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House Majority Endorses Ritter and Rojas as Speaker and Majority Leader
The Connecticut House Democrats have endorsed Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) as their choice for Speaker of the House of Representatives and have elected Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford, Manchester) as House Majority Leader.
Speaker Ritter will be officially elected speaker of the house at the opening day of the 2025 legislative session in a vote by the full House of Representatives.
"I am extremely grateful for my colleagues' support," said Ritter. "As speaker of the house my job is to serve every member of the chamber and I take that charge very seriously. Working together is what makes Connecticut great."
As speaker, Ritter is the top-ranking official in the House of Representatives. He presides over the entire House chamber and moderates debate on legislation.
Speaker Ritter is a practicing attorney in Hartford and a lifelong city resident.
As majority leader, Rep. Rojas is elected by the House Democratic Caucus and is the second-ranking official in the House of Representatives. The majority leader leads floor debate by the majority party and is the steward of the flow of legislation through the House.
“I am grateful and honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with the responsibility of being their Majority Leader,” said Rojas. “I love serving my district and I love serving my colleagues as we work to enact policies that advance the interest of our neighbors, our communities and our state. I have been blessed with a number of leadership opportunities during my time in the legislature and I have put my all into each of them. I will take that same approach in serving as majority leader again.”
Jason Rojas represents the 9th Assembly District in East Hartford and Manchester. A lifelong resident of East Hartford, Rep. Rojas attended East Hartford Public Schools and is chief of staff to the president at Trinity College.
Ritter and Rojas proudly point to historic tax cuts, record budget reserves, investments in education and a robust House majority caucus as key accomplishments during their stewardship of House Democrats.
The 2025 legislative session convenes on January 8, 2025.
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Today In CT History
Today in 1941, the last remaining wooden whale ship in the world made her permanent home in Mystic, Connecticut. The Charles W. Morgan was a massive vessel with a deck measuring over 110 feet in length and a main mast rising 110 feet into the air. It once numbered among a combined fleet of 2,700 active whaling ships in the mid-to-late 19th century when the American whaling industry was at its peak.
Built in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and launched in July 1841, the Charles W. Morgan (named after its original owner) was an active whaling ship for 80 years, undertaking a total of 37 commercial whaling voyages. Most of these voyages lasted for years at a time, and brought the Morgan to every corner of the world’s oceans in search of lucrative whalebone and whale oil. During those 80 years, the crew of the Morgan survived countless storms and hurricanes at sea, treacherous icebergs in the Arctic, and even an attack from cannibalistic natives in the South Pacific.
The Charles W. Morgan under full sail on its 38th voyage in 2014, following a multi-million-dollar restoration that made the historic vessel fully seaworthy once again. (Mystic Seaport)
As synthetic and cheaper substitutes for whale oil became more widespread in the early 20th century, the American whaling industry experienced a sharp decline, and by the 1920s, the Morgan had retired from the business and was displayed in Dartmouth, Massachusetts until 1941, when the Marine Historical Association (better known today as Mystic Seaport, America’s largest maritime museum) offered to purchase the ship from its private owners. On November 8, 1941 — 100 years after it first set sail — the Charles W. Morgan arrived at Mystic Seaport, having been towed and escorted by a small fleet of boats including a Coast Guard cutter. The handsome vessel has served as the centerpiece of the Mystic Seaport maritime museum ever since, welcoming over 20 million visitors on board to tour the floating historical exhibit. A national treasure found its new home in welcoming waters — on this day in Connecticut history.
The world-famous race, one of America’s largest and most popular turkey trots, will be held on Thanksgiving Day (November 28, 2024) at 10 a.m. It is run on a 4.737-mile loop course through Manchester’s central streets that starts and finishes on Main Street, in front of St. James Church.
The Committee has also announced that the non-profit Lutz Children’s Museum in Manchester will be the beneficiary this November of the road race’s annual “Honors Club” Program. For more information clickhere.
Update on 942 Main St & Library Construction
The Town of Manchester today announced that 942 Main Street, a building located prominently on Main Street, will undergo demolition marking another milestone in the ongoing revitalization of Downtown Manchester. Starting November 1st, the building will be completely demolished, the lot cleared, backfilled with clean soil, and the site will be graded and stabilized in preparation for future development opportunities.
In addition, earlier this month Webster Bank completed its relocation to its new branch at 1007 Main Street, paving the way for 1041 Main Street, its previous branch location, to be demolished for the construction of Manchester’s 21st Century Library. Demolition of the old Webster building will commence early in 2025, and the new library construction will take approximately 16 months, with a grand opening in 2026.
“Downtown Manchester’s forward momentum continues with these two exciting projects,” said Mayor Jay Moran. “As these sites get redeveloped over the next few years, this area of Manchester will continue to be a premier location to work, live, and play.”
942 Main Street has long been a target for redevelopment, given its location in the heart of downtown. Demolition is scheduled to commence on November 1st and will be completed over the first few weeks of November. The Town has coordinated with the Manchester Road Race Committee to ensure there will be no disruption to the Road Race with demolition debris removal and site restoration occurring after race day.
Maintaining the main branch of the Manchester Public Library downtown is a crucial component of the 21st Century Library project. A 2022 study of the Economic Impact of Mary Cheney Library showed that
More than 1/3 of visitors to Mary Cheney Library come from outside Manchester,
More than 1/3 of visitors made another stop Downtown either before or after their library visit, and
Visitors to the library make up +/- 4% of all Downtown visitors.
“We appreciate the understanding and support of our residents and businesses as we kick off these exciting projects, which will help ensure that Manchester has one of best downtowns in the state,” said Steve Stephanou, Town Manager. “Also, we would like to thank our community partners, notably Webster Bank, for making these projects possible. We look forward to keeping everyone informed as plans progress.”
The Town of East Hartford will begin the annual curbside leaf collection program on Monday, November 4, 2024.Leaves will be vacuumed Monday through Saturday starting November 4th continuously through December 14th, 2024.
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, 2024 and Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024.
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 cancelation 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.
The Map will show your property- click on it to pull up the anticipated collection week.
To find out if the leaf collection has already been completed in your area, please click on the road centerline, which will indicate if the street has been completed.
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 4, 2024 through December 14, 2024 on your regular waste collection day, weather permitting. Leaves, 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. In the case of any delays, please leave your bagged leaves out on the curb, and they will be picked up as soon as possible. If you bring them back inside, you may be at risk of missing the collection.
OPTION 2: Resident Transport to The Transfer Station for FREE Disposal
Residents may also bring their leaves to the Transfer Station on Ecology Drive between 7:30 AM to 1:45 PM on the following days:
Every Saturday in November
First three Saturdays in December
Please note: The Transfer Station will be open on November 9th, 23rd, and 30th for leaves only.
Leaves in plastic bags will not be accepted.
For any additional information, please call Public Works Administration, 860-291-7374.
3rd Annual Christmas Wish List Program
As the holidays near, we reflect on how much we are thankful for, and think about those in need. We proudly announce our 3rd annual program where you can donate much needed personal items to our fellow East Hartford Seniors staying at Riverside Health Care.
Each resident in the program filled out a “Christmas Tree Wish List” form asking for small items such as socks, pajamas, etc. Your generosity and caring gesture will brighten their Christmas, lift their spirits, and earn their heartfelt thanks to you.
Please drop off all unwrapped items with the participant’s # and first name at Riverside Health Care, 745 Main Street, East Hartford (across from the East Hartford Town Hall). If you wish to donate a random item without sponsoring a particular person, please mark the gift as #50, and it will be given to a needy individual.
We THANK YOU for your donations and kindness to others in need. Have a safe and peaceful holiday season.
Town Hall Hours
EAST HARTFORD PILOTS FALL, WINTER, and SPRING HOURS PROGRAM:
VARIATION ON SUMMER HOURS PILOT PROGRAM PREVIOUSLY TESTED
Beginning October 28, 2024, the Town of East Hartford will launch a pilot program featuring revised hours of in-person Town Hall (740 Main Street) and Community Cultural Center (50 Chapman Place) services.
This pilot program will run through June 28, 2025 and is a variation on the Summer Hours Pilot Program implemented by the Town earlier this year. A primary adjustment made in response to feedback from both residents and employees is the further extension of Thursday evening hours, to better accommodate resident services.
In order to account for extended hours Monday-Thursday, employees of participating departments will observe a half-hour lunch break, rather than the traditional hour-long lunch period. The program will also continue to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a shortened workweek, with participating offices closing at 11:30 am on Fridays.
The pilot program will run from October 28, 2024 through June 28, 2025, with offices operating with the following hours:
Monday 8:30am to 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am to 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am to 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am to 6:30pm
Friday 8:30am to 11:30am
There are two weeks that will not be affected by the pilot hours: the week of December 22 2024, and the week of April 13, 2025.
Please note, this does NOT impact early voting. Early voting hours will be: 10 am – 6 pm with the exception of October 29 and 31 when hours will be 8 am – 8 pm.
The pilot program impacts the following municipal departments: Assessor's office, Building and Inspections, Corporation Counsel, Development, Engineering, Finance, Grants, Health and Human Services (to include Youth Services/Social Services), Human Resources, Mayor’s office, Parks and Recreation office, Public Works office, Purchasing, Registrar of Voters, and Tax office.
The following departments and services will not be included in the pilot program and will retain their standard hours of service: East Hartford Libraries, Senior Services, both Fire and Police departments, Public Works operations, Parks and Recreation operations, Probate Court for the District of East Hartford, Town Council office, and WIC (which is housed in the Community Cultural Center).
The Town currently offers and continues to expand online services, such as paying taxes, applying for permitting, and looking up property assessments. These online services, which are available any day of the year, at any time, help to improve efficiency and overall accessibility.
The goal of this pilot program is to assess the feasibility of flexible work arrangements, with the long-term intention of implementing a permanent 4-day work week in the Town of East Hartford.
My office is always open if you or your family are in need of assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact me by email atJason.Rojas@cga.ct.govor by phone at 860-240-8541.
