Category: All Posts (Page 15 of 19)

David Walker, former Comptroller General in Washington D.C. will talk about the state of the Nation’s and Connecticut’s finances. According to Walker, the Government is too big as it is 24% of the economy, moving toward 37%.

Only 37% of spending is controlled by Congress, and 63% is fixed. There has been no budget for three years, so that there cannot be an allocation of resources. We must somehow control the spending, and 97% of those polled agree. The demographics show that the number of Social Security recipients is moving toward the same number of payees.

Program: 1) grow the economy, 2) reduce the amount of debt as a % of the economy, 3) The social effort made manageable, 4) Plan has to be politically feasible; opposition party must help.

The biggest holder of our debt is not China, but the Federal Reserve. We need extraordinary leadership from the President. He must go to the American public to pass legislation with bipartisan support.

We need redistricting to change the makeup of Congress reflect reality. Term limits would help, and House terms should be four years with half the House elected every two years.

The Songsters’ performance will mark the end of the 2012/2013 year for the DMA. They are a bunch of stout hearted senior men who enjoy performing a selection of Barbershop Harmony, Broadway, and Spiritual songs.

Concert starts at 11 am.

Mark Albertson, historical research editor at Army Aviation magazine and a member of the United States Naval Institute as well as being a member of the Navy League will return to speak to us about America, Europe and the War of 1812 . It is not merely another rendition of the conflict itself; rather, it delves into the status of the fledgling Republic at the outset of the 19th century.  For this is the beginning of the American Empire, Manifest Destiny.  And the talk explores this theme with such developments as the Louisiana Purchase; the decline of France and Spain as New World colonial powers; the War of 1812 as a backwater to the main event in Europe, the Napoleonic Wars; and, the long-slow thaw in Anglo-American relations that eventually resulted in the two powers becoming allies on April 6, 1917.

Greg Van Antwerp will talk about his passionate second “career”. For the past 35 years Greg has been digging for historical treasure through every estate, garage and tag sale he could find. He will be sharing some of his discoveries and search techniques with us.

In 2009, Greg began blogging about his discoveries by creating the Confessions of an Urban Archeologist. There he presents hundreds of posts with photos, videos, and stories documenting the “best of” what he has discovered in his journeys. He also writes a weekly column for Patch titled “The Urban Archeologist” that is published in an average of 15 Patch towns each week.  Greg’s professional life has been spent working in community television for over 20 years.

During his treasure hunts Greg is known to travel with his favorite companion/assistant –  his daughter by his side. 

Former Connecticut Congressman Robert Steele will discuss the background to his novel, “The Curse: Big-Time Gambling’s Seduction of a Small New England Town” (Levellers Press, Amherst, MA). The story is set against the casino gambling explosion that hit Connecticut during the 1990s, when two Indian tribes built the world’s two biggest casinos in the southeastern corner of the state, resulting in what has been termed “a gambling Chernobyl.” Steele represented eastern Connecticut in Congress before the arrival of the casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun) and subsequently lived on the edge of the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation, giving him a keen appreciation of the political maneuvering that brought the casinos into being and a firsthand view of their impact.

WNPR/Connecticut Public Radio’s John Dankosky calls the novel “fascinating” and Connecticut author Martin Shapiro has described it as “compelling and timely…an epic story of history, money and politics that will make you wonder where America is headed.” The book comes at a time when Connecticut’s casinos face the prospect of heavy new competition from New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, and there is growing political pressure to legalize Internet gambling.

.Jayme Stevenson, Darien First Selectman, will speak on the “State of the Town”.

Jayme has lived in Darien twenty years and has been an active volunteer in variety of different organizations. She will talk about the problems facing Darien that include land use (including affordable housing), flood mitigation, senior center relocation/renovation, tax burden, continued downtown redevelopment, town swimming pool and more.

Patricia Brooks the NY Times food critic for Connecticut will talk about the 4th edition of her “Food Lovers’ Guide to Connecticut”.  The book will hit bookshelves in May and she will bring copies for sale to anyone interested.

She will talk about the regional restaurant changes (e.g. stronger focus on international cuisine, addition of wine lists, wider range of menus, and new words to describe menu options). Patricia will also address the major changes that Fairfield County has experienced as a result of the “California” influence coming from that state’s early Asian and Hispanic communities, immigration reflected in the many nationalities of current owners of town restaurants, and the local residents’ extensive travel to foreign countries.

Joe McGee, of the Fairfield County Business Council,  will speak to us on Connecticut’s Economic Competitiveness.  He will update us on issues and initiatives regarding legislative actions, employment, transportation, and coping with severe weather events. Joe has a wealth of information to share with us.

Arthur White will speak about Connecticut’s “Connecting through Literacy: Inmates, Children and Caregivers” (“CLICC”) project.

This program, conceived by Arthur, deals with two pressing societal challenges:

1) the below average literacy rates of incarcerated parents and their children, and

2) strained, often destructive relationships among families whose composition includes an incarcerated parent.

Children and family members suffer during the incarceration period itself, and then again upon inmate reentry, as the family must readjust to its new structure. Reinforcing the literacy skills of reentering inmates and their children will help to ease their transition, and help the family move forward successfully.

Martin Skala was the coordinator for Arthur

Katie Koroleva was born in Vorkuta City, Russia. Vorkuta is located in the Far North, North of the Polar Circle. The city is best known for its prison with no walls—too cold and too remote to go anywhere. At the age of 8 she and her family moved to Nizhny Novgorod, which is about 5 hours from Moscow. She completed her schooling there including her BA in Public Administration and English interpretation. After college she came to the US, where she has been for the past eight years. After working for Toyota, she currently works in sales for Lexus.

She will present some interesting insights into a youngsters life in Russia as contrasted with life in the US, as well as her view of current Russia.

Kristen Crusato, Southwestern Regional Director for the Alzheimer’s Association Connecticut Chapter, will speak on how to deal with people with Alzheimer’s.

Kristen received her B.A in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and has 22 years working in the television industry. Her career path began at Cable 6 TV in Middletown, NY. She went on to KCBD in Lubbock, Texas and then spent 9 years at WTNH as an anchor/reporter.

After spending 4 years in San Diego working at KUSI-TV, Kristen returned to Connecticut in 2009, to help take care of her mother who had been diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. Kristen went back to her job as the Co-Anchor of Good Morning Connecticut on WTNH News 8. She Emcee’d the New Haven Walk to End Alzheimer’s in 2010 and 2011, and late in 2011 left News 8 to join the CT Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In her role as the Southwestern Regional Director, Kristen coordinates and implements all Chapter services and programs for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, families, professionals, and the general public. She is working towards the mission of a World Without Alzheimer’s, so that other families don’t have to lose loved ones to this mind-robbing disease.

James A. “Jim” Himes the U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s 4th congressional district, serving since 2009, will be our guest speaker. Jim is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, the Subcommittee on Insurance, Housing and Community Opportunity, and the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government Sponsored Enterprises.