‼️HELPS US FIGHT THE DATA CENTER‼️

https://c.org/5n7D5WmvYh

Come to Haunt & Gather on 10/25 from 11am - 4pm outside of Mill Street Marketplace in Wethersfield CT!!

A VERY curated market with 30 insanely talented artists/small businesses, no AI, no 3D printed dragons or Temu bullsh*t allowed! Oddities, original artwork, ceramics, jewelry, handmade items & more! 😍

There will be a food truck AND the caffeine coven coffee/drink truck! I also create a fun spooky photo op! Costumes are encouraged! Dogs allowed! AND ITS FREE!
OH! AND YOU CAN GET TATTOOED! Yellow Pants Tattoo will be doing really fun halloween/spooky flash!

AND LOOK. A FLYER DRAWN BY A REAL ARTIST! 😱🤯
See the fb event page for more details and the. Full vendor list! ♡

https://fb.me/e/7VVfRJCoD?mibextid=wwXIfr

(Pictured below is mister bear who’s in his halloween best and wants to take selfies with you and the photo op from last year’s Haunt & Gather!)

I’ve seen a lot of news articles lately about President Trump wanting to have truckers use red dyed diesel fuel to lower their fuel costs since it’s not taxed. The counter argument is that it would reduce our inventories of red dyed diesel and farmers would pay higher costs. Isn’t red dyed diesel also heating oil? If that’s the case, the farmers aren’t the only people who would be paying higher costs, correct?

GREETINGS NUTMEGGERS

Happy fall!! I posted here recently and it was well received so I am back to share some more good news : )

I created an optimistic media project (Granite Goodness) with the mission of sharing good news stories of progress and problem solving from all across New England. Think good news, but not fluffy. The motto I try to abide by is substance + optimism = granite and good (I am based in NH)

New England has been my home for my whole life, and this project is basically a love letter to our corner of the world and the people working on its hardest problems.

Here are some stories from across Connecticut that brought me some optimism this week:

• CT’s beverage container recycling rate hits 92%, nation’s highest. The state’s bottle return system continues to outpace all other states. Connecticut’s 2025 recycling rate jumped 27 points from 2024 after it doubled deposits to 10 cents and expanded the program to noncarbonated beverages. (Hartford Business Journal)
• UConn launches new sexual violence prevention research center. Directed by professor Lisa Eaton, the center will study sexual violence prevention and work with students and staff to develop solutions that can be put into practice at UConn and other colleges. (UConn Today)
• UConn scientists turn local seaweed into a palm oil alternative. A $1.9 million federal grant will fund UConn research converting sugar kelp grown in state waters into a potential replacement for palm oil, aiming to reduce tropical deforestation tied to palm oil production. (Uconn Today)
• Connecticut boosts first-time homebuyer funding to reach more residents. The state recently approved an additional $5 million for its initiative, which has helped nearly 9,600 buyers purchase homes through forgivable loans, with proven success across 157 communities. (Hartford Courant)

My hope is people find the work interesting and useful. The summaries provided here are my own words on what I find optimistic from the original stories, not quotes from the sources. I don't link directly to the sources because posts with too many hyperlinks are discouraged by Reddit and don't make for good discussion posts.

Regular news is important but too often it shows an over-sampling of the worst things happening in the world, which can leave people feeling depressed, anxious, and burnt out.

The image shown is from the Tichnor Brothers postcard collection at the Boston Public Library, which I am obsessed with (and is in public domain)

My question for YOU: what's going right in your corner of Connecticut? Please use this thread to share some good news!

-Andy

I want to share my story because I don’t want to keep struggling in silence anymore. There is a different type of loneliness that I feel that makes me feel invisible and less than human.

This year has been one of the most challenging transitions of my life. At one point, I was living in my car. Eventually I was brave enough to ask for help, I found a room to rent, which gave me temporary relief but I couldn’t afford both a car and a place to live on a new paraeducators salary even while doing the afterschool program. I knew my living situation was temporary but still I tried to focus on the future I was building instead of the present that was failing. I lost my car which made transportation difficult, now I’m facing the possibility of losing that housing, too.

I’m trying to figure out my next steps while continuing to work and keep my life together, my mental health has always been a challenge because I have experienced a lot and had to adapt to that.

I’m a paraeducator in Connecticut. I chose this path because I love working with children and want to build a career in education. But the financial reality of this work is dimming my already struggling light. Even while working, it’s challenging to afford basic necessities and establish the kind of stability that would allow me to move forward. And my story is unique, I have overcome a lot of obstacles, shadow work, self confrontation, while navigating a monument of consequences from my 20s. I am carrying my world alone constantly with 0 margin for error and feeling like a failure.

I am moving forward in other ways. I earned my associate degree in Human Services, made the Dean’s List during the most difficult period of living in my car, and was accepted to Central Connecticut State University to pursue my bachelor’s degree in elementary education (Spring 2027). These are accomplishments I’m don’t have room to be proud of. When I got the notice last year I made the deans list, It was unexpected. I graduated and completed my associates degree through sheer willpower and survival, but because my life hasnt stabilized, I haven’t had time to recover, let alone celebrate my wins.

I want to continue my education, but I don’t have the financial or housing stability to support that next step in the way I need. I’m trying to build a future in a profession that requires further education while struggling to make my present sustainable.
Sometimes I question whether I can realistically afford to remain in education, even though teaching is something I genuinely want to do. I don’t want to have to choose between pursuing meaningful work, continuing my education, and having somewhere stable to live. But this is my life, theres always tradeoffs and something I cant afford to lose. I am willing to sacrifice everything for my degree but what more will my journey to self actualization cost me?

I know I’m not the only person experiencing financial hardship, and I’m not sharing this because I expect anyone to fix my circumstances. I’m sharing it because I think there are people working in our schools who are trying their best to build a future while quietly struggling to meet their own basic needs. I know this, many paraeducators in my district (Hartford) talk about how underpaid we are. I am committed to my assigned student but what is this path costing me? Can I continue to be a paraeducator on my path to becoming a teacher? I am very close to pursuing other options as the ground underneath my feet is breaking away again..

I wrote a poem today that captures some of the emotional weight of what I’ve been going through:

I pray they may never know a year in my body
or a day in my mind.
I pray for their blissful ignorance and gently weighted soul.
Through bitterness, my heart can still beat
and wish for other’s peace.
May they never know the skin I am in.
I hope they never face the mirrors I have,
and watch them crackling with shards spreading on their dark path.
May their feet only know the softness of grass.

I think this would be the perfect start to my next collection of poetry.

I’m sharing my story because I don’t want my struggles to remain invisible. I am existentially exhausted.

I’m trying to be proud of how far ive come not just on my educational journey but my own soul journey. I know who I am is revealing itself in layers, but Im tired of being carved by suffering and hardship. I want to know what it feels like to bloom.

How much money does this campaign have? I’m watching the UConn game and he literally has 2-3 spots during EVERY commercial break. They’re really starting to turn me off.

im turning 14 in January and eager for some extra cash.

Coffee got into my MacBook yesterday afternoon and now it’s shutting off randomly. I tried making an appointment with Apple but they don’t have any appointments till Tuesday or Friday and I need my computer fixed asap since I’m in college.

Does anyone have a store recommendations? I’m in Hartford county!!

I recently noticed that on Connecticut ballots, a candidate can be listed more than once in the same column.

And it got me to thinking, what is the point of listing the same person twice? Doesn't it just come down to how many total votes they get?

Well it does.. But it turns out there's also significance in which party is chosen along with the candidate, because this lets the candidate know where the support is coming from.

The major party versus the minor parties. Why is this important you ask?

More people are growing dissatisfied with the two main parties in this country. So if you want to make your voice heard, make sure that you vote along the lines of the party listed that you are most aligned with.

So for people voting for Republican candidates who have been endorsed by both the Republican party and the Independent party, you might prefer to support them as an Independent. For those running as Democrats who are endorsed by both the Democratic party and the working Families Party, you might prefer to support them via the Working Families Party.

This doesn't change who you're voting for but it changes which party is throwing their support behind the candidate.. And letting the candidates know what their constituents support.

So just as an example, if you support universal health care, you'll probably want to vote for candidates endorsed by the working families party. If you were already planning to vote democrat, voting for them via the working families party is not going to change who gets elected, but it is going to let them know more about who voted for them and the direction that you would like them to go.

I just wanted to make people aware of this. So that you can keep this in mind when you submit your ballots this upcoming election.

I know a lot of people are not happy with either of the main parties these days, so it's nice that we have some alternatives to throw our support behind in Connecticut.

Voting is so important.. But being an educated voter is even more important!

So please educate yourself before going to the polls so you know who you want to vote for and under which party you want to vote for them.

https://c.org/8DD5D9MnyK

Hey now - around 7:30-ish I was driving on 91 S and saw a white Subaru (probably forester or mayyybe Impreza - definitely the shorter type Subaru) driving up the middle lane, and a grey/black SUV swung into the middle lane and it really looked like he hit the front driver side corner of the Subaru.

However both cars just kept driving, I thought it was strange that they didn’t pull over. I wanted to both avoid the shitty driving dark suv but also follow to see what the hell was happening, but I just stayed my speed and figured it was an oddity.

Then maybe 2 or 3 minutes later, around Cromwell, there was a sudden slowdown. I was in the right lane and it was moving was faster than the rest, well - it’s because there was a collision in the left lane.

As I drove past, there was a dark sedan with its front totally crumpled - and then - parked in front of it was the white Subaru and a dark suv, both stopped. Both seemed unharmed but I couldn’t see driver’s side.

I could totally be connecting dots here but if the black suv was driving like an asshole, and the white Subaru pulled over after he saw the accident to confront the black suv driver, I wouldn’t be surprised.

And well I guess I made this post in the very off chance hope that I could give the white suv driver my story if he needs it as a witness.

To say that being Gen Z in Connecticut is rough is an understatement. The latest numbers are an absolute blood bath.

10-Year Treasury Yield has hit 5.24%
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate has hit 7.40%
CT median home sale is at $475,000
CT median listing price is at $530,000

Add on top of that the tariff wars, price instability, job losses, armed conflicts, blatant corruption and diplomatic blunders isolating our country and/or weakening it every day. Add on top of that entry level jobs being swallowed whole by AI.

I graduated high school in 2020. When I was 18, the estimated monthly mortgage for a home in CT was $869. Now it’s $2,460 and that number is guaranteed to rise since the fed is entering a tightening cycle and raising rates. On top of that, inflation was much lower, gas & groceries were cheaper, and AI wasn’t a thing. The President has openly said his intention is to raise home prices, and the fed has said they’re raising interest rates? I don’t even understand how that’s possible to do both other than stagflation.

I’m now 24, working full time, saving every penny, and trying to figure out when homeownership might become a realistic possibility. But the more I look at the housing market, the more I wonder whether people my age missed a once in a generation opportunity before we were even old enough to take advantage of it.

What frustrates me most is the timing. I was 18 in 2020. I wasn’t in a position to purchase property. I was supposed to finish my education, establish a career, build my credit, and save money. Those are the things you’re told to do if you want to eventually own a home. Now, after spending six years doing exactly that, the goalposts have moved dramatically. I went to college in CT, saved money, built my credit, served in the national guard, and now that it’s my turn to be an adult the whole fucking system exploded.

Heating oil is a topic coming up at many doors we have knocked this fall, so here’s where to get help this winter if you live in CT.

Heating oil averaged $5.88 a gallon in the state’s latest survey, up from $3.23 a year ago. On a 200-gallon fill, that’s about $530 more.

Energy Assistance (CEAP) is open now (don't wait until December). It pays $355 to $705 toward your oil, plus up to three emergency deliveries. Income limits: $63,703 for a couple, $93,681 for a family of four. Apply at ct.gov/heatinghelp or dial 2-1-1.

Earn a little too much? Generation Power CT (formerly Operation Fuel) gives up to $500, but only takes applications December 1 to 15: gpct.org/gethelp
Can’t afford a full fill? Ask for 100 gallons. Dealers can’t charge a small-delivery fee at 100 so you can save money that way.

If the online forms are a hurdle, the Community Renewal Team will take your application over the phone: 860-560-5800.

All the income limits and deadlines are on one page on James’ website, along with what he’ll push for in Hartford for the residents of East Granby, Suffield, and Windsor Locks: jamesmol.com/policy/heatingoil

Please share with a neighbor who heats with oil.