2007 Press Releases

November 16, 2007

STATE PANEL SCUTTLES PROPOSED SEASIDE SALE

By M. Matthew Clark
New London Day

The purchase and sales agreement for the Seaside property in Waterford was dealt a major blow Thursday when a state House committee voted unanimously to reject the deal.

State Rep. Diana Urban, vice chairwoman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, said the panel found too many procedural problems with the agreement between the state Department of Public Works and developer Mark Steiner to grant approval.

“I think we sent them back to square one,” said Urban, D-North Stonington, following the vote. “There was nobody in favor of going forward with that contract.”

The motion was carried in a bipartisan, 10-0 vote.

Urban said the committee could not add any conditions to the agreement — it was a straight up or down vote — so the deal was struck down.

“It's disgraceful for these buildings to have fallen into such disrepair,” Urban said. “If the result we were looking for is rundown buildings and property no one can get to, we've done a great job.”

November 12, 2007

FORUM TO FOCUS ON LAND, FARM PRESERVATION

By Jenna Cho
New London Day

North Stonington — State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, will host a forum on land conservation and farmland preservation at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Stonington High School cafeteria.

“I want to talk about enhancing public-private partnerships, and I want to again go back to what kind of action can we get on the state level to encourage small-scale farming,” Urban said in a voice message Thursday.

Co-sponsoring the forum are state Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, Stonington Conservation Commission, Stonington Land Trust, Stonington Garden Club, Stonington Uplands Association, North Stonington Conservation Commission, North Stonington Citizens Land Alliance and Avalonia Land Conservancy.

Panel members for the forum are:

• Gina McCarthy, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.
• Lance Shannon, of the state Department of Agriculture.
• Bill Haase, director of planning in Stonington.
• Fritz Gahagan, a land-conservation attorney.
• Jim Smith, of the Stonington Land Trust.
• Anne Nalwalk, president of the Avalonia Land Conservancy.

“I'm really tying this into two overriding ideas,” Urban said. “One is the food security. If we keep our local farms healthy ... we know where the food has come from, and it also, in any kind of a emergency, we have our own food within Connecticut and New England.”

Urban said she also wanted to inform residents of the benefits of open space.

“It doesn't require services, there aren't children that go to school and it enhances our quality of life,” she said. “... But what people don't really understand is, tax-wise, it is no way a loss. At worst, it's revenue neutral. But it certainly doesn't cost you.”

September 28, 2007

REP. URBAN NAMED RECIPIENT OF NATIONAL “PACESETTER” AWARD

State Representative Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington) has been chosen as one of 20 women legislators from across the USA to receive the national Women Legislator’s Lobby (WiLL) Award.

The award is given in recognition of her proven leadership in the State of Connecticut on issues of importance to the security of families and children.

The Women Legislator’s Lobby includes one in every three women legislators in its membership from all 50 states. The organization includes a national non-partisan network of state legislators working together to influence federal policy and budget priorities.

“I am thrilled to have been chosen for this distinction,” Rep. Urban said. “Security doesn’t necessarily mean a huge defense expenditure. Here in our community, we can see what’s happening to all of us. Our schools are challenged, our kids need healthcare, even our bridges are not safe!

“I look forward to sharing ideas and solutions with other women legislators working on these same issues,” Rep. Urban added.

Rep. Urban was recently recognized by the National Council of State Legislators for her innovative work on Results Based Accountability, a method of focusing the budget on achieving tangible results for the taxpayer’s money.

The Pacesetter Award will be presented to Rep. Urban at the WiLL/WAND National Conference in Washington D.C. September 30-October 2, 2007.

Rep. Urban is Vice Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Chairs an Appropriations Sub-Committee on Results Based Accountability and serves on the Environment Committee.

September 7, 2007

REP. URBAN WELCOMES $1 MILLION FOR
STONINGTON’S SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER

State Representative Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington) is pleased a $1 million Small Cities grant has been awarded by the state for a senior center to be constructed at the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center.

A 2,000-square foot addition is planned and will serve senior citizens with needed services and expanded programs.

“This is good news for our community and in particular for our senior citizens,” Rep. Urban said. “We have worked to secure this grant and I am pleased the funding has been made available so that the addition at the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center can proceed.”

“Connecticut’s small towns sometimes are ignored when it comes to be getting their share of grant money,” Rep. Urban noted. “So, it is important that this $1 million grant is made available at a time when there is considerable competition for funding.”

Rep. Urban is Vice Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, serves on the Environment Committee and is Chair of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Results Based Accountability.

August 7, 2007

NATIONAL GROUP RECOGNIZES STATE FOR STRIDES
IN RESULTS-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY
Rep. Urban Co-Chairs Honored RBA Work Group

State Representative Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington) joined lawmakers from the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee and Results-based Accountability Work Group today who accepted the first Con Hogan Award, recognizing results-based accountability (RBA) in legislative budgeting, at the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2007 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

The award, named for and presented by former Vermont Secretary of Human Services Con Hogan, a strong supporter of RBA who applied its practices during his term under former Governor Howard Dean, comes in response to the strides taken by the Connecticut Legislature to apply RBA to the state’s biennial budget process.

“For Connecticut to be singled out by the National Council of State Legislators for implementing Results-based Accountability as part of our state’s budget process, is a tribute to everyone who has worked for transparency in government,” said Rep. Denise Merrill (D-Storrs/Mansfield), who spearheaded the effort to bring RBA to Connecticut’s budget process. “As House Chair of the Appropriations Committee, it is important that we continue to ensure that our programs are working and are getting the intended results.”

RBA is a disciplined way of thinking and acting that works to set goals for programs, evaluate programs according to those goals, and to use that evaluation when determining which programs will receive funding and which will be cut. Based in plain language and results-based logic, it starts with the ends and works back to the means. Connecticut’s RBA Work Group, co-chaired by state Sen. Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) and Rep. Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington), has made strides in bringing RBA to the budget process through a promising pilot program.

“It’s a great honor for Connecticut to be the first recipient of the Con Hogan Award from the National Conference of State Legislators,” Rep. Urban said. “It has taken tenacity and teamwork to bring Results-based Accounting to the Connecticut budget process, and this recognition reaffirms the value of our efforts and encourages us to continue to put the interest of people first in our state’s budget.

“Results Based Accountability is a great way to restore the public’s faith in government as it establishes a framework that is easily understood by the general public just as families focus their household budgets on getting results that they want just as RBA focuses the budget on making sure that government programs are getting the results that people want,” Rep. Urban said.

The Con Hogan Award was accepted jointly by the Appropriations Committee and the state Office of Policy and Management.

July 17, 2007

MYSTIC AREA HOMELESS SHELTER GETS $30,000 GRANT

State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, has announced that a $30,000 state grant has been secured for the Mystic Area Shelter and Hospitality, Inc.

Known as MASH, the homeless shelter serves Stonington, Groton, Ledyard and North Stonington.

“This is an incredibly dedicated group of people who have worked so hard on behalf of families that find themselves in dire circumstances,” Rep. Urban said. “They have created a safe haven for them in our communities and I know this funding will be put to good use.”

Urban thanked state representatives Tom Reynolds, D-Ledyard, Elissa Wright, D-Groton, Edward Moukawsher, D-Groton, and State Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, for their support in securing the grant.

Since it began operating in 1999, MASH has provided emergency housing to more than 147 homeless children and 75 homeless families.

April 2, 2007

REP. URBAN APPOINTED TO NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE PANEL
BY HOUSE SPEAKER AMANN

State Representative Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington) has been appointed to serve on the National Council of State Legislatures Agriculture, Environment and Energy Committee by House Speaker James Amann (D-Milford) for the calendar years 2007 and 2008.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation’s 50 states providing research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas of the most pressing state issues.

“I am please Speaker Amann has appointed me to serve on a committee with the National Council of State Legislatures,” Rep. Urban said. “This is an opportunity to exchange ideas with legislative colleagues from across the country as we shape policy in our own state.”

In appointing Rep. Urban, Speaker Amann said, “I know you will work successfully with other state leaders to improve the legislative process for the benefit of all our citizens.”

Rep. Urban is Vice Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, Chairs an Appropriations Sub-Committee on Results Based Accountability and serves on the Environment Committee.

February 21, 2007

FORMER RINGLING EMPLOYEE ASKS LAWMAKERS TO BAN USE OF
CRUEL BULLHOOKS AND CHAINS
Representatives Urban and Fontana Proposing Bill To Eliminate Elephant Mistreatment

A former Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus animal-care provider, Archele Hundley, joined State Representatives Diana Urban (D-North Stonington/Stonington) and Stephen Fontana (D-North Haven) today in support of legislation to eliminate the mistreatment of captive elephants. The bill (HB 6599) would make it illegal to use or be in the possession of a bullhook or chains while present near an elephant while in Connecticut.

Proponents participated in a State Capitol news conference and Environment Committee public hearing on the bill.

Hundley reports that trainers and handlers struck and prodded the elephants with steel-tipped bullhooks on a daily basis. She described the feces-strewn, urine soaked boxcars that elephants are transported in how the elephants’ chains are removed only when the public is present. Hundley reported that no one was ever disciplined for abusing the elephants.

“Archele Hundley has seen firsthand how elephants used in circuses are forced to perform under the threat of punishment and spend the vast majority of their lives in chains,” Rep. Urban said. “We hope that her moving testimony inspires my colleagues to crack down on this suffering and ending this cruelty by prohibiting the use of bullhooks and chains in Connecticut.”

“It’s time we made sure that circuses can’t use instruments of torture to mistreat their elephants while they’re in Connecticut,” Rep. Fontana said. “If circuses don’t use these instruments, as they claim, I can’t see why they would mind if we ban their use here.”

“HB 6599 is a progressive measure to prohibit the most egregious and inhumane training and control methods employed by elephant handlers,” said Nicole Paquette, Attorney for the Animal Protection Institute, one of the bill’s sponsors. “If a citizen of Connecticut was to strike a dog with a bullhook, he could be charged with animal abuse. Aren’t elephants worthy of the same simple protection?”

Among other groups and individuals, the bill is supported by the Animal Protection Institute, a national animal protection organization and two state organizations, The Compassionate Living Project and Compassion in Entertainment, as well as a consortium of concerned Connecticut Citizens.

February 5, 2007

LEGISLATORS CALL FOR PHASE-OUT OF INCANDESCENT
LIGHT BULBS TO CONSERVE ENERGY

Representatives Jim O’Rourke (D-Cromwell), Mary Mushinsky (D-Wallingford), Diana Urban (North Stonington, Stonington) and Elissa T. Wright (D-Groton) discussed today legislation they authored, House Bill 6550, An Act Concerning Inefficient Incandescent Lamps.

The bill authorizes the Commissioner of Environmental Protection to study whether there are energy efficient lamps available for consumers at competitive prices and to create a list of inefficient incandescent lamps.  The Commissioner would then place inefficient lamps on a “do not sell” list.  Retailers would be given one year to sell existing stock.

“Connecticut is facing an energy crisis. Everyone agrees that energy conservation is the most cost effective way to address this problem. The question is what are we willing to do to conserve energy? We are proposing one solution which is not only painless, but will actually save consumers millions of dollars a year if and when it’s enacted,” Rep. O’Rourke said.   “These bulbs were invented over 120 years ago and use four times the electricity of readily available compact fluorescent light bulbs.”

“This bill saves consumers millions of dollars, it will help reduce our reliance on foreign oil and gas, it will reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the need to build expensive new power plants,” Rep. Mushinsky said.

"Promoting energy-saving, long-lasting, environment-friendly light bulbs is a bright idea. In the face of rising energy costs and power supply issues, replacing a standard light bulb with a more efficient compact fluorescent (CFL) or next generation light emitting diode (LED) is one of the easiest things consumers can do to cut electricity costs, energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. They may be more expensive up front, but their lower cost in the long run can make them a better buy," Rep. Wright said.  "If everyone in Connecticut were to replace just one standard light bulb with energy efficient alternative, the amount of energy used in lighting in Connecticut would be reduced by the equivalent of 250,000 homes."

"This legislation sends a message that we are serious about saving energy and that we are all in this together," Rep. Urban said. "The bill will reduce energy cost and in the long run saves money for all consumers. It's a win-win bill."

January 2, 2007

REP. URBAN IS APPOINTED VICE CHAIR OF THE GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE BY SPEAKER AMANN
Lawmakers Will Also Serve On The Appropriations And Environment Committees

State Representative Diana Urban (D-43rd District) has been appointed Vice Chair of the Government Administration and Elections Committee (GAE) by House Speaker James Amann (D-Milford).  The committee has cognizance over ethics issues, the Freedom of Information Commission, elections and contract matters, the departments of Administration Services and Public Works.

In addition Speaker Amann has named Rep. Urban to the Appropriations and Environment Committees. She is will also Chair an Appropriations Sub-Committee on Results Based Accountability which is expected to be implemented by the committee.

“I am pleased that Speaker Amann has shown such confidence in me,” Rep. Urban said, “I believe so much in the importance of accountability and transparency in government and these appointments by the Speaker will give me the opportunity to continue to work to make government more accountable and more transparent for all people. In order to work for the people, our constituents must have confidence in their government and elected officials.

“Diana is a proven leader who takes her work very seriously,” Speaker Amann said, “I was honored to welcome her to the Democratic family earlier this year and know she will make an enormous contribution as we take on many critical issues during the next two years.”

Rep. Urban will be serving her fourth term in the General Assembly representing the towns of Stonington and North Stonington.