In Willimantic:

Hang Your Dirty Laundry
Friday, January 11, 2008
Intersection of Main & Jackson Street
Willimantic, CT
5 p.m.

We’ll be airing all the dirt on January 11, 2008. Help us bring awareness to torture and indefinite detention and call for the close of Guantánamo Bay. We’ll be handing old T-shirts and rags on a clothes line with messages like “End Torture” and “Close Gitmo.”

Norwich:

>CLOSE GUANTANAMO March and Vigil (Norwich, CT)
Jan 11 2008 - 2:00 - 4:30om

• 2 p.m. Gather at Chelsea Parade South (between Washington and Broadway,directly across from NFA’s Slater Museum).
• 2:30 p.m. March downtown via Broadway to Rep. Courtney’s new offices, 101 Water St., and present petition.
• 3:15–4:30 p.m. Vigil at Thames Plaza (101 Water St. location).

Contact: Anne Scheibner Phone 860 437-8890.

[For aspiring candidates, learn about how to qualify for public finance dollars in the 2008 State Legislative elections. PDF Link here]

The State Elections Enforcement Commission will offer free public informational and training sessions about the Citizen’s Election Program for prospective candidates, treasurers and any other interested individuals. All sessions will be held at the Legislative Office Building, 300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT. All sessions will include question and answer periods.

The upcoming sessions will be held at the following dates and times:

• January 29, 2008 – 5:00-7:00pm, Hearing Room 1D
• January 31, 2008 – 2:00-4:00pm, Hearing Room 2D

Please contact the Commission to register for the session date of your choice by calling (860) 256-2940.

The training sessions will describe the major provisions of the Program, such as:

• Raising qualifying contributions,
• Qualifying for a grant from the Citizens’ Election Fund,
• Limits on a participating candidate’s use of personal funds,
• Limits on loans to the committee of a participating candidate,
• Grant amounts,
• Permissible expenditures,
• Expenditure limits, and
• Supplemental payments to a participating candidate facing a high-spending opponent who has not elected to participate in the Program.

[A series held at the New Haven Museum & Historical Society, Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Films are free, but you can preregister to secure a seat in advance.]

Connecticut has been facing the problem of city versus town since colonial days, resulting in 169 governmental entities with great independent spirit but little interconnectedness. How do we come together? How do our communities maintain a sense of identity in an increasingly homogenized world? What about our cities? A century ago they were the engines of the industrial age. But what is their role now and in the future?

The issues facing us here are being addressed by communities across the nation. At each of our evening programs commentators will lead discussions that will bring the challenges home and help us rethink the “American Dream.”

Films:

• January 17: Connecticut and Its Cities: Three Centuries of Change (Part 1) Our introductory film explores the forces that created Connecticut’s cities and surrounding small towns, how they grew and what happened when industry moved on.
• January 24th: Taken For a Ride Public transportation shaped urban communities, offering citizens easy transportation and driving the development of downtown shopping and commercial districts. This changed in the 1930s through a sweeping campaign by GM to buy and dismantle the streetcars across the country.
• January 31: Subdivide: Isolation and Community in America What is life like in contemporary suburbia? Follow this personal study of isolation and the struggle to find community in an era of careless development.
• February 7: Suburbia: The Good Life in Connecticut? Learn how suburban ideals and myths influence our views on privacy, education, safety and the future of Connecticut’s urban centers.
• February 21: Independent America Follow the filmmakers on a transcontinental journey through 32 states in search of “Independent America.” Hear from hardy souls fighting for the right to remain independent in a land smothered by Big Box stores and fast-food chains.
• February 28: Save Our Land/Save Our Towns Join us for this voyage of discovery as we see how cities can be rebuilt and countrysides preserved from stripmalls and subdivisions.

The Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty (CNADP) holds regional monthly meetings in Hartford, on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings start at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome. Directions available at cnadp.org.

As we approach a special legislative session for new (and likely more punitive) changes in criminal justice policy, organizations advocating for a more humane approach will need to be a part of the debate if we’re going to achieve a fully-considered set of laws. Hopefully CNADP will find a way into the discussion.