticut budget struggle

By Angela Varney

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Connecticut notified of possible Russian vote hacking

By Julius Saporito

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Senate Republicans propose new health care bill

By Angela Varney

Embed from Getty Images

Senate Republicans are making a last-minute effort to pass a bill to repeal Obamacare this week before the deadline to pass repeal with a simple majority ends on September 30th.

The revised version of the bill would “reduce federal funds to states by $120 billion between 2020 and 2026”, according to Politico.

Hamden mayor wants Amazon to consider his town

By Owen Kingsley

Mayor Curt Leng says Hamden could be a strong candidate for a new Amazon headquarters, according to an interview in the Hamden Patch, after the company announced earlier this month its intentions on building new headquarters in North America.

This news has brought a wave of candidate towns and cities coming forward including right here in Connecticut. New Haven, Danbury, Bridgeport and Hartford have already voiced their interests.

In the interview with Hamden Patch, Leng does not hide his excitement.

“I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all,” he said. “In fact I think we can most certainly make a push for it. There are a couple potential parcels that come to mind and we’re beginning to explore them. I’m personally going to try to reach out to their real estate folks at Amazon just to let them know we would talk to them for sure.”

The new headquarters would produce as many as an estimated 50,000 jobs for the surrounding area. This would give a boost to the Connecticut economy after the state has seen the loss of General Electric and Aetna’s Headquarters in recent years to both Boston and New York City respectively.

Leng cited a Yale Daily News article on Facebook last Thursday about the headquarters saying Amazon should consider this Hamden collaboration.

“Hamden and the Greater New Haven area has so much to offer and could be an amazing home for the new Amazon HQ,” he wrote. “Most certainly worth fully exploring what could be a wonderful opportunity for partnership for our region.”

Amazon’s main requirements for a new headquarters location are that they be in an urban or suburban area, within a metropolitan area of at least one million people, according to the New York Times. Hamden would certainly meet all of those requirements being a Suburban town with Union Station next door in New Haven that directly connects to New York City.

Hamden would join Seattle, Washington as the only other Amazon Headquarters in North America.

President Trump to make his first United Nations appearance Tuesday

By Owen Kingsley

President Donald Trump will attend his first United Nations meeting this Tuesday, since taking office, and many are concerned as to how he will interact with other members and what type of impression he will leave. Trump will have the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the world’s most influential politicians and diplomats, many of which will try to create a relationship with who is considered to be one of the most unusual and unconventional world leaders in recent memory.

One of the main points of interest that will be asked of Trump will be about his decisions earlier in the year to withdraw from both the international agreements of free trade and climate change. Decisions that some are worried may alienate the president from discussions and future agreements with other world leaders.

Other topics and questions for the president will range from his role on global leadership to his tensions and comments regarding North Korea to the uncertainty of what he will do about former President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran. While Trump has received much criticism over his first few months as president, both domestic and foreign, this will be his opportunity to explain and defend his choices and plans as president thus far.