This year the Connecticut legislature passed, and Governor Ned Lamont signed into law, legislation expanding eligibility in the state’s Open Choice program to Danbury and surrounding community school districts, including Ridgefield. Under the program, districts with schools that are nearing their capacity limits can negotiate arrangements with neighboring districts with schools that are not at […]

Independence Day is one of the most pivotal moments in our country’s history. On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress shared the Declaration of Independence, a document that proclaimed that the 13 colonies in America would no longer live under the British Crown. The 4th of July is now celebrated as America’s birthday, and citizens

With the Connecticut General Assembly’s 2021 regular session in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to highlight some of the bills that passed into law supported by Ridgefield’s all-Democratic delegation. Many measures reflect lessons learned during the global pandemic. State Representatives Aimee Berger-Girvalo (D-111) and Ken Gucker (D-138) and State Senator Will Haskell (D-26) supplied a

This week marks the end of the 2021 legislative session, the first full session since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and an important moment for our state. I’m proud of what my colleagues and I accomplished in Hartford, and I want to provide an update on some of the most important pieces of legislation

”I Came Back, They Didn’t” Ask veterans who march in the parades and stand silently, heads bowed, before war memorials. On Memorial Day, this is what they’ll say: “I came back. They didn’t.” Memorial Day’s purpose is to solemnly honor and mourn those who didn’t come back. Veterans Day (November 11) and Armed Services Day

These days we debate everything. Once in a while we might consider looking around instead and notice what is actually happening. We are seeing increasing periods of cataclysmic weather, including draughts, wild fires, storms and floods. Climate change threatens Connecticut’s economy, its infrastructure, agriculture, natural resources, and the health of our citizens. The overwhelming consensus is

If there is a path to narrowing the wealth gap in Connecticut and addressing economic inequality it might as well start at birth. The so-called Baby Bonds bill, introduced by State Treasurer Shawn Wooden earlier this year, would set up a trust controlled by the Office of State Treasurer and establish a $5,000 savings account

The current proposed budget in the Connecticut General Assembly is a work in progress and is anything but finalized. However, there are a number of priorities, intended to provide potential solutions to the growing statewide income gap, that should be at the forefront of the discussion. With a variety of goals aimed at boosting local

With a pandemic raging and taking hundreds of lives weekly in 2020, any eligible Connecticut voter could vote by absentee ballot. The method proved both secure and manageable. This voting option—and the option to vote early, in person or otherwise—can be made permanent with changes to our state Constitution. Republicans in the Connecticut state legislature are resisting efforts to

Like most people, I have friends and family on both sides of the political aisle, but after some heated holiday dinner discussions during the presidency of Donald J. Trump, I concluded that the wisest course was to simply steer the conversation toward calmer waters and avoid talk of current events and politics all together. Wait

On Thursday, March 11, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan (“ARP”), Congress’s third legislative pandemic response. Despite being second largest by total dollars, ARP is by far the most comprehensive and beneficial for “Main Street”, in both the metaphorical sense referring to regular Americans and in the local sense referring to our town. In

Education which expands the opportunity for success in a diverse world is a vital contribution to society. Ridgefield’s exceptional schools can proudly point to the human, scientific and economic contributions of our graduates. The wider society beyond our town benefits from the investment we make in the Ridgefield Public Schools and its students.  Today we

Governor Ned Lamont last week gave his annual budget address, outlining a plan for Connecticut’s revenue and spending over the next two years. The budget is always the biggest item on the annual political agenda, and I’m sure that the final fiscal plan passed by the General Assembly later this year will look different than

We join you in rejoicing that Joe Biden, our country’s youngest senator when he was elected in 1972 and soon our oldest head of state when he assumes office in a few short days, will be the 46th President of the United States and that Kamala Harris, the first female vice-president in US history, joins him

January 6, 2021 — The Ridgefield Democratic Town Committee condemns the appalling insurrection activities that breached and desecrated our nation’s Capitol building this afternoon. This insurrection, overtly encouraged by prominent political leaders and tacitly condoned by others’ silence, attacked the most important constitutionally mandated activity of our country: electoral democracy.   The insurrectionists will not derail

Raise your hand if you spent 2020 feeling considerably more afraid than most years. For the record, this author has her hand in the air. Certainly, much of our collective fear was justified — pandemics are scary things. And just as we’re unique in our experiences, our fears run a spectrum of worry. We all

George Shultz, who served as U.S. Secretary of State under President Reagan for six years, turned 100 last week.  On his birthday Secretary Shultz, now a Distinguished Fellow at Stamford University’s Hoover Institution, wrote a column in the Washington Post entitled, “The 10 most important things I’ve learned about trust over my 100 years.” In it, Shultz pronounced, “Trust is the

Biden WON Georgia in November, and in January Democrats MUST win again in that state. On January 5, 2021, Georgia will hold runoff elections for both its US Senate seats. If Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win these runoffs, Democrats will win control of the US Senate and finally remove the wholly corrupt, immensely

On November 3, voters gave themselves and future generations gifts that will become more obvious as the darkest days of 2020—and possibly of our nation’s recent history—cede to January 2021’s brighter, longer days. The first gift is that of an orderly, valid election. Just as peoples of many religious persuasions (and none) embrace celebrations of light in this season, Americans of all parties and persuasions can embrace the fact that on Election Day 2020, we safely voted in record numbers, and every vote was counted. According

As we move past the recent election toward the future of America under a new presidential administration, we still have lots of immediate challenges, most especially COVID, that need immediate, serious attention at the federal level as well as the active management we have been seeing here in Connecticut at the state and local levels. The election will have an impact on how these needs get addressed, and the fact thatthey will get addressed at all. Looking to the future right