The House of Representatives voted Thursday to continue an emergency fund to offset federal funding cuts, but not before a discussion of decorum.  

Rep. Matt Ritter (D-Speaker) started the proceedings by reminding members that they’re not to display political messages inside the chamber while the House is in session.  

He was responding to Rep. Cara Pavalock-D’Amato (R-Bristol), who was wearing a jacket on opening day with a message of support for federal immigration agents.  

“My advice to everybody out there is don’t test me on this,” Ritter told reporters before the House session started.  

Ritter noted punishment could include censure, impeachment, or even expulsion, although he said his intent Thursday was simply to warn people not to violate the rule.  

Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said the jacket was in response to comments from Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut) that he felt were also too politically charged.  

Lamont said during his speech, “ICE… everywhere you go, uninvited, violence follows. Go home, we’re keeping Connecticut safe without you.”  

Candelora said he wants all leaders to tone down the rhetoric.  

“I wish the governor had checked himself before he made those statements,” Candelora said. “Any time you speak in absolutes, the way he did, it’s really offensive.”  

Pavalock-D’Amato told reporters she didn’t regret her decision.  

“I respect the speaker, definitely, but again the governor has the floor, and we have – there’s a way for us to speak during that speech, so I don’t have any regrets whatsoever,” she said.  

After talking with reporters, Pavalock-D’Amato met with Capitol police to discuss a threatening text message she received on Thursday.  

Ritter said he wanted to make it clear no one is allowed to have political messages in the chamber, adding he’s told House Democrats to remove pins, buttons, and other items that violate the rule.  

The bill passed with a 97-48 party-line vote, clearing the three-fifths majority required under the fiscal guardrails to create an account outside the budget with surplus fund money.  

It’s now headed to Lamont, who has voiced his support, after garnering a 28-8 vote in the Senate on Wednesday.  

The bill continues Lamont’s control over $313 million remaining in an emergency fund lawmakers created during a special session back in November.  

They originally set aside $500 million to respond to federal cuts, with Lamont declaring a fiscal emergency that ended when the legislative session began Wednesday.  

Lamont extended that declaration, but Republicans say the legislature should reassert its power of the purse now that the session has started.  

They also questioned the need for the emergency fund, calling it a slush fund for a governor seeking re-election.  

“We are under very different circumstances, our SNAP benefits, our LIHEAP, our government programs from the federal level are funded through September, so this fund is wholly unnecessary,” Candelora said.  

Democrats feared that more federal cuts could happen without minimal notice. They argued that Lamont is able to respond more quickly than the legislature.  

“Right now, when we worry about childcare, we worry about healthcare, we worry about housing, multiple things – homeless, food share, we’ve got to have a quick turnaround,” Rep. Toni Walker (D-New Haven) said.  

A UConn student leader recently joined state officials on a public panel examining the future of civic engagement in Connecticut, offering a student perspective rooted in hands-on experience with local government and policy research. 

Ryan Engels ’27 (CLAS), a political science major and fast-track MPA student, was one of three panelists at Forum Encore! From Campus to the Capitol: The Future of Civic Engagement in Connecticut, a free community discussion held Feb. 3 at the Hartford Public Library. The event followed last week’s sold-out Connecticut Forum conversation featuring Pete Buttigieg and Jonah Goldberg at The Bushnell. Both events were presented in partnership with UConn’s School of Public Policy and the Institute for Municipal and Regional Policy (IMRP). 

Moderated by Frankie Graziano of The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public, the discussion brought together Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, former state senate minority leader Len Fasano, and Engels to explore how younger generations can reconnect with government and civic life.  

Engels acknowledged that sharing the stage with long-serving Connecticut leaders was initially intimidating. Still, he emphasized that there are no prerequisites for making a difference.  

“I tell other young people and students interested in getting involved, you belong in these spaces,” Engels said. “If you have the motivation and dedication to the causes that you feel strongly about, you can make an impact — no matter your age.” 

Engels’ participation on the panel reflected the kind of civic engagement the discussion encouraged. 

Engels was recently elected as a zoning commissioner in his hometown of Westbrook, where he also serves as chairman of the Sustainability Committee. He has also completed an internship with IMRP working with associate director Ken Barone, who serves as project manager for the Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project (CTRP3). As part of that work, Engels helped collect and organize data from Inspector General use-of-force reports to inform state’s attorneys and IMRP on police use of force statewide. 

In addition to his public service experience, Engels is an active leader at UConn. As a first-year student, founded the Connecticut Youth Political Advocacy Center (CYPAC) in his dorm room. The nonpartisan nonprofit focuses on promoting civic engagement and youth participation at the state and local levels. Engels has also served as a senator in the UConn Storrs Undergraduate Student Government and as executive vice president of College Democrats of Connecticut.  

The panel addressed what speakers described as a growing disconnect between younger generations and government. Engels pointed to the ways social media can sometimes replace direct conversation. 

“Young people are disillusioned,” Engels said. “Young people too often rely on social media for their engagement. We can get into the habit of seeing each other as usernames rather than having human conversations. Getting back to having conversations like these is important.”  

Thomas echoed that sentiment, stressing the importance of encouraging young people to exercise agency now rather than waiting until later in life.  

Fasano — who currently serves on the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, which is supported by UConn IMRP — added that many traditional entry points into politics lack younger participation. He noted that the average age of town committee members he has worked with is 68. 

“Town committees are the epicenter for people who want to go into politics,” Fasano said. “That’s the quickest place you can make a change, but I don’t see a lot of younger people getting on these committees and putting the time in.”  

As an example of constructive student engagement, Engels highlighted an upcoming debate between UConn College Democrats and UConn College Republicans at the Dodd Center for Human Rights on Feb. 5. 

“Young people can engage in respectful civil discourse,” he said. 

IMRP director and School of Public Policy adjunct faculty member Andrew Clark brought students from his Public Policy 1001 course to attend the event, reinforcing the program’s emphasis on connecting classroom learning with real-world civic engagement. 

Georgia LoPresti, a student in the course, said she appreciated seeing multiple generations represented on the panel.  

“He held his own,” LoPresti said of Engels. “At a young age, he’s already doing so much. It’s encouraging for other students to see.” 

Firefighters rushed to rescue a swan that was stuck in a frozen Connecticut lake this week after a spell of freezing temperatures in the area, according to reports.

The Norwalk Fire Department suited up in cold-water rescue gear and used ropes to carefully move onto the frozen Norwalk River on Tuesday and locate the trapped feathered friend.

Rescuers soon learned that the poor swan’s feet were frozen into the ice — and spent half an hour chipping away at the frozen lake to finally free the bird.

Photos showed the elegant creature being strapped onto a rescue float and swaddled in a blanket before it was pulled to shore and hoisted up a fence to safety.

It is not immediately clear how long the swan had been trapped in the ice, and rescuers were initially concerned that the bird had died.

But after approaching the scene, firefighters quickly realized the swan was alive and grateful for some help out of the bone-chilling lake.

“It was curled up, probably trying to warm itself or keep itself warm, but I did see some movement, so at that point, I was a little optimistic that we can have a good outcome,” Norwalk Fire Department Chief Jonathan Maggio told WABC.

The swan was “just happy to be out of the ice,” Maggio added.

The bird was taken to a veterinarian center and is expected to make a full recovery. Once it regains strength, the swan will be properly released into the wild.

With Post wires