Connecticut
Opinion: Connecticut can resist!
The President of the United States has rescinded civil rights programs, has threatened to withhold funding from diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and has announced plans to dissolve the U.S. Department of Education. A group of other states has sued to repeal Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
These actions endanger decades of including people with disabilities and others in our national melting pot. While I am alarmed and saddened by these threats to our civil rights, I believe that Connecticut can resist this assault and protect our residents.
Did you know that the State Constitution declares that “No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law nor be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex or physical or mental disability.”?
Our State Constitution also affirms that “There shall always be free public elementary and secondary schools in the state” and Connecticut enacted a law requiring special education 15 years before the federal government did so. Did you know that, in Connecticut, the membership of each state appointive board, commission, committee, and council must reflect the gender and racial diversity of the state?
Not all states guarantee free public education and equal protection of the law. Not all states require diversity in their public boards and commissions. We do, and these are just a few examples of Connecticut’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
However the federal government erodes the civil rights of diverse peoples, Connecticut can do better. I am proud of the actions by our federal delegation in Washington D.C. to resist the assault on public programs and civil rights. I am proud of our Gov. Ned Lamont for confirming that our enduring values include hope and opportunity for dreamers from around the world, yearning to breathe free.
I am proud of our Attorney General William Tong for joining other states in federal courts to stop unilateral abuses of power by the federal government. The State Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) has declared, “The actions at the federal level do not remove civil rights protections under Connecticut state law, and the CHRO remains steadfastly committed to enforcing civil rights antidiscrimination law for all protected classes and people.”
I am not Pollyanna. Intentional work will be required to ensure that, here in Connecticut, there is no discrimination in the exercise or enjoyment of civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, or physical or mental disability. Where federal funding is withheld, Connecticut must find the means to compensate. There will be choices to be made. We must consider our priorities.
Our Secretary of the State has launched a new campaign, the Power of Civics, to promote the importance of civic education and civic engagement by encouraging and enabling people to participate in their communities, identify issues, and work to solve problems. Get involved!
We can do this! We can be the city upon a hill.
Walter Glomb is Executive Director of the Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Connecticut
Missing Connecticut girl found alive 25 years after kidnapping with help from DNA testing
Connecticut police have located a New Haven girl — now a woman — who went missing 25 years ago, when she was just 2 years old.
Andrea Reyes, 27, was abducted in October 1999 by her non-custodial, biological mother, Rosa Tenorio, who brought her to Mexico.
“Thank you for sharing in our joy in finding our daughter Andrea. After 25 years, God has answered our prayers and blessed us with a chance to know her again,” Andrea’s stepmother said in an emotional statement during a March 12 press conference with the New Haven Police Department. “We recognize that this reacquaintance will have challenges, however, we are confident that God is building the path before us and leading our steps.”
Andrea’s father went on several trips to Mexico himself over the years to find his daughter, police said during the press conference.
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Andrea Reyes, now 27, was abducted in October 1999 by her non-custodial, biological mother, Rosa Tenorio, who brought her to Mexico. (NCMEC)
Andrea’s father and stepmother thanked law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Her stepmother also said DNA technology helped law enforcement develop a lead that ultimately led them to Andrea, who currently lives in Mexico.
She added that they “do not lose sight for those families waiting for their loved ones to be found.”
“We keep you in our prayers, hoping for the day that you, too, can be reunited with your loved ones,” Andrea’s stepmother said. “As we establish new connections over these days and months, we ask for your prayers and respect for our privacy. We hope that our good news will one day be your good news.”
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NCMEC’s age-progression photo image of Andrea Reyes. (NCMEC)
Mexican authorities apparently identified Reyes and her mother in 2000, but “it was advised that the Government of Mexico would not take further action to remove Andrea from her mother,” New Haven PD Sgt. John Moore said during the press conference.
Andrea apparently contacted the man she believed to be her father in 2023, when Det. Kealyn Nivakoff with the New Haven Police Department began to re-investigate the case. To confirm her identity, New Haven police partnered with forensic genetic genealogy research company Othram, which ultimately confirmed a father-daughter relationship between Andrea and her father.
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Family abductions are the second-most common type of child abduction in the United States, according to NCMEC.
Andrea Reyes’ father speaks during a March 12 press conference about finding his missing daughter after 25 years. (Facebook/ New Haven PF)
In 2023, NCMEC received 1,185 family abduction cases and 59% of all AMBER Alerts that were issued were for family abductions.
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“One of the biggest misconceptions about family abduction cases is that the children are safe and ‘not really missing’ because they’re with a parent,” Angeline Hartmann, director of communications at NCMEC, said in a statement. “At NCMEC, we know that there is a lot of emotion behind these cases, and these scenarios can be unpredictable and dangerous. These children ARE missing and living a life on the run with their kidnapper. They’re forced to lie about who they are and are often isolated. The recent recoveries of Andrea Reyes and Aziz Khan remind everyone that these kids can be found, no matter how long they’ve been gone.”
An arrest warrant for Tenorio remains active.
NEW YORK — The pilot of a small glider plane has died after crashing near an airport in southern Connecticut, state police announced Saturday.
Bradley Daar, 70, of Clinton, was piloting a single-engine ultralight glider on Friday afternoon when the aircraft crashed into the woods in the Town of Deep River, roughly 35 miles east of New Haven.
Officials responded to an area of Cedar Lake Road, also known as Route 145, at around 4:15 p.m. and located the victim, later identified as Daar. He was transported via helicopter to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead, state police said.
A witness told local station WTNH that he saw an ultralight flying around when he “noticed [the pilot] was kind of struggling to maintain altitude.”
As Daar went to land, “he did what is known as a ‘go-round,’ [which is] a very common maneuver when you think there’s not enough runway or you’re unstabilized on the approach, [then] you go around to circle back,” the witness, Douglas Griswold, said. “It was around then when he went down.”
The Wild Sky GOAT Weight-Shift-Control aircraft crashed just off the departure end of runway 17 at Chester Airport, CT Insider reported, citing a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board.
Connecticut State Police are handling the investigation and the NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Connecticut Airport Authority have been notified of the incident, state troopers said.
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