Honoring Windham Vets: Officials celebrate Vietnam-era veterans
WILLIMANTIC — To honor those who served during the Vietnam war era, a ceremony was held Monday night at Windham Middle School.
Each year, National Vietnam Veterans Day is observed on March 29 to honor nearly three million U.S. service members who served in Vietnam. More than 60,000 state residents served during the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, which is more than one-third of Connecticut veterans, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data.
An introduction was made by Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and remarks were given by Connecticut Veterans Affairs Commissioner Ron Welch, Windham Mayor Tom DeVivo and State Rep. Susan Johnson.
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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Home repair program, emergency rental assistance could get city rental license money
The Frederick City Council will consider a plan for spending almost half of an estimated $1 million in revenue from rental licenses — none of which has been spent since the licenses were required in 2024. The proposal includes money for constructing two affordable housing buildings with shared amenities for up to 20 people. A housing repair program operated by Habitat For Humanity and rental assistance through local nonprofit Beyond Shelter are also being considered. The ordinance requiring the licenses was passed in 2022, but licenses were not required until Jan. 1, 2024. Licenses cost $240 per unit for a two-year period, according to the city website. It also mandated that landlords adhere to city health and safety standards for rental units. The council created the ordinance with the intent of using the funds raised from the licenses to create and maintain affordable housing, as well as to help city residents with rent. In the city's last fiscal year — the first fiscal year it levied the rental licensing fee — it raised over $500,000 from the ordinance. However, it has not spent any of the funds raised from the ordinance. The city estimates it will have raised over $1 million from the ordinance by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. Rental Licensing Funds proposal A proposal to spend just under $500,000 of the revenue generated by the city's rental licensing program. Around $260,000 would go to local nonprofit Beyond Shelter's emergency rental assistance and rehousing support programs households at risk of eviction or facing homelessness, $150,000 for Habitat For Humanity of Frederick County's home repair program for county residents to repair their homes and $80,000 to subsidize the development of 12 affordable housing units, which could house 20 people. Now, the mayor's office has a proposal that calls for: * $260,000 for local nonprofit Beyond Shelter, which provides emergency rental assistance and rehousing support for households at risk of eviction or facing homelessness. * $150,000 for Habitat For Humanity of Frederick County's home repair program, which provides funds for county residents to repair their homes if they demonstrate need and have an income below 80% of the area median income. The median income was around $120,000 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census. * $80,000 to subsidize the development of 12 co-living affordable housing units housing up to 20 people, built by JR Capital Build, which has an office in Frederick. The monthly rent of the units would be $950 to $1,075 including utilities, according to city documents. Co-living refers to people living in the same space and sharing some of the amenities. The proposal, set to go before the City Council Housing Health and Education Committee on Thursday, also gives other options for how to spend the money. The city could create its own rental assistance or home purchase assistance programs, city documents outline. However, this would require significant additional time and effort from city employees, according to the city document containing the proposal. Another option is to fund a different developer — Gaithersberg-based M.E.P. Solutions Group — to build a $155,000 proof-of-concept accessory dwelling unit with a shipping container. Accessory dwelling units are smaller living units on the same property as a home, according to the city website. The city said M.E.P. Solutions' proposal calls for a test unit to be built in Monrovia. It does not specify the rent it would charge. 'Given these uncertainties and challenges — particularly limited direct impact on affordable housing within the City and the uncertain scalability of the project — staff recommend against utilizing the housing conservation fund for this proposal.' The ordinance originally called for the rental licensing revenue to be split three ways — 20% for rental assistance, 30% to cover costs associated with tenant relocation necessitated by the enforcement of the ordinance, and 50% for affordable housing. Recently the council changed the ordinance to expand the usage of the rental assistance fund and fold the tenant protection portion into the rental assistance fund. This means 50% of the funds raised by the ordinance can be used for rental assistance and to help tenants in the event of a forced relocation due to enforcement of the ordinance. The guidelines for how the money could be spent were supposed to be finished by July 1, 2023, according to the original ordinance language.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Yahoo
Harvard agrees to relinquish photos of enslaved people to descendant in Norwich
NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) — A Norwich woman is claiming victory Thursday night after Harvard agrees to relinquish possession of early photographs of slaves. Tamara Lanier says Renty, a slave in South Carolina, was her great, great, great, grandfather who taught himself how to read. Harvard agrees to relinquish early photos of enslaved people, ending a legal battle In 1850, he and his daughter Delia were the subject of daguerreotypes, an early type of photograph. 'The reason the daguerreotypes were created in the first place was to prove white supremacy,' Lanier said. She said the nude photos were commissioned by Harvard biologist Louis Agassiz. 'As a mother of two daughters I can only imagine the trauma associated with such an experience,' Lanier said. In 2019, she filed a lawsuit against Harvard to try to get the 175 year old photographs released to her family. 'Delia during the taking of the daguerreotypes actually cried,' said Lanier. The lawsuit claims Agassiz announced to the men gathered in the Charleston Literary Club, 'The brain of a negro is that of the imperfect brain of a seven-month's infant in the womb of a White.' 'They gave justification for black inferiority and slavery,' Lanier explained. In what she calls a landmark settlement, Harvard has agreed to relinquish the daguerreotypes from its Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology to the International African American Museum in South Carolina. The university released this statement: 'Harvard University has long been eager to place the Zealy Daguerreotypes with another museum or other public institution to put them in the appropriate context and increase access to them for all Americans.' It went on to say: 'While we are grateful to Ms. Lanier for sparking important conversations about these images… Harvard has not been able to confirm that Ms. Lanier is related to the individuals in the daguerreotypes.' 'What I shared with them were official government records, official probate records,' Lanier said. She said U.S. Census information proves her heritage. For those who do not know the story of Renty and Delia it is all laid out in a book Lanier authored entitled 'From These Roots' which also chronicles Lanier's fight from start to finish. 'The legacy will continue through him,' Lanier said while she was holding her grandson Elliott during the News8 interview. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Yahoo
Action still needed to address Northwest Arkansas housing issues, study shows
(Photo by Getty Images) The need for regional leaders to work together to address Northwest Arkansas' worsening housing crisis is more urgent than it was five years ago, according to a report released Tuesday. The new study, 'Our Housing Future: A Call to Action for Northwest Arkansas,' builds on a 2019 report, finding that housing priority needs identified five years ago — a lack of regional housing policies, need for diverse housing options, limited choices for low-income households and weak links between housing and transportation — remain 'even more acute.' 05.27.25 NWA Housing Report The 2025 report also identified a new need: more intentional planning beyond the region's four largest cities — Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville. Independent, nonpartisan national housing consultancy Enterprise Advisors wrote the report, which the Walton Family Foundation commissioned. 'While progress has been made in some areas, the challenges outlined in 2019 have only grown,' Walton Family Foundation Home Region Program Director Robert Burns said in a statement. 'Our region is at an important juncture, requiring action to ensure affordable and accessible housing for all residents.' Northwest Arkansas, one of the 20 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, is expected to have more than 1 million residents by 2050, according to the Arkansas Economic Development Institute. The region is home to Fortune 500 companies like J.B. Hunt, Tyson Foods and Walmart, which unveiled its new 350-acre Bentonville campus in January. Northwest Arkansas' economic development has spurred population growth that has outpaced housing availability, according to the report. The University of Arkansas Center for Business and Economic Research reported a 70.9% increase in home prices over a five-year period, significantly higher than price increases in peer regions. According to U.S. Census data, between 2017 and 2022, median rent increased 30% in Rogers, 38% in Bentonville and 27% in Fayetteville, higher than the statewide increase of 22%. Meanwhile, the area median income has increased by 35%, from $69,900 to $94,400 for a family of four. The most recent numbers released in May by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development show the average median income is now $101,800. While the four largest communities' populations keep growing, land is finite, according to the report. Several affordable housing developers have focused on smaller nearby towns as land costs skyrocket in cities. According to the 2024 Skyline Report, 61% of growth is happening outside Northwest Arkansas' four largest cities. Critical actions identified in 2019 remain relevant today, according to the latest report, including establishing a regional housing vision, creating a regional housing trust fund, introducing development incentives to promote participation in regional and local housing initiatives, using publicly owned land for housing, and expanding and leveraging federal, state and local resources for affordable and workforce housing. Though work remains, strides have been made, including in local land use reforms, the creation of a regional housing organization and the philanthropic investment in more than 1,000 attainable housing units, said Stacy Jurado-Miller, a WFF Home Region Program senior program officer. Northwest Arkansas officials to address growth challenges with regional strategy 'But progress on the five critical actions identified in 2019 has been limited,' Jurado-Miller said in a press release. 'Challenges like clarity on legal parameters, limited funding, accessible resources, and unclear responsibility and accountability will require regional collaboration and a shared plan for creating the tools to build a better housing future.' Limited progress was also made on previously identified critical actions because many resources were focused on pandemic response efforts and development costs have increased, according to the report. Parts of Benton County are also being rebuilt after being struck by large tornadoes last May. Economic development has attracted people to Northwest Arkansas, but that trend could reverse if residents can't find affordable housing. Regional employers and employees have indicated housing 'is critical to economic competitiveness, workforce retention, and business growth,' according to the report. A recent nationwide survey found that 42% of employees have declined better job offers due to higher housing costs, the report states. 'Safe and affordable housing is critical infrastructure, essential to preserving the quality of life that makes Northwest Arkansas unique,' Burns said. 'Housing is a cornerstone of community stability and economic prosperity, and regional leaders will need to work together to adopt bold, collaborative measures to secure a sustainable future.' The full report is available here. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
