After All Things

Memory of unity

September 11 could become a national holiday. Officials break ground on a long overdue rail bridge over the Connecticut River. New York will soon have an answer on cell phone use in schools. Plus, more federal dollars are on the way to Connecticut for flood-damaged infrastructure.

Duration:: 10m
Broadcast on:: 06 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

I'm Sabrina Garon. One of the strangest things I've seen on the road, we're coming back from the beach, and Osprey is just coming out of the water with this fish, and he's coming straight towards our car. It looks like he's gonna crash into the windshield, but instead he drops the fish on top of the car, and it's still alive, so it's flopping around on the windshield, blood everywhere on my sister and her screaming, and eventually it flopped off and the bird came back, picked it up and flew away. He's still had dinner. Your car can have a wild adventure by turning it into your favorite programs. Go to wshu.org to learn more. (gentle music) You're listening to, After All Things, WSHU's daily news and culture update from the Long Island Sound region. September 11th could become a national holiday. Officials break ground on a long overdue rail bridge over the Connecticut River. New York will soon have an answer on cell phone use in schools, plus more federal dollars are on the way to Connecticut to help with flood-damaged infrastructure. Those stories and more are ahead. I'm Sabrina Goron. (gentle music) Long Island lawmakers want to make September 11th a federal holiday. This month marks 23 years since the terror attacks in New York City and Washington DC. WSHU's Desiree Diorio reports. The September 11th Day of Remembrance Act would close schools, post offices, and other government buildings to honor those who died in the terror attacks. Richard Beckwith says he supports the bill. His dad, Bob Beckwith, was the retired New York City firefighter, who stood next to then President George W. Bush as he gave a speech from the rubble of the Twin Towers. The memory of that spirit of national unity that we all felt following 9/11 seems to be fading. Yet it is vital that future generations of Americans be instructed on what happened during those thought days. Long Island Congressman Anthony Diaz-Bazito co-sponsored the bill. He says it has bipartisan support. 3,000 people died during the attacks. Thousands more have died since then from toxic exposure-related illnesses. Desiree Diorio, WSHU News. The EPA has granted funding for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation to purchase electric vehicles and charging stations. WSHU's Janice Roman has more. The $1.5 million grant will fund the replacement of tribal government vehicles with hybrid and electric options. It's part of the tribe's Climate Pollution Reduction Project to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. Rahim Elizar is the environmental liaison for the tribe. Elizar says funds will also go towards establishing EV charging stations at various locations and provide educational programs. Our major goals is to both reconnect to the cultural, traditional aspects of Mashantucket and how we are an environmental people. Rebates will be provided to tribe residents who purchase EVs. Elizar says the project will roll out in phases and expects it to be completed within the next five years. Janice Roman, WSHU News. Governor Lamont, along with Amtrak's CEO and state and local officials, broke ground yesterday on a new $1.3 billion railway bridge over the Connecticut River. It'll replace the existing 117-year-old structure which carries Amtrak, Shoreline East, and other freight trains. Lamont emphasized the importance of infrastructure to the state's economy. Given the fact that we lost a number of bridges during the terrible flooding in the Naga Tug Valley and we have to build them back in terms of extra structural support and extra culverts and ways we can reroute. Here a bridge like this, one of the changes is it'll be eight feet taller. The boats are that much bigger than they were before and with sea rising, we got to be prepared. This will be another 100-year bridge and we got to be prepared for what could go on from there. The new bridge will be built about 50 feet south of the current one, which will then be demolished. New York could potentially ban cell phone use in schools. Plus, Connecticut will get more federal help cleaning up from historic flooding last month. Those stories and more are just ahead. (gentle music) Local support for after all things 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. (gentle music) A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against the town of Fairfield by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. The group was denied access to a town park for their nativity scene. They say the town violated their First Amendment rights. The town said it denied the application because of COVID restrictions. Connecticut-based Pratt and Whitney has agreed to settle for $33 million to resolve a class action claim. Nine plaintiffs sued after the Justice Department found Pratt and Whitney restricted hiring to artificially keep wages low. The settlement is waiting for approval by a US district judge, Pratt and Whitney denies any wrongdoing. The town of Brookhaven has entered an agreement with Suffolk County to allocate $20 million towards a sewer project in the Mastic Shirley area. Town supervisor Dan Panico says it'll connect more than 1,900 properties to a new sewer treatment facility. The project is so complicated and involved that it even needed state help with regard to alienation of property for the sewage treatment plant. Homeowners who receive sewer hookups can expect to pay an average of $470 a year in sewer taxes and maintenance costs. (gentle music) - Governor Holkel says details for a potential ban in New York on cell phones in schools should emerge later this month. She says she's waiting for a summit on September 20th before announcing her intentions. Ellen Abbott reports. - Since mid-summer, Holkel's been listening to parents, students, teachers and administrators from across the state about banning cell phones in schools. At an unrelated event in a suburban Syracuse school this week, she said she personally has enough information telling her the state needs a ban. - I feel even more committed than I did at the beginning of this process. After all the stories I've heard from frustrated teachers, anxious parents and teenagers who are asking us to help save them from themselves. - The trick is says Holkel is how to do it. She hopes the September summit can provide the state with data needed to pound out a framework. Whether it involves student cell phones stored in individual pouches or shared drop boxes at school or not allowing students to bring cell phones to school at all. Once that information is in, she'd like the schools to have parents' forums of their own and says a law enforcement perspective should be part of the process. - If there is a crisis that unfolds in the school that you want these students to be focused 100% on the adult in the room who's gonna lead them to safety. - Going on your cell phone, texting friends, capturing video, this could all put them in harm's way. Once that plan comes together, Holkel wants to move quickly, noting the legislature returns to Albany in January to start working on the state budget. - But it even could be before the budget. If there's sufficient interest, they actually can pass bills and I can sign them very early in the session as well. That's also a possibility. - In Syracuse, Ellen Abbott for the New York Public News Network. Congresswoman Rosa Delaro of Connecticut has promised that federal money will be available to repair the state's transportation infrastructure damaged by last month's historic flash flood. WSHU's Abongudama has more. - Delaro is the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. She says she's pushing for quick passage of the Biden administration's supplemental funding request for FEMA. This would ensure that Connecticut would have the money to repair the flood damage. - No part of the country is immune from these disasters. So you can usually get bipartisan support to move. My hope is that we are going to move on a supplemental appropriation sooner than later. - Delaro spoke after inspecting a section of Metro North's Waterbury Rail Line in Seymour that had been washed away. Garrett Euclido is the state DOT commissioner. He says federal money is needed for the restoration of the line, which will cost about 11 million dollars. - We're going to be placing a lot of stone building from the bottom of the washout up to the top and try and rebuild the base of the entire rail bed and then relay the tracks on top of that. - Euclido says the goal is to have the rail line back in service by Veterans Day in November. Abongudama, WSHU's. (upbeat music) - 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, it's all made possible with support from our listeners. If you like what you hear, even with us for a while now, please consider making a donation to our station. All the info on how to do that is there for you on our website, including how to donate an old vehicle. And as always, share any thoughts or story ideas you have with us. Our email is 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. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) You You