Good morning! As part of Hamden’s Earth Day celebration, dozens of children helped paint a mural dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. that will soon be going up on the wall of the town’s main library.
“There will be 39 murals altogether in 39 different Connecticut towns and cities — 39 for every year he lived,” said Emida Roller, a mural artist who is a member of the community organization Rise Up for Arts. She designed the mural for Hamden with input from residents.
The mural features images of books, interspersed with portraits of Martin Luther King and several notable African Americans from Hamden, as well as Rabbi Robert Goldberg, who was a personal friend of Dr. King’s and who hosted him at Mishkan Israel Synagogue in town.
The mural is expected to be finished by early June. Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
A Connecticut family is reeling from its latest ordeal because of gun violence. Se'Cret Pierce died after a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting struck the 12-year-old's head. About a decade ago, the girl's father also died from gunfire. Police in Hartford say no arrests have been made, but they are still looking for the two people in the vehicle used in the drive-by shooting.
A 74-year-old Connecticut woman suffered bites to her arms and legs when she was attacked by a black bear while out walking her dog on a leash in a Hartford suburb. The 12-year-old female bear was later located by authorities, who killed the animal. This was the first attack by a bear on a human in Connecticut this year. There were two reported in 2022.
A high school principal on Long Island who had taken a personal leave of absence after clashing with district officials over his support of the LGBTQ community is scheduled to return to class today. Michael Moran took the leave from Connetquot High School after a controversy surrounding the display of Pride flags. Parents say he was pushed out. School officials say there was no connection.
Connecticut receives $73.5 million to remove PFAS from the state’s drinking water systems. There are 2,400 affected water sites in the state that contain excessive levels of PFAS. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) warned water companies who will be recipients of the funds to make “drinking water cleaner and safer without raising the cost of water to Connecticut’s consumers.” The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the money to also be used to remove lead and other contaminants from drinking water systems.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer will announce a historic vote for the Equal Rights Amendment this week. Standing at Roosevelt House in New York City, alongside Gloria Steinem and more trailblazing women, Schumer (D-NY) is expected to detail Monday his plan to help launch a petition campaign should the vote fail. He cautions Republican senators who “might dismiss this issue and the incredible women of America fighting for equal rights.”
Connecticut is beginning the process that will redesign Seaside State Park in Waterford, the location of a former sanatorium. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will seek public input to discuss the new passive park design. Historic buildings have to be demolished at the site, but some materials might be able to be reclaimed and reused. The state has secured $7.1 million in federal coronavirus relief funding for Seaside.
