Chris Poulos

This month, I was sworn in for my first term at the State Capitol representing the 81st District, which covers Southington, my hometown.

I am grateful and humbled to represent the 81st District and confident that my work in Hartford will positively impact residents of Southington. The culture of our community wants someone representing them who does not compromise their values and works hard for everyone.

My committee assignments for the 2023 Legislative Session, which is underway, are Commerce, Education and Veterans and Military Affairs. I am excited to work with colleagues to grow Connecticut's economy, find solutions to improve funding for our schools and honor veterans for their service and sacrifice.

Throughout the session, please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of assistance to you or your family. Email me at Chris.Poulos@cga.ct.gov or call me at 860-240-8585. I will also post updates and resources on my Official Facebook page.

It’s an honor to serve as your State Representative and I look forward to hearing from you about ways we can improve Southington and Connecticut.

Below is my first weekly update. Thanks for taking the time to read it!

Kindergarten Forum for Southington Parents

If you are the parent or guardian of a child or children planning to attend kindergarten next school year, mark your calendar for January 30 from 6-7:30 p.m.

Southington Public Schools will host a kindergarten registration information session for all parents/guardians who have children entering kindergarten for the 2023-24 school year. It will take place at DePaolo Middle School on 385 Pleasant Street. Southington.

School officials will provide some general information about the registration process and the day-in-the-life of a kindergartener. Following a brief presentation by the school administration and teaching staff, there will be an opportunity to ask questions.

If you are unsure which school your child or children will attend, please can click HERE for a street directory.

Additional information pertaining to kindergarten registration will be available following the information session at www.southingtonschools.org.

Combatting Rising Heating Costs

With winter upon us, and the cost of home heating bills rising, I wanted to be sure that you were aware of the initiatives being taken to improve energy affordability and reliability in our state.

To help Connecticut families now, we are utilizing federal and state dollars to increase energy assistance. The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP) will allow all participating households that heat with deliverable fuels, such as home heating oil, to receive an additional crisis assistance benefit worth $430 this winter season.

Coupled with the existing basic benefit and crisis assistance benefits, the additional benefit means those families can now access up to $2,320 per household to help pay their heating bills.

Households interested in seeking assistance through CEAP should apply online at ct.gov/heatinghelp or contact their local community action agency. Additional assistance is available by calling 2-1-1. Those seeking assistance from Operation Fuel should visit operationfuel.org.

To better prepare for the future and reduce costs, we are also taking the necessary steps to adopt long-term strategies that will:

• Build a cleaner, more affordable, and more reliable energy supply by investing in offshore wind, hydropower, nuclear power, and other renewable resources.
• Build energy efficiency and electrification programs that are not just increasing decarbonization and reliability but are creating good jobs.
• Capitalize on historic federal funding opportunities to maximize our investments.

These are just a few actions we are taking now, but throughout this legislative session, I will continue to ensure that we are prioritizing efforts to reduce the rising cost of energy.

WBDC Equity Match Grant Program Applications Open

The Women's Business Development Council (WBDC) is excited to announce the next round of our Equity Match Grant Program is now open! The deadline to apply is February 28.

The program offers grants of up to $10,000 to women-owned businesses in Connecticut that have been in business for two or more years and have revenues between $25,000 and $2 million. Since the program launched in late 2020, we have distributed 167 grants totaling over $1.5 million to women-owned businesses in Connecticut. For additional information and more details on the program, please visit ctwbdc.org/equity-match-grant-program