Proposed Dirty Power Plant in Killingly Defeated!

by Samantha Dynowski, State Director, Sierra Club Connecticut

Now it’s time for a clean electricity future for all. Climate activists around Connecticut have news to celebrate. After six years of opposition – protests, press conferences, public hearings, legal battles and more – the proposal for a 650-megawatt dirty power plant in Killingly appears to have finally been defeated.
Connecticut has become a hub for dirty energy; having built more than 40 fossil fuel power plants since 1998, our state now hosts 54 fossil fuel power plants. Connecticut only uses about 73% of the energy produced. Environmental justice communities bear the disproportionate burden of air pollution from these large fossil power plants. So we did not want or need another dirty power plant.
Over the years, dozens of local and state organizations and thousands of residents organized against the proposed power plant in Killingly which would have emitted up to 2.2 million tons of carbon a year and further degraded local air quality in northeastern Connecticut. The climate, environmental justice, and local health concerns of this power plant have been a rallying cry.

On Jan. 4, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the request of grid operator ISO-New England to terminate its contract for power from the plant. The developer appealed this decision, but in February, in the midst of that appeal, the regional grid operator, ISO-NE, communicated that the developer of the Killingly power plant had failed to meet its financial obligations to participate in New England’s energy grid auction.

Thank you to everyone who spoke up in opposition! Your advocacy made a difference.

Now that the threat of this power plant is behind our state, it is time to reflect on what we learned and advocate for changes to ensure Connecticut can really and truly and equitably move to a clean energy future. Connecticut now needs to put policies in place to protect environmental justice communities from disproportionate exposure to air pollution, to require our state agency decisions to align with the state’s mandatory greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, and to equitably ramp up energy efficiency, and clean and renewable power.
Onward!

Find Sierra Club Connecticut online at connecticut.sierraclub.org.

Planning for May Day Has Begun!

by Rosalba Montoya Gaviria and John Lugo, ULA

Unidad Latina en Acción is preparing for May 1st (International Workers Day) and we want to count on each one of you. Current plans include a march starting from the New Haven Green at noon and a 4 p.m. rally at Yale. This is a statewide event. There is a connection between immigration reform and the climate emergency, which creates refugees and draws people to the U.S. because they are displaced due to their activism in their own countries. Change comes only when the people force politicians to do the right thing.

For anyone wishing to be part of May Day planning, email melinda.tuhus@gmail.com and put “MAY DAY” in the subject line. Please join our meetings Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Mondays at 7 p.m. at New Haven Peoples Center, 37 Howe St. and on Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/78915076091

Thanks again for all your help, United We Are Stronger!

Rosalba Montoya Gaviria
203-981-4023

A Community Unity Dialogue Page

by Frank Panzarella, PAR Committee

The PAR Newsletter has always had, as its mission, the bringing together of activists by sharing reports of the events and ongoing work of groups to build a progressive community.

Sometimes we have received articles that are more like critiques of controversial issues that are important to particular groups but tended to emphasize differences within the progressive and broader community.

As we tend to focus on community unity and building a broad progressive constituency, we have rejected such articles and asked groups to send reports that show what groups are doing.

We recognize that within activist circles and the broader population there are many complex issues that can sometimes divide us and that require ongoing dialogue.

In this spirit, we would like to present a dialogue page in the PAR newsletter that will act as a place for groups to express differing views on controversial issues.

We would like this to be a page where groups focus specifically on their own positions on these issues, points of possible unity with others, and not as a place to criticize other groups or individuals with whom they disagree.

As an example, some activists see police violence as a reason to defund the police departments and to completely change the nature of “policing.” Others in our community feel the police are still necessary and look to other reforms. Discussions of such issues may help people find common ground and programmatic unity to further the causes dear to our hearts or at least to clarify differences.

Other examples, for instance, are the strong differing views on the war in Ukraine or the differing views on political violence in Syria.

We hope organizations will take up this offer and contact us with issues they would like to see on the dialogue page. The PAR committee looks forward to providing a forum for all to sort out controversial issues and build a stronger progressive family.

The PAR Mission: To inform the greater New Haven community about the activities of many progressive groups, so that people may learn about them and become involved in discussions and actions on issues for the common good, such as peace, health, racial equity, justice, clean energy and the environment.

The Rochdale Co-op Is Accepting Applications for Membership (Elm Street)

The Rochdale Co-op has been providing affordable housing in downtown New Haven since 1947. We are a democratically-run and diverse community that relies on the active participation of our members. We strive to be a supportive, fun, and ecologically-responsible place to live. We appreciate your interest in becoming a member of the Rochdale Co-op. The Rochdale Co-op has an average of 12-13 members, and provides a cooperative living environment (private bedrooms, shared kitchen, bathrooms, common areas, house meetings and duties).

We are a diverse community and value our diversity. The Rochdale Co-op does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, family status, ethnicity, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religious background or religious affiliation.

Application and more information can be found on Craig’s List New Haven  — search for Rochdale.

https://newhaven.craigslist.org/roo/d/the-rochdale-coop-is-accepting/7449021841.html

How COVID Has Affected Personal Lives of Low-Income New Haveners

by Alana Rosenberg, Justice, Housing and Health Study

The Justice, Housing and Health Study team conducted a survey to capture the experience of life during the COVID pandemic. This community report is based on responses to the COVID survey taken between December 2020 and June 2021. 259 participants completed the survey. For many communities, COVID has exacerbated economic and housing instability. Throughout the pandemic, federal and state governments have dedicated massive amounts of resources, for extended periods of time, to U.S. citizens.

Policies were also passed to protect people from the virus and the economic repercussions of the pandemic. The JustHouHS COVID survey asked questions about participants’ experiences with COVID and the policies meant to help people better cope with its impacts.

This Winter 2022 report begins by describing how COVID affected the personal lives and social networks of participants. It then documents what criminal justice involvement looked like for participants during the pandemic. It also explores the economic burdens the pandemic placed on participants and their access to financial and other resources. Lastly, the report describes how JustHouHS participants’ housing situations changed with COVID.

As the pandemic continues, we hope this report helps policymakers and community stakeholders understand the vulnerability of low-income residents who continue to endure, inequitably, the negative consequences of the virus on health and wellbeing.

Website: https://www.american.edu/cas/social-justice-lab/justhouhs.cfm
Winter 2022 report: www.american.edu/cas/social-justice-lab/upload/covid-community-report-winter-2022.pdf.

Heiwa Salovitz in His Own Words

Why Oral History Matters, an Interview

by Erica Suprenant and Shannon Elizondo, ADAPT of Texas

“What brings me to oral history? Well as a person with a disability — I’ve had my disability all my life — people with disabilities tend to be seen as the invisible people. We tend not to document their stories; we tend not to listen to them; we tend not to think their lives are interesting. So that’s what brings me to oral history, ’cause I want people to learn about my story. I want to learn about theirs, and so we can see the commonality in the struggle, because we all have struggled. We all have things we can learn from each other, things we can contribute to society, and hopefully change society for the better. And it’s just interesting to hear different people’s perspectives on their life and their world experiences.” ~ Heiwa Salovitz, October 11, 2011, a member of ADAPT of Texas, https://eschucha6.rssing.com/chan-44504162/article4.html?zx=814

Speaking Out Against Voting Restrictions 

Heiwa’s testimony at the Texas Legislature against SB 1 (which unfortunately passed, imposing severe and racist voting restrictions) www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmNPmAlK5u8

Rembrances of Heiwa Salovitz

From email sent by Elaine Kolb, Jan. 11, 2022

First met Heiwa Salovitz when he was in his late teens and I was almost 40. Back then, my partner, Patti Deak, was President of the Greater New Haven Disability Rights Activists (GNHDRA). Heiwa occasionally attended some of our events, sometimes held at SCSU. Patti & I agreed that Heiwa had great leadership potential.

Sometime after Patti died in 1999, Heiwa and I bonded more directly, both involved with social justice struggles. Over these years, our connection & trust deepened profoundly. Just visited him for a week in September. His personal care assistant (PCA) found him dead, sitting in his power wheelchair on January 3, 2022.

Heiwa, Japanese word meaning “peace”or “harmony.” The only “Heiwa” I’ve ever known was surely one of a kind. Yes, that’s partly why we became so close. Takes one to know one…

~ From email sent by Joan Cavanagh on Jan. 4, 2022

Heiwa Salovitz, Presente!

Dear Friends and Fellow Travelers,

This isn’t the sort of New Year’s email I’d choose to write. In sorrow and shock I have to report the passing of a dear friend, Heiwa Salovitz, over the weekend in Austin, Texas. Heiwa was a stalwart and principled fighter for disability justice, peace (the meaning of his name), and human rights whom many of you knew. A member of the Muslim community, he was part of the work of the New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice, the Greater New Haven Coalition for People, the New Haven initiatives of Amman Imman (Water is Life) and many other local groups and organizations before moving to Austin to work with Texas ADAPT.

We will have a local memorial gathering at some time in the future.

Heiwa’s life was unique, courageous and important. May his memory be for a blessing.

~ Joan Cavanagh

My Friend Heiwa Salovitz

By Paula Panzarella

Needing a wheelchair didn’t keep Heiwa from being involved with community actions or peace rallies. He was on the May Day Celebration Committee, helping plan the yearly International Workers Day festival on the New Haven Green. He joined Fight the Hike and traveled to Hartford to give public testimony at the State Legislature about the hardships CT’s electric rates caused the disabled community and lower-income residents. Every Sunday he would come to the peace and justice vigils in the rain, snow or freezing weather. He was intent on making a difference in this world.

In all the groups we were in together, he helped broaden our perspective on how we needed to improve our outreach and accessibility to include more people in the various struggles for justice.

Heiwa was courageous, smart, patient, modest, and had a great sense of humor. In 2010, he left New Haven to join the Austin chapter of ADAPT. He was intent on working with others in the disability rights community who, like him, were not afraid of pushing the envelope, risking arrest and fighting for recognition of their human rights and dignity. Unfortunately, New Haven wasn’t radical enough for him.
His mother was Italian and French and raised Catholic, his father was Jewish, and Heiwa was a converted Muslim. His name means “Peace” in Japanese – in all ways he embodied his multi-cultural appreciation of the world.

I’m glad we met, grateful for his friendship, and heartbroken about his passing.

Reminder: March 19 deadline for articles for Progressive Action Roundtable newsletter

We look forward to getting your articles and event notices for our April issue. We thank you for your readership and support of PAR.

Please send us reports about your organization’s activities and upcoming plans. Readers want to know:

  • What is the purpose of your organization?
  • How are you building your group?
  • What campaigns are you organizing?
  • What events are you planning?

We want to publicize the work that groups have done and what they’re planning to do. We want to spread the word to others who will be inspired to join you, support your activism and build the struggles.

Send us articles (or a paragraph or two) up to 350 words about what your group wants to do and any ideas for organizing!

Please send to parnewhaven@hotmail.com.

***Help inspire others through your commitment! ***

The deadline for the April Progressive Action Roundtable newsletter is Saturday, March 19.

Please keep in mind that as layout space permits, we will include photos.

IMPORTANT: Don’t neglect to add your organization’s contact information such as phone number, e-mail address or website, so our readers can get more information about what your group is doing.

The PAR Mission:

To provide a forum for the many progressive groups in the greater New Haven area where actions and ideas may be publicized so that peace, health, justice, energy, environmental and other issues are made known to a broad audience for mutual support and the common good.

ABOUT CALENDAR ITEMS

If you mention an event in an article, please also send a SEPARATE calendar announcement.

Please give street addresses for any events or meetings, even for “well-known” public buildings.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please indicate whether your event location is wheelchair accessible.

You can also send us SAVE THE DATE items about future events, even if you do not yet have all the details in place.

The PAR newsletter will come out approximately Wednesday, March 30.

Please consider this when submitting calendar items.

Progressive Action Roundtable is on Facebook.

For automatic PAR updates, sign up on our website: par-newhaven.org

If your group has a website, please add our link to your webpage.

To renew your own subscription or to buy a subscription for a friend, the rate is $13 for 10 issues. Please make the check out to PAR and mail it to

PAR, P.O. Box 995, New Haven, CT 06504

Celebrating 30 years of Between The Lines on the air! March 24

Join Between The Lines at 8 p.m. March 24, 2022, for an online event celebrating 30 years of Between The Lines on the air!

Register for this online panel discussion at EVENTBRITE.COM
(https://crisisinjournalism.eventbrite.com) with any donation amount.

The event, “The Crisis in U.S. Journalism and the Future of Independent Media and Democracy” features:
• Greg Palast, investigative journalist
• Nina Turner, political activist, Bernie Sanders presidential campaign organizer and former Ohio state senator
• Bill Fletcher Jr., labor and racial justice activist
• Adrian Huq, youth climate activist
• Panel moderator Victor Pickard, professor of media and policy studies at the University of Pennsylvania
• Musician and songwriter David Rovics
• And others

Rally to hear voices of women, LGBTQ+, migrants and students building a feminist movement without borders

SPEAK OUT & PROTEST ¡ARRIBA LAS MUJERES QUE LUCHAN!

International Women’s Day Día Internacional de la Mujer

Tuesday, March 8

11:30 a.m. at the Women’s Table (Elm Street / Yale Cross Campus) https://goo.gl/maps/gGSnyNkjLfLU9kvM8

5:30 p.m. at Women’s Park, 14 Mechanic Street, New Haven https://goo.gl/maps/W5Z2shs8hsPsXfag6

Info: rosalba@ulanewhaven.org, 203-981-4023

Art.

Music. Testimonies. Spanish & English. All are welcome.

This pandemic has been especially devastating for women, LGBTQ+ people, immigrant workers, essential workers and caregivers. Wage theft, labor exploitation, and violence against women and LGBTQ+ people have escalated. Thirteen Connecticut billionaires have seized $13.7 billion in additional wealth, while one in three Latino and Black children continue to live in poverty in this state. Instead of making billionaires pay what they owe and investing in our health and well-being, governments across the United States are investing in war, restricting our sexual and reproductive freedoms, and closing our health clinics. This March 8, as women across the world go on strike, we will gather in New Haven to weave together our struggles. Join us!

Reúnete

con nosotras para escuchar las voces de las mujeres y personas LGBT, migrantes y estudiantes, que se están levantando para construir un movimiento feminista sin fronteras.

Arte.

Música. Testimonios. Español e inglés. Todes son bienvenides.

Esta pandemia ha sido especialmente devastadora para las mujeres, las personas LGBTQ+, les trabajadores migrantes, les trabajadores esenciales y les cuidadores. El robo salarial, la explotación laboral y la violencia hacia las mujeres y disidencias se han intensificado.

Trece multimillonarios de Connecticut se han apoderado de 13.700 millones de dólares de riqueza adicional, mientras que uno de cada tres niños latinos y negros sigue viviendo en la pobreza en este estado. En lugar de hacer que los multimillonarios paguen loque deben e invertir en nuestra salud y bienestar, los gobiernos de todo Estados Unidos están invirtiendo en la guerra, restringiendo nuestras libertades sexuales y reproductivas y cerrando nuestras clínicas de salud. Este 8 de marzo, mientras las mujeres de todo el mundo se ponen en huelga, nos reuniremos en New Haven para entrelazar nuestras luchas. ¡Únete a nosotras!

Unidad Latina en Acción
203-479-2959 (mobile)
www.ulanewhaven.org

Rally in solidarity with Ukraine this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. & 1 p.m.

Dear friends,

Please come to a rally in solidarity with Ukraine this Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Demands are Russia out of Ukraine! No NATO expansion! More info is at this link:

https://www.peaceinukraine.org/1031496/rally_in_solidarity_with_ukrainian_victims_of_invasion_no_russian_troops_no_nato_u_s_expansi_n

(Correction: it’s outside the federal courthouse on Church St across from the Green)

There is another rally at 1 pm on the Green organized by local Ukrainians, but it’s necessary to also point out the role of the US/NATO in the crisis that’s unfolding.

 

A Climate Campaign that Could Get Many Involved

By Stanley Heller, Promoting Enduring Peace

We don’t have to wait until laws are passed to take action to stop greenhouse gases (GG). We can campaign right now to get state and local governments, colleges and schools to voluntarily stop using gas-powered devices on their own parks, lawns and forests and land bordering roadways.

In 2018, Connecticut used 3,800,000 gallons of gas on lawn care. Much of that was used in 2-cycle engines that spew a lot of pollution and greenhouse gases. They send out microscopic particulates that go deep into lungs. They send out cancer-causing chemicals like benzene. And they send out CO2, N2O and other greenhouse gases (GG). These machines are dangerous to lawn care workers using them and the GG imperil the whole world.

Get a group together at your school or in your city. Write to the authorities and tell them why it’s important to replace gas-powered equipment. Ask them to inventory what off-road gas-powered equipment they use: leaf blowers, lawn mowers, trimmers, chain saws, etc. Call on them to replace the equipment. Use letters, petitions and phone calls and show up at relevant meetings.

Here’s something that would need action from the legislature. Ask them to give the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection a million dollars to offer consumers to exchange electric equipment for their gas-powered machines. Don’t laugh. It need not be a fantasy. Connecticut did just that in the ’90s with $500,000. They gave away lower-polluting equipment in exchange for worse polluting machines (CT Lawn Equipment Exchange Fund – LEEF).

For help with this see pepeace.org/stop-sores or call 203-444-3578.

Notice from the New Haven Board of Alders

The City Services and Environmental Policy Committee of the Board of Alders will meet on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 6 p.m., via video conference at https://bit.ly/3opXAwR and by phone at 646-558-8656 Webinar ID: 979 5435 3415.

The second of two items to hear and act on is regarding gas-powered leaf blowers.

LM20210378 Resolution of the New Haven Board of Alders concerning a public meeting to hear residents’ concerns about the use of gas-powered leaf blowers and discuss phasing out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the City of New Haven as soon as is practicable, while allowing a reasonable transition period for local landscapers and residents.

These items are on file and available in the Office of the City Clerk, Room 202 at 200 Orange Street; New Haven, CT 06510.

For accommodations to view the meeting, please email publictestimony@newhavenct.gov or call 203-946-6483. For accessibility-related accommodations, please call 203-946-7651 (V) or 203-946-8582 (TTY/TDD).

Public comment/testimony may also be submitted via email to publictestimony@newhavenct.gov before 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting. If you wish to present testimony at the meeting, you must register in advance at https://bit.ly/3opXAwR or by calling 203-946-6483 or emailing publictestimony@newhavenct.gov before 2 p.m. on the day of the meeting.

Public can view the meeting at https://bit.ly/3opXAwR  or listen by phone at 646-558-8656 Webinar ID: 979 5435 3415. The password to listen by phone only is 98977126.

Legislative Battle in Misguided Bill for Aid in Dying

by Paula Panzarella, Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide

The Public Health Committee of the State Legislature is considering S.B. No. 88, An Act Concerning Aid in Dying for Terminally Ill Patients. I urge PAR readers to contact their state legislators. If this bill is to pass, it would be disastrous for individuals and society.

Below is a shortened version of my article in the CT Mirror:
https://ctmirror.org/2022/02/22/considerations-against-medical-aid-in-dying/

Considerations Against Medical Aid in Dying

We need more medical care and research, not less. It’s horrible that our medical system cannot adequately manage people’s pain, and that far too many diseases have no cures or treatments.

Long before the COVID pandemic, we had an overburdened, understaffed and inefficient medical system where all too often the cost-effectiveness of one treatment over another determined the patient’s care. Sometimes an insurance company takes the cheap route, sometimes the doctor or hospital, sometimes the patient who can’t afford the most effective treatment.

Doctors are not always right in their diagnoses and prognoses. I’ve seen patients’ wishes for care being ignored. I’ve seen attempts to pressure family members to agree to palliative care or hospice care instead of treatment for their loved ones’ conditions.

The elderly, people of color, disabled, and the impoverished already fight not to be marginalized in the medical system. We all need to fight together for increased research in pain management, treatments, and quality of life issues for as long as a person is alive.

This is a larger matter than individual rights. If S.B. 88 passes, others are threatened to have care denied. Like upholding as “freedom of choice” an individual’s right to not wear a mask during a pandemic, so too “freedom to choose death” puts others at risk.

A doctor takes an oath to heal, comfort and care for a patient. Assisted suicide casts suspicion not only on the doctors involved, but on the entire medical profession as they relinquish their responsibility to try to restore the patient to health.

The medical aid in dying bill is part of healthcare deform, not healthcare reform.

Lynda Faye Wilson March 24, 1946-Jan. 31, 2022

With great sadness, we are letting our readers know of the passing of Linda Faye Wilson. She was part of many New Haven organizations through the years, and a number of PAR activists worked with her on many issues.

Lynda was a member of People Against Injustice, Sisters with a New Attitude, Survivors of Homicide, the Ryan White AIDS Council, and Hill North Community Management Team, to name a few. She also took on a number of responsibilities for her church. She fiercely worked and advocated for her community, and maintained her optimism and humor through many hardships.

A favorite saying of hers was, “I’m blessed in all this mess.”

She was a warrior, fighting for justice on all fronts for all people. A true community leader and activist, generous and kind, she will be missed by all who knew her.

News from People’s Action for Clean Energy

by Deborah Roe, Program Manager, PACE

People’s Action for Clean Energy (PACE) is a nonprofit dedicated to helping towns transition to 100% clean energy. Here is a look at some of our most recent initiatives:

Path to 100 – Released in January, Path to 100 is a downloadable handbook for town groups working on energy efficiency and renewable energy issues. Whether you’re just getting started or considering additional projects, this guide can be a valuable resource.

Under 30 in Energy – In addition to our Facebook page (@pacecleanenergy), PACE has a new Instagram account. The focus of this will be appealing to the under-30 crowd. One thing we are doing is interviewing “under-30s” doing work related to clean energy. Our first interview is with
Alex Rodriguez of Save the Sound (and formerly of the League of Conservation Voters).

Follow us on Instagram @PACEcleanenergy to hear about Alex’s work and his personal story related to environmental justice. Do you know other under-30s doing work in clean energy? Reach out to us: deb@pacecleanenergy.org.

HeatSmart Connecticut – PACE is working with towns on HeatSmart campaigns — outreach and education that help promote energy efficiency and heat pumps. We started with Branford in 2020, then Middletown and Guilford in 2021, and now Bethel and West Hartford. To assist in this effort, we created a website http://heatsmartct.org. The website is a useful resource for those wanting to learn more about energy efficiency and heat pumps.

Update from Mark Colville of the Kings Bay Plowshares

[See past issues of PAR and visit kingsbayplowshares7.org for more information on the Kings Bay civil disobedience against nuclear weapons and the trial]

Mark’s Facebook posting of Feb. 3 Update: my noncompliance hearing in Hartford tomorrow morning is canceled!

At the eleventh hour comes a communique from the judge which reads in part:

“ORDER: The Court has been advised…that (1) restitution has been paid in full by Mr. Colville’s co-defendant [Translation: the government has already stolen the inheritance of one of my co-defendants against his will], (2) Probation does not object to the Court’s waiving the drug testing condition because Mr. Colville does not have a history warranting such a condition, and (3) Mr. Colville is otherwise responsive to the Probation Office, makes himself available for home and office visits, and is respectful and communicative… [I]t does not appear that there is a need to hold a hearing on any violation. Nor does the Court see why it would be productive to have a compliance review hearing in light of the above. If the Probation Department believes at some point in the future that such a hearing is necessary, it shall file on the docket either a violation report or a request for a compliance review hearing with a clear explanation setting forth the reasons such a hearing is necessary. Further, unless anyone objects within 7 days of this order, the drug testing condition will be considered waived. Accordingly, the violation hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow (2/4) is CANCELLED. Signed by Judge Michael P. Shea on 2/3/2022.”

To all the friends who were planning to come (tomorrow), I do apologize for the late notice and hope you check your social media before getting in the car. That said, it sure is nice to get a win once in a while! The Amistad Catholic Worker will celebrate tonight.

And tomorrow we will wake up again in a country that is still spending $100,000 per minute for the coming ten years on first-strike nuclear weapons. Indeed, we have work to do–especially in Connecticut, where a huge chunk of that money is being spent at the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard in New London. So stay tuned for many more opportunities to resist this criminal government.
Peace and Joy and thanks… And the next round’s on me (in a really kind of wishful-thinking sort of way)!

Mark Colville

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