When I first ran for office, I was one of only two openly gay members of the Connecticut General Assembly. Today, I’m proud to serve as co-chair of a growing LGBTQ+ Caucus, one that’s not only increasing in number but in impact.

That growth matters. Because while we gather this June to mark Pride Month, we do so at a time when LGBTQ+ rights, especially the rights of trans people, are under coordinated attack across the country. Under the current federal administration, we’ve seen efforts to erase LGBTQ+ history from classrooms, target trans youth in healthcare and sports, and target our identities to distract from real issues.

Connecticut has chosen a different path. We’re showing what it looks like when a state leads with dignity and action, not division.

This year, we passed bipartisan legislation that prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ residents in long-term care facilities, ensuring our elders can live openly and receive the care they deserve without hiding who they are. No one should be forced back into the closet just to access basic services.

We also protected funding for the LGBTQ+ Justice and Opportunity Network, which provides grants to LGBTQ+ nonprofit, healthcare, and advocacy organizations across the state. The network collaborates with local affinity groups and advocates to inform the legislature on the evolving needs of our community. I’m especially proud of this program, because it was the first bill I introduced and took to the House floor back in 2019.

But we didn’t stop there. In a year when states are criminalizing gender-affirming care and restricting access to abortion, we passed legislation to shield providers in Connecticut who offer this care. This sends a clear message: if you’re under attack in your home state, Connecticut will stand with you.

And while other states are banning books and threatening librarians, we’re doing the opposite. We advanced legislation to protect public libraries, librarians, and the freedom to access information without intimidation or censorship. We did this because defending free expression and the right to learn is foundational to a healthy democracy and to a truly inclusive society.

For me, Pride is deeply personal. I spent 18 years in the closet, raised by an immigrant father and an Irish Catholic mother. That combination came with its own set of challenges, but today, after many difficult conversations and a lot of growth, they’re two of my biggest supporters. I’m grateful for that, and I know not everyone is so fortunate.

And even within our own community, we don’t always get it right. I’m a gay man, I don’t know what it’s like to be trans or nonbinary, and sometimes I get it wrong. We all do. But we’ve got to give each other the space and grace to keep learning, and to keep showing up.

That’s true for allies, too. Allyship isn’t seasonal. It doesn’t stop at a pin, a post, or a parade. It’s about using your voice when it matters, especially when it’s uncomfortable. It’s about backing up your values with real action, not just words.

To every LGBTQ+ person across Connecticut and beyond, especially those feeling exhausted, afraid, or unseen right now, I want you to know: you’re not alone. We’re here. We’re fighting for you. And we’re not going anywhere.

We’ve come too far, and the stakes are too high, to go quiet now.

State Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan is the Democratic Chief Majority Whip. He represents the 2nd District (Danbury) in the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Associated Press

Tina Charles returned to the Connecticut Sun knowing the franchise was rebuilding. The WNBA’s all-time leading rebounder didn’t care because it was a chance to come full circle with the team that drafted her No. 1 in 2010.

So far on the court it’s been a rough start to the season for the Sun, who have lost six of their first seven games, including suffering the worst defeat in franchise history in their last outing — a 48-point loss to New York.

“I thought worse off this would happen,” Charles said. “You have whole new players, a new coach, a new system. I knew there was going to be growing pains as a team and as coaches, but I think we’ve been able to have good conversations in the sense of what needs to be our approach.”

It’s not a real surprise that the Sun are struggling. Connecticut lost all five starters from last season’s team that made it to at least the playoff semifinals for the sixth consecutive season. No team in WNBA history has had as much changeover from one year to the next as the Sun have had.

Charles and Marina Mabrey are two of the veteran players on the squad that’s still searching for its identity.

“This is a new cycle for us and we are not a finished product so we had to understand sometimes we have some bad days,” first-year Connecticut coach Rachid Meziane said after the loss to New York. “Try to fix and reduce our mistakes.”

Connecticut has lost its six games by an average of 21.7 points — the worst in the league.

Even with the struggles, Charles is hoping to be a mentor for some of the younger players such as Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aneesah Morrow. Morrow was the No. 7 pick in the draft this season.

“I get to do what I love. I get to do it back with the organization that believed in me first,” Charles said. “Get to impact them. Just to see the growth within my players, not just as basketball players, but as a woman off the court. That’s really what the goal is. I’m just more so happy that I’m able to impact these guys, especially Olivia and just what her future is going to look like.”

Off the court the team’s future is unclear. The Mohegan Tribe, which owns the franchise, is exploring a potential sale of the team. It hired an investment bank to explore the possibility, which may lead to a relocation of the franchise. If the Sun do end up moving, one potential destination could be Boston. The Sun played a regular-season game there last year that sold out. The team will face Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in Boston in July.

The group in Boston that includes former NBA player Michael Carter-Williams, which is interested in getting a franchise in Massachusetts’ capital, declined to comment to The Associated Press at this time when asked if it was interested in buying the Sun.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Over the course of the two-year budget, the West Hartford state delegation reports that the state budget will deliver an estimated $7 million more in municipal aid to the town.

By Ronni Newton

Connecticut’s $55.8 billion budget is headed to the desk of Gov. Ned Lamont for signature after being approved by the legislature this week, and included in that budget is additional mutual aid for the Town of West Hartford.

The Senate passed the budget late Tuesday night, in a 25-11 party-line vote with West Hartford state Sen. Derek Slap voting in favor of it. Late Monday, the State House passed the budget, on a mostly-party-line vote, with West Hartford Reps. Jillian Gilchrest, Tammy Exum, Kate Farrar, James Sánchez and Bobby Gibson, all giving their approval to the plan.

“West Hartford has some of the greatest schools and services in Connecticut, and the new state budget will help ensure that they can be maintained without breaking the bank,” said the delegation in a joint statement. “We regularly hear from residents that they love living in West Hartford, but they’re concerned about affordability. We get it. West Hartford is now set to receive one of the largest increases to special education funding among all the municipalities in the state. The additional investments help students, educators, and of course taxpayers.”

Included in the state’s biennial budget is an overall $40 million per year boost to the fund that reimburses municipalities for excess costs related to special education, with West Hartford expected to receive a share of roughly $1.5 million each year from the state. While the governor’s original budget proposal included greater funding for excess cost reimbursement in FY27, it had kept funding flat for FY26.

The shortfall in excess cost reimbursement from the state has been an issue under discussion between legislators and the governor, and in February the West Hartford delegation pushed for a statewide injection of $40 million into the fund in the current fiscal year to address a significant shortfall that arose due to rising costs, that would have left the town with a large revenue deficit to fill.

The delegation continued to lobby for that extra $40 million to also be provided in FY26, and by the time the West Hartford Town Council adopted its FY26 budget in April, Town Manager Rick Ledwith felt fairly certain it would come through. Ledwith said at the time that if the state did not increase the excess cost reimbursement funding, he would have to return to the Town Council and look to have the town and school district each cut roughly $700,000 from their budgets.

“We’re happy with the excess cost reimbursement money,” Ledwith told We-Ha.com on Wednesday.

In addition to securing the excess cost reimbursement funding, the state is creating a new Special Education and Expansion Development (SEED) Grant of $30 million, and West Hartford is slated to receive an additional $314,782 in each FY26 and FY27 as its share of that fund, which is intended to promote the development of programming to serve special education students closer to home.

Those funds were not anticipated in the town’s adopted budget.

“I want to thank our delegation for their hard work and advocacy throughout the budget process,” Mayor Shari Cantor said in a statement. “The aid provided to West Hartford will serve our residents well, supporting vital services and helping us invest in the future of our community. I am especially grateful for the state’s commitment to special education funding. These resources will go a long way in supporting our students, families, and teachers, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

The delegation praised their partnership with town leaders. “We are grateful for the leadership of Mayor Cantor, the entire town council, and the board of education,” said the statement from the West Hartford delegation. “Their partnership is critical as we coordinate priorities and deliver much-deserved resources to our special town.”

According to the state delegation, the West Hartford will receive:

• $25,567,128 in Education Cost Sharing (ECS), a 1.92% increase from the previous budget
• $6,691,291 each year in motor vehicle reimbursement rates, an increase of 13.91%. In 2022 legislators passed a cap on the amount that a municipality can levy a motor vehicle tax, and the state provides a reimbursement for a portion of that lost revenue.
• $921,373 in each year for Town Aid Road (TAR), a 33.33% increase from the previous budget
• $805,784 in Municipal Grants-in-Aid, no change from the previous budget
• $677,699 in Local Capital Improvements (LoCIP), no change from the previous budget
• An additional $400,000 each year from the Supplemental Revenue Sharing Grant
• $155,785 in Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) in each year of the budget
• $27,820 in each year from the Mashantucket Pequot & Mohegan Fund Grant, no change from the previous budget

Other provisions in the budget, according to the delegation, include “investment in early childhood education, targeted tax relief and more while remaining under the spending cap and projects state surpluses.” Those provisions include:

• A $250 tax refund for lower-income working families Earned Income Tax Credit program, which will benefit as many as 195,000 households
• Up to $300 million into a newly created fund for birth to five early childhood education to  create additional slots, cap costs for families and pay educators more
• Projected state surpluses and continued investment in the state’s Rainy Day Fund
• Investing $76 million in nonprofits in the second year of the budget to support worker wages
• Tax credits supporting refundable personal income tax credits for home daycare owners
• Fully funding Medicaid, with more than $400 million in increased funding to support the program 900,000 Connecticut residents rely on
• Investing $7 million in Connecticut Foodshare, helping feed hungry Connecticut families
• Investing $3 million in heating assistance as federal programs may see funding reductions

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