Fight for It

I would like to add my voice to those who have already and certainly will continue to defend the very unique Community Theatre in Fairfield.

I moved to Fairfield just over a year ago, and it is no exaggeration to say that the theater here played a part in this. The fact that the Town of Fairfield saw the immense value in protecting its local town center by maintaining the local picture house speaks volumes for this place it's not just one of those sad bits of history that is bemoaned once it's gone, but rather continues to be alive, thanks to the sheer determination of very special volunteers who dedicate their time and the patrons who love it.

I am delighted and proud that this is part of my town. This is what the experience of going to the movies is meant to be, an evening with a sense of place, a little walk from a coffee or a cocktail, in our town center, where I can afford to take my three children and get them popcorn not just relegated to a huge cineplex in the middle of a huge parking lot that could be anywhere, and nowhere.

The Community is a prize we need to fight for.

JoAnne Ling

Fairfield

Won't Help U.S.

As you may have heard, the Bush administration said each of us would get a

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rebate check to stimulate the economy.

If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.

If we spend it on gasoline, it will go to the Arabs.

If we purchase a computer, it will go to India.

If we purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala.

If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan.

If we purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan.

And none of it will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it at yard sales, since those are the only businesses still in the United States.

Dick De Witt

Fairfield

Price Too High

Lawmakers and taxpayers agree that Connecticut should start "tightening its fiscal belt" in this difficult economy. That's why proposals to significantly increase workers' comp costs for the state, municipalities and businesses seem out of step with economic and political reality.

Yet two proposals, SB-64 and SB-255, approved by the Labor Committee would do just that. They so broadly expand benefits for workers' compensation that Connecticut would be put considerably out of line with other states for benefits and costs certainly beyond what the state, cities and towns, and businesses can afford.

Connecticut's workers' compensation system is fair, generous and considered one of the best in the United States. But SB-64 would greatly expand benefits for scarring to include even conditions that don't affect a worker's ability to earn a living clearly outside of what the system is intended to do.

The state's Office of Fiscal Analysis estimates that SB-64 will cost the state and municipalities at least $1 million in the first year alone on top of the additional costs employers will have to bear.

Another proposal, SB-255, seeks to expand the state's "discretionary" benefits that can be awarded by workers' comp commissioners on top of weekly wage replacement and other compensation. No other state offers this type of award, yet the Labor Committee wants to increase it.

The problem, says the state's Office of Fiscal Analysis, is that this proposal "will result in a significant cost to the state and municipalities." OFA looked at one small sample, the month of May, 2007, in which the state handled 38 discretionary benefit claims to illustrate the range of costs.

"Under the bill, if each of these 38 claimants received the maximum statutory discretionary benefits, costs to the state, over the life of the claims, would increase by $4.3 million," says OFA.

But OFA also pointed out that the state actually averages more than 100 such cases each month which means that the actual costs of SB-255 would be staggering to state government to say nothing about how it would affect Connecticut businesses.

Both of these proposals would overturn some of the most important reforms of the state's workers' compensation system that helped make it financially stable, fairer and less costly. It simply makes no sense to roll back the reforms and stop progress being made to improve the state's economic climate.

As the General Assembly continues its work, it's important that lawmakers consider each proposal for whether it will help or hurt Connecticut's economy. Clearly, SB-64 and SB-255 would unnecessarily weaken the state's economy.

Bonnie Stewart

Vice President of Government Affairs

Connecticut Business & Industry Association

Hartford

Time for Reconciliation

The following is addressed to Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport.

"No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention. Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the Church Today I encourage each of you to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt. Also, I ask you to love your priests, and to affirm them in the excellent work that they do."

Those words of Benedict XVI, spoken during his homily at Mass in Nationals Park in Washington on April 17, are both an acknowledgment of the terrible impact of priestly sexual abuse on our children, the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, and a summons to all of us to work for reconciliation.

Sadly some 30 of our priests have been accused of sexually assaulting at least 67 of our children, causing them untold suffering. Many of the survivors, now grown to adulthood, often tell us that, feeling abandoned by the church, they do not go to Mass or find it impossible to enter a church.

Pope Benedict's words are a clarion call to all in the Catholic community to promote reconciliation. We believe that that can be done, in part, through our traditional gathering for worship, namely, the celebration of the Eucharist.

We believe that you, as the pastor of all Catholics in the Diocese of Bridgeport, could take the lead in furthering the work of reconciliation in three ways:

1. You can demonstrate the church's desire for reconciliation by celebrating a Mass of Reconciliation at least once a year in St. Augustine's Cathedral, the mother church of our diocese.

2. You can exhort the pastors of our parishes similarly to celebrate a Mass of Reconciliation in each parish at least once a year.

3. You can open the arms of the Catholic community to the survivors by inviting them to meet in our parishes as a body, if they wish to do so.

Pope Benedict has challenged us to act to try to heal this sore on Christ's Body, the church. We encourage you to accept his challenge and to call on Catholics throughout our diocese to do so as well. By acknowledging the sin, atoning for the harm done, and working for reconciliation, we will take the first steps toward healing and renewing our beloved Catholic community.

The letter is signed by the board of directors of the Voice of the Faithful in the Diocese of Bridgeport: Chairman John Marshall Lee, Vice Chairman Daniel B. Sullivan, Treasurer Marilyn Kirchner, Corresponding Secretary Margaret Hickey, Recording Secretary Marie K. Rose, James B. Alvord, Joanne Bray, Kathleen Clement, Jamie Dance, Margaret Mooney, Robert Mulligan, Joseph F. O'Callaghan, Anne Pollack, Patricia Powers, Richard Vicenzi and Anthony Wiggins.