Joseph P. Gresko

A man of the sea who also left his mark on land was honored Sept. 14 when Stratford named its community garden after the late state Representative Terry Backer.

Rep. Joe Gresko joins legislative colleagues at the State Capitol for Gov. Dannel Malloy's ceremonial signing of three bills into law. One of the new laws helps workers at private companies save for retirement. Another bill toughens the state's laws on human trafficking and the third one concerns pollinator health.

Representative Joe Gresko joins colleagues in the legislature in calling on the state Department of Energy and Environment to execute a memorandum of understanding for monitoring the piping plover population as soon as possible with the Connecticut Audubon Society so that a $10 million grant for dredging can be obtained.

Rep. Joe Gresko calls on the state Department of Labor to initiate Connecticut's Rapid Response Team to help Altice USA in assisting its 591 employees who will be laid off in the Stratford and Shelton area.

Hooray for The Mighty Quinn foundation. A $2,116 state grant in support of the arts has been awarded to the Mighty Quinn Foundation of Stratford for providing artistic and educational opportunities to our young women and men. Helping them achieve success we enhance our own community.

Representative Joe Gresko was honored to lead the swearing-in of new officers for the Stratford AARP chapter at the Baldwin Senior Center. Afterward, he talked about issues affecting seniors and legislation he sponsored to help protect them. To hear his comments, watch this video.

Rep. Joe Gresko joined members of the legislative delegation representing Stratford in securing $76 million in grants for the town's school construction projects. The General Assembly approved the funding and Governor Dannel Malloy signed the measure into law last week.

There has been a dramatic rise in prescription drug abuse, and it is something that affects each and every town in Connecticut as well as this country. The legislation that I co-sponsored and that was passed by the House this week I hope will stem the tide. For more on this issue, read this Courant news story.