Connect with us

Connecticut

Opinion: As CT focuses on housing crisis, eviction protections can’t be forgotten

Published

on

Opinion: As CT focuses on housing crisis, eviction protections can’t be forgotten


Everyone needs a place to live. That is something not seriously debated or disputed by Connecticut policymakers.

What was debated, disputed-–and in the end, discarded–- is the idea that the places people live should not be suddenly, and without justification, taken away from them.

“Just Cause” eviction protections, which prevent landlords removing a tenant without cause, already exist for seniors (age 62 and up) and people with disabilities in this state. Five states, including our neighbors in New Hampshire and New Jersey, already require landlords to give a reason for evicting any tenant. Importantly, the bill would have only applied to properties with five or more units and would not have affected small local landlords.

Why couldn’t Connecticut, facing our own growing crisis with housing and homelessness, take this step to provide stability for families–who already face spiraling rental costs–and prevent price-gouging practices by unscrupulous landlords?

Advertisement

State Rep. Antonio Felipe told the CT Mirror last month that he believed “we have the votes.” But somehow, the vote never happened. According to Felipe, that’s because too many lawmakers were afraid to be “public” with their support of “Just Cause.”

Protecting Connecticut families from arbitrary evictions should not be something legislators on either side of the political spectrum shrink from. The idea that a tenant who pays rent on time and follows all the rules should keep their living space cannot be controversial. Opponents to this measure, led by deep-pocketed landlords, claimed counter-intuitively (and bizarrely) that these measures would worsen the housing crisis by disincentivizing landlords from maintaining properties, leading (somehow) to a decrease in housing units.

Connecticut’s housing crisis is finally being acknowledged broadly, with a huge dearth of affordable places to live and high costs squeezing families in nearly every town. But it is vital to remember this crisis is not about properties, it is about people.

While building more living spaces remains essential, we cannot expect renters (largely young people) to thrive in our state under the constant threat of being forced from their homes. Career prospects, school performance, community connections -–all hinge on a stable living space. It would be deeply misguided, and dangerous, to continue working on other aspects of the housing crisis without shoring up the foundation.



Source link

Connecticut

Watch New Canaan vs. Cheshire in Connecticut Class L football championship: Live stream

Published

on

Watch New Canaan vs. Cheshire in Connecticut Class L football championship: Live stream


New Canaan faces Cheshire in the 2025 Connecticut high school Class L football state championship on Saturday afternoon.

The game begins at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.

The game will stream live on the NFHS Network.

High school football championships on NFHS Network

Advertisement

Watch high school sports anywhere from wherever you are.

WATCH NOW

What: Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Class L football championship

Who: New Canaan vs. Cheshire

When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025

Advertisement

Where: Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut

Time: 4 p.m. EST

Stream: NFHS Network

Tickets: $11,50

Record, MaxPrep state rankings: New Canaan 12-0, No. 1; Cheshire 9-3, No. 11

Advertisement

Here’s more information about the game from the Hartford Courant, via the Tribune News Service:

New Canaan is going for its 16th state title and fourth straight under veteran coach Lou Marinelli and New Canaan outscored its playoff opponents, 85-13. Cheshire’s last finals appearance was 2009, when coach Don Drust was an assistant for the Rams’ team, which beat Staples in overtime to win a Class LL title. Cheshire rallied from a 19-point deficit against Fairfield Ludlowe to win the Class L quarterfinal game and beat Ridgefield 21-0 in the semifinals. QB Aiden Gregorich’s pass to Liam Suomala proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarterfinal.

What is the NFHS Network?

The NFHS Network covers more than 30 sports across the country. NFHS Network costs $13.99 per month or $79.99 per year.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Connecticut

Could mini-liquor bottles be banned in Connecticut?

Published

on

Could mini-liquor bottles be banned in Connecticut?


Have you still seen a lot of mini-liquor bottles, littering the streets in Connecticut?

Members of one environmental group said they still see them, and believe a ban is the best way to solve a multi-tiered problem.

State data shows in the past 12 months, ending September 30, there were more than 93 million mini-liquor bottles sold in our state.

The group supporting local bans says it’s not just the litter, but also the fact mini-liquor bottles are easy to conceal and consume on the job, in the car, or at school.

Advertisement

The group “Connecticut Towns Nixing the Nip” met this week, working on strategies to get a legislative hearing on the issue in the upcoming 2026 session.

Right now, stores collect a 5-cent surcharge for every mini-liquor bottle sold, resulting in about $5 million annually for town and city environmental cleanup efforts.

Town funding from nip sales

Average revenue per year 2021 to 2025.

Advertisement

“Having talked to a number of towns, well a few towns, they like the money, said Tom Metzner, a member of the group. “It’s fairly broad in how it can be used. It’s environmental. It doesn’t have to be used for cleaning up nips. And so the towns have become somewhat silent on the issue of banning nips.”

The group cited Chelsea, Massachusetts, where minis are banned, both litter and alcohol related EMS calls decreased.

The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, which devised the “nickel per nip” program, said banning the mini-liquor bottles would be unprecedented.

Instead, it said the environmental group should be challenging municipalities to prove they actually use the money for cleanup.

Legislative leaders suggested several years ago the way to really do this is to have a redemption program for mini liquor bottles, and now, that could be possible.

Advertisement

At least one state with the Clynk bottle collection program has redeemed mini-liquor bottles for cash.

The company just announced a major expansion in our state, but it told us it is not aware of a redemption program for mini-liquor bottles here any time soon.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Connecticut

National trust in the federal government is low. CT residents agree

Published

on

National trust in the federal government is low. CT residents agree


National trust in the federal government is at some of its lowest levels in nearly seven decades, and many Connecticut residents fall in line with that belief, a survey found.

New data from the Pew Research Center found only 17% of Americans believe that what the government does is right either “just about always” or “most of the time,” hitting one of the lowest points Pew has seen since first asking this question in 1958. And according to a DataHaven survey, Connecticut residents trust the federal government less than state or local institutions.

While these are some of the lowest polling numbers seen in American history, national trust in the federal government has been on the decline for decades. Public trust initially dropped in the 1960s and ’70s during the Vietnam War from a near 80% but began rising again in the 1980s into the early ’90s. Trust peaked again after 9/11 before falling.

Advertisement

The DataHaven survey found that of all Connecticut residents surveyed, only 9% trust the federal government “a great deal” to look out for the best interests of them and their family. About 28% trust the federal government “a fair amount.”

Federal government trust among Connecticut residents was at its highest in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal stimulus programs and child tax credit were active.

The DataHaven survey also asked about trust in local and state government. Connecticut residents generally trust these institutions more than they trust the federal government, the survey found.

Trust in the local governments was higher than trust in both state and federal, with 67% of residents surveyed trusting their local government “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”

Advertisement

And when it came to state government, 61% of residents trust the state “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending