Tony Dominski, Feb. 10, 1944-Sept. 8, 2016

by Susan Klein

A memorial gathering to celebrate the life of Tony Dominski will be held on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017, 2-5 p.m. at the New Haven Peoples Center, 37 Howe St. Please come to share light refreshments and fond memories.

Tony arrived in New Haven in 1966 to study environmental science at Yale Forestry School. He joined the American Independent Movement, a local grassroots effort opposing the war on Vietnam and exposing the shortcomings of urban redevelopment. He led the effort to inject science into activism around urban ecology, and was a founder of the Science Action Group, which expanded the first Earth Day in 1970 into six weeks of actions called the Environmental Offensive, gaining national attention.

Tony taught at Pratt Institute and built a consulting firm that evaluated the environmental impact of urban and small-town development projects. He and pediatrician Morris Wessel published a groundbreaking study of lead poisoning in children, which helped force reduction of permitted lead levels in housing and the environment. In 1979 Tony moved to Santa Barbara, teaching at UCSB and becoming executive director of its first recycling enterprise. Later he moved to Tallahassee to evaluate environmental impacts for the state of Florida. He also wrote grants for Florida House in Sarasota, winning significant funding from Toyota for environmental projects.

Still consulting in Florida, Tony returned to New Haven and joined the Energy Task Force, which pressures the city and state to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. He helped save horseshoe crabs at three Connecticut preserves: Westbrook, Sandy Point, and Charles Island. In all his work, Tony constantly looked over the horizon, promoted the most far-reaching analyses and proposals for the environmental directions society must take, and brought people together with his thoughtful, cooperative and spiritual approach to life.

Tony was the first of twelve siblings. He married three wonderful women: Joelle Fishman, Donree Bruce, and Constance Amrita Joy. All who knew him cherished Tony for his offbeat, perceptive and irreverent sense of humor, infectious laugh and strong sense of caring for his family, friends and the planet.

This issue dedicated to the memory of Dr. Morris Wessel, Judi Friedman and Lou Friedman

The PAR Planning Committee dedicates this September issue to Dr. Morris Wessel, Judi Friedman and Lou Friedman. These three people devoted their careers and their lives to help create a safer, healthier, more peaceful world.

morris-wesselProgressive Action Roundtable extends its condolences to the family of Dr. Morris Wessel, who passed on at age 98 on August 20. Dr. Wessel was a pediatrician in New Haven for forty-two years. In the 1970s he investigated the lead levels in children, and in 1974 helped found The Connecticut Hospice, the first hospice in the United States. He and his wife, social worker Irmgard Rosenzweig Wessel who died in 2014, were greatly respected and admired by many of us in the PAR community. He is survived by four children, David, Bruce, Paul and Lois; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and hundreds of former patients. Contributions may be made to the Morris and Irmgard Wessel Fund, a donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, which makes annual awards to unsung heroes who are improving life for residents of the city. For more about Dr. Wessel: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/morris_wessel

friedman-judi-louIt is with great sadness that PAR learned of the passing of Judi and Lou Friedman of Canton on July 25. They both suffered with painful and debilitating health issues. Judi led the People’s Action for Clean Energy organization for forty-three years and has regularly written articles for the PAR newsletter. Lou was co-founder of Beyond Nuclear, a national non-profit promoting a nuclear-free world. For decades, PACE has been a resource for information and action on clean-energy issues and energy efficiency. Judi and Lou helped educate many of us about the dangers of nuclear power. At its annual meeting in the fall, PACE will be honoring the lives of Judi and Lou.

For more information, contact Mark Scully, Chairman of PACE, at [email protected].