Where We Live

One of the biggest focuses for the 2023 legislative session is housing. Rent has gone up for many Connecticut residents at a time when inflation limits what they can afford to pay. They face a lack of affordable housing in Connecticut – and eviction.

Today, we talk about the housing market in our state, and what legislative action we might see in the future.

We hear from those covering housing across our state including Jacqueline Rabe Thomas of Hearst Media and Ginny Monk from the Connecticut Mirror.

Advocates are calling for rent caps and better protections against evictions, as well as more low income housing for residents of a variety of economic backgrounds and circumstances. Are you seeing enough affordable housing where you live?

GUESTS:

• Ginny Monk: Children's issues and Housing Reporter for the CT Mirror
• Jacqui Rabe Thomas: Investigative Reporter for Hearst Media
• Christine Stuart: Editor-in-Chief of CT News Junkie

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State Sen. Dr. Saud Anwar, co-chair of the Public Health Committee, joined Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Monday to announce legislation that would "address unsafe staffing" by establishing "safe patient limits," or nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, among other protections.

This hour, we discuss the proposal with Sen. Anwar, the "patient care crisis" in Connecticut, and renewed efforts to address it. AFT, a union representing many health care workers in our state, recently released the Healthcare Staffing Shortage Task Force Report, finding that the "corporatization of healthcare with profit motives has created systematic underinvestment in healthcare workers’ safety and wellbeing."

Plus, we'll hear recommendations from the National Nurse Staffing Think Tank with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and from the Windham Federation of Professional Nurses, AFT Local 5041, after negotiating a ban on mandatory overtime.

GUESTS:

• Saud Anwar: Democratic State Senator; Co-Chair, Public Health Committee
• Vicki Good: RN; Former President, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses; Member, National Nurse Staffing Think Tank
• Paul Banach: RN; Member, CT Nurses United
• Andrea Riley: RN; President, Windham Federation of Professional Nurses, AFT Local 5041

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour on Where We Live, we hear from two survivors of genocide. Theanvy Kuoch fled Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge in 1981, having lost 19 family members. Reena Aurora left India in 1989 five years after her brother was burned to death in the wave of anti-Sikh violence.

Both women struggled to find culturally fluent psychiatric care for themselves and their families, leading Theanvy and Reena to develop new models of mental health care for immigrant communities that straddle dual cultures.

We also hear from IRIS in New Haven on how the nonprofit is adding to its wellness team to better serve the mental health needs of recent Afghan and Ukrainian refugees.

GUESTS: 

Reena Kaur Aurora: Board Member, Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut

Theanvy Kuoch: Executive Director, Khamer Health Advocates. Family therapist and community health worker.

Ann O’Brien: Director of Sponsorship, Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services 

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether it's reading more books or eating out less, January is the month of goals and challenges. Veganuary is no exception.

The 30-day plant-based challenge originated nearly a decade ago, and has since taken on a life of its own. We’ll hear from three different vegans working in the plant-based space about their journey to becoming vegan, and what it means to them.

What do you want to know about the lifestyle?

GUESTS:

• Wendy Matthews: U.S. Director at Veganuary
• Candice Hutchings: Creator of The Edgy Veg
• Mackenzie Sullivan: Co-Founder of Ellie Mae Farm Sanctuary in Storrs, CT

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wrong way driving is on the rise in Connecticut. Today, we discuss what’s being done to prevent wrong-way collisions in our state.

Reckless and aggressive driving has also become more apparent since the start of the pandemic. We’ll hear from the Department of Transportation in Connecticut and learn what can be done to ensure safer Connecticut roads for all its residents.

Have you seen more aggressive driving where you live?

GUESTS:

• Richard Retting: Senior Program Officer for the Transportation Research Board at the National Academies of Science
• Fran Mayko: AAA Northeast Spokeswoman 
• Bria Lloyd: Investigative Reporter at The Accountability Project at Connecticut Public
• Josh Morgan: Spokesperson for Connecticut Department of Transportation

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some 44,000 Connecticut residents have had low-level cannabis possession charges "fully or partially erased" from their records this month, as promised within the state's recreational marijuana legislation.

Later this year, after facing delays since its passage in 2021, the Clean Slate Law is set to do the same for five-times as many locals with other low-level offenses. Fox 61 reports lawmakers agree both these laws are a "down payment" on work to be done this legislative session.

This hour, we’ll discuss what’s ahead with criminal record expungement, and big-picture with Connecticut’s recreational rollout. How does the rollout compare to other states so far, including nearby Massachusetts? And how are community stakeholders being involved in the process, after promises made through the state’s Social Equity Council?

GUESTS:

• Jaden Edison: Justice Reporter, The Connecticut Mirror
• John Craven: Politics Reporter, News 12 Connecticut
• Natalie Fertig: Federal Cannabis Policy Reporter, Politico

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Known as the seventh continent, Antarctica is much more than a home to penguins!

Today, we explore the least inhabited continent in the world.

We hear about how climate change impacts wildlife in Antarctica and what life looks like for those who live and work there.

GUESTS:

• David W. Brown: contributor to the New Yorker and author to the forthcoming book The Outside Cats
• Matt Jordan: Project Manager for Antarctica New Zealand and board member for the Antarctician Society
• Claire Christian: Executive Director of ASOC or the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition
• Talbot Andrews: Assistant Professor with the Department of Political Science, studying climate policy at the University of Connecticut

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Cat Pastor contributed to this show which originally aired December 8, 2022.

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conley Monk Jr. came home to Hamden in 1970 after serving in the Vietnam War. His discharge was prompted by a PTSD-induced altercation in Okinawa, and categorized within the military as "other-than-honorable."

Mr. Monk spent decades trying to access basic benefits like disability coverage, until his appeal in 2015 ultimately changed how these kinds of cases are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, now formally allowing class-action lawsuits.

This hour, Mr. Monk joins us along with his representation at Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic. We’ll discuss the new lawsuit they’ve filed against the VA, alleging racial discrimination.

Plus, a new report from the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) shows how racial disparities persist across military discharge status, and how this impedes veterans' access to benefits.

Across four out of five military branches and roughly one million separation documents CVLC obtained, Black service members "were approximately 1.5 times as likely as white service members to receive an Other Than Honorable rather than Honorable discharge, and approximately twice as likely as white service members to receive a General discharge."

While the VA has not responded to the suit directly, press secretary Terrence Hayes provided a written statement to Connecticut Public, saying that the agency is working to address "institutional racism" and to review policies.

What resources are there for veterans who are trying to secure benefits where we live, despite what can be burdensome discharge documentation?

GUESTS:

• Conley Monk Jr.: Vietnam Veteran; Founder, National Veterans Council for Legal Redress
• Michael Sullivan: Student Intern, Yale Law School’s Veterans Legal Services Clinic
• Alden Pinkham: Connecticut Bar Association Singer Fellow, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center
• Chelsea Donaldson: Supervising Attorney of the Veterans Benefits Unit, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic led to a decline in the incarcerated population, and many states have been re-evaluating the purpose of prisons.

In this hour, Bill Keller, Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Marshall Project, joins us to talk about his new book, What’s Prison For? Punishment and Rehabilitation in the Age of Mass Incarceration.

Keller details how the United States prison population became so massive and what we can learn from how other countries treat and house people in prison.

GUESTS:

•  Bill Keller - Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Marshall Project and author of What’s Prison For? Punishment and Rehabilitation in the Age of Mass Incarceration
• Mike Wessler - Communications Director for the Prison Policy Initiative based out of East Hampton, Massachusetts 
• State Senator Gary Winfield - Democrat representing the tenth district in New Haven and West Haven.

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

State Representative Quentin “Q” Williams died last week after a collision with a wrong-way driver.

Today, we remember his legacy, his time in office and how he served his constituents. State Representatives Bobby Gibson and Christopher Rosario join us to share their experience working with the late politician.

Later, we talk about what can be done to prevent wrong-way driving and how we might see his legacy memorialized at the Capitol.

We want to hear your memories of Q Williams. How did he make an impact on your life?

GUESTS:

• State Representative Christopher Rosario: Bridgeport 
• State Representative Bobby Gibson: Bloomfield and Windsor
• Ebong Udoma: Senior Reporter at WSHU
• Mark Pazniokas: Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror
• Susan Raff: Political Reporter for WFSB

Where We Live is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.