Cardiz, Translated by Elena Shore.

LAKEWOOD, Wash.—“When you go to war … life stops, the whole time you’re away from home. But the people who are here still go on. They grow up, life goes on. It’s hard to go back and adapt,” Martha Arenas tells La Opinión. Arenas was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, which ended this week, with the departure of the last combat brigade from the country.

The images were seen around the world. In dusty regions of Iraq, soldiers from the Fourth Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Second Infantry Division, packed up their equipment and crossed into Kuwait, to complete the final part of their assignment and return home.

It’s been seven years and five months of fighting, and the work of Latinos in the armed forces has played an integral part at all levels. Although the government doesn’t have figures on the number of Latinos who were part of Stryker, with nearly 4,000 troops, their presence is undeniable.

“Given the population of Hispanics in the armed forces, I think the probability of finding them in this brigade is high, as is their presence in any large-scale brigade or battalion,” says Catherine Caruso, joint spokesperson for McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis in Lakewood, where the brigade is based and where troops from Iraq are arriving.

According to Census figures, nearly 12 percent of army enlistees are Hispanic. This percentage is expected to double by 2020, if the current rate of recruitment continues. The army currently has 675,000 soldiers: 488,000 on active duty and 189,000 in reserve.

Yet no statistics can reflect the experience of Latinos in the war better than their own stories.

Martha Arenas was born in Los Angeles and raised in Mexico. In 2003, she enlisted in the army, where she studied communications.

On March 26, 2007, she was deployed to Iraq, where she was stationed for 15 months. There her responsibility was to make sure that soldiers had communications at all times and to keep watch in the towers. In addition, at night, she went out with infantry groups to conduct searches of Iraqi women. “The men from there use them to hide things,” she explains.

Five of the 11 members of her surveillance team were Hispanic. “As Latinos, we have very strong roots focused on the family, and when we don’t have (our families) by our side, we look for ways to replace the feeling of brotherhood and we come together.”

“We eat together, we get by speaking a little Spanish. Sometimes it’s not allowed, because other people can’t understand (what we’re saying). But they let us have that kind of contact, because they know we need it,” she says.

But for Arenas, perhaps the most difficult part of her time in Iraq is precisely what the last brigade of Operation Iraqi Freedom is now facing: coming home.

“A lot of people don’t understand how we feel,” she says. “The only refuge we have is another combat veteran. The only family we have is each other. There’s no way to explain what happened, what we are going through spiritually.”

“Latinos are very attached to God and there are certain things that happen over there that complicate life a little. To reconcile this, you have to look for support from other brothers in combat and from chaplains or priests. You feel isolated,” she confesses.

It’s an issue the army is aware of. It conducted a 15-month study, released in July, that found that suicides among soldiers had increased to 20 out of 100,000.

Last year there were 160 suicides among active-duty troops. The report found that 79 percent of those troops had been in a combat zone at least once. “We leave, saying we can do anything, and then the situation is different,” Arena says. “People are afraid to go to get the help they need.”

“To those who are returning I would recommend that they keep their head up, continue to move forward, be patient with people, because they don’t understand what we’ve just experienced, and don’t be afraid to get help,” she adds.

There are still more than 3,000 soldiers in the Stryker brigade in Iraq who will be returning to the United States in successive waves, ending September 10. This step will begin “Operation New Dawn,” in which the more than 50,000 troops who remain in Iraq will be training the local security forces.

Meanwhile, the troops who are returning home will have their own personal “new dawn” with their families, who are anxiously awaiting their arrival. They won’t be fighting an enemy here, but they will face a new battle: adjusting to life with their loved ones.

HARTFORD — Gov. Jodi Rell announced on Friday that her administration will investigate a possible price increase by Rite Aid Pharmacy.

The  review into a possible increase of prescription drug prices at the pharmacies after the drugstore chain made key changes to its customer Rx Savings discount program by erroneously claiming that the higher prices and reduced benefits were required by a new state law.

“I sincerely hope that Rite Aid is not using a state law – one that is actually designed to provide cost-savings for all its customers – as an excuse to raise prices. If so, it amounts to a modern day bait-and-switch and Rite Aid is not being honest with consumers. I strongly urge Rite Aid to reconsider these changes,” Rell said.

The law in question is Section 17 of Public Act 10-179, which requires Connecticut pharmacies that offer discounts and savings to the general public to provide those same discounts and savings to individuals on Medicaid.  The law was part of the broader budget adjustment legislation passed by the Legislature in May.

Several Rite Aid stores have posted signs indicating that because of the new law Rite Aid “is required to modify the benefits available under the Rx Savings Program,” according to a press release.

“The problem is not the law, the problem is the way Rite Aid is reacting to the law by penalizing customers through changes in its discount program, ostensibly to avoid across-the-board discounts to Medicaid and the general public,” Rell said.

The Governor directed the Department of Social Services to work with the Attorney General’s Office to review the legality of the changes in Rite Aid’s discount program. She’s asked DSS officials to meet with Rite Aid representatives to seek immediate reversal of changes in Rite-Aid’s savings program that negatively affect Connecticut consumers.

Earlier this month, Rell announced that CVS Caremark – which was considering ending its Health Savings Pass pharmacy discount program – informed her that the program will continue. The company’s decision came after the governor wrote company officials in June questioning whether canceling the discount program might be an attempt by CVS to avoid complying with a new state law that requires pharmacies to give patients using taxpayer-funded Medicaid the same savings given to the public.

“Just as I am grateful that CVS opted to join the pharmacies in Connecticut that are participating in this program, I expect that Rite Aid will decide to conform to the spirit and purpose of the law by restoring its pharmacy discounts,” Governor Rell said.

LA Beez, News Report, Mike Santos

Jan is a stately, elderly woman of 65 who had it good not too long ago. She had a lucrative income, some of which she invested in a lovely two bedroom home in a good neighborhood. She did everything by the book to ensure her retirement.

Jan now lives in a group home, sharing a room with eight other women. She subsists on a measly $100 per month—all that’s left for her after Social Security and Medicare are put towards the costs of her housing and care. She says that’s far from enough to cover her daily subsistence and medical needs that are not covered by Medicare.

But that’s all Jan has these days because the preparations she made over the course of decades have been wiped out in the country’s worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“I would like to know what you are doing about it,” Jan says angrily at a recent forum hosted by the Greenlining Institute, a non-profit national policy, organizing, and leadership institute working for racial and economic justice. The conference aimed to address the growing economic crisis facing the elderly folks such as Jan.

“I did everything right,” Jan told the attendees at the forum. “I prepared for my future and this is where I ended up.”

Jan is not alone in her dilemma.

In a Health Policy Research Brief prepared by INSIGHT Center for Community Development—a national research, consulting, and legal organization dedicated to building economic health in vulnerable communities—there are nearly half a million elders in California alone who cannot make ends meet.

More than one-fourth of Californians aged 65 and older live alone, and half of them had incomes below the Elder Index, which measures how much income is needed for a retired, elderly adult to meet their basic needs, including housing, food, out-of-pocket medical expenses, transportation and other necessary spending.

In Los Angeles County, the Elder Index is pegged at $23,000 per year, and more than 312,000 elders are trying to survive below that income level.

The California Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) is a new tool that quantifies how much income is needed for a senior with a given living arrangement and geographic location to adequately meet his or her basic needs living in the community. It is the only elder-specific financial measure of its kind, and based on credible, publicly available sources for all 58 California counties. It was calculated using actual cost data (housing, food, health care, transportation, and other basic expenses) for older adults living alone and for couples.

“Economic insecurity for the elderly is caused mostly by the high cost of basic necessities and inadequate income prompting them to make untenable choices detrimental to them,” said Dr. Brad Bagasao, who serves as program development director for the Filipino-American Service Group, Inc. (FASGI), non-profit organization that is located in the Historic Filipinotown district of Los Angeles and focused on promoting the physical health and mental wellbeing of underserved low-income seniors.

Elders of all ethnicities are struggling to meet the high costs of living in Los Angeles, but elders of color—who typically earn less than white people throughout their working lives and who often don’t have pensions and 401Ks to supplement their Social Security income—have been hit particularly hard.

“It doesn’t help that California’s financial deficit is forcing Sacramento to cut off essential programs for the elderly,” said Laura Trejo, general manager of the Los Angeles City Department of Aging, an agency that’s expected to see budget cuts.

Elders also face the risks of financial abuse, an increasing trend, with seniors being lured into investments or agreements that are unsuitable or outright frauds, according to Assemblymember Mike Eng.

Eng, a Democrat who represents the 49th District, told the crowd at the forum about his own experience regarding the economic vulnerability of the elderly, combining a cautionary tale with a call for steps to increase the ability of seniors to spot a scam.

“My mother was somehow approached by someone who convinced her, due to her financial insecurity, to sign a power of attorney which basically put all her financial assets in the power of one person who apparently refuses to disclose what the plans will be and where the assets are,” Eng said. “It is this lack of economic literacy which many people are preying on.”

Miko Santos is an editor at Asian Journal.
AJPress photo by Miko Santos.

HARTFORD – Gov.  M. Jodi Rell today announced that CVS Caremark – which was considering ending its Health Savings Pass pharmacy discount program – informed her that the program will continue.

The company’s decision comes after Rell wrote company officials in June questioning whether canceling the discount program might be an attempt by CVS to avoid complying with a new state law that requires pharmacies to give patients using taxpayer-funded Medicaid the same savings given to the public, acccording to Rell’s press release.

In her June 19 letter, Rell also asked state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal to look into the proposed CVS policy change. The effect of the change would have been to eliminate a discount policy for numerous Connecticut consumers.

Rell received a letter today from Elizabeth S. Wingate, Senior Vice President of CVSCaremark, who said the company had decided “after much consideration” that it will not suspend theHealth Savings Pass program.

“We will work with (the state Department of Social Services) in the near future to resolve any issues related to the application of CVS discount program pricing to state Medicaid reimbursement,” Wingate said in a letter to the Governor. CVS said it recognizes “the importance of continuing to serve individuals and families who may not otherwise have access to prescription coverage.”

“This is a victory for Connecticut – a victory for consumers, who count on discount programs like the Health Savings Pass, and a victory for taxpayers, who will benefit from the savings our state will achieve under the new law,”  Rell said. “The goal of the new law is nothing less than simple fairness – to ensure that Medicaid customers get the same treatment other customers receive when they shop for prescriptions. I am grateful that CVS has opted to join the other pharmacies in Connecticut that are participating in this program.”

The law in question is Section 17 of Public Act 10-179, which requires Connecticut pharmacies that offer discounts and savings to the general public to provide those same discounts and savings to individuals on Medicaid.

The law was part of the broader budget adjustment legislation passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor on May 7.

By Evan Lawrence, Staff Writer

HARTFORD — In the final stretch of  his primary election campaign, Democrat Ned Lamont can be found in many places. However, on Friday afternoon you would have found him making an appearance in Hartford, taking a tour of the New England Assistive Technology Resource and Education (NEAT) Center at Oak Hill in the Blue Hill section of Hartford.

Originally a school for the blind, Oak Hill is an institution that has been around since 1893 and now services people with a number of different disabilities, including intellectual, developmental and physical impairments. It is Connecticut’s largest community-based provider to people with disabilities, having programs in over 50 Connecticut towns,officials say.

The key term there is “community based,” according to Patrick Johnson Jr., ACSW the President of Oak Hill. Preceding the tour, Mr. Johnson explained to an attentive Lamont how the school of thought has changed over the last thirty years from institutionalization to a more effective community based living.

“People want their children at home, or living in the community just like everyone else” Johnson said. “The NEAT Center at Oak Hill is helping to make that possible especially with the recent advancements in technology.”

Oak Hill teacher B. Rankin and Tim

Bruce Stovall , the vice president of Oak Hill, began the tour by explaining more about these improvements starting with their equipment restoration and reutilization. Oak Hill repairs and restores used disability equipment and then sells it to buyers at a significantly reduced price, making the expensive equipment much more affordable for those that need it.

Lamont, who has previous experience teaching (including a friend with Lou Gehrig’s disease) got to see first hand how much the technology has improved. This included screen magnification, speech to text technology, and even a mounted computer mouse that responds to a reflective dot on the users forehead. This way a quadriplegic can move the cursor by merely looking at the part of the screen they would like to select. Or, in this case, a zealous Lamont can spell out “Vote for Ned” and briefly experience how difficult a simple task can be for a disabled person.

The final stop on the tour was a training session for the “Birth to Three Program,” which evaluates, identifies, and provides support to families with disabled children. Trainees with different backgrounds before entering this program, are physical therapists, speech pathologists, as well as some that had personal experiences with disabilities, and were now here to continue their future in this field. A future, however, that is very uncertain, Oak Hill officials said.

While Oak Hill does receive some money from charitable donations, 90 percent of their budget is from public funding. This means in recent years, the employees of Oak Hill’s cost-of-living adjustments have been less then one percent. Already burdened with the effects of inadequate funding, Oak Hill President Patrick Johnson said he hopes that whoever is elected governor does reduce their funding any lower then it is currently.

By Ann-Marie Adams, Staff Writer

AREAWIDE – Before Omar Thornton allegedly shot eight people in a Manchester warehouse and turned the gun on himself Tuesday, he called his friend Latroy Dale last week. They spoke for two hours.

Dale is the friend who helped Thornton, 34, get that truck driver’s job at the Manchester-based Hartford Distributors, Inc. about two years ago. In 2000, both men entered driving school for their D & L license. When Dale dropped out of the program, Thornton continued on and received his license. When Thornton applied for the job, he already knew how to drive a truck, friends say.

“They had him in that warehouse for about a year and a half, talking about he was slow. They said he wasn’t ready,” James Dale Sr. said in front of his Bloomfield home. Dale Sr. said he spoke to his son Latroy, 30, yesterday. “Omar made about eight or nine complaints to those people…. Omar let it got to him, and he snapped.”

Dale Sr. also said his son is “all choked up” about Tuesday’s tragedy that left families mourning an “unspeakable loss” on both sides.

The Aug. 3 rampage at Hartford Distributors is the state’s deadliest workplace shooting since the Newington-based Connecticut Lottery Corporation shooting on March 6, 1998, when accountant Matthew Beck, 35, killed four lottery officials before committing suicide.

Thornton’s brother Edward Kinder, 38, theorized that something  pushed Thornton to kill those people and then kill himself.

“He’s been dealing with it for two to three years,” Kinder said before he entered his mother’s apartment building in East Hartford today, “They called him porch monkey…nigger…all kinds of names.”

Watch Video

Family members, friends and causal acquaintances of Thornton are still in stupor after learning Thornton shot eight of his co-workers and reportedly committed suicide. They still don’t believe he shot himself. They still don’t believe he stole a case of beer. And they still have questions, they said.

“Why would he put up with that for so long and then stole a case of beer?  He doesn’t even drink,” said Hartford resident, Lou Daniels, 51.

Daniels is a store clerk at a gas station on Cottage Grove Road in Bloomfield. He said he saw Thornton about two months ago when he came in to grab a hot dog and a soda. Thornton, Daniels said, would make references to the prejudice on his job.

“I told him it was every where; some places are more overt than others,” Daniels said. “He was  such a low-key kind of a person. He was quiet. I think something drove him to that point.”

Teamsters Local 1035 officials said Thornton, a union member, was a disgruntled employee who was “cold as ice.” In an official statement released on Tuesday, they said Thornton filed no complaints about racism on the job. On Wednesday, however, a Teamsters’ spokesman said there was one complaint about a year ago and it was “taken care of right away.”

Also in a press conference on Wednesday, Hartford Distributor’s Marketing Director Brett Hollander said company supervisors caught on tape Thornton stealing beer and asked him to resign. According to Hollander and other company officials, Thornton agreed to resign. Soon after the 7: 00 a.m. disciplinary meeting, Thornton asked for a drink of water and then scuttled off to the kitchen area, where “he must have had a gun.” Minutes later, Thornton appeared and opened fire on President of Teamsters Local 1035 Bryan Cirigliano, 51. Cirigliano was at this meeting as Thornton’s union representative, Secretary Treasurer of Teamsters Local 1035 Christopher Woos said in a statement. Other shootings followed. Company officials said there were about 70 employees at the beer warehouse that morning.

Other victims now dead are Doug Scruton, 56; Bill Ackerman, 51; Francis Fazio Jr., 57; Edwin Kennison, 49; Craig Pepin, 60; and Victor James, 60. Jerome Rosenstein, 77, was in serious condition Wednesday at Hartford Hospital after being wounded.

“It appeared that the first few were targeted,” said Lt. Chris Davis of the Manchester Police Department. “None of them are African Americans.”

Profiles of Victims

Police also said Thornton called his mother shortly after the shooting and said: “I shot the racist bastards.”

Thornton’s mother’s sister Gail Pierson flew up from South Carolina yesterday to “just be with her sister,” Nelle Holliday.

“She’s hurting, too,” Pierson said in a telephone interview. “She lost a son.”

Police Tapes About Shooting at Hartford Distributors

Hartford’s first black mayor and former president of the Greater Hartford branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said he also had questions about events that led up to the tragedy.

“Both allegations could be true. We don’t know. He’s dead. But I don’t think the young man would’ve made up those kinds of allegations. …He probably didn’t know he could turn to organizations to file his complaint.”

Milner expressed concern for the victims but said there were also other concerns.

“I’m more concerned when looking at the TV and seeing the employees coming out. I didn’t see one minority,” Milner said. “I know Steve Hollander is a good and fair person, but that doesn’t have anything to do with it…. I think it’s worthwhile looking into how many minority co-workers are at the company. “

Milner said Thornton probably didn’t know he could reach out to organizations such as a state agency or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where employees can file a charge of discrimination.

Carrie Saxon-Perry is a former mayor of Hartford and now the president of the local NAACP chapter. She said she’s been fielding calls from many asking her what the NAACP will do.

“We will be looking into it and asking questions,” Perry said. “Right now we don’t have anything to say. We need to know what happened.”

Dale Sr. said people keep calling his son, too, and they keep asking him what happened.

“Why do they keep asking that? Everybody who is black knows what happened,” he said, especially when we found out Omar was the only black one there.”

But Teamsters Local officials disputed that claim.

“During the time that Thornton was represented by Local 1035, he reported no concerns about racial discrimination to the union,” Roos said in an official statement Aug. 3.

Lt. Davis said today there is no written incident report yet because police are still investigating.

Related Stories:

MASS MURDER: At least 9 dead in shooting at Hartford Distributors in Manchester

Workplace Violence: Remembering the CT Lottery Headquarters Shooting

Gunman Kills 12, Wounds 31 at Fort Hood

HARTFORD –  Many nurses and doctors might soon join the unemployment roll.

That’s because St. Francis Hospital is poised to lay off about 200 of its workers.

St. Francis officials in a statement blames the layoffs on rising cost and lack of federal funding.

In a written statement, the hospital’s CEO said, “These measures will not compromise the quality of care that we deliver each day. They will, in fact, ensure our ability to continue our promise to provide the very best care possible for our community.”

It’s exceedingly uncommon for a healthy middle-aged man to walk into his doctor’s office and demand a colonoscopy. But even though he lacked a family history, Stanley Thornton, an African-American engineer who was then in his mid-40s, wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“I was concerned that African Americans do get colorectal cancer earlier, and I said, ‘hey, let me lead by example,’” he said. “We argued about it for a month or two. He felt I should wait until I was 50.”

Eventually, Thornton got the test, and was found to be clear of cancer. He describes the “prep” – the liquid that he had to drink to clean out his intestines the night before the procedure – as “not the nicest thing in the world” – and said he was apprehensive as his wife drove him to his appointment that morning, since he didn’t know what to expect. But he said the only uncomfortable part of the test, in which a doctor put a thin tube up his rectum in order to inspect his large intestine, was when the nurse inserted an intravenous needle to give him a sedative. “All I remember is talking and then being wheeled back to the room.”

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, after lung cancer. It’s one of the easiest cancers to detect early, since it usually begins as a growth called a polyp that grows silently for many years before spreading into the body. Screening people between the ages of 50 and 75 for colorectal cancer is so effective at preventing deaths that the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) gives it an “A” rating, higher than its ratings for breast and prostate cancer screening.

People who have a family history or medical condition that increase their risk of colorectal cancer usually need to start getting colonoscopies before age 50. One doctors’ group, the American College of Gastroenterology, recommends that black men start getting colonoscopies at age 45, because they are at higher risk of being diagnosed with colorectal cancer after it’s already spread (and is thus more difficult to treat), and dying of the disease.

A colonoscopy is considered the “gold standard” screening test for colorectal cancer, since it’s the best at detecting pre-cancerous changes and since it’s the only test in which the doctor can remove the polyp right away. But it can be expensive (running anywhere from $500 to $3,000 if you’re paying out of pocket) and has some small risks, such as perforating the colon (which occurs in fewer than 1 out of 100 people) and bleeding, which is more of a risk if you are on a medicine that interferes with clotting.

For most people, the most bothersome thing about a colonoscopy is the “prep,” or strong laxative that they must use to clean out their colon in advance of the test. Colonoscopies need to be done in a closely monitored environment, since they require that the person receive a sedative. If the first screening colonoscopy doesn’t show anything abnormal, most “average risk” people can wait 10 years before repeating the test.

Many, if not most, insurance plans cover screening colonoscopy in people 50 and older. But what if you lack insurance, have a plan that doesn’t cover it, are at high risk for a complication, or simply can’t stand the thought of the test? The USPSTF says it’s also OK to screen “average risk” people with fecal occult blood tests, which look for blood that’s concealed in the stool. This test is a lot less expensive (usually costing under $20 if you are paying out of pocket; many insurance plans will cover it), but it must be repeated every year to be most effective at catching colorectal cancer early. To do the fecal occult blood test correctly, you have to take home three cards on which you will smear your stool after three different bowel movements. The doctor’s office or lab will then put a chemical on the cards to detect any blood that might be hidden in the stool. You should also be aware that simply having your stool smeared on a single card (which doctors sometimes do as part of an office rectal exam) is not an adequate screening test for colorectal cancer.

The USPSTF also says it’s acceptable to do a flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years as a screening test. This test is similar to a colonoscopy, except that the tube the doctor uses is shorter, so that he or she can only see the lower part of the large intestine, and might miss a cancer that’s higher up. It’s often done in combination with the fecal occult blood test, in order to pick up more cancers. It doesn’t require sedation and is less expensive, usually running less than $300 if you are paying the full cost

Keep in mind that if your fecal occult blood test or flexible sigmoidoscopy show anything concerning for cancer, you’ll need to undergo a full colonoscopy, so that the doctor can look more thoroughly and remove any suspicious tissue for additional tests. Also, even if you’ve had a clean colonoscopy within the past 10 years, you may need to repeat the test if you notice blood or other changes in your stool – so don’t ignore such symptoms.

In recent years, many doctors have been offering their patients a slightly easier colonoscopy prep, involving either a smaller amount of liquid laxative than in the past, or laxative pills instead. It’s important to drink plenty of water and/or clear fluids on the day before the test, to keep yourself hydrated. (Avoid anything red or pink, though). Some people also suggest putting yellow lemonade Crystal Light powder in the liquid prep and refrigerating it for a day to make it a bit more palatable. If you have a history of kidney problems, tell your doctor, since there are certain types of preps that you may need to avoid.

Thornton, who is now in his 50s, underwent a second screening colonoscopy recently, and said the prep was “much cleaner and nicer.”

Many of my patients want to get a colonoscopy, but simply can’t afford the upfront costs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funds some limited programs (http://wwwtest.cdc.gov/cancer/crccp/about.htm) to screen low-income people for colorectal cancer. New York City has a relatively generous colonoscopy screening program for people who lack insurance.

Thornton, who is active in the American Cancer Society, urges everyone 50 and older with financial access to a colonoscopy to get the test.

“The ‘big C’ is something we don’t like to talk about in the black community, but we need to take charge of our health and get it done,” he said. “Anything short of that, we’re shortchanging ourselves.”

HARTFORD – Special help is on the way to children faced with the social economic and psychological impact of the deep recession.

Thanks to a new law signed by Gov.  M. Jodi Rell today.

The new law – House Bill 5360, An Act Concerning Children in the Recession – is a provision that makes, among other things, attending a two- or four-year degree program an acceptable form of work for parents receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the program known colloquially as “food stamps.”

Before, parents with children would lose critical benefits if they enrolled in school full-time.

The bill also creates a broad, multi-agency team to respond to the special needs of children caught up in economic crises like the recent global economic recession, according to a press release today. 

 “With his law, our state becomes the first in the nation to establish a comprehensive system for meeting the needs of children affected by the economic downturn,” Rell said. “We are creating a leadership team of state officials who will put together a unified government response to such problems as hunger and homelessness.”

 Rells goes on to say that the panel is “activated” when employment surpasses 8 percent. The goal is to enhance what she calls critical social services such as food stamps, medical assistance and unemployment.

The bill, Rell says, will also “seek to maximize the amount of federal aid the state receives.”

(In photo: In a July 14 bill signing ceremony in her State Capitol office, Gov. M. Jodi Rell (seated) was joined by members of the Children in the Recession Task Force.  Over the past year, the task force, led by Connecticut Speaker of the House Chris Donovan, held a series of hearings in every area of the state to hear first hand the effect of the recession on the children.)

HARTFORD – Organizers of an ongoing strike say they plan to take the rally this Thursday to the governor–on her doorsteps.

Nursing home workers on strike at four nursing homes operated by Spectrum Healthcare plans to rally Thursday outside the governor’s residence in Hartford, demanding that Gov. Jodi Rell fill a state position designed to investigate and prevent Elder Abuse that has been vacant since Nov. 2009.

At a hearing conducted on June 24 by the legislative committee on Public Health and Human Services, family members and caregivers shared testimony about deteriorating conditions at the Park Place, Birmingham, Laurel Hill and Hilltop Health Centers since 375 nurses, aides and support staff began an Unfair Labor Practice strike on April 15, organizers say.

 At that hearing, workers learned for the first time that the state’s “Elder Abuse” position has been vacant for months since the state implemented its Retirement Incentive Program last year.

The striking health care workers say they will call on  Rell to take action to protect hundreds of residents in the Spectrum homes.