Good morning. A library in Old Lyme, Connecticut, voted this week to not ban two books about sex and puberty, despite community backlash.
The books:
- “You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things” by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth
- “Let’s Talk About It: The Teen’s Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Being a Human” by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan
The decision: The Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library’s Board of Trustees found that the books met selection criteria for inclusion in their Teen/Tween collection.
Purpose of the vote: Several families said in a May letter that “there are topics (and often visuals) designed for far more mature audiences than youth and even teens.” They called for the books to be pulled from the young adult shelves in June.
“Limiting access to content is the responsibility of the parent. If you feel you need to accompany your child to the library or any particular collection, we welcome and encourage your presence,” the library’s Board of Trustees said in response. You must be in at least middle school to attend the library unaccompanied by a parent.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
Elementary and middle school students nationwide are falling behind in math and reading competences. According to a report from Northwest Evaluation Association, children from grades 3-8 on average will need the equivalent of an additional four months of schooling to catch up in reading and nearly five months for math. Last school year’s educational achievement lagged pre-pandemic levels, especially among students grades 5-8. Learning during the pandemic impacted eighth graders the most, with the average student needing seven months of catch up in reading and nine months of catch up in math.
It will take weeks and even months to repair Connecticut roads and property damage from recent rainfall. Some areas saw as much as nine inches of rain flood. Part of the Route 272 bridge in Norfolk, for example, was destroyed and swept away. The state Department of Transportation will block the road until repairs are completed. Officials recommend drivers use local roads as detours from damaged main roads.
Suffolk County Police have refurbished a medevac helicopter. The police department now has a fully operational fleet of four helicopters in their aviation section. The fleet covers 912 square miles of land and 1,461 square miles of water, providing emergency medical transports, search and rescue for missing persons and criminals and waterway patrols for sharks.
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $3.6 million to two Bridgeport K-12 public schools on Wednesday. The money will go towards implementing comprehensive energy efficiency and renewable projects at Geraldine Johnson Elementary and Luis Munoz Marin Elementary. New smart control systems, condensing boilers, heat pump water heaters, solar and battery systems and heating and cooling systems will be installed to improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality.
Osprey’s Dominion vineyard on Long Island will sell two of its properties for $8.2 million. According to Newsday, the two properties are a 24-acre parcel in Peconic and a 16-acre parcel in Mattituck. The original owners of the vineyard, Frederick “Bud” Koehler and William Tyree, have since died. Their children who inherited the property have no interest in continuing the winery business.
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim wants to hire 100 police officers by 2025. In addition to hiring more officers, his plan creates new incentives for police recruitment and retention, including salary increases and reduced health care costs. The city expects at least 23 officers to graduate from the academy by October.
Over 700,000 New Yorkers have used the state’s Paid Family Leave program since it launched in 2018. Over 160,000 people used the program in 2022, according to the state Department of Financial Services, including just over 23,600 Long Island residents. The data found the number of men who use paid family leave to care for their children has almost doubled in five years.
A Trumbull town planner will compete in the 2023 World Martial Arts Games in Daytona Beach, Florida. Rob Librandi will join the U.S. Martial Arts Team, competing in power breaking on July 31. A fifth-degree black belt, Librandi often participated in karate and martial art competitions in the past, breaking 10-11 concrete blocks consistently.
