After All Things

Remembering 9/11

Our region remembers the September 11 terror attacks that took place 23 years ago today. Bridgeport teachers demand better conditions at the city’s schools. New England governors agree to collaborate on clean energy. And federal dollars will support bee research out of Sacred Heart University.

Duration:: 10m
Broadcast on:: 11 Sep 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

I'm Bill Buckner and I host mid-day and evening news programs for WSAU Public Radio. Staying well-informed is essential to a well-functioning democracy. Understanding facts and filtering out noise takes work and our mission at WSAU is to help you do that through coverage from our newsroom, NPR News and the BBC. Your financial support helps us do that. We're expanding our world together. Thank you for your support. Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut hosted its annual 9/11 service today. Students and faculty placed American flags in front of the university chapel to remember the lives lost during the September 11th attacks. Michelle McCabe is a sophomore at the university. I'm out here today to honor my mom who is luckily still with us today. She was a first responder and she was stuck in the first tower, but then also to mourn the people who don't have the gift of having their parents here today as well. The university's College Republicans Club sponsored the event. You are listening to After All Things, WSAU's daily news and culture update from the Long Island Sound region. Thousands of Long Islanders gathered at Point Lookouts' 9/11 memorial this morning. Bridgeport teachers demand better conditions at the city's schools. New England governors agreed to collaborate on clean energy and federal dollars will support bee research out of Sacred Heart. Those stories and more are ahead. I'm Sabrina Garrell. More than 2,000 Long Islanders visited the beach front 9/11 memorial at Point Lookout today to mark 23 years since the terror attacks. WSAU's Desiree Diorio joined them for an emotional ceremony at Sunrise. The annual ceremony on the Atlantic Ocean beachfront was somber. Local officials honored those who died. Faith leaders offered prayers and visitors cast white carnations into the sea. Dawn Kirschner was among the speakers. She's the widow of the late FDNY firefighter Ronald Kirschner who spent months cleaning up the rubble of the Twin Towers. He developed lung disease and dementia and died two years ago. We as a nation and certainly we as New Yorkers are forever cemented together by the tragedy of September 11th and the resilience that rose from it. Those of us who live through it can see that the ripple effects are endless. The service at the Point Lookout 9/11 memorial is one of the largest on the island. In 2001 onlookers gathered there to watch the smoke rise over the New York City skyline to the west. Desiree Diorio, WSAU News. More than 200 parents and teachers in Bridgeport rallied at City Hall last night to protest conditions at the city's schools. They say there's a shortage of desks, lockers and teachers. WSAU's Molly Ingram has more. More than 20,000 students attend Bridgeport public schools. At a protest planned by the Connecticut Education Association President Kate Diaz said those students were suffering because of administrative failures. I believe that what needs to happen in Bridgeport is real change because this is not a failure of public education. This is not a failure of our making. This is a failure of leadership. Parents say they were notified of a change dismissal time by their students. Bridgeport Superintendent Carmella Levy-David issued a public apology ahead of the protest. She said there were moments where she could have collaborated and communicated better and that she would be meeting with the teachers union in the coming weeks. Molly Ingram, WSAU News. Two high profile New York politicians had a rare in-person face-off in Washington DC this week. Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik questioned former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo over his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. You're throwing your staff under the bus. You are culpable for this. My question to you is when are you negotiating for your multi-million dollar advanced deal for your book as seniors were dying in nursing homes? That is the question in front of you. You can't make up facts. A key issue is Cuomo's March 2020 executive order that allowed New York nursing homes to admit COVID positive patients. Critics say that increased infections and deaths. Cuomo has said for years that he followed the federal guidance he resigned under pressure in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment. New England and Canadian officials met in Boston this week to talk clean energy plus federal dollars will support B Research by Sacred Heart University students. Those stories and more are 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. Repairs to Route 34 near Oxford, Connecticut are underway to fix flood damages from late August. The State Department of Transportation estimates the road will be reopened by Halloween with a temporary bridge. Route 34 is a 21 mile state road that lost its internal structure during that storm. Repairs will be ongoing after that bridge is open. A Port Jefferson Station family will sue the town of Brookhaven over damages to their home during that same storm. A notice of claim says the town didn't fix a nearby sump that failed during the rainfall and they were first notified about it back in July. The town has the right to respond before going to court. Connecticut's job growth continues to trail the national average according to a new report from Connecticut Voices for Children. Patrick O'Brien is with the organization. When you have slower job growth that translates in the slower personal income growth which translates into slower spending in our state budget and that's obviously very important because you can provide a lot of help to low and middle wage workers and low and middle income families. O'Brien says low wage workers have seen their wages grow but middle wage workers have seen a decline and he says inflation has made it even more difficult for them to maintain a standard of living. New England governors and eastern Canadian premieres ended a two-day summit in Boston yesterday with an agreement to collaborate on cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy. WSHU's Ebon Udama reports. Massachusetts Governor Mora Healy hosted the meeting. She says the agreement includes a focus on developing offshore wind energy to achieve true energy independence and save money for our residents and businesses. Connecticut did not participate in a significant procurement of offshore wind energy made by Massachusetts and Rhode Island last week but Healy says they're still involved. We have collaborations with Maine, collaborations with Vermont, collaborations with Connecticut and we have ongoing collaborations in work streams with the Canadian provinces. Massachusetts has the largest utility scale offshore windform in the country. Connecticut has an offshore windform but opponents say the energy it produces is too expensive. Ebon Udama, WSHU's. Sacred Heart University will receive a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for Bee Research. WSHU's Isabella Fabo has more. The Bee Health and Ecology Research objective provides undergraduate students with international research opportunities to study bee viruses and parasites. The grant will allow six students to do research at the Center for Honey Bee Research at the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences. Senior Alexander Besnillion says his experience was hands-on. For us, like it sounds like we just got to play with bees all day but like sometimes it was like getting up at three in the morning and going to go check on the bees and make sure that they've capped or make sure that the queen laid eggs, right? So it was a lot of like getting up and being a literal researcher. Pathogen research is important in protecting bees from mites and diseases as they pollinate about 35 percent of the crops in our food supply. Isabella Fabo, WSHU News. 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. Your vote matters and so do your questions. What do you need to know to make an informed decision at the polls this year? Well, we're listening to what you want from your election news. Let us know at wshu.org under the elections tab to help shape our reporting. I'm Sabrina Garone. Enjoy the rest of your day. I'll speak to you tomorrow. Bye.