After All Things
Closing out summer
Support for "After All Things" comes from the listeners of WSHU, a public radio station serving Connecticut and Long Island. For news from around the sound, listen at WSHU.org or download the WSHU app. When you're listening to "After All Things," WSHU's daily news and culture update from the Long Island Sound region, Connecticut will have access to fossil free fuel within the state. A former Bridgeport Health official is suing the city. Brace yourself for some heavy traffic this weekend, and there will soon be a lot more to see at Long Island's Parrish Art Museum, those stories and more are ahead, I'm Sabrina Garon. For the first time, Connecticut will have access to fossil free fuel within the state, WSHU's Janice Roman reports. Independent energy supplier global partners will store its renewable diesel at a terminal in East Haven. The company converts used oils from fast food restaurants into renewable diesel. Company spokesperson John McCusker says the renewable diesel offers the same performance as regular diesel with up to 75 percent lower emissions. This dramatic reduction in carbon emissions is crucial as you work together to meet climate goals. The fuel is transported to the rest of the state from the port of New Haven. State officials say it's a step towards the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Connecticut. Janice Roman, WSHU News. A former Bridgeport Health official is suing the city over her dismissal last April. WSHU's Shelly Hasman-Cadish reports. Former city health care administrator Natasha Haley filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming she was fired illegally. According to the complaint, Haley says she was notified by a letter of her termination, effective immediately without a warning or a chance for a hearing. First Connecticut media reports the letter gave the reason for termination as budgetary mandates and reorganization strategies. According to the lawsuit, Haley wants her job back with back pay, benefits, and unspecified compensation for damages. The lawsuit also seeks a court order stating city officials were in violation of Haley's rights. Shelly Hasman-Cadish, WSHU News. If you're traveling this Labor Day holiday weekend, you'll have plenty of company. AAA predict's domestic travel over the weekend will be up 9% compared to last year. However, agency spokesperson Mark Shildrop says travel on the holiday isn't as busy as it used to be. "For many folks, they're basically done with the summer by Labor Day. So back in the day, a few decades ago, Labor Day was kind of that big last full week of travel for folks before they wrap up this summer. That's a little bit earlier in the summer now." The New York Metro area ranks among the top destinations for Labor Day travelers. The Parrish Art Museum on Long Island's East End is set to acquire a significant collection of new pieces. A conversation with the curator is ahead. 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. International Overdose Awareness Day is tomorrow recognizing the damages caused by opioids and other addictive drugs. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong says tens of millions of dollars are being distributed through the state's Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee. "The reason the Purdue settlement and the Sackler settlement made it to the Supreme Court is because Connecticut kept fighting." Connecticut played a leading role in securing a $50 billion National Settlement against pharmaceutical companies. The state is in line to receive $600 million. Last Sunday's Flash Floods displaced more than 50 Stony Brook University students who were supposed to live in the dorms on campus. University officials say they'll now be housed at a Holiday Inn Express and provided with a shuttle bus back and forth to campus. Travelers will need to brace for traffic delays as reconstruction begins on I-95 in East Lime, Connecticut. Beginning September 8, construction of a new bridge will result in the overnight closure of Route 161 for two weeks, and then it will be down to one lane for about two months. Greenport has passed an anti-loitering law to crack down on public drug use. Officials from the Tiny North Fork Village say 911 calls for substance use issues have increased compared to last year. WSAU's Desiree Diorio has more. "It's now illegal to hang around the streets or other public places in Greenport. Police say the new law will allow them to issue summonses and arrest lawbreakers. The change comes as emergency calls have increased for reports of drug and alcohol overdoses, public urination, and harassment against residents and tourists. At a public hearing last week, David Nice with the Greenport Fire Department said those calls are up 38 percent and called it a lot of stress on a small department. Desiree Diorio, WSAU News. The Parish Art Museum on Long Island is set to acquire a significant collection of new pieces this year. WSAU's Ada Uzenlar spoke with museum curator Corinne Ernie about how art is curated and displayed at the museum. Corinne, the parish often highlights many different forms of contemporary work, but pieces in the initial parish collection were much more traditional. Talk about that journey. It was really Renaissance sculptures. It was these Roman pasts and they all stayed at the old parish. They weren't moved here, so I think the new building really ushered in a new era, focusing more on contemporary artists, but always with a link to the history of this place. So either, like I said, they work here, they live here, or they come out here to work. And connecting it with the collection, with, you know, we have a lot of William Marie Chase, a work school, founded the Shinnecock Hill Summer School, Planare School, so painting outdoors in this beautiful place. And so nature, the beauty of nature, the light, has always attracted artists to this place throughout the centuries. And so we're really looking at about 150 years of art making in this area. And I know the space itself in watermelon is quite an important part of the experience at the museum, and many artists whose work you host have close connections to the East End. How do the surroundings of a piece of art influence the way that we take it all in? Well, absolutely. I mean, I think the architecture of this building which was designed by Herzven Demeron with very expansive galleries, they're all about a thousand square feet or double of that or half of that. And like I said, they have natural light, they have high ceilings, so it really allows us to show works that may not have been able to be shown at the previous location. So for example, Mel Kendrick's culture, they're enormous, they're huge and they're made out of wood, they're abstract and they're, you know, they're really interact with the place with the architecture, with the light. I think what you get here is the origins of a lot of American art history, because the impressionists came here. The East End of Long Island really generated artists who would write art history. The abstract expressionists came here, you know. They worked in New York City, but they came here to talk about the work, to hang out together, to be inspired by nature, to escape the city. And so I think that speaks for the continuity of a legacy. Let's talk about the new acquisitions, equally as ambitious as what's already on display at the space. Tell me about a piece or two that has you excited. So I'm really excited about the two works that we're getting from Suzanne McClelland. They're like a diptych, they're very large, they're 84 by 72 inches. Each of them, Suzanne McClelland is an abstract painter. Her work is very much influenced by language and gesture, as well as the acoustics, the visual aspects of language. So she really plays around with texts, with excerpts, that of things that she reads somewhere, and integrates that in her painting. So her work is very animated, it's very colorful, it's very gestural, and I just absolutely love it. And what's really interesting also, she made these two paintings in Orient on the North Fork where she has a house. So she's very influenced also by this play. I think she's a great addition to this place, to this museum, to the tradition of our collection. For the latest news from Long Island and Connecticut, 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. So if you like what you hear, 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. I'm Sabrina Garone, have a fantastic weekend, I'll speak to you on Tuesday. [MUSIC] (gentle music)