Connecticut Green Living

I was substituting for a very responsible young teacher. She was one of the first, after my four months with New Haven Schools, to clearly write sub instructions both for full and partial lockdown. I had insisted weeks ago that the District should train subs on lockdown and other emergency protocol. I had been told by the outgoing superintendent Iline Tracey, via e-mail, to check with each school upon arrival. The Director of Emergency Operations Rick Fontana had sent me an emergency guide. I do appreciate all of this, but none of it is enough. When the principal came onto the P.A. yesterday, I was winding down with a group of fourth graders. They were lining up at the door for their teacher to pick them up. I tried not to have any reaction when I heard we were in partial lockdown, but perhaps my expression belied me. A little one looked up at me and said, "One time when we had one there was a coyote outside." The other teacher whispered back to me and answered my question...

Every Earth Day my in-box overflows with press releases - everything from sustainable city lists to eco-friendly underwear. But this year, my heart was urging me to do something different. My maternal grandmother, whom I called "Mama Sue", was born and raised on a farm in Garner, Texas. She had 10 brothers and a little sister named Jessie, who died at just 10. Because of her upbringing Mama Sue behaved in ways that sometimes embarrassed me or made me laugh. I regret that. She became a respected geometry teacher in Alice, Texas and made delicious apple pies. Her only daughter, my mom - who went by Kathie, then Kathy, then Kathleen - also became a teacher. she married a New Jersey Jew, and I grew up on Walt Disney and dreidels, not the morning milking. Mom had great style, but never lost her country girl ways. She once had to kill a Buick-sized cockroach in my room in Alice because her citified daughter was squealing. Mom was 77. Here are their 22 lessons: 1. Be frugal - Mama...

Bravo, Connecticut! We shine in the latest WalletHub rankings. Although, weirdly, Maryland ranks one above us overall, we are numero uno for climate change contributions! Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated greenhouse gas emissions are all lowest in our great state. The other two metrics used to judge greenness were environmental quality and eco-friendly behaviors. Senator Bernie Sanders' beloved Vermont ranked first for eco-friendly behaviors and Hawaii, not surprisingly, boasts the highest environmental quality. Connecticut came in 8th for environmental quality and 11th for eco-friendly behaviors. Blue states overall are far greener, the study shows. Democratic-led states rank 14.92 on average for greenness, while Republican states come in at an average of 36.08. The lower the number, the greener the category or state. Other sub-categories examined water, air, LEED-certified buildings, percentage of renewable energy consumption and energy consumption. One of ...