Jason Rojas

Dear Neighbor,

I hope this email finds you well. Below, you'll find updates on district resources and news. Please feel free to reach out to my office if you have any questions or concerns.

The topics covered in this e-newsletter are as follows:

• State Update
• Resources
• This Week In Connecticut History
• Manchester Community Events and Information
• East Hartford Community Events and Information

The Generation Power CT (GPCT) Emergency Energy Assistance Program provides a one-time grant of up to $500 to help eligible Connecticut households with electric, gas, or fuel expenses.
Increasing energy costs are a challenge for many in the state, but through this program, GPCT has helped to provide families across Connecticut with secure access to heat, power, and water.
 
All GPCT energy programs are available to income-eligible households making up to 75% SMI gross household income. Each income-eligible household that receives a GPCT Energy Assistance Award will receive up to $500 toward a future fuel delivery or toward a past-due utility bill. For the best chance of approval, and to make full use of this once-per-12-months grant, GPCT strongly encourages households to apply for assistance when you are most in need. GPCT has three upcoming Energy Assistance Application Cycles: 

• November 2-10
• January 2-10
• March 2-10  

To learn more about eligibility requirements and application materials, go to: https://gpct.org/gethelp/

Today in 1972, baseball legend Jackie Robinson passed away at his longtime home in Stamford, Connecticut. Today, Robinson is a household name, best known as the first African-American to play Major League Baseball and as one of the greatest all-around players of the game in American history. In 1947, when he was drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers after years of smashing records in the Negro Leagues and the Dodgers’ minor league farm team, Robinson became the first African-American to break the color barrier in the sport of baseball, which had relegated black players to the all-black Negro Leagues since the 1880s. During the ten years he played in the major leagues, he went on to become Rookie of the Year, National League MVP, and played in six World Series and six All-Star games.

Behind the scenes, however, Jackie Robinson fought against segregation off the baseball field as well as on it. Once he rocketed to national stardom in the late 40s, he and his wife Rachel lived in an upscale neighborhood in Queens, surrounded by famous African-American neighbors like Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. But, like most American parents of the 1950s, they desired a more spacious home with a yard in a quiet suburban neighborhood where they could raise their children. However, when Rachel began searching for homes in the nearby wealthy — and mostly white — enclaves of Westchester County and Fairfield County, she quickly ran into resistance from realtors, who lied about housing availability, refused to show her houses, or in some cases outright ignored her repeated requests for information on homes that were clearly listed for sale.

https://www.easthartfordct.gov/residents
 
Town Newsletters
Pulse of East Hartford     
East Hartford Public Schools
East Hartford Works

October 20 - November 2
Mahoney Recreation Center
Rear Entrance off Pleasant St., 110 Cedar St
from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm*

*Extended Hours: October 28 & 30 from 8am - 8pm

Town of Manchester Upon arrival, voters will check in and receive a ballot and an envelope with a bar code. After completing the ballot, voters will place it in a sealed envelope and sign the envelope. The completed envelope will then be scanned and placed in a secure ballot box.

At the end of each early voting day, all completed ballots will be delivered to the Town Clerk and secured in a vault until Election Day.

Ballots will be opened and counted on Election Day. Same-day registration will be available during early voting, and an accessible voting system will also be provided.

We encourage all eligible voters to take advantage of this opportunity to cast their ballots early and avoid potential lines on Election Day.

For more information: 860-647-3025 - Registrars of Voters Office www.manchesterct.gov/vote
 

The Manchester Youth Commission is requesting proposals for Mini Grants of up to $1000 per application to Manchester community groups which are either led by, or intended to benefit, youth in Manchester. Qualifying candidates must plan to facilitate a project or program which fulfills one of three categories: Out of School Time/After School Initiatives, Service-Learning Initiatives, and Arts and Culture Initiatives. Grant money may not be used for religious instruction or materials, capital expenses, or donations to other organizations.

Applications for the Manchester Youth Commission Mini Grant Program are available online and must be completed and received by the Manchester Youth Services Bureau by no later than 11:59PM on December 5th, 2025. A letter of support or recommendation is also required. Grant recipients whose proposals have been selected for funding will be notified by the end of January. Decisions will be based on recommendations of the Manchester Youth Commission Philanthropy Committee and the availability of funds. Applying does not guarantee selection. Getting funded one year does not guarantee funding another year.

Apply Today

For additional information, please contact Samantha Bell at the Manchester Youth Service Bureau at (959) 221-0780, or e-mail sbell@manchesterct.gov.

Runners Will Make Strides to Fight Food Insecurity

Registration for the 89th Manchester Road Race opened on September 1^st, and race organizers said that the thousands of runners who are expected to compete in it will all be making strides to alleviate hunger in Connecticut.

Dr. Tris Carta, President of the Manchester Road Race Committee, announced that food insecurity will be the primary charitable focus of this year’s road race, which will be held at 10 a.m. in Manchester on Thanksgiving Day (November 27, 2025).

According to Carta, the race committee voted to suspend in 2025 its practice of annually awarding grants from the event’s net proceeds to a number of diverse charities and nonprofits. Instead, those funds will be earmarked this year for two organizations that provide food to those in need, Connecticut Foodshare and Manchester Area Conference of Churches Charities.

Connecticut Foodshare is a food bank serving the people of Connecticut, and is a member of Feeding America’s nationwide network. It distributes healthy food through a network of more than 650 food pantries, community kitchens and meal programs and operates mobile food distribution centers across the state.

MACC Charities operates a “Community Kitchen’ serving lunches during the week and an emergency food pantry that distributes groceries.

“There is a pressing need at Connecticut’s food banks right now, and we’re hoping that our road race can make a substantial contribution to address it,” Carta said.

Carta also indicated that the committee has designated MACC Charities as the beneficiary of the road race’s annual Honors Club Program.  Each year, the race sets aside bibs for up to 120 runners who each pay $100, instead of the traditional entry fee. All of those funds are donated to a single designated charity, which this year will be MACC Charities.

Registration for the 4.737-mile Thanksgiving Day Run is available on-line at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

This year’s entry fee will remain $32 for runners who sign up on-line at www.manchesterroadrace.com prior to 11:59 pm EST on Sept 30.  The entry fee subsequently increases to $37 on October 1^st and to $42 on November 22.  

Registration for the race will close completely on November 25, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST. No entries will be accepted on the day of the race.

Runners will once again have the option to either pick up their bibs in person, or have them delivered.  The race committee has scheduled a number of times and dates prior to the race when bibs can be picked up in person at no additional cost.  Details about the schedule and locations of the in-person pickup dates, and the fee that will be charged for delivery, will be available at www.manchesterroadrace.com when registration opens on September 1^st.

Race officials are reminding runners that there will not be bib pickup on the morning of the race.

“We’ve been working on plans for this year’s race since last winter, and we believe it is going to be another world-class event,” Carta said. “We anticipate another exciting race with a large field, and we are urging everyone to register as soon as they possibly can.

Carta also said that race officials are once again offering a Virtual Manchester Road Race option for those who can’t attend the event in person.  Participants can download a GPS-enabled app to their smartphones and have their times recorded as they run the MRR course distance at any location in the world.

On-line registration for the virtual run also begins on Sept. 1^st and closes on Nov.25^th.  The registration fee is $30 and more information is available at www.manchesterroadrace.com.

Approximately 400 volunteers from the Manchester Road Race Committee organize the annual Thanksgiving Day Run, with support from the Town of Manchester. More details are available on the road race website.

Help #StopTheSpread this fall and winter season! This vaccine clinic will offer flu vaccines.

This is a drive thru vaccine clinic with one-way traffic. Please enter on McKee Street at McAuliffe Park and follow signs.

No appointment necessary!

Please bring a photo ID and insurance card to your vaccine appointment. Those without insurance will not be turned away!

The Electors of the Town of East Hartford are hereby notified to meet at their respective polling places in said town on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, for the following purposes: To cast their votes in the Municipal Election for Mayor, Town Council, Treasurer, Board of Education, Board of Education (to Fill Vacancy for Two Years), Selectman, and Constables

Absentee Ballots will be counted at the following central location: East Hartford Town Hall, Welling Room, 740 Main Street, East Hartford, CT. Voting tabulators will be used. The polls will be opened at six o'clock in the morning (6:00 a.m.) and will remain open until eight o'clock in the evening (8:00 p.m.).
During the 14-day early voting period before said election, the hours and location of early voting will be as indicated below. Each early voting location will also offer Same-Day Registration (SDR).

HELPFUL LINKS:

Full Election Warning in English and Spanish

Voting Districts in East Hartford

New Tabulator Information

Sample Ballot

Early Voting Locations and Information from the Secretary of State

The Town of East Hartford will begin the annual curbside leaf collection program on Monday, November 3, 2025. Leaves will be vacuumed Monday through Saturday starting November 3rd continuously through December 13th, 2025. 

The program consists of the vacuuming of leaves placed in piles on a tree belt. Leaves will be vacuumed along each street, weather permitting. The leaf collection program will commence on roads in the northwest corner of town in the area of Pitkin Street and then proceed north and east through the Burnham and Goodwin Street areas. Collection will proceed in a clockwise direction around town.

There will be no leaf collection on two (2) Town-observed holidays—Veterans Day, November 11, 2025 and Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025.

The schedule for leaf pickup can be found on the Department of Public Works Weekly Advisory Map and on the Town Facebook page.

CLICK HERE FOR WEEKLY LEAF MAP

The map will show completed areas as well as the areas where leaf collection is anticipated the following week. Residents should note that the map is tentative and dependent on the weather and the speed of collection and should not be considered a set collection schedule. Progress of the collection is weather-dependent and will be affected by rain or snow. Snowfall before mid-December may cause a suspension or cancellation of leaf collection. The map will be updated with address-specific collection information, such as whether collection has been completed or is anticipated by close of business on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Residents, please look for leaf program lawn signs! Leaf collection lawn signs will be posted in neighborhoods to notify residents that curbside leaf pickup is coming, and to encourage raking to the tree belt and paper leaf bag collection.

Please do not block storm drains and catch basins with leaves to prevent flooding issues. 

Instructions for using the Weekly Advisory Map:

1. Enter your address in the search bar.
2. The Map will show your property- click on it to pull up the anticipated collection week.
3. To find out if leaf piles collection has already been completed in your area, please click on the road centerline, which will indicate if the street has been completed. Once leaf vacuuming in your neighborhood has been completed, if you still have additional leaf piles, we encourage to bag your leaves. We will make every attempt to come back around, weather permitting. In order to best accommodate for weather disruptions, bagged leaves will increase likelihood of pickup. 

Residents also have two (2) additional options for leaf disposal:
OPTION 1:  Curbside Brown Bag Collection for six (6) weeks

• Town crews will pick up leaves placed in biodegradable brown paper bags beginning November 3, 2025 through December 13, 2025 on your regular waste collection day, weather permitting.
• Please place your bagged leaves at the curb two (2) days before your regular trash and recycling pickup day.
• Leaves must be placed in biodegradable brown paper bags only. No grass clippings, branches or other waste items can be placed in the paper bags nor will the Town collect leaves in plastic bags. We will aim for leaf bags to be collected within two weeks of you placing them on the curb. If you bring them back inside, you may be at risk of missing the collection.
• *NEW* for 2025: Once your leaves are bagged and ready, you can submit a ticket through My East Hartford app or website. We will aim for leaf bags to be collected within the week, after the request is received.

OPTION 2:  Resident Transport to the Transfer Station for FREE Disposal

• Residents may bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive:
  • Regularly scheduled transfer station hours:
    • Monday, Tuesday and Friday 7:15 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. (closed for lunch between 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.)
    • First and third Saturday of the month from 8:00 a.m. to 1:45 p.m.
  • Additionally, the transfer station will be open for LEAF DROP-OFF ONLY on the following Saturdays: November 8, 22, 29, and December 13

Leaves in plastic bags will not be accepted.
For any additional information, please call Public Works Administration (860) 291-7374.

As part of our participation in Connecticut Main Street Center’s Accelerator program, we are engaging in community outreach to learn about the best way to spend a $5,000 grant to improve Main Street.

The Town of East Hartford is conducting a survey to learn the opinions of the community regarding arts and businesses in the downtown Main Street area. Data will be used to help guide upcoming initiatives. 

We ask that you please complete this survey by October 31, 2025.

DOUBLE YOUR SNAP AT EAST HARTFORD FARMERS’ MARKET!

Did you know the East Hartford Farmers’ Market accepts SNAP and DOUBLES SNAP? That means you and your family can enjoy more fresh, local produce, for the same price! Make sure to visit the East Hartford Farmers’ Market before the season ends on October 28^th! The East Hartford Farmers’ Market is every Tuesday from 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. at the Town Green. Our farmers, Killam & Bassette Farmstead and Handel Family Farm, can also accept WIC and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program benefits.