Aundré Bumgardner

I'm proud to support Mystic Seaport's commitment to climate action, and I encourage everyone in our community to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint.

We are delivering on our promise to make our roads and highways safer for everyone. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) will install wrong-way driving alert systems on I-95 in Groton and Stonington.
 
Crews will be performing the work in Stonington at the Exit 91 off-ramp from I-95 southbound. If the weather holds up, the off-ramp will be closed from 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, August 8 through 5:00 A.M. on Wednesday, August 9. The rain date is from Thursday, August 10 to Friday, August 11.

According to the CTDOT, crews will set up a detour while the exit 91 off-ramp from I-95 southbound to Route 234 (Pequot Trail) is closed. The detour will take drivers to:

• Exit 90 southbound
• Left onto Route 27
• Left onto the I-95 northbound connector
• Left at the fork onto I-95 northbound and proceeding to Exit 91

The CTDOT will eventually install wrong-way driving alert systems in Groton on the exit 89 off-ramp from I-95 southbound. According to a CTDOT spokesperson, Groton already has two ramps with this technology.

The new technology will activate flashing red LED lights on wrong-way signs alerting drivers that they are traveling in the wrong direction, and Connecticut State Police will get a notification about the situation.

The CTDOT will be installing wrong-way driving alert systems on at least 120 additional highway exit ramps that the agency has identified as high-risk.

• Repair/replace roofs
• Plumbing
• Public water hook-up
• Electrical
• Heating system replacement
• Siding and window replacement
• Other general rehabilitation

For more information, call the Town of Groton’s Office of Planning and Development Services – Community Development Office at (860) 446-5976.

Did you know residents in every town in the state have applied for CT Paid Leave? Approximately 66,000 workers in Connecticut have received over $375 million in benefits when they were unable to work due to qualifying health or family reasons. 

In 2019, the legislature passed and Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 19-25 into law, creating CT Paid Leave. Employee payroll contributions began in 2021. One year later, on January 1, 2022, benefit payments began for qualified applicants.

Families in Connecticut should not have to worry about whether they can balance taking care of family needs or paying the bills. With this program, both can happen as it offers partial income replacement benefits.

• Parental bonding - the birth of an employee's child or placement of an adopted or foster child with the employee
• Serious health conditions - for the employee or a family member of the employee
• Donors - to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor
• Armed Forces - for family members in the armed forces undergoing treatment for an injury or illness incurred in the line of duty or being deployed to a foreign country
• Family violence - for family violence victims to seek medical care or counseling, obtain services from a victim services organization, relocate because of family violence, or participate in civil or criminal proceedings related to the family

Connecticut is one of 13 states in the nation, along with Washington D.C., to pass paid family and medical leave legislation. New Hampshire and Vermont have enacted voluntary programs for employers who want to opt in.

Connecticut should be proud of its paid leave program. It is held up as a national model for other states to emulate.