After All Things

Election enthusiasm

Democratic women in Connecticut will hold a virtual rally for Vice President Kamala Harris tonight. Senator Gillibrand pushes for a mental health hotline for first responders. New England’s Beech trees are in danger thanks to one invasive pest. Plus, Suffolk County will get a new cultural arts center soon.

Duration:: 9m
Broadcast on:: 31 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

You're listening to After All Things, WSHU's Daily News and Culture Update from the Long Islands Sound region. Democratic women in Connecticut will hold a virtual rally for Vice President Kamala Harris tonight. Senator Gillibrand pushes for a mental health hotline for first responders. New England's beach trees are in danger thanks to one invasive pest and Suffolk County will get a new cultural arts center soon. Though stories more are ahead, I'm Sabrina Coron. Democratic women in Connecticut will hold their own virtual rally for Vice President Kamala Harris tonight. It's convened by the state's top elected women, including Lieutenant Governor Susan Baisawitz and U.S. representatives Rosa Delaro and Johanna Hayes, WSHU's Ebon Udama has more. Baisawitz says the Zoom call will help channel the enthusiasm Connecticut Democratic women have for the Harris presidential campaign. There was so much excitement and enthusiasm across the state of Connecticut amongst so many young people, women. We are very excited. These are invited to. She says comedian Samantha Bee is a special guest. Bee is a new canine resident and a strong advocate for women's reproductive rights. It's going to be really fun. We'll get to hear about how people can help the Harris campaign, whether here in Connecticut or by going to some of the battleground states. The event is also a grassroots fundraiser for the Harris campaign. The Democrats say 15,000 people had signed up by Wednesday morning Ebon Udama WSHU's. A mental health hotline for first responders is one of several proposals in a bill from U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, WSHU's Desiree Diorio reports. The bill would invest $175 million toward mental health services for police, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders and their families. Gillibrand says first responders face higher rates of depression, substance use, and post-traumatic stress due to the daily challenges of their jobs. Civilian mental health providers don't always have the understanding or cultural competence to give them the care they need. This funding and hotline will be instrumental in expanding the mental health resources available to our first responders. Gillibrand says the hotline would offer peer-to-peer support and connect callers to specialized mental health professionals. A 2018 study found police and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Desiree Diorio, WSHU News. Connecticut's Supreme Court has mostly upheld the state's 2021 decision to remove religious exemptions for school vaccine requirements. WSHU's Davis Donovan has more. The court dismissed five out of six complaints brought by two mothers against the state in 2022. The mother said lawmakers violated the state's constitution and its religious freedom laws when they changed the rules. They said giving their children the vaccines would compromise their religious beliefs. The court said they would review some of the mother's claims in the last complaint. State Attorney General William Tong says he plans to aggressively defend what he called the state's "necessary and lawful actions" to protect public health. Davis Donovan, WSHU News. New England's beach trees are in danger thanks to one invasive pest. Plus, Suffolk County will get a new Cultural Arts Center coming up soon. Those stories are ahead after a message from our supporter. This 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. The Long Island Power Authority is getting millions in federal aid to better withstand storms. WSHU's Shelly Husman-Katish reports. The 400 million in funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will pay for upgrades and replacements to Lipa's power grid to help limit damage from extreme weather in the future. Lipa requested the money after Tropical Storm IsaES left over 650,000 utility customers without power in 2020. According to Governor Kathy Hochl's office, the project will replace 11,000 utility poles with poles capable of withstanding hurricane force winds up to 135 miles an hour. It also includes switching to more durable electrical wires along the grid and 100 additional workers for the duration of the project. The upgrades are expected to take five years to complete, Shelly Husman-Katish WSA 2 News. A church in Bridgeport's East Side neighborhood says it's been finding 20 to 50 hypodermic needles a week used for drugs on its grounds. The church opened a little more than a year ago and the site is also used to house a building that provides outreach programs. State lawmakers say the church has reached out to local nonprofits that provide substance abuse treatment and prevention services. A Ronkonkama man has died after being hit by an L. I. double our train yesterday. The MTA says 49-year-old Daniel Seagren tried to drive his taxi through a downed crossing gate when the car was struck. An unidentified passenger is in stable condition. The MTA says none of the 46 people on board the train were injured. The construction of a new six-story residential building in New Haven has been delayed after the developer was sued by nearby residents. They say the building will block sunlight from their homes that rely on solar panels. The plan to build the 112 apartments was approved by the city last year, but the lawsuit says it violates a zoning ordinance. A microscopic worm is threatening the future of New England's beach trees. Jenny Erens explains how scientists in Connecticut are studying this invasive pest, which causes the devastating beach leaf disease. The tiny roundworm first appeared in Ohio more than a decade ago, but it's made its way to New England. Richard Coles is an agricultural scientist with the state. He says that while potassium phosphate is a good treatment to protect beaches from the roundworm, it's not economically possible to treat every beach in the state. So he's testing two common compounds, which can produce similar protective properties in plants. Some of these are aspirin, methyl salicylate, which is wintergreen flavoring. Another ongoing study is testing European varieties of beach to hopefully find one that can withstand the roundworms feeding frenzy. The squirrels and the birds, they go crazy over the beach nuts from European beach just as they do on American beach. So the decline of the American beach may one date be boosted by a European import. For the New England News Collaborative, I'm Jenny Erens. The village of Patchhog in Suffolk County is slated to get a new Cultural Arts Center. WSHU's Ada Usenlar has more on Monday's announcement from Governor Kathy Hochl. Hochl says the state is putting $2 million towards the cultural center, just over half of its estimated cost. Hochl pulled that funding from about $160 million set aside to help both nonprofits and individual artists with grant funding. The center's construction is part of a nearly $50 million effort to revitalize downtown Patchhog, where a new housing complex with more than 90 units is expected to begin construction before summer's end. Ada Usenlar, WSHU News. For the latest news from Long Island and Connecticut, you can listen on the radio, stream online at wshu.org, or download the WSHU app after all things is supported by Hartford HealthCare. And whether it's news, classical music, or podcasts like this one, they're all made possible with support from our listeners as well. So as always, thank you for listening and please share this podcast with your friends. I'm Sabrina Garone, enjoy the rest of your day, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye. (gentle music) You