Local Office Hours - Weekly Highlights

June 26, 2020
ICYMI, below you will a few highlights on the following topics:
  • Sunday Local Office Hours
  • Tri-State Travel Advisory
  • School Re-Opening Plan for the Fall
  • Contact Tracing
  • DMV Reopening
  • Connecticut ranked one of the top 5 most innovative states
  • Community College is Free Beginning this Fall

For more information about the state's response efforts visit ct.gov/coronavirus. 

To receive text message notifications, sign up for CTAlert, the state’s emergency alert system. To subscribe, text "COVIDCT" to 888-777.
Sunday Local Office Hours

I'll be holding rotating office hours through each of my districts each Sunday morning beginning this week and through the month of July.

Catch Up with Rep. Comey are outdoor, socially distanced and masked events for those that feel comfortable to join. Because these are not district-specific events, everyone is welcome! This weekend I will be at Short Beach, District 3. Please visit my Facebook page to see the full schedule.
Tri-State Travel Advisory
Because of the new daily cases increasing in several states, Governor Lamont along with New York, and New Jersey governors, announced a joint incoming travel advisory that all individuals traveling from states with significant spread of COVID-19 self-quarantine for a 14-day period. Currently, the list of states includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.
 
This measure will use uniform parameters and messaging on highways, airports, websites and social media across the three states, in an effort to protect our residents and maintain our progress.
 
The three states will also ask hotels to communicate the 14-day quarantine to guests who have traveled from one of the impacted states.
 
The list of states to which the new advisory applies will be continually updated  here: https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/Covid-19-Knowledge-Base/Travel-In-or-Out-of-CT
School Reopening Plan
Governor Ned Lamont and Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona have developed a plan that will allow schools to safely re-open this fall. It is my priority to ensure that all of our students are kept safe while maintaining a high-quality educational experience.

Several guidelines including full-time mask-wearing, smaller classrooms, socially-distanced desks, and cohort grouping of students have been put in place to help protect the health of our students, teachers, and other school employees. Click 

here to learn more.
Contact Tracing
As Phase 2 gets into full swing, contact tracing becomes even more important. State health officials are ramping up their efforts by recruiting more volunteers and training more staff through ContaCT . Aggressive testing and tracing remain critical for containing the spread of the coronavirus.

More information about this effort is available HERE. This is a confidential software system that monitors the health of people affected by Covid-19. Participation is voluntary.
DMV Reopening
The DMV has developed a reopening plan. New drivers and drivers looking to register a new vehicle will be allowed to start making appointments at select DMV branches. In addition, road testing has also resumed. Safety precautions and screening processes have been put into place to protect both DMV workers and customers.
 
For more information or to set up an appointment, please go to: https://portal.ct.gov/dmv/
Connecticut Ranked one of the top 5 Most Innovative States
Connecticut was recently ranked one of the top 5 most innovative states, according to the Bloomberg index. The ranking is based on six equally weighted metrics: research and development intensity, productivity, clusters of companies in technology, STEM jobs, residents with degrees in science and engineering disciplines, and patent activity. Even through these challenging times, our state continues to lead the way!
 
To read  more, please click here.
Community College is Free Beginning this Fall
Attention parents and students! Keeping our commitment to increased access to higher education, Community Colleges across the state will offer free enrollment for residents.  The entire enrollment process must be completed by July 15th which includes not only admissions but placement, financial aid and class registration. This could take 1-2 weeks to complete so it's crucial to start the applications soon!

More details and information may be found