Published March 03. 2021 5:32PM | Updated March 03. 2021 10:22PM
By Adria Watson, The Connecticut Mirror
Members of the legislature s Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee heard testimony on Tuesday from Connecticut students, advocates and legislators on a bill that would require college campuses to conduct anonymous sexual misconduct surveys every two years.
The proposed legislation, H.B. 6374, would enable colleges to collect information about sexual violence incidents on campus. It also would establish a council, with appointed members ranging from students to higher education officials, that will be required to submit a report about the surveys to the General Assembly every two years.
Local and state leaders mostly praised legislation passed by the state Senate on Monday that would allow for tax breaks for Connecticut data centers.
H.B. 6514, An Act Concerning Incentives for Qualified Data Centers to Locate in the State, is important to eastern Connecticut, a potential landing spot for data centers. During a public hearing last week, Randy Collins from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities said he’s had conversations with Groton, Montville and Norwich about considering such facilities in Connecticut.
Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, said an interested developer has talked to Norwich, Groton, Montville and Ledyard officials. She said the eastern Connecticut delegation and several others met with state Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman to ensure the towns weren’t left out of a deal.
The track is already in the ground.
That s the best argument I ve heard for the idea of an exciting new passenger train system for eastern Connecticut that is part of a study bill now being considered in the General Assembly.
The passenger train expansion idea has the potential to be one of the most ambitious, transformative programs for the region I ve seen in a very long time, with all kinds of environmental, economic development and strategic planning benefits.
Best of all, it s infrastructure improvement on a grand scale with much of what s needed already in place. The miles and miles of train track, after all, is in the ground.
As the paper s new politics and government reporter, I write about state and national issues with a focus on southeastern Connecticut. I particularly enjoy reporting on voting rights and how political trends play out at the local level. I ve worked as a town reporter for The Day, covering Montville and Waterford from 2019-2021 as well as writing breaking news and general assignment stories.
Sten Spinella
As the paper s new politics and government reporter, I write about state and national issues with a focus on southeastern Connecticut. I particularly enjoy reporting on voting rights and how political trends play out at the local level. I ve worked as a town reporter for The Day, covering Montville and Waterford from 2019-2021 as well as writing breaking news and general assignment stories.
As a business reporter, I write about small businesses opening and closing, manufacturing, food and drink, labor issues and economic data. I particularly love writing about the impact of state and federal policy on local businesses. I also do some education reporting, covering colleges in southeastern Connecticut and regional K-12 issues.
Erica Moser
As a business reporter, I write about small businesses opening and closing, manufacturing, food and drink, labor issues and economic data. I particularly love writing about the impact of state and federal policy on local businesses. I also do some education reporting, covering colleges in southeastern Connecticut and regional K-12 issues.