After All Things

Special climate session

Environmental advocates want New York to hold a special climate session. Governor Lamont says the President’s mental fitness should not be an issue for Democrats. Connecticut’s bus system will get a new electric fleet. And the latest from WSHU’s Off the Path.

Duration:: 13m
Broadcast on:: 09 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

"You're listening to After All Things, WSHU's Daily News and Culture Update from the Long Island Sound Region. Environmental advocates want New York to hold a special climate session. Governor Lamont says the president's mental fitness shouldn't be an issue for Democrats. Connecticut's bus system will get a new electric fleet. Plus the latest from WSHU's off the path. Those stories and more are ahead, I'm Sabrina Garone." New York's legislative session ended weeks ago, but now environmentalists are calling on legislators to return to Albany for a special climate session. Rebecca Rettlemeyer has more. Environmental advocates in New York have been ramping up calls for lawmakers to address the climate crisis. Ever since Governor Kathy Hochl paused the state's congestion pricing plan last month. The plan aimed to reduce vehicle emissions in New York City. Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said they took a particular toll on climate legislation. "Lawmakers had to devote precious time at the end of the session. They had to spend time contemplating what they were going to do. So some of the environmental issues, I think the legislation that would have eliminated the rate payer subsidy for natural gas hookups or people's nose, I think that one might have made it across the finish line if lawmakers had enough time." That legislation is called the New York Heat Act. It would limit energy costs for low-income residents and end subsidies for utilities to expand gas infrastructure. Now several environmental groups are calling on lawmakers to return to Albany for a special environmental session. Because Moran is with the advocacy group Earth Justice. "They shouldn't let 2024 end. They shouldn't let New Yorkers experience another hot, expensive summer without passing policy to address the climate crisis." Legislators have returned for special sessions in the past, but it's rare. The governor has yet to indicate whether that could happen this year. I'm Rebecca Riddlemeyer for the New York Public News Network. Officials urge residents to pay close attention to local forecasts amid high temperatures and remnants of a hurricane later this week. An air quality health advisory is in effect for Long Island and Connecticut. Suffolk County residents can call 311 for non-emergency support, and Connecticut residents can call 211 for cooling center locations. Governor Lamont says Democrats should stop worrying about President Biden's mental fitness. WSA choose. Abong Udama has more. Lamont says Biden's mental fitness should not be an issue for Democrats considering the fact that he has presided over an American economy that's "now the envy of the world." "You're worried then, we're going to spend the whole time talking about President Biden's mental fitness and we're not taking the battle to Donald Trump and talking about his moral fitness." Lamont was one of the first Democratic governors to back Biden in 2019. He had a private conversation with the president last Thursday. "It's been a very, I think, positive and successful four years, and I think he's just getting started when it comes to his agenda." Lamont says conversations among Democrats about who best to carry out Biden's agenda are not helpful to beating the presumptive Republican nominee, former President Trump, in November. Abong Udama, WSH News. Connecticut's Rapid Bus Service is getting an $86 million upgrade with 46 electric buses. WSH's Molly Ingram reports almost half of the cost will be covered by the federal government. The CT Fast Track uses bus-only lanes to bring riders around the greater Hartford area. State Transportation Commissioner Garrett Yuculito says electrifying the system will make it quieter and more climate friendly. "By deploying these buses in place of the diesel powered buses, we're going to reduce our direct carbon emissions by 5,300 metric tons annually. This is really critical for communities like New Britain, Hartford, and the communities in between that are traditionally overburdened by air pollution." 29 electric bus chargers will also be installed. Governor Ned Lamont has set the goal for the State's Transportation Department to electrify Connecticut's 700 public bus fleet by 2035. Molly Ingram, WSH News. Pirates ruled the Atlantic coast for decades in the 1700s, and one of the most vicious was William Fly. More from WSHU's Off the Path is 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 defendant in a Fairfield dumping scandal denied a four-year prison plea bargain yesterday, WSHU's Eric Warner reports." In 2020, the owner of Osprey Environmental Engineering, Robert Grabrek, was sued by the town of Fairfield for illegally using PCB-contaminated material to build a berm. PCBs were used in the production of television and refrigerators until their manufacturing was banned from the US in 1979. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, PCBs are harmful chemicals that are toxic to humans and can degrade natural environments and waterways. Grabrek pleaded not guilty to disposing of the toxic materials in the Fairfield berm, and will go to trial. Jury selection for his trial is set to begin in September. If convicted, he may face up to 14 years in prison. Eric Warner, WSHU News. The Long Island Sound Stewardship and Restoration Act has been extended. The bill to reauthorize the program for another five years, just passed in the US House. Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney and Long Island Congressman Nick Lolota had proposed the legislation. Lolota says the act will support local economies that depend on tourism, fishing and maritime industries. A Westport man has admitted to assaulting a police officer at the US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. The US Attorney's Office says 22-year-old Benjamin Cohen was part of a mob that pushed through barriers at the West Plaza. He later joined another group that engaged in a physical altercation with Capitol Police and entered the building through a broken window. His sentencing is scheduled for November. Eleven cases of "MPOCs" formerly known as "Monkey POCs" have appeared in Connecticut so far this year. It's a potentially deadly disease spread by contact with infected animals, people or other materials. The CDC recommends avoiding physical contact with people who have the MPOCs or ashes and to get vaccinated. Connecticut's Agricultural Fair season kicks off this week with the first major fair opening in North Stonington. Jody Whipple is a board member of the Association of Connecticut Fairs. She says the events are just as popular as ever. We have some new things going on this year. We have a circus act coming in. We have four days of motorized sporting events, livestock polls, livestock shows, stage shows, entertainment on stage, home arts and crafts. We're one of the few fairs left in the state of Connecticut who still does a queen in princess contests. We're kind of known for that. It's a tradition in town. Connecticut's Agricultural Fair season runs from July through October. To find a fair near you, you can visit ctagfairs.org. Pirates ruled the Atlantic coast for decades in the 1700s. And one of the most vicious was William Fly. His piracy career was short lived, but he got the attention of a famous pastor who wanted to save the souls of fly and his shipmates. WSA choose Davis Donovan has more for the series off the path or as we're calling the season off the plank. William Fly wound up a prisoner on a ship he stole in 1726. The ship sailed into Boston Harbor to deliver him and a few of his fellow pirates to authorities. Boston Harbor Islands National Park Ranger Patrick Boyce says Fly's arrival was a big deal. William Fly and the three other pirates are tried, convicted and sentenced to hang. Now back in colonial Boston, the real public event to see would be a pirate execution. The spectacle got the attention of a local pastor named Cotton Mather. He was based at Boston's North church, but his notoriety went far beyond that. He was one of the most famous men in colonial America. People listened when Cotton Mather talked. It were those who were accused of piracy. He saw this as not so much a law and order issue, but in a front against God himself. Cotton Mather visited Fly and his crew in jail twice. The conversations were written down, but it's hard to know how accurate they really are. Mather begins by telling the pirates to repent of their crimes, especially the killing of a captain and first mate in a mutiny. The poor men whom you murdered. You hurried out of the world. You allowed them no space to repent. A gracious God has not so hurried you out of the world, but given you some time to prepare for your death. Fly's crew confessed almost immediately, but Fly maintained his innocence and blamed another sailor for the killings that set off the mutiny. There are a few excerpts from the alleged conversation. I can't charge myself with murder. I did not strike and wound the master or mate. It was Mitchell did it. What is it in your former life that lies now most heavy upon you? Say Fly. My horrid swearing and cursing. Mather didn't seem convinced that Fly's foul mouth was his worst sin. Your murders. Your horrid and bloody murders. I can't charge myself. You held the captain hands down while Mitchell struck him. No false oaths have been taken against me. Miserable man, you know the word of God. No murderer has eternal life and murders cannot be pardoned if they be not confessed, be wailed and repented of. All the pirates repented. Except William Fly. He still insisted on his innocence. Fly told Mather he wanted people to think he died bravely. Mather wrote that Fly tried to put on a smile as he walked to the gallows a few days later, but he said he noticed Fly's shaking knees. Piracy was already on its way out at the time of Fly's death in 1726, but it didn't go away entirely. Park Ranger Patrick Boyce says Boston had its last pirate execution over a century later in 1835. But that kind of golden age of piracy that's been immortalized by movies, comic books, popular media that pirates of the Caribbean style of piracy really ends by 1730. And in William Fly exemplifies the diminishing returns on what one could achieve on the high seas as a pirate. And maybe nothing paints the picture of those diminishing returns better than the way Fly's short, month-long rampage ended. His dead body covered in tar in a cage. It greeted sailors for years as it decomposed from its perch on a small rock in Boston Harbor. This is Off the Path from WSHU Public Radio. I'm Davis Donovan. Thanks for listening to After All Things, supported by Hartford HealthCare. For more stories from the Long Island Sound region, you can listen on the radio, stream online at WSHU.org, or download the WSHU app. That's also where you can hear more from WSHU's Off the Path and more of your favorite WSHU podcasts, including this one. And as always reach out with any thoughts or story ideas, our email is news@wshu.org. I'm Sabrina Garone. Have a great rest of your day. I'll talk to you tomorrow. [Music] [Music] (gentle music) [BLANK_AUDIO]