Morning Weather Report
Today
Sunny, with a high near 43. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. Light and variable wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the morning.
Tonight
Increasing clouds, with a low around 31. South wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tomorrow
Partly sunny, with a high near 48. Light south wind becoming west 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Tomorrow Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 29. West wind 8 to 10 mph.
Mark Twain Library Invites Community Members to Conversation on Policing in Connecticut
Mark Twain Library, Redding: The Redding League of Women Voters is co-hosting a program with the Mark Twain Library on Thursday, February 10th to explain what Connecticut is doing and how it has made a difference in making our communities safer. In this program, Ken Barone, Associate Director of UCONN’s Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy and the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, will lead a virtual discussion @ the Mark Twain Library about Connecticut’s model, which has already been adopted in five other states.
“The Redding League of Women Voters was interested in learning about community policing and we often hear only about what is not working or what we are doing wrong,” said Redding League of Women Voters President Kim O’Rielly. “We learned that Connecticut is making great strides with regard to racial profiling and we thought it was extremely important to bring that awareness to the whole community.”
This program evolved when the civil unrest in 2020 prompted community members in Redding to find out more about what was being done, or could be done, in their own town and discovered that Connecticut has been at the forefront of creating and implementing this data-driven system that is successfully reducing racial disparities in policing.
Barone has been leading the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CRP3), which is the group tasked with collecting and analyzing the data collected from traffic stops, since its inception a decade ago. To date, the findings from CRP3 have helped reduce racial disparities in several Connecticut communities while improving police effectiveness.
Following his presentation Barone will be joined by Redding First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton and Redding Police Chief Mark O’Donnell to answer questions about policing in Redding.
“I am looking forward to the discussion and learning more about Ken Barone’s methodology and analysis of the annual traffic stop data collected from all police departments across the state, a mandatory requirement under state law, and what we can all learn from it,” said First Selectwoman Pemberton. She added, “Chief O’Donnell and the men and women of the Redding police department are committed to the highest standards in community policing. Chief O’Donnell’s focus on providing training, including anti-bias training, to all members of the department supports this commitment.”
Chief O’Donnell said he also looks forward to the presentation and added, “I hope to be as informative as I can.”
During this virtual program, Barone will address what racial profiling looks like, how our history has impacted policy, improvements that have been made to address racial disparities in traffic stops, and what this tells us about our roads being safer for everyone – community members, officers, visitors and even motorists passing through.
Connecticut first enacted a law more than 20 years ago that prohibited any law enforcement agent from stopping a motorist purely based on race, color, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. It was another 13 years before the Connecticut General Assembly made improvements to that existing law which called for action to actually address the racial profiling concerns, which is when this data collection system was implemented.
Barone has co-authored six statewide reports analyzing municipal and state police data for evidence of discrimination and he has trained over 800 law enforcement officers since 2014. In addition to Connecticut, Barone has investigated and analyzed data in Rhode Island, California and Oregon. The results of his efforts are proving effective.
Learn more about The Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project here: https://www.ctrp3.org/
Read a letter to the Redding community in response to the 2020 civil unrest from Police Chief Mark O’Donnell here: https://rpdct.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Chief-Mark-ODonnell.pdf
Register on the Mark Twain Library website www.marktwainlibrary.org or call the Library at 203-938-2545 for information.
Westport Supported by United Way of Coastal Fairfield County
(L-R): Tom Green, United Way Emeritus Board Member, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, UW CEO Jeff Kimball, Human Services Director Elaine Daignault. Contributed photoUnited Way of Fairfield County:
Yesterday, United Way of Coastal Fairfield County awarded the Town of Westport a grant to support residents impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, along with a supply of KN95 protective face masks. The presentation was made to Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker and Human Services Director Elaine Daignault.
On hand from the local United Way were CEO Jeff Kimball and Westport resident Tom Green, an emeritus member of the non-profit’s Board of Directors.
First Selectwoman Tooker acknowledged the United Way’s longstanding commitment to support local social services programs, “Westport is so grateful for the United Way’s continued partnership and support of programs that meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents.”
The Covid Relief Grant provides emergency assistance for food, rent, utilities and critical bills to help keep families in stable homes. This is the third round of grants awarded by United Way to support those impacted by the pandemic.
The goal of the KN-95 mask donation is to help stem the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Additionally, masks can be an important support for families whose budgets are strained by this additional cost.
Human Services Director Elaine Daignault noted that the pandemic has placed additional stress on seniors and families. “The United Way grant funds allowed us to purchase and distribute supplies at a time when testing resources were particularly difficult to find.” According to Daignault, “The grant’s timing couldn’t have been better; the most recent Omnicron wave posed a significant setback to those who needed to get back to work and reengage in community offerings. Recipients of the PPE supplies are so grateful to access the resources they need to protect their families.”
United Way Board Member Tom Green commented, “Our neighbors need our help, and many of them are seeking help for the first time in their lives. We’re honored to work with the Town of Westport—my hometown—to bring help and hope to those who are struggling.”
Even before the pandemic, one out of five Westport families struggled to make ends meet. The health crisis and the rising cost of living have worsened the situation. This surging need is reflected in the increased calls to United Way’s 2-1-1 Infoline. Last year, town residents’ requests for resources doubled; overall, requests are up nearly 400% since the beginning of the pandemic.
The current grant of $2,000 follows an earlier award of electronic gift cards to help town residents in need. During the pandemic, United Way also provided grants to three area agencies serving local families--Homes with Hope, Person-to-Person, Open Door Shelter. As of today, United Way has donated 6,500 protective face masks to the town for resident use.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak, United Way of Coastal Fairfield County (UWCFC) has made investments in every one of the 12 towns it serves, offering:
Supports for basic needs: Approximately $216,000 in grants to support towns and community partners providing for basic needs like food, rent, and utilities. Also, over 3,000 freshly-made lunches were delivered to hungry neighbors in 3 towns, through a partnership with Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Company.
Direct Help to Families: Over $89,000 in electronic gift cards to families in need, distributed by towns and local social service agencies.
Protective Equipment: Over 140,000 pieces of personal protective equipment, including protective masks, gloves, and face shields to help neighbors including frontline workers, teachers, and families, thanks to donor partners like Bank of America and Yale New Haven Health.
Virtual Learning Support: For remote learners in Kindergarten to 12th grade, UWCFC has provided online tutoring, STEM learning programs, and college financial aid workshops. During summer, United Way supported enriched learning in robotics, engineering, e-sports, leadership, and college preparation. These innovative offerings were made by the Greater Bridgeport STEM Learning Ecosystem, an initiative of the United Way’s flagship collective impact movement, Bridgeport Prospers.
Connections to Resources: Through the 2-1-1 Infoline, United Way fielded over 123,000 service requests from Fairfield County residents in the past two years.
These supports were made possible through grants, partnerships, local fundraising, and state-wide relief efforts.
Noted Kimball, “Throughout the pandemic, our United Way has worked innovatively and tirelessly to ease the burden shouldered by our neighbors. Together with our partners, we will overcome this crisis and keep building more equitable and resilient communities — where all our neighbors have the opportunity to thrive.”