Thanks again to those of you who have pledged during this mini campaign. Maybe it’s time to pick yourself up a John Dankosky Where We Live mug?! Awesome!
Here’s what we have next week:
MONDAY: Sports Economics
The cost of this summer’s London Olympics is estimated to be $15 BILLION! That’s a lot of money for an event only lasting three weeks. Meanwhile, the PGA has made the Travelers Championship an annual event in Connecticut, using an existing golf course. Coming up on the next Where We Live, we’ll talk about the economics surrounding sporting events from the Olympics to the Travelers Championship.
TUESDAY: Revitalizing Neighborhoods in New Haven
Last week New Haven acquired its first vacant property under an anti-blight ordinance. The ordinance has been in effect since 2009, and it allows the city to fine absentee owners, perform necessary maintenance work, bill the property owner and place a lien on the property. As the city is finally acting on this legislation to get rid of blight, some residents are getting involved too. Ben Berkowitz heads up See Click Fix – a website where people log in and report issues like pot holes, to hopefully see them get fixed. He’s behind a new public art project, Inside Out New Haven, that covers underpasses with portraits of people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. Today we’ll explore the issue of blight and look at some urban renewal projects working to revitalize New Haven.
WEDNESDAY: Susan Herbst
UConn’s president Susan Herbst has been busy. She’s pushed for a major expansion of its faculty – part of a plan to get more students into the classes they need and get their degrees in four years; she’s just broken ground on the new genomics collaboration with Jackson Labs; and she’s taking the university’s athletics department into new territory – a New York-based cable home for its women’s basketball program. We’ll get updates on this and more from President Herbst, as she enters her second year on the job.
THURSDAY: Mascots
We’ve got the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Hall High Warriors. So what’s in a name? Hall High School in West Hartford has decided to change their logo, which previously depicted a profile view of a Native American. They will still be known as the “Warriors,” but without the Native American connection. For years now, schools across the country have been transitioning away from Native American references. The St. John’s Redmen became the Red Storm. And just this week, voters gave the University of North Dakota permission to move away from the “Fighting Sioux” name. Opponents of this change say that we’re becoming too politically correct and if anything, these names are honoring Native Americans. Today, Where We Live, we’ll talk to some of the Hall High School students who pushed for this change. We’ll also hear from those in the Native American community about what these mascots mean to them.
FRIDAY: The Future of Obamacare
Any day now, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to make a decision on the 2010 Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”. The Court could reject parts of the law – like the individual mandate, insurance market reforms, and expansion of Medicaid to low-income adults. What would it mean if the Court invalidates the ACA altogether? Coming up, we’ll look at what this big decision will mean for health care coverage in the nation and in Connecticut.
