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| Dear Friend,
This is my State Capitol update for the week of January 17.
If you prefer to watch rather than read, click the image below to hear about the issues contained in this newsletter. |
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| Addressing my colleagues at the Issues Caucus about how the budget works…. |
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| And accepting help from a colleague who is telling me what the lunch options are! |
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| Welcoming new and returning colleagues to the Finance Committee at our initial meeting |
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Here’s a list of today’s topics:
- Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Click here.
- Scam Alert. Click here.
- CT Paid Leave. Click here.
- Funding for Rural Residency. Click here.
- CT DOAG Survey. Click here.
- Congratulations to Local Land Trusts on Receiving Grants for Climate Smart Land Stewardship. Click here.
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| On Monday, we will celebrate and honor the life of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. As we approach the day, take a moment to reflect on the extraordinary legacy of a leader whose vision of justice, equality, and nonviolent resistance transformed our nation and inspired the world. Dr. King's unwavering commitment to civil rights reminds us of the power of courage, compassion, and collective action to create meaningful change.
Together we can continue to advance the dream Dr. King so eloquently shared - a world where freedom and dignity are the birthright of all people.
MLK Day is also a national day of service. If you have the day off, I'd encourage you to consider volunteering in your community. Click here to find an opportunity near you. |
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A new scam is circulating where fraudsters are sending text messages claiming you have an unpaid toll and asking for payment. Please DO NOT click any links or provide any personal information.
Here are some tips from the FBI:
- ️If you receive one of these messages, file a complaint with the IC3, www.ic3.gov. Include where the number of the originating text came from, and the website from which the number was generated.
- ️Delete any scam texts received.
- ️If you clicked any link or provided your information, take efforts to secure your personal information and financial accounts. Dispute any unfamiliar charges.
- ️Always verify any toll-related charges directly through official state websites or customer service.
Stay vigilant and share this message with your friends and family to help protect our community! |
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In December, CT Paid Leave announced it has paid $1 billion in benefits to more than 190,000 CT workers. Claim volume has increased by 17% since 2022 and 9% in the past twelve months. If you’d like to learn how many paid leave claims have been filed in your district, please click here to view the map.
CT Paid Leave and paid sick leave are similar, but different policies that provide support to workers. Workers utilize CT Paid Leave to recover from or care for a loved one with a serious health condition, such as cancer treatment or surgery. To assist in navigating the differences see the resource below: |
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| To learn more about CT Paid Leave, visit their website. |
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The Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program is open and accepting applications for the program’s 3-year period of performance (August 1, 2025 - July 31, 2028). HRSA will make up to 15 awards, each up to $750,000, to improve and expand access to health care in rural areas by developing new sustainable rural residency programs, including rural track programs (RTPs).
Eligible applicants include all domestic public and private, nonprofit or for-profit, entities. Applicants must propose a new rural residency program in a qualifying medical specialty. Qualifying medical specialties are family medicine, internal medicine, preventive medicine, psychiatry, general surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology. For this notice of funding opportunity, rural residency programs:
- Are accredited physician residency programs.
- Train residents in clinical training sites that are physically located in a rural area as defined by HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) for greater than 50 percent of their total time in residency.
- Focus on producing physicians who will practice in rural communities.
Successful RRPD Program awardees will: 1) Develop a new rural residency program that is accredited by Accreditation Council for Graduated Medical Education; 2) Finalize a sustainability plan, which includes ongoing funding streams to sustain long-term resident training after program establishment; and 3) Develop a plan to track and publicly report on resident career outcomes after graduation for at least 5 years after the first graduating class to assess retention in rural communities.
A technical assistance webinar via Zoom will be held for applicants on Wednesday, Jan 23 at 2:00 pm Eastern.
A list of previously funded grants under this program are available at this link. Applicants may also benefit from the resources and tools available in the RuralGME.org portal (registration required).
For more information about this funding opportunity, contact the rural residency inbox at ruralresidency@hrsa.gov.
The deadline is April 10, 2025. |
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| CT DOAG is collecting data to support a funding request to the federal government for a block grant disaster relief program which will help compensate producers for losses and expenses resulting from weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. Please complete the survey here. |
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| The Connecticut Land Conservation Council’s (CLCC) announced recipients of their Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant awards, awarding $175,000 for projects that enhance the resilience of Connecticut’s landscapes and contribute to climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
Congratulations to the Kent Land Trust for the Pollinator Meadows and Early Successional Habitats grant, and to Great Mountain Forest in Norfolk for the Climate-Smart Forestry Demonstrations grant.
Any land trust interested in applying for the Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grant, reach out to CLCC to schedule a site visit. They will review your project, discuss the application process, and ensure your proposal effectively addresses climate resilience and conservation goals.
These land trusts are taking action to combat climate change and improve ecosystem resilience. If your land trust is interested in pursuing similar initiatives, please register for the upcoming information session:
Climate Smart Land Stewardship Grants – Planning and Implementing Climate-Smart Practices
1:00 pm, Thursday, January 30, 2025
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| It is my honor to represent our district. I look forward to hearing from you about the issues raised in this newsletter, or any other topics you think I should know about. You can email me at maria.horn@cga.ct.gov or call me at (860)-240-8585. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a safe weekend.
Click here to forward to forward this email to a friend. |
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| Sincerely,
Maria Horn
State Representative |
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