June 4, 2013
We are in the home stretch of the legislative session and it is important that I hear from my constituents on an array of issues before I vote. Here are the best ways to get in touch with me:
Cell Phone: 203-240-6135
Email: Roland.Lemar@cga.ct.gov
Facebook: www.facebook.com/StateRepRolandLemar
My Legislative Aide, Marcin Olechowski: 860-240-8507
Switchboard: 1-800-842-8267
Last week I cosponsored and voted in favor of SB 387, an act raising the minimum fair wage to $9 per hour. It is necessary that we provide hard working people in this state with a living wage. Small business owners know that paying their workers more than the minimum required by law leads to dedicated employees and happier employees who can also afford to be consumers.
Over 16,000 households in East Haven and New Haven have a minimum wage earner. 20% of all minimum wage earners are female head of households, many times supporting their family on less than $19,000 a year. The National Employment Law Project found that two-thirds of America's low-wage workers work for huge companies with far more than a hundred employees, such as Walmart, McDonald's and other fast food chains.
Most workers on the minimum wage work for multi-state corporations whose executives make tens of millions per year while their local workers are called names for fighting to earn a few additional cents per hour for full time employment. Unlike corporate pay that gets funneled to Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, this money will be spent on Grand Ave. and Main Street and cycle through our local economy many times over.
This is a victory for workers and for small businesses in Connecticut.
Last week I led the debate on HB 6566 in the House of Representatives and defended this act concerning transparency in economic assistance programs. The bill will increase transparency in Connecticut by requiring state departments that provide financial assistance to businesses to provide a complete database of economic stimulus program recipients and to enumerate jobs created or preserved as a result of that state funding.
This is an incredible opportunity to provide true transparency and clarity for our constituents on where their money is spent and what the businesses that receive our tax dollars are doing to provide jobs for our CT workers. It is imperative that those receiving state funds are growing jobs and complying with the necessary rules and regulations that come with that funding. Shedding light on economic assistance programs will allow constituents, businesses, and lawmakers to know the direct impact of these programs. Furthermore, this data will be helpful for lawmakers looking to improve the effectiveness of existing programs.
Non-Profit Spotlight: Our Local Parks
Enjoy our local parks and help keep them clean, safe, and beautiful.
Farm River State Park is a 61 acre park situated in East Haven encompassing the mouth of the Farm River as it meets Long Island Sound. Despite its size, the park's diversity is remarkable. Snowy egrets feed in the marshland and share the tidal wetlands and rocky shore with a wide variety of ducks, gulls, and the occasional blue heron. A limited number of passes for the Community Boating Program are available through Quinnipiac University, otherwise it's a $20 annual fee for use of the launch. For more information please visit: www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?A=2716&Q=454726
The Friends of State Parks, an all-volunteer organization, is dedicated to supporting Connecticut's state parks, forests and conservation areas through education, advocacy, and public awareness, to protect and preserve Connecticut's great legacy of natural resources and historical treasures. For more information visit: www.friendsctstateparks.org/FCSP/Welcome.html
The park closest to my home, where my children play most often, is East Rock Park.
This 425-acre park is located on the New Haven/ Hamden border. East Rock was formed about 200 million years ago as the continents were in the process of moving away from each other. Molten rock from deep in the earth surged through stress cracks formed in the sandstone bedrock of the New Haven area. The molten rock cooled to form dolerite, also known as basalt or traprock. As glacial action and the forces of weathering eroded away the softer sandstone, East Rock (and other traprock ridges such as West Rock) became more prominent.
The summit of East Rock Park now rises more than 350 feet above the floor of the Mill River valley at its base. The Summit Drive is open daily April 1 to November 1, 8 a.m. to sunset.
The Friends of East Rock Park (FERP) is a community and environmental advocacy group. FERP encourages neighbors to meet each other, celebrate the environment and become stewards of the park. This group builds connections by hosting social events and work days, and supporting other neighborhood efforts. All their events are free and open to the public.
Join the Friends of East Rock Park by emailing info@friendsofeastrockpark.org.
Do you know of a great non-profit that you would like to see highlighted in my emails? Contact me!