New Mission for Graustein Memorial Fund Is Equity in Education, End to Racism and Poverty

The heightened racial unrest and unrelenting racial disparities that have risen in the public consciousness in recent years have prompted a mission shift for the New Haven-based William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, one of the state’s venerable family foundations. In an open letter to the community, Executive Director David Addams, who came to the fund just over a year ago, explained that “The Graustein family, trustees and staff, during our planning process, were confronted by the depth and persistence of racial and economic inequality, struck by the seeming acceptance of the status quo, concerned for the destructive effects of inequity on our individual and collective futures, and united in our resolve that rigorous attention to equity underlies our future work.”

Addams said that “to guide us as we work to help remove these barriers,” the trustees adopted a new mission:  The mission of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is to achieve equity in education by working with those affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty.

In recent years, the mission focus of The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund has been to “work collaboratively to improve education for Connecticut's children by strengthening the involvement of parents and the community in education, informing the public debate on critical policies, and improving educational practice.”  Connecticut’s children have been the focus of the Graustein Memorial Fund’s grantmaking, working with rural, urban and suburban communities, and both public and private schools.

Addams noted that the many accomplishments in that area have included providing help to increase access to early childhood learning, build community capacity, and create a new state office to support and grow the field.”  The Fund, and its supporters, have “moved Connecticut closer to the goal of ensuring that every child has what they need,” Addams said.

Referencing that “50 years after the passage of major civil rights legislation, racial disparities persist more in Connecticut than anywhere else in America,” Addams said that “these inequities are barriers for families of color and families living in poverty to reaching their full potential.”

Addams said that one of the state’s strongest assets – the families and neighborhoods that have direct experience in raising children and dealing with the barriers of racism and poverty – are underutilized, noting that “within all of us, and especially those most affected by racism and poverty, there are the strengths, determination, creativity and wisdom we need to succeed.”

Indicating that “real change takes a long-term commitment from many partners,” Addams said that the fund intends to “start slowly and co-create the path forward with those who would like to join us on this journey.”

https://youtu.be/ya2vq4dEhOs

CT Ranks 25th in Telecommuting Jobs; Nationwide 37 Percent Say They’ve Telecommuted

Thirty-seven percent of U.S. workers say they have telecommuted, up slightly from 30 percent last decade but four times greater than the 9 percent found in 1995, according to a newly released Gallup poll.  Connecticut ranks 25^th in the nation in full-time telecommuters, data compiled by the website flexijobs.com indicates. The leading states for full-time telecommuters, based on percentage of workforce, are Colorado (6.9%), Vermont (6.8%), Oregon (6.3%), Montana (6%), Maine (5.7%), Arizona (5.5%), Idaho (5.5%) and New Hampshire (5.4%).  In Connecticut, 4.3 percent of the workforce are telecommuters.

Based on years of researching companies that hire for telecommuting, part-time, flextime, or freelance jobs, FlexJobs has compiled the best list of 100 of companies located in Connecticut that specifically have hired for jobs with at least one of these flexible working options.

Connecticut’s top companies for flexible jobs are Aetna, General Electric, CIGNA, Kforce, Pitney Bowes, The Hartford, Magellan Health Services, Novitex Enterprise Solutions, Onward Search, Gartner Inc, Higher One, and Stanley Black & Decker.

The percentage of telecommuters nationwide is based on Gallup's annual Work and Education poll, conducted earlier this month, Aug. 5-9, 2015. Technology has made telecommuting easier for workers, and most companies seem willing to let workers do their work remotely, at least on an occasional basis if the position allows for it, the Gallup analysis points out. Even though telecommuting has become more common, the growth in the practice appears to have leveled off in recent years, according to Gallup.

The survey indicated that U.S. workers say they telecommute from home rather than go into the office about two days per month, on average. Nine percent of workers say they telecommute more than 10 workdays -- meaning at least half of all workdays -- in a typical month.  The majority of Americans, including both those employed and not employed, believe workers who work remotely are just as productive as those who work in a business office.

CT Tax on Cigarettes is Nation’s 4th Highest, Headed Toward 2nd Highest

Connecticut’s cigarette tax, $3.40 per pack, is the 4^th highest in the nation.  State cigarette tax rates vary widely, ranging from 17 cents per pack in Missouri to $4.35 in New York, according to a report published in Governing magazine. When Connecticut’s tax increases to $3.65 per pack on October 1, the state will surpass the Massachusetts tax of $3.51 per pack, moving into 3^rd place.  Rhode Island, at $3.75 per pack, ranks 2^nd, behind New York State.  Should the scheduled increase of another 50 cents occur a year from now, Connecticut would have the nation’s second highest tax on cigarettes. 

Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest cigarette taxes are Hawaii (5), Vermont (6), Washington (7), Minnesota (8), New Jersey (9), Wisconsin (10).

Policymakers often support tax increases on tobacco products as a means of raising revenue or improving public health by encouraging smokers to quit, the Governing analysis points out.  A handful of states passed cigarette tax hikes in the 2015 legislative session. Nevada lawmakers approved the single largest cigarette tax increase, raising the rate from 80 cents to $1.80 per pack, the publication indicates.

While noting that Connecticut's tax rate is set to increase to $3.65 per pack in October, the publication indicated that earlier proposals in the Pennsylvania and New Hampshire legislatures also included cigarette tax increases, but the two states have yet to pass budgets.

Kansas and Louisiana pushed cigarette taxes up by 50 cents and Ohio increased that state’s tax by 35 cents. Earlier this month, Alabama’s legislature voted down a proposal to increase that state’s tax by 25 cents per pack from the current 42.5 cents per pack, the third lowest tax in the nation.  Only Georgia, Virginia and Mississippi have lower taxes on cigarettes.

The National Taxpayers Union Foundation reported that tobacco tax collections failed to meet initial revenue targets in 72 out of 101 recent tax increases, Governing reported, and as of 2011, only two states were funding tobacco control programs at levels recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which much of the tax revenue funneled into state general funds.

In Connecticut, the cigarette tax increased 61 cents in 2002 to $1.11 per pack, by another 40 cents in 2003, an additional 49 cents in 2007 and $1.00 in 2007 to reach $3.00 per pack.  In 2011, the tax increased by another 40 cents to the current $3.40 per pack.

New CT Consumer Confidence Survey Shows More Residents Likely to Stay, Although Outlook Relatively Unchanged

Fewer Connecticut residents now expect to move out of the state in the next five years, according to the results of the 2015 Connecticut Consumer Confidence Survey released today by InformCT, covering the second quarter of the calendar year. In the first quarter, the percentages were even, with 39 percent saying it was likely they’d move from the state during the next five years and the same percentage saying a move out of state was unlikely.  In the new survey, 32 percent said it is likely they will move out of state in the next five years, a slight drop, while the percentage who say it is unlikely has grown to 43 percent.

Overall, Connecticut residents’ confidence in the state’s economy and their personal financial prospects are nudging along tentatively and unevenly, but relatively unchanged in the year’s second quarter compared with the first few months of the year.

Results of the Q2 Survey (April-June 2015) tend to reinforce what was found in Q1 (January-March).  Consumers see little change in what is perceived as a sluggish economy and do not envision any change in the next 6 months. This is also reflected in their attitudes toward the job market, with 6 in 10 feeling that there are insufficient jobs for the available workforce.

Regarding personal finances, slightly fewer state residents felt they were better off today than six months ago, but slightly more felt they would be better off six months from now.  A plurality, however, felt that their personal finances were about the same as six months ago, and were unlikely to change in the next six months.

Inform CT is a public-private partnership that provides independent, non-partisan research, analysis, and public outreach to help create fact-based dialogue and action in Connecticut.  The survey is designed to generate an ongoing measure of consumer confidence in the Connecticut economy.  The survey also found that:

• Fairfield County residents are the most likely (32%) to think that business conditions are better.
• Residents of Litchfield (36%) and Windham (34%) counties are the most likely to feel that jobs are very hard to get.
• Residents of Tolland County (38%) are the most likely to feel that they are better off.

Concerns that survey respondents “job may be in jeopardy” dropped slightly from the first to second quarter, as did concerns “about being able to afford health insurance.”  However, slightly fewer people felt they had “enough to retire comfortably,” or that the state’s economy was improving.  On the question of whether Connecticut is a “good place to live and raise a family,” for the second consecutive quarter, the split was 50-50.  As income increases, respondents are more likely to agree that Connecticut is a good place to live and raise a family, the survey results showed.

The survey is being administered for InformCT by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center, Inc.(CERC) and Shelton-based Smith & Company. The analysis, which is based on the responses of 400 randomly selected Connecticut residents (roughly 50 per county), addresses key economic issues such as overall confidence, reactions to housing prices, upscale consumer purchases, leisure spending and current investments. InformCT is a public-private partnership that currently includes staff from CERC and the Connecticut Data Collaborative.

The results also indicated that women (78%) are significantly more likely than men (52%) to indicate that they are likely to move out of Connecticut, and respondents with household incomes of $50,000 or less are significantly more likely to indicate that they will move out of Connecticut, according to survey officials.

More than 60 percent of state residents said they plan to take a vacation outside Connecticut (22% very likely, 39% somewhat likely) and 44 percent said they planned to vacation in Connecticut (26% very likely, 18 percent somewhat likely).  The most likely vacation location appears to be state parks, with 43 percent indicating that such a visit was likely in the next six months.  Forty-one percent planned to visit a casino, outdistancing visits planned to aquariums (27%), the Connecticut Science Center (13%) and other state attractions.

Regarding plans for major purchases in the next six months, often considered a harbinger of economic strength, 28 percent said they planned to make a “major consumer expenditure,” 22 percent anticipated purchasing a new car, and 15 percent said they were planning to refinance or purchase a new home. 

CERC, based in Rocky Hill, is a nonprofit corporation and public-private partnership that provides economic development services consistent with state strategies, leveraging Connecticut’s unique advantages as a premier business location. Smith & Company LLC is a market research firm.  More information about the survey, and subscribing, can be found at www.informct.org.

“This research provides a measure of the strength of our economy as well as a gauge of select economic factors,” stated Alissa DeJonge, Vice President of Research at CERC.  “It is a valuable and cost-effective strategic planning tool for any company or organization that wishes to take the temperature of the Connecticut consumer.”

“Whether you are a financial services institution, health care provider, insurer, developer, utility, trade association, or advertiser, those who wish to subscribe to this regular information can add proprietary questions for their own purposes,” added Stephen A. Smith, President of Smith & Company.

Sexting Is Now Among Top 10 Concerns in Children's Health, Survey Shows

With more kids online and using cell phones at increasingly younger ages, two issues have quickly climbed higher on the public’s list of major health concerns for children across the U.S: sexting and Internet safety. Compared with 2014, Internet safety rose from the eighth to the fourth biggest problem, ahead of school violence and smoking, in the 2015 annual survey of top children’s health concerns conducted by the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. Sexting saw the biggest jump, now the sixth top-ranked issue, up from thirteenth.

Childhood obesity, bullying, and drug abuse remained the top three child health concerns for a second year in a row, while child abuse and neglect ranked fifth.  Smoking and tobacco use, usually rated near the top of the list, dropped from the fourth top concern to the seventh – which may reflect the decline in smoking and tobacco use by youth in recent years.

“The major health issues that people are most worried about for children across the country reflect the health initiatives providers, communities and policy makers should be focused on,” says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the National Poll on Children’s Health and professor of pediatrics and internal medicine in the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the U-M Medical School.

“The increasing level of concern about Internet safety and sexting that are now ranked even higher than smoking as major childhood health issues really dominates the story this year,” adds Davis, who is also with the U-M School of Public Health, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and deputy director for U-M’s Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation. “We found that while the public may find benefits to today’s shifting media environment, whether through cell phones or other technology, many also recognize risks that may make young people vulnerable.”

Studies have found that about 1 out of every 5 to 10 teens — guys and girls — have sent sexually suggestive pictures. And about 1 out of every 3 to 8 teens have received them, according to the Connecticut Children's Medical Center website.  The studies focused mainly on pictures, not sexually suggestive comments, messages, or tweets. The percentage of teens involved in sexting goes up if written sexual content is included, but it's not clear by how much. But one thing is clear, the site emphasizes: Sexting is relatively common among teens.

Expanding use of smart phones and other technology potentially exposes children and teens to the danger of predators and other harms like cyber-bullying, the report noted. Sexting (sending and receiving sexually suggestive text messages and photos) has also led to cases of teens around the country suffering from low self-esteem and even committing suicide following photos being widely shared among peers.

Sexting is relatively new, and many states have not created laws that specifically address it, especially when it comes to teenagers. In many states, teens who engage in sexting can be charged with significant crimes (concerning child pornography) because they are sharing images of minors.   Connecticut, however, is one of a number of states with laws that specifically address minor teens (those under the age of 18) who engage in sexting.  The Connecticut law was enacted in 2010.

https://youtu.be/kap7DHQyrww

Guns at the Airport? CT Ranks 43rd As Texas, Florida Confiscate Hundreds

Airport travelers caught carrying firearms were most prevalent in Texas, Florida and Georgia, with Connecticut ranking 43^rd among the states, according to federal data analyzed by Bloomberg News. Texas saw the most confiscations in 2014, with 424 guns found in screenings, according to Transportation Security Administration data. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where 120 firearms were found in carry-on luggage, topped the list nationwide.

Ranked second was Florida, with 253 guns found during the year at the state’s airports, followed by Georgia with 119, California with 101, and North Carolina with 97.  Arizona and Tennessee tied for 6^th with 94 guns discovered at each state’s airports, followed by Colorado with 79 and Missouri with 75.

In Connecticut in 2014, there were four firearms found during 2014 according to the data.  Two of them were loaded.  There were also 4 firearms found at the state’s airports in 2013, Bloomberg reported.

With all 50 states now allowing people to carry concealed guns, with varying degrees of limitations, Bloomberg reported, more are being forgotten in clothing, holsters and handbags.  Firearm confiscations rose 22 percent from 2013.  Guns were discovered at airports in all 50 states in 2014, the data indicated.

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 653 million passengers last year, about 14.8 million more than in 2013. The states and territories with the fewest were Rhode Island, South Dakota and the Virgin Islands.

Bloomberg ranked the 50 U.S. states and the U.S. Territories by the number of firearms discovered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in carry-on luggage at that state's airports. The numbers for each state represent a total of all of the airports in that state covered by the TSA. Firearms are defined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a destructive device, machine gun, silencer, short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun and any other weapon from which a shot can be discharged.

Supreme Court Justices Who Overturned CT Death Penalty Were Appointed by Three Different Governors, As Were Opponents

The four Justices of the Connecticut State Supreme Court who overturned Connecticut’s death penalty law this month were appointed to the high court by former Governor Lowell P. Weicker (Justices Richard Palmer and Flemming Norcott), former Governor M. Jodi Rell (Justice Dennis Eveleigh) and current Governor Dannel P. Malloy (Justice Andrew McDonald). The vote abolishing the death penalty in Connecticut was 4-3, with Justice Palmer joined in the majority by Justices Eveleigh, Norcott and McDonald. None are household names in the state – at least they were not before the decision – which was both widely criticized and highly praised by proponents and opponents of the death penalty, as well as legal observers and legislators.

Three dissenting opinions were written or signed by Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, appointed to the Court by former Gov. Rell; Justice Peter Zarella, appointed by former Gov. John G. Rowland, and Justice Carmen Elisa Espinosa, appointed by Gov. Malloy.

Thus former Gov. Rell and her successor, Gov. Malloy, each appointed a Justice on each side of the controversial opinion.  Two Justices on the majority opinion were appointed by former Gov. Weicker. Former Gov. Rowland's Supreme Court appointee was among the dissenters.

Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., who retired at age 70 in October 2013 after sitting on the case in April 2013, was the first African American appointed to the state Appellate Court, in 1987, and five years later was appointed to the state Supreme Court by Gov. Weicker. Justice Carmen Elisa Espinosa became a justice of the Supreme Court on March 6, 2013, having been appointed to the position by Gov. Malloy about six weeks before the case was heard. Justice Espinosa is the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in Connecticut.  Norcott and Espinosa were on opposite sides of the decision.

Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, appointed to the Court by former Gov. Rell, was initially nominated to the Superior Court by Rowland in 2006.  Associate Justice Peter T. Zarella was nominated by Rowland in 2001.  Judge Dennis G. Eveleigh was nominated for the state Supreme Court by Gov. Rell in 2010, after having initially been appointed to the Superior Court in October 1998 by Gov. Rowland.

The majority decision, written by Justice Palmer, found flaws in the 2012 death penalty law, which banned "prospective" death sentences, those imposed after the effective date of the law. But the majority wrote that it chose to analyze capital punishment and impose abolition from a broader perspective, according to published reports.

Justice Palmer graduated from Wethersfield High School, attended Trinity College in Hartford, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of Connecticut School of Law.  He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for Connecticut from 1980 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1990.  In 1991, Justice Palmer was appointed as United State’s Attorney for Connecticut and he was later the Chief State’s Attorney for Connecticut.

Justice Eveleigh received his J. D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Upon graduation from law school, Justice Eveleigh served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a First Lieutenant.

Justice McDonald began his public service career in 1993 as a member of the Stamford Board of Representatives, where he served until 1995, prior to his election to the state legislature. McDonald was later Legal Counsel to Gov. Malloy, and was nominated by Malloy to the Supreme Court in 2013, the same year as Espinosa, and a year after the legislature passed the non-retroactive death penalty ban, which was signed into law by Gov. Malloy.

In the case, State v. Santiago, Eduardo Santiago was tried for murder for hire, convicted, and sentenced to death. He appealed his sentence, and while the Court did not find that putting him to death was unconstitutional at the time, it did find that there were issues in his original trial that warranted a new sentencing hearing. While his appeal was pending, the 2012 legislation passed, abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed after April 24, 2012—which Santiago argued was grounds to remove death as a possible penalty. The Court then examined his claim that “the death penalty is no longer consistent with standards of decency in Connecticut and does not serve any valid penological objective.”

Four Justices on majority opinion, L to R, above:  Richard Palmer, Flemming Norcott, Dennis Eveleigh and Andrew McDonald.

CT Supreme Court: Seated, L to R, below: Justice Richard N. Palmer, Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, Justice Peter T. Zarella. Standing, L to R: Justice Carmen E. Espinosa, Justice Andrew J. McDonald, Justice Dennis G. Eveleigh, Justice Richard A. Robinson, Senior Justice Christine S. Vertefeuille.  Justice Robinson was appointed to the Court after the Santiago case was heard.  

15 CT High Schools Among Nation’s Best for College Readiness

A total of 15 Connecticut public high schools made the list of the top 500 high schools in the nation, compiled by Newsweek magazine.  The top-ranked Connecticut school, Weston High School, ranked #47 in the U.S. and was the only school in the state to crack the top 50.  Also reaching the top 100 was Staples High School in Westport at #63. Three high schools were ranked between 100 and 200 on the national list – Ridgefield High School at #119, Connecticut IB Academy in East Hartford at #158, and Lyme-Old Lyme High School at #185.

The Newsweek High School Rankings—recognizing the achievements of the best public high schools in the United States for college readiness—have been published for more than a decade. The rankings were compiled using several metrics, including graduation rate, college enrollment rate, SAT and ACT scores, AP and IB scores and participation, teacher-student ratio and dropout rates.

Newsweek places an emphasis on criteria like college enrollment and graduation rate since “we know that those are some of the biggest indicators of whether students are prepared for college,” Newsweek officials said.  This year’s rankings were weighted by:

• Enrollment Rate—25 percent
• Graduation Rate—20 percent
• Weighted AP/IB/Dual Enrollment composite—17.5 percent
• Weighted SAT/ACT composite—17.5 percent
• Change in student enrollment between 9th-12th grades, to control for dropout rates—10 percent
• Counselor-to-Student Ratio—10 percent

There are almost 30,000 public high schools in the United States.

Also earning a spot among the top 10 Connecticut high schools on the list were Daniel Hand High School in Madison (#213), Simsbury High School (#273), Newtown High School (#308), Farmington High School (#312), and Woodstock Academy (#337).

The top high schools in the United States, according to Newsweek, are Thomas Jefferson High (Alexandria, VA), High Technology High School (Lincroft, NJ) and Academy for Mathematics Science and Engineering (Rockaway, NJ).

Newsweek also publishes a second list, called “Beating the Odds” which seeks to identify schools that do an excellent job of preparing their students for college while also overcoming the obstacles posed by students at an economic disadvantage.  Three Connecticut schools reached that list of top schools – Connecticut IB Academy in East Hartford at #164, Central High School at #270 and The Bridge Academy at #466.  The poverty levels for the three schools were listed as 25%, 99.9% and 80.8% respectively.

Hartford's WPOP Goes Back to the Future with News, Talk Format

The goal, in the latest format change among local radio stations, is to become “the go-to station for news, weather and traffic” in the Hartford market.  WPOP, with a lengthy local history that features incarnations as a pop music station, all-news station, and sports talk station, has again assumed the moniker of “NewsRadio 1410 WPOP”, last used nearly two decades ago. Owned by iHeart radio, which has hired a new program director due in the Capitol City from a major market in the coming weeks, the newly rebranded station aims to make the transition to a news format that responds to and reflects the preferences of the local audience, according to Dave Symonds Sr., Vice President of Programming for iHeart Radio in Hartford.

“There is a huge upside to the format change.  We did a lot of research and there was a high degree of dissatisfaction with the non-sports news talk programming” available in the Hartford market, Symonds said.  Regional Market President Steve Honeycomb added"It’s been almost 18-years since the all-news format was heard on WPOP 1410AM. We’re excited to bring back News Radio 1410 WPOP, an iconic brand and station focused on News, Traffic and Weather to serve the Hartford community, in the iHeartMedia line-up.”

The new WPOP-AM line-up will, at the outset, include mostly syndicated national programs including a daytime focus on financial news and The Vinnie Penn Project, which has been heard on WELI in New Haven since 2011.  The program will now be heard 6-9 AM on both stations, with an additional hour, 9-10 AM exclusively on WPOP.

“There are a lot of shared issues in New Haven and Hartford,” Symonds points out.  The program will originate in New Haven on some mornings, in Hartford on others. iHeart radio stations in Connecticut, formerly Clear Channel stations, include KC101, KISS95.7, The River 105.9, Country 92.5, 97.9 ESPN, and 960 WELI and WAVZ  in New Haven.

The new station's programming line-up will include: The Vinnie Penn Project    6-10 a.m. The Financial Exchange    10 a.m-12 p.m. Bloomberg  Radio               12:00p.m.-3 p.m. Howie Carr                            3-6 p.m. (based in Boston) Mark Levin                            6-9 p.m. America Now                        9 p.m.-12 a.m.

Most recently, the station had aired a sports/talk format including Fox Sports Radio content. Years ago, from 1956-1975, it was a pop music station, the inspiration for the station’s call letters.  The station routinely battled WDRC for the rock’n’roll music audience, before FM radio came to dominate that format.  In August 1972 it was announced that TV entertainer Merv Griffin's company, January Enterprises Inc., was buying WPOP for $2.75 million. Griffin, who came to town to visit the station, took control the following March, according to published reports.  Just a few years later, the music died on WPOP.  On June 30, 1975, WPOP abandoned music programming in favor of the new (and ultimately short-lived) NBC Radio News and Information Service.  But a news station in Hartford was born.

The station maintained an all-news format, which included local news/talk programming, for more than two decades, before the switch to sports talk programming in 1997 (first ESPN, than FOX in 2012).  Among the local newscasters who spent time at WPOP in its all-news heyday are Gerry Brooks, Scott Gray, and Joanne Nesti, whose careers blossomed at other radio and television stations in the market.  Numerous WPOP veterans went on to broadcast news careers around the country.

Those interested in hearing the new format can tune into News Radio 1410 WPOP on the station’s website, www.newsradio1410wpop.com, and through the iHeartRadio mobile app. Hartford is part of Nielsen radio market No. 52. WPOP is a 5 kW day/night station on 1410 kHz.

The Hartford market currently has other locally originated and syndicated news and talk programming.  Connecticut-based Connoisseur Media purchased a group of stations in the state including the WDRC-led “Talk of Connecticut” stations, anchored by the weekday morning locally originated Brad Davis Show.  The remainder of the broadcast schedule on WDRC-AM (as well as simulcast on WMMW Meriden, WWCO Waterbury and WSNG Torrington) consists of nationally syndicated programs, including Kilmeade & Friends, Dave Ramsey, The Savage Nation, The Schnitt Show, The Lars Larson Show and Overnight America.

WTIC-AM 1080 broadcasts the local Ray Dunaway show and Jim Vicevich program weekday mornings, before moving to nationally syndicated programs, including Rush Limbaugh, for the remainder of the broadast day.

WNPR, part of the Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, has locally originated talk programs including Where We Live, weekday mornings at 9 a.m. hosted by John Dankosky, the Colin McEnroe program each afternoon, and Faith Middleton’s long-running talk program weekday afternoons.

There is no word yet on whether WPOP will have local news reporters, as WTIC and WNPR, or news programming beyond local newscasts during the syndicated talk shows.  Those decisions will be made, officials say, as audience feedback to the new format is evaluated and the new program director settles in.  Although iHeart Radio has news and talk formatted stations in other markets across the country, Symonds said the approach taken for WPOP will be “customized for Hartford.”

[Logos for WPOP in its news formats - new logo above left, 1980's logo lower right.]

Traffic Fatalities Increasing Nationwide, But Decreasing in Connecticut

Across the United States, the number of traffic fatalities increased 14 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared with a year ago.  In Connecticut, however, the number of motor vehicle deaths dropped by 20 percent. From January through June of this year, there were 95 motor vehicle deaths in Connecticut, compared with 119 during the same period in 2014 and 116 during the first six months of 2013. Connecticut’s percentage drop in the number of traffic deaths was the 5th largest in the nation, comparing the first six months of this year to a year ago.

Nationwide, the number of traffic deaths rose from 16,400 during the first half of 2014 to 18,630 during the first six months of this year.  According to the National Safety Council, which analyzed the data, the increase in fatalities in 2015 likely reflects the effects of the low gas prices that have averaged 30 percent below 2014 levels over the first two quarters of 2015, helping to produce a 3.4 percent increase in cumulative vehicle mileage through May.

Distracted drivers – specifically those behind the wheel attempting to talk or text on a cell phone – are also pushing the numbers. The NSC says cell phone related activities are to blame for 27 percent of all crashes.

Connecticut is one of 15 states where the number of traffic fatalities has dropped in the first six months of 2015, compared with a year ago.  The others were Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Kansas, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

Three states – California, Texas and Florida – have seen more than 1,000 deaths through June of this  year.

Medically consulted motor-vehicle injuries for the first six months of 2015 are estimated to be about 2,254,000, an increase of 30 percent from 2014 nationwide, the National Safety Council (NSC) indicated. The NSC estimated that the nation appears headed towards the deadliest year, in terms of traffic fatalities, since 2007.

“While the statistics point out a dangerous trend, we have the ability to influence outcomes through our choices and behavior,” said Deborah Hersman, president and CEO of the NSC. “Take your responsibilities behind the wheel this summer seriously and ensure that you get to your destination safety.”

In addition to the personal toll, the estimated cost of motor-vehicle deaths, injuries, and property damage through June was $152.0 billion, a 24 percent increase from 2014, according to the data reported by the Illinois-based NSC. The costs include wage and productivity losses, medical expenses, administrative expenses, employer costs, and property damage.

The number of traffic deaths reported this year nationwide is greater than the number for the same period in recent years; in 2012 there were 1,755 deaths, in 2013 there were 16,617; in 2014 there were 16,400.  The NSC counts both traffic and non-traffic deaths that occur within a year of the accident, while NHTSA counts only traffic deaths that occur within 30 days, so the numbers reported will differ.

Founded in 1913 and chartered by Congress, the National Safety Council, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to save lives by preventing injuries and deaths at work, in homes and communities, and on the road through leadership, research, education and advocacy.  Deaths are reported by state traffic authorities, and all figures are preliminary.