A fair fare would keep more of us in Connecticut

Written by Jim Cameron/Talking Transportation
Friday, 13 April 2012 14:28

Governor Malloy is quick to tell us that creating a state budget is like making sausage, something he has done in years past (the sausage making). "It's not pretty. It's work," he says in describing the process. The question is, how palatable will the end result be, especially for riders of mass transit.

Last year the state Department of Transportation said it desperately needed a fare increase of 16% for riders of Metro-North Railroad. That got whittled back to a "modest" 12%, spread over three years and riders felt victorious.

That's like a mugger threatening to take your life but only kicking you in the groin. For this you're supposed to be grateful?

Then earlier this year we found that the fare increase wasn't being spent on the trains but getting tossed into the sieve-like "Special Transportation Fund" that also pays for bridge repairs and even DOT pensions.

Your help is needed in Lyme disease research

Written by Doug Hartline/Redding Health Officer
Wednesday, 11 April 2012 14:04

It's no secret that tick-borne diseases are the number one public health concern in Redding. As Redding's public health officer, it's been heart-wrenching to hear of entire families being impacted, or of children being so debilitated they are unable to go to school, or of those who are no longer able to work ... all from contracting a tick-borne disease.

For years health departments, especially in rural towns like Redding, have focused their efforts on distributing tick-borne disease educational materials, sending out townwide mailers, organizing presentations, writing articles for the newspaper, sending ticks for testing, which have resulted in little to no improved statistical evidence of lessening tick-borne disease cases.

Health care providers are hindered with an unreliable Lyme analytical lab test (false positives and negatives), plus many vary on determining when or when not to prescribe medication, being cautious of potentially overprescribing antibiotics. Published estimates report that only about 10% of Lyme cases are formally reported to the State Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC). I can only scratch my head when I read, according to State Health Department data, that in 2010 Redding had only eight reported cases of Lyme disease.

Mark Twain Library could use more ‘Friends’

Written by Beth Dominianni/Mark Twain Library
Wednesday, 11 April 2012 14:02

When Samuel L. Clemens arrived in Redding in 1908, he received a warm welcome and quickly grew to love his new community. While trying to fit his large collection of books into his new home, he realized the town lacked one feature dear to his heart, a library. He quickly acted to rectify that situation and raise the needed funds to build his new home town a library.

What started as a singular vision quickly encompassed the whole community. Townsfolk held dances and sewing bees among other fund-raisers to raise funds. Male visitors to his Stormfield home (ladies were exempt) paid a dollar or ran the risk of having their baggage held hostage until they did. What started with books donated by the author and his friends is now a thriving public library.

Keep on the trail

Friday, 23 March 2012 11:05

The vision may seem far fetched: A 27-mile trail through five towns for bikers, runners, hikers and horse riding. But the Norwalk River Valley Trail — somewhere between a plan and a proposal, at this point — is a good, solid idea.

It's not something that will pay off — or has a chance of getting done — tomorrow, next year, or the next few years. But it is a long-range vision with great promise if advocates and local officials take it seriously, sustain the effort, and keep chipping away to get it done.

As envisioned, the trail would be eight to 10 feet wide, covered in stone dust, mostly. It would wander from Danbury's train station, through Ridgefield, Redding and Wilton to Calf Pasture Beach in Norwalk.

In a suburban setting and an electronics-dominated age where healthy exercise is increasingly difficult to come by, and even children are increasingly overweight, this is a vision worth pursing.