After All Things

Backing Biden?

Democrats continue to weigh in on whether President Biden should run for a second term. A New London tradition turns 45 this summer. Our region is losing a number of Stop and Shop locations. And New England researchers look to one humble plant as a way to improve water quality.

Duration:: 9m
Broadcast on:: 12 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

[Music] Hi there and happy Friday. You're listening to After All Things, WSHU's daily news and culture update from the Long Island Sound region. Democrats from our region continued away in on whether President Biden should run for a second term. A new London tradition turns 45 this summer and New England researchers look to one humble plant as a way to improve water quality. The stories and more are ahead. I'm Sabrina Garon. [Music] Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes says President Joe Biden's low poll numbers prompted him to join a growing number of House Democrats asking that Biden withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. WSHU's Abang Udama has more. Himes says he's keenly studied the polls and is concerned that Biden's sagging numbers are not only jeopardizing the Democratic Party's chance of winning the White House but also the House and keeping control of the Senate. The polls are important. The probabilities attached to winning the White House and the Senate and the House are important. I also have been with the President enough to know that there has been a change over time and you know I've got aging parents so I recognize the nature of that change and that was a concern for me. He says nominating a younger candidate at the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago would be a game changer. We talk about the biggest investment ever in addressing climate change. We talk about the support for veterans. We talk about what a Donald Trump presidency would mean in terms of bringing in autocracy to the United States. The eyes of the world would be honest as we made a generational shift. I think that would be a spectacular week. The Democratic Party Convention is set for August 19th. The GOP will likely nominate former President Trump at their convention starting on Monday in Milwaukee. Abong Udama, WSH News. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York on the other hand says she still has full confidence in Biden's ability to win reelection. In the debate, President Biden certainly had missteps but Trump lied for 90 minutes in that debate and when I contrast the two, President Biden has spent his life serving others making a difference helping people. He's gotten more done in his three and a half years as president than I think anybody. Biden told reporters yesterday he believes he is the best candidate to beat Donald Trump. Connecticut state prosecutors say they're ending their investigation into a workers' compensation fraud case involving a state senator. WSH News, Shelley Hassman-Caitis reports. The state division of criminal justice says it has closed its inquiry into complaints against North Haven state Senator Paul Chickarela because the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution expired in 2019. Chickarela collected disability benefits from 2008 to 2014. He was injured while working as a state correctional officer. Earlier this year, the North Haven Democratic town committee asked prosecutors to investigate allegations that Chickarela didn't report earnings from other jobs and sources of income while collecting disability payments. Shelley Hassman-Caitis, WSH News. Researchers believe duckweed could be the answer to improving water quality in local lakes and ponds. That story and more are ahead. First, a message from our supporter. Local support comes from Hartford HealthCare, the only health system in the Northeast, with all its hospitals receiving A grades for safety from the LeapFrog group, the nation's leading independent safety watchdog group, HartfordHealthCare.org. A school district within the Connecticut Department of Corrections lacked key educators last year, according to an annual report. WSH News Aida Ouzenlar has more. The report shows the Department of Corrections School District employed 66 school teachers for the 2022-2023 school year. That's one teacher for about every 48 students. That ratio was higher in comparison to the past two years, but still among the lowest ratios in the last decade. The number of teachers has also improved in comparison to 20 years ago, when there was one teacher for almost 100 students in the district. For other roles, the Department fell behind in comparison to previous years. There was no library specialist for the year, a recorded first in nearly two decades. Aida Ouzenlar, WSH News. Stop End Shop announced today it'll close more than 30 underperforming locations, including five in Connecticut. Stores in Milford, Stanford, Danbury, and Sonya and Torrington are scheduled to close by November 2nd. Four Long Island Stop End Shop locations are also set to close in East Meadow, Greenvale, Hempstead, and Quorum. The town of Riverhead is suing the town of Southampton over a $35 million waste treatment plant approved for Riverside, which is part of Southampton. Riverhead provides many municipal services, including schools and libraries to Riverside. Teachers and Riverhead Town oppose the location of a planned sewage plant near Phillips Avenue School. The U.S. Department of Labor said a Connecticut contractor broke several workplace safety regulations after an investigation into the death of an employee at a new Canaan work site. Sound construction was working underground on a waterline at Silver Hill Hospital back in December when a worker was injured and later died due to a cave-in. A Quorum man was given 25 years to life for trying to kill a Suffolk police officer last year. 21-year-old Janelle Funderberg shot Officer Michael Lefauci, who was investigating a robbery from a few days before. Lefauci was following Funderberg as a plainclothes officer with an anti-gang detail when he was shot. Sailfest, the popular maritime summer event in eastern Connecticut, turns 45 this year. The two-day event starts tomorrow and will have around 200 vendors lining the streets of New London, offering food, arts and crafts, and the region's largest fireworks display. Mayor Michael Pacero says the event has become a tradition. If you drive through the neighborhoods in New London on the night of the fireworks of Sailfest, you'll see all sorts of family picnics and gatherings and eventually everybody just walks down to the river wherever they watch the fireworks from and it's really the fireworks that are the amazing part of them. Details about the event can be found at Sailfest.org. As summer temperatures climb, many like to cool off by jumping in local lakes or ponds, but toxic cyanobacteria blooms are making it harder to find safe swimming spots. Kate Dario spoke with a researcher who's investigating a potential solution. Duckweed is a tiny aquatic plant. It grows easily and abundantly on the surface of New England's lakes and ponds. But what if Humboldt Duckweed could offer big water quality benefits? Anna O'Brien at the University of New Hampshire is trying to figure out if the plant can suck harmful contaminants out of local waterways. We're checking to look at the movement of cyanobacterial toxins and also to see if some of our naturally occurring types of duckweed or the microbes that they're associated with lead to a suppression of cyanobacteria in the first place. O'Brien is also investigating if duckweed can be used as a type of eco-friendly manure with far fewer drawbacks than chemical fertilizers. The team of UNH researchers are currently using duckweed and water samples from across the state to answer these questions. For the New England News Collaborative, I'm Kate Dario. For the latest news from Long Island and Connecticut, you can listen on the radio stream online at wshu.org or you can download the WSHU app after all things is supported by Hartford Health Care. And as always, please feel free to reach out to us with any thoughts or story ideas you might have because that's how public radio works as a service to your community. The best way to get in touch is by email and it's news@wshu.org. I'm Sabrina Garone, have a great rest of your day and a wonderful weekend. I'll talk to you on Monday. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]