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Dixwell Q House

Posted by Bud Mench Media Group -BMMG on March 3, 2022 at 15:30

Activities at the Q-House officially start on Marc

Classes will last 5 or 6 weeks and each class will have limited slots. Click here

Participants that are 16 and older will also be required to be fully vaccinated (but not boosted) and they will be asked to send a picture of their vaccination card to QHouseForms@leapforkids.org .

Treasurer Wooden Directs Divestment of Connecticut’s Pension Funds from Russian-owned Assets

Posted by Bud Mench Media Group -BMMG on March 1, 2022 at 7:24

Treasurer Wooden Directs Divestment of Connecticut’s Pension Funds from Russian-owned Assets

Connecticut Stands in Solidarity with the Ukrainian People during this Unjustified and Unprovoked Attack by Russian Forces

HARTFORD, CT—Today, State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden announced that Connecticut’s state pension funds will move to divest public funds from Russian-owned assets following Russia's unjustified and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.

As Connecticut’s chief elected financial officer, the Treasurer is the sole trustee of the state’s retirement funds, valued at over $47 billion. Known collectively as the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds (CRPTF), they currently hold Russia-domiciled investments worth more than $218 million in equity and fixed income, valued as of February 24^th, 2022.

“Today, I directed our investment team to divest public funds from Russian-owned assets in our State pension funds,” said Treasurer Shawn Wooden. “The Ukrainian people are experiencing an assault on their freedom and suffering devastating human loss due to an unprovoked and unjustified attack by the Russian government. The world’s condemnation is clear, and economic sanctions have paralyzed the Russian economy. We cannot stand idly by as the humanitarian crisis unfolds and Russian markets crumble, and I cannot continue to invest these pension funds in a way that runs counter to the foreign policy and national interests of the United States.”

The CRPTF’s Russian-related investments – both in terms of companies domiciled in Russia as well as the sovereign debt issued by Russia – have declined since 2014 given ongoing concerns with mounting geopolitical risks. Sanctions imposed under previous presidential administrations, coupled with Russian cyberattacks and election interference, have made the Russian markets less favorable relative to others. Russia’s actions have created a fiscal and humanitarian crisis that puts the global markets at risk. This action today is a necessary step towards protecting the long-term viability of our investments globally. The Russian economy is experiencing extraordinary economic challenges as a consequence of the myriad of global economic sanctions that will impair the value of those investments in the long term.

“Eliminating our holdings of Russian assets is not only a moral imperative but the current crisis also constitutes a substantial risk for Connecticut’s investments, our national policy and economic security,” continued Treasurer Wooden. “Connecticut’s action today will apply further economic pain on a dangerous autocrat who needs to know that the free world stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and that Putin’s abhorrent actions will have enduring, harrowing economic consequences in the days, months, and years ahead.”

Treasurer Wooden is charged with making investments in the best interest of the plan and its beneficiaries. In addition to the standards of fiduciary law, the Treasurer follows the requirements of state statute which requires him to consider the geopolitical implications of particular investments in relation to U.S. foreign policy and national interests.

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About the Office of the State Treasurer

Under the leadership of Connecticut’s State Treasurer Shawn T. Wooden, the Office of the Treasurer is dedicated to safeguarding taxpayers’ dollars and the state’s financial resources while maximizing returns, minimizing risks, and operating at the highest professional and ethical standards. Through receiving, investing, and disbursing, the Office continues to enhance the State’s fiscal stability, financial literacy, college and disability savings, and its approach to leveraging business partnerships to combat social issues such as gun violence, climate change, and equal opportunities in economic growth. Learn more about the Office of the Treasurer here and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Office of the Treasurer | 165 Capitol Avenue Hartford, CT, 06103

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New Haven Connecticut Stands with the Citizens of UKRAINE..

Posted by Bud Mench Media Group -BMMG on February 28, 2022 at 17:06

City of New Haven Connecticut Stands with the people of UKraine

We watched in horror as Russian troops invaded Ukraine, killing civilians and displacing hundreds of thousands. Cities not unlike our own became centers of violence and war. For all Ukrainian-Americans within New Haven, I know that you fear for your families and the future for your homeland. We mourn with you and stand beside you.

This morning I ordered the Ukrainian flag, once banned in the Soviet Union, raised above our city. It will wave alongside the American flag as a reminder to all of the struggle of the Ukrainian people, and our solidarity in their fight for independence and peace. These events are a reminder that freedom and democracy are not slogans but essential tenants of our society. Citizens deserve to choose their leaders, their government, their future. Government by and for the people is what Ukraine is fighting for and what Russia’s authoritarian regime so far cannot accept.

Ukrainians have chosen for themselves that their destiny does not lie with the empires of the past. They have chosen, time and again, to remain a free, open, democratic society where its leaders are selected by the people, not Vladimir Putin. Russia’s failed attempts to force Ukraine back under its control have now led to the most extreme and desperate attempts to subjugate people who just want to live in peace. But this illegal invasion has not been defined by the brutality of Putin’s regime but in the triumph of ordinary people across the world to resist tyranny:

Ukrainian citizens have taken up arms and pushed back harder than Russia ever anticipated.

President Zelensky, while offered the chance to flee, stands and fights with his people.

After five days, outmatched and outgunned, Kyiv still stands.

Tens of thousands of Russians, risking their own lives, have taken to the streets in protest.

Western allies have stood united, imposing the most significant economic sanctions in history against the Russian regime.

Thursday, shortly after the fighting began, I Mayor Elicker was fortunate to attend service at St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. Fear and uncertainty were palpable. Would Ukraine fall swiftly into Russian hands? Would the world shrug at the plight of their people? By Sunday I attended service once again to a much different feeling. Fear for loved ones and grief for so much needless suffering still remained, but we had seen the resilience and courage of countless Ukrainians. Their fight has been a beacon of hope to the world, and a unifier of western nations.

So many New Haveners come to our city from across the world, many from places that have faced their own conflicts. While no two stories are the same, so many New Haveners have experienced a common struggle to determine their futures for themselves and their people. So many see echoes of their own history and their own story in the plight of the Ukrainian people today. We are united by that shared experience, and the hope for a better, freer, and more just world for Ukraine and for all.

Ми з Україною
We Stand with Ukraine
New Haven City Hall

Action Alert: Testify on Tuesday on the Right to Housing and Housing Opportunities for Justice Impacted Persons

Posted by Bud Mench Media Group -BMMG on February 26, 2022 at 11:12

Action Alert: Testify on Tuesday on the Right to Housing and Housing Opportunities for Justice Impacted Persons