The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is offering grants to some small businesses. Eligible businesses must:

 -Employ between 3 and 20 people,

– Be located in an economically vulnerable community, and

– Have been harmed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applications for the grants will go live at noon on Monday, April 20th.

Read more about the program and sign up for alerts here.

Governor Ned Lamont announced Monday that he will look to people gathered by private non-profit organization AdvanceCT to guide the Greenwich Democrat in lifting restrictions on the state’s economy and other activities in response to the unique COVID-19 global pandemic. Indra Nooyi, co-chair of AdvanceCT, and Albert Ko, MD, of the Yale School of Public Health, will serve as co-chairs of the group.

Among the “senior advisors” guiding the first-term governor will be Ezekiel Emanuel, “who serves as Vice Provost for Global Initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania,” according to Monday’s announcement. Not included in the release from Lamont’s office were Emanuel’s credentials as “a Venture Partner at Oak HC/FT, [who] joined the firm in 2016 and focuses on growth equity and early-stage venture opportunities in Healthcare,” according to the firm’s website. Oak HC/FT is the venture capital firm co-founded by Ann Huntress Lamont, wife of and advisor to Ned Lamont.

According to Emanuel’s profile on the Oak HC/FT website, his spirit animal is Tigger of Winnie the Pooh fame.

The ethicist Emanuel wrote a controversial 2014 article making the case for death at the age of 75. The piece continues to cause discomfort and may prompt some to question if Emanuel is suited to help lead us out a public health crisis that continues to take a fearsome toll on older people.

Governor Ned Lamont Thursday thanked Amneal Pharmaceuticals for donating 400,000 tablets of hydroxychloroquine for distribution to state hospitals. “Making sure that medical facilities have the resources they need to treat patients who are in dire need of our support is an absolute priority. I want to thank Amneal Pharmaceuticals for their generous donation, along with DCP, and the Connecticut Hospital Association for working to ensure this medication goes to the right place. What we’re going through is unprecedented, and it will continue to take public-private partnerships like this to get through it,” Lamont said, according to Fox 61.

Amneal is a defendant in a price-fixing lawsuit against generic drug manufacturers filed last year by Attorney General William Tong.

Hydroxychlorine, a drug used to treat malaria and autoimmune diseases, has been approved by the FDA for use on patients hospitalized with COVID-19. It has been championed by Donald Trump. Doctors on the frontlines have expressed doubts about the drug’s effectiveness.

Honore Daumier painted this haunting picture of Jesus before the mob, mocked and derided on this day of his ordeal, the most solemn day of the Christian year.

Read more about it here.

State Representative David Rutigliano (R-Trumbull) tweeted Governor Ned Lamont that “its time to open up, this is crazy” Thursday afternoon after the Greenwich Democrat announced the state’s schools would remain closed until May 20th due to the global virus pandemic.

Rutigliano, a four-term legislator, according to his legislative website,  “is a partner in the local SBC Restaurant Group, which owns and operates Southport Brewing Company, Local Kitchen & Beer Bar, and the Sitting Duck Tavern.  David has created over 300 jobs in Connecticut.”

The SBC Restaurant Group has been offering takeout, delivery and curbside pickup at their restaurants in Fairfield and New Haven counties. As of April 8th, Trumbull had 71 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to newsbreak.com.

Hebron Republican Steve Weir’s campaign for the 19th State Senate District received a boost with a formidable list of endorsements from inside and outside the 10-town district. A global pandemic is a difficult overlay on every campaign. Hebron Republican Weir’s fast start raising money allowed him to qualify for public financing in a primary—if there is one—and the general election contest against incumbent Democrat Cathy Osten, Weir has been quietly working the district and gaining support in an uncertain time.

Weir faces Hebron Republican Kelley Peck at next month’s nominating convention.

Here are Weir’s endorsements:

Fred Allyn, Ledyard – Mayor

Jami Allyn, Ledyard – Republican Town Committee member

Rob Anders, Norwich – Republican Town Committee member

Chuck Catania, Vernon – State Central Committee Representative, 35th District

Rob Dempsky, Norwich – Republican Town Committee Chair

Barbara Dardeen, Lisbon – Republican Town Committee member

Linda Davis, Ledyard – Town Council Chair

Mark DeCaprio, Lebanon – Former State Representative candidate, 48th District

Heather France, Ledyard – Former Republican Town Committee member

Mike France, Ledyard – State Representative, 42nd District

Liz Gorgoglione, Marlborough – Republican Town Committee Chair

Robin Green, Marlborough – State Representative, 55^th District

Mann Hasen, Hebron – Republican Town Committee Deputy Treasurer

Peter Kasper, Hebron – Board of Selectman

Amy Lounsbury, Sprague – Republican Town Committee member

Mark Lounsbury, Sprague – Former State Senate Candidate, 19th District

Michael McCormack, Hebron – Board of Finance, Former Republican Town Committee Vice Chair

Keith Petit, Hebron – Board of Education

John Rodolico, Ledyard – Republican Town Committee Chair, Former Mayor

Jeff Rodgers, Montville – State Central Committee Representative, 20th District, Former Town Council Member

Heather Somers, Groton – State Senator, 18th District

Kathy Shea, Hebron – former Republican Town Committee Chair

Prasad Srinivasan, Glastonbury – Former State Representative, 31^st District, former Gubernatorial Candidate

Amanda Veneziano, Hebron – Republican Town Committee Vice Chair, Board of Education

Some generous Connecticut residents are making good use of their time at home. The anonymous donors are working their connections to locate and purchase personal protection equipment for state hospitals, first responders, and senior centers. So far, Daily Ructions understands, they have purchased and distributed 300,000 protective masks this week.

As word spreads, more donors have stepped forward and others have volunteered to try to locate additional sources of supplies. Success is a good contagion and it’s inspiring others to join in the effort to help our brave neighbors on the frontlines.

State Senator Len Fasano (R-North Haven) will not seek a 10th term in November. The Senate Republican leader announced his decision in teleconferences with local party activists in his four-town district that includes Durham, East Haven, North Haven and Wallingford on Tuesday evening. Fasano also shared the news with his fellow Senate Republicans in a conference call.

Fasano defeated a Democratic incumbent in a 2002 upset. In his first term, Fasano witnessed the decline, fall, resignation, and criminal conviction of John G. Rowland, the disgraced Republican governor. Democrats struggled to mount serious challenges to Fasano every two years.

The Yale graduate made his mark as a student of public policy and state spending. He became leader of the Senate Republicans in 2015. In 2016, Senate Republicans won 18 seats, tying the Senate Democrats and leading to a historic bipartisan budget, sidelining departing unpopular incumbent Democratic Governor Daniel P. Malloy. Fasano’s intellectual heft and unusual network of allies often confounded the surly Malloy.

The New Haven lawyer’s interest in public policy and his ability to grasp and translate complex issues caused legislators of both parties to seek his support asa a partner in legislating. A longtime champion of children’s issues, Fasano was a critical legislator in exposing the dangerous shamble that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) became under then-Commissioner Joette Katz’s eight years of failure.

In 2015, Fasano emerged as a rare Republican with a comprehensive interest in urban issues. His persistence in attempting to create ties between the state’s cities and Republicans irritated some of his fellow party members. One prominent, malignant House Republican began referring to Fasano as “Leon” behind his back, though word of the racist taunt quickly circulated. Fasano’s influence was magnified by having allies in each caucus, unusual in age of political tribalism.

Fasano, a prodigious fundraiser, considered a bid for governor in 2018 but declined to make the race. Fasano is expected to remain active in public affairs after his term ends in January.

COVID-19 continues to spread at a state-operated Torrington group home where a 54 year old resident died last week from the pathogen. Seven residents have tested positive, three more were awaiting test results on Monday.

Torrington Mayor Elinor Carbone has been consulting with DDS, the regional health District, and local hospital officials. “DDS’s concern for the residents and staff is palpable,” Carbone told Daily Ructions Monday night. “There is a strong desire to work together to ensure the health and well-being of this community and we admire and appreciate that.”

There is disquiet among some group home workers that managers did not take appropriate measures to provide them with sufficient PPE as the virus threat grew.

S: 3.28.20 JB ALERT  – Judges, Employees and Public Defenders – COVID 19 OCCA Message

Dear Judges, Judicial Branch employees, and Public Defender Staff

In light of the need for us to do our part to reduce the spread of COVID-19, I am issuing the following directives immediately:

1. DO NOT COME TO WORK IF YOU ARE SICK OR HAVE ANY COVID-19 SYMPTOMS.

2. Do not come to work if anyone in your household is under quarantine, is sick or has COVID-19 symptoms.

3. If you are healthy and come to work, please remain in your confined, limited workspace only.  

4. Complete your work in a way that will limit physical and interpersonal interaction with others in the courthouse, as much as possible.  For instance: deliver reports, evaluations and risk assessments by email or telephone report.

5. MAINTAIN A DAILY LOG TO IDENTIFY EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL WITH WHOM YOU HAVE HAD CONTACT FOR A PERIOD OF GREATER THAN 15 MINUTES AND AT A DISTANCE OF LESS THAN 6 FEET.

6. MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE SOCIAL DISTANCING (REMAIN 6 FEET APART FROM PEOPLE) TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE

7. WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN AND FOR AT LEAST 20 SECONDS

8. MAINTAIN AWARENESS OF THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS NATURE OF COVID-19

In the interest of your own health and safety, it is critically important that every Judge and every Judicial Branch employee who is reporting to work maintain a daily log to identify every single individual with whom you have contact for a period of greater than 15 minutes and at a distance of less than 6 feet.  Please have access to this log at all times, so that you will be able to report this information, if necessary. (Emphasis added.)

Please note that judicial marshals will be receiving additional, separate, guidance on Monday.

Thank you for the incredible work that you do, even during this unprecedented health crisis. We will continue to keep you posted.

Judge Patrick L. Carroll III