Common Council member Ted Cutsumpas resigned his seat on the council Thursday and took a job as the city’s new Community Services Director.

The job in the mayor’s office is designed to help people in the community who have problems with the city.

The former director, Rich Antous, is now director of the city’s Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team. The UNIT works on improving neighborhoods by removing blight. Antous took the job in 2006.

[...]

Cutsumpas joined the council in 2005 to fill the unfinished term of Wanda Payton, who resigned. Cutsumpas started his new job on Thursday by learning about the city’s new 311 telephone system. The system gives people a place to call if they have a question about Danbury.

COUNCILMEN AT LARGE
Name	Tot.	1st W	2nd W	3rd W	4th W	5th W	6th W	7th W	Abs.
*Robert T. Riley (R)	5395	1009	524	1008	499	521	620	840	374
*Ted A. Cutsumpas (R)	5707	1051	572	1075	522	572	633	866	416
*Pauline Repko Basso (R)	6053	1131	600	1146	550	600	674	883	469
*Gregg W. Seabury (R)	6136	1129	629	1105	590	629	674	930	450
Shailesh Nagarsheth (R)	4975	1018	484	873	460	484	568	763	325
*Mary G. Saracino (R)	5438	1023	524	1037	501	524	606	802	421
*Colleen A. Stanley (R)	5487	1032	550	1014	500	550	638	804	399
Alfred E. Cipriani (D)	N/A	834	676	972	667	676	675	755	319
Renata DaSilva Amaral(D)	4975	732	618	853	618	618	630	662	244
Sherri Neptune (D)	4960	711	616	851	597	616	630	684	255
Ingred A. Espinosa (D)	4884	687	575	845	733	575	632	639	198
*Lynn H. Taborsak (D)	6254	938	737	1179	711	737	726	862	364
Adolfo Pena (D)	4909	757	600	849	598	600	609	663	233
Patricia Matta-Wrobel (D)	4766	692	589	811	585	589	598	640	262
Richard J. Leinert (I)	215	23	23	33	27	23	28	33	25
Gary J. Driscoll (I)	457	63	38	87	50	38	51	71	59
John L. Dietter (I)	231	24	20	35	27	20	27	52	26
Margaret A. Dyer (I)	556	78	53	97	67	53	63	80	65
Kevin G. Nolan (I)	519	72	50	85	68	50	48	76	70
Marcia M. Ennis (I)	279	28	31	48	24	31	35	48	34

Today, Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) held a press conference to announce his appointment as Chairman of the Congressional Open Space Caucus, and update residents of the Fifth District on his work to protect the Farmington River and the Metacomet Monadnock Mattabesett (MMM) trail.

"I am thrilled to be taking a lead role on environmental and open space issues in Washington. Protecting the environment is why I became active in politics, and I am making protecting open space one of my top priorities in Congress," said Murphy.

As Chairman of the Congressional Open Space Caucus, Murphy will assist the House leadership in crafting legislation to protect open space across the country. Murphy sought out this position because he knows that protecting open space in the Fifth District is so important to his constituents. Since taking office, he has met with several organizations whose missions are to protect various trails, rivers, and scenic vistas in the District.

"I am committed to working with people in the Fifth District to protect the environmental character of our corner of Connecticut," said Murphy.

In his first months in office, Murphy has begun to work with his Northeast Congressional delegation colleagues to ensure that the Partnership for Wild and Scenic Rivers program is adequately funded so that the Farmington River is protected. He is also working to ensure that the study designed to examine the extension of the Farmington River 's Wild and Scenic designation signed into law last year is adequately funded and implemented. The Farmington River provides the Hartford region with its drinking water, and it is the most fished river in the state, so its cleanliness is vital to the meet the needs of Connecticut residents.

Murphy has also signed on to legislation, HR 1528, the New England National Scenic Trail Designation Act, to extend and protect the MMM trail, which stretches 220 miles through Massachusetts and Connecticut , cutting through the Farmington Valley . Two million people live within ten miles of the trail and thousands of Connecticut residents enjoy the recreational opportunities provided by the trail.

"The Farmington River and the MMM trail are two of the unique assets that make Northwestern Connecticut so special. Without a proactive effort on the part of Congress to protect assets like these, we could threaten the unique character of Northwestern Connecticut ," said Murphy.

Finally, Murphy is also leading an effort to galvanize support among his freshman colleagues in the House of Representatives for legislation to address global warming.

"Global warming is the most pressing environmental issue of our time. We entered Congress at a time when public demand for action to address global warming has reached critical mass. As new members of Congress elected to bring change to Washington , it is our responsibility to begin to solve this growing crisis," Murphy wrote in a letter to his freshman colleagues.

Murphy is an original cosponsor of HR 1590, The Safe Climate Act of 2007. To assist the lead sponsor, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman, Murphy is garnering support among the new Member class for the legislation.

Murphy has long advocated for reducing emissions and increasing our reliance on alternative energy sources. Last summer, he unveiled a comprehensive energy plan to reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil and to protect the environment.

HR 1590 directs the federal government to take various steps to reduce U.S. emissions of the pollutants that cause global warming to 1990 levels by 2020. These steps will be achieved by amending landmark laws such as the Clean Air Act and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to ensure that emissions are gradually reduced by freezing emissions from further increasing in 2010, and by reducing emissions by roughly 2% per year from 2011 to 2020. These cuts could be achieved using existing technologies, such as alternative energy sources. From 2020 to 2050, with more advanced technologies available, emissions would be reduced by roughly 5% per year.

Writers from Connecticut Local Politics, My Left Nutmeg, Spazeboy, CT Bob, CT NewsJunkie, and ConnecticutBLOG asked several of the top Democratic state legislators about the possibility of universal health care becoming a reality before the end of this session.

This morning more than 70 immigrants and immigrant supporters showed up outside the federal building in Hartford to show support for the Danbury 11 and demand that all charges against these men be dropped. The picket stretched along the sidewalk of the Federal building as supporters for immigrant rights chanted and demanded justice for immigrants everywhere.

It is my pleasure to announce that our voices did not go unheard. The Danbury 11 case has now been continued and they now have a second hearing assigned for September 17. Although the final decision was not made today, this day proves to be essential for their case. Their lawyers attest that lesser-known defendants would have been deported on the spot. Now ICE is left to decide whether it will defend its illegal entrapment of the day laborers.

The Danbury 11 have become more than just a group of undocumented immigrants who were picked up by ICE. The decision made today proves that the Danbury 11 have a case. The decision made today proves that immigrants have a right to a proper defense. And most of all, it proves that immigrants have a right to be heard!

Principal Timothy Canty said the issue is not free speech, but educational merit — he said the piece did not give proper credit to its sources and adds that he wished not to cancel the play, but to postpone it.

On Tuesday, April 3, 2007 at 12:30pm, Congressmen
Joe Courtney (CT-02) and Chris Murphy (CT-05) will host a joint press conference to announce legislation they intend to offer in Congress to improve and expand the Medicare Part D prescription drug program.

Murphy and Courtney have long been advocates for fixing certain harmful provisions in the prescription drug program to give Connecticut 's seniors a program with real savings and without penalties.