States Still Resisting National Sex Offender Law

Congress passed the Adam Walsh Act six years ago in an attempt to set up a uniform national registry to track known sex offenders who move from one state to another. The law offers federal funds to the states that comply, but most states have not done so.

States that did not implement their registries by July 27, 2011 face a 10% loss in federal funds. The only way these states can keep that money without meeting the deadline is to apply to use it for Adam Walsh Act compliance activities. At least 29 noncompliant states have done so. But five states, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nebraska, and Texas are not complying with the act and have forfeited the 10% of federal funding.

The reasons for non-compliance, which vary from state to state, include philosophical differences with the act and reluctance to pay the cost of compliance.

Disgruntled Daters: Don’t Blame Match.com

Match.com, which touts itself as being responsible for more dates, relationships, and marriages than other on-line dating services, has successfully fought off several class action lawsuits filed by disgruntled would-be, current, and former subscribers. One group claimed that the company’s false and misleading advertising duped them into becoming subscribers. Another contended that the company failed to deliver on its promises to give them access to a legitimate and genuine dating service.

Both groups claimed that they were entitled to money damages based on Match.com’s breaches of subscriber contracts, plus an additional amount based on its violation of Texas’ unfair and deceptive trade practices statute.

After reading the terms of service contained in Match.com’s subscriber agreements, a Texas court dismissed the case. He interpreted the them as addressing plaintiffs’ obligations as subscribers, not establishing contractual obligations of Match.com. The language in no way required Match.com to police, vet, update the website’s content, verify the accuracy of profiles before posting them, or undertake any of the actions the plaintiffs claimed were required by the agreements’ terms.

Supreme Court Revisits Affirmative Action in Higher Education

In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court in Grutter v. Bollinger affirmed that colleges and universities may consider race as a factor in making admissions decisions. Less than a decade later, it’s considering what the limits of that decision might be.

The Court recently heard arguments in a case (Fisherv. University of Texas-Austin (UT)) that challenges UT’s use of race in its admissions process. The university uses race as one factor among several in evaluating applicants, an approach it argues is consistent with Grutter. The plaintiff, however, argues that UT could achieve (and, in fact, did achieve) a diverse student body through race-neutral means, meaning that it’s unconstitutional for the university to consider race.

Specifically, under Texas law, the top 10% of each high school’s graduating class can attend an in-state public college or university of their choice. In practice, the vast majority of UT’s in-state students are admitted under this plan. The remaining applicants are evaluated on numerous factors, of which race is one.

The plaintiff claims that the top 10% provision enables UT to achieve a diverse student body without considering race. The university counters that this provision alone is not enough to achieve a “critical mass” of diversity, and the argument before the Court focused on the critical mass concept (e.g., what is it, how does one know when it’s attained, etc.).

 A decision is expected next year.

Yale Researchers Studying Rare Yet Expanding Tick-Borne Disease

Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health are studying babesiosis, a tick-borne illness that is less common and less well known than Lyme disease, but potentially deadly.  According to researchers, the number of babesiosis cases is increasing. 

Some facts about babesiosis:

• Both babesiosis and Lyme are transmitted by the same tick species, but the two diseases are caused by different microorganisms.
• Ticks acquire the microorganisms that cause babesiosis or Lyme from mice; some mice or ticks carry the microorganisms that cause both diseases.
• Babesiosis infects red blood cells.
• Its symptoms may be mild or quite severe: its fatality rate is 6 to 9 percent in hospitalized patients.
• The incidence of babesiosis is close to that of Lyme on Block Island and southeastern Connecticut, whereas the ratio of Lyme to babesiosis cases is about 25 to 1 nationally.

Easy Come, Easy Go: A Millionaire is a Sometime Thing

Once you become a millionaire, you’ve got it made, right? Not so fast.  The Tax Foundation, using 10 years of IRS data, found that the number of taxpayers reporting income of $1 million or more varies a lot from year-to-year and (no surprise) fluctuations in the number of millionaires corresponds to the business cycle. Between 2007 and 2009, for example, the number of millionaire tax returns fell from 392,200 to 236,883, a drop of 40%.

Not only that, but half of millionaire tax returns are never repeated, probably because they stem from one-time events, such as a stock or business sale. Only 6% of the millionaires filing returns in 2001 were still millionaires in 2009 (See Chart).

The millionaire data is part of the Tax Foundation’s new book of charts called Putting a Face on America’s Tax Returns.   The book also includes charts on income inequality, taxpayers’ ages and marital status, the income and education gap, changes in business structure and income, and other demographic and economic indicators based on data from the IRS, the Census, and the Congressional Budget Office, among other sources.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, What’s Wrong With My Job Skills?

There are job openings all over the United States. There are also people looking for jobs. It seems simple to match them up and the country will be working again. But, a new Brookings Institution study points out why the matchmaker’s job is a little more complicated than that.

 

The study found that the people living near the job openings don’t necessarily have the relevant education or training to get them. The report looks at education, job openings, and unemployment in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas over a six-year period. In these areas, 43% of job openings typically require at least a bachelor’s degree, but just 32% of adults age 25 and older have earned one.

 

The study found that unemployment in metropolitan areas is significantly worse when the workforce’s educational background does not match up with employers’ requirements.

 

On a scale where the higher the ranking the better off you are, Boston ranked 11,^th fared best in New England.  The three Connecticut areas included were: Bridgeport-Stamford ranked 19^th, New Haven ranked 26^th, and Hartford ranked 43^rd. Providence had the lowest New England ranking at 83^rd.

What’s in that Fake Snow?

The upcoming 2012-2013 ski season will mark another “first” in snowmaking procedure; it will be the first season that a resort will use 100% sewage effluent to make artificial snow. According to a recent New York Times article, the Arizona Snowbowl will use the treated sewage effluent to make snow but opponents are concerned about the potential environmental and health effects.

Opponents include environmental groups and American Indian tribes. They are concerned about the impact on the alpine tundra, aquifer areas, and human health if skiers ingest the snow. The tribes also consider the land sacred and believe the wastewater will desecrate it.

Flagstaff conducted an independent test of the water and found endocrine disrupting chemicals such as hormones, antibiotics, and steroids, among others. Also, according to the scientist who studied the water, the effects of freezing, thawing, and UV light on the chemical compounds are unknown.

But the U.S. Forest Service owns the land and says the treated water meets the highest standards (just below drinking water) and is used for other purposes such as irrigating sports fields, parks, and golf courses. The Forest Service did not consider the chemicals in its assessment of the water but the law does not require it to do so to consider the water safe. According to the article, the Environmental Protection Agency is studying the chemicals and if they become regulated, both Flagstaff and the Snowbowl will adjust water treatment to accommodate the requirements.

The city benefits from the effluent snowmaking because the city has contracted with the Snowbowl to sell the water from its sewage treatment plant. Increased snowmaking also allows for a more consistent ski season which can draw more customers to the area for local businesses.

Furry Crab Found in Connecticut Fishway

The emerald ashborer is not the only invasive species confirmed this summer by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to have found its way into our state. In early August, the department announced that a juvenile Chinese mittencrab was found in the Mianus Pond fishway in Greenwich.

The mitten crab is native to eastern Asia but has spread to Europe and North America. It is known for its furry claws with whitish tips and it is the only crab that would be found in freshwater in the Northeast. In its press release, DEEP expressed some concern about the crab’s presence because these crabs can damage fishing gear, clog pumps and pipes, cause erosion through burrowing, and outcompete other species for food and habitat.

Citing to a DEEP marine biologist, an August 14 Hartford Courant article explained that the discovered mitten crab likely traveled from the Hudson River where these crabs have been seen since 2007. Quoting the marine biologist, the article explained that mitten crabs are catadromous – they live in freshwater but travel to salt water to spawn. Both the Courant article and DEEP’s press release stressed the importance of reporting mitten crab sightings to prevent their spread.

What’s Israel’s Secret to Innovation?

Mandatory military service, according to Dan Senor and Saul Singer, authors of Start-up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle (2009), an observation that seems to fly in the face of conventional wisdom. After all, people serving in active and reserve military units aren’t in school learning new skills or working in laboratories inventing new things. But the conventional wisdom overlooks a few things, at least when it comes to Israel.

First, the Israeli military isn’t a strictly top-down, command and control organization. Junior officers get little guidance from the top and “are expected to improvise, even if it means breaking some rules.” “High school stand-outs are recruited into elite military units and trained intensively, with an emphasis on technology.” In other words, the Israeli armed forces encouraged critical thinking.

The training and the contacts do not end when people complete active duty. Israeli’s mandatory military service also requires them to spend several weeks a year in the reserves, a time during which they renew contacts or establish new ones, thus creating or expanding social networks for potential innovators and entrepreneurs. This, coupled with Israeli’s relative small size and population, creates a condition where everyone knows everyone, at least casually.

Consequently, when someone serves in the reserves, “everything required to launch a start-up ‘will be a phone call away…Almost everyone can find some connection to whomever he or she needs to contact to get started.’”

Okay, but what does this mean for public policy? Should we require everyone to serve in the reserves? No. Here’s what it means: innovation takes more than new research facilities, venture capital funds, and tax credits for start-up investments. Innovation also depends on many intangible, unquantifiable factors, like the extent to which people with ideas, money, and entrepreneurial spirit bump into each other. Does public policy facilitate or inhibit those “collisions”?

Can’t Fix the School? Fix the Kid Instead

A recent New York Times story suggests that parents and doctors of poor children are pushing for the kids to be prescribed drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) when the kids have not been diagnosed with the disorder. The reason is that these drugs, which are stimulants, can improve school performance. This, they say, is particularly helpful for kids attending schools that may not have the resources to provide extra supports a kid may need. A doctor who supports this approach asserts that many families cannot afford behavior-based therapies like tutoring and family counseling, and that taking these drugs, which state Medicaid programs typically cover, provide the same benefit.

This idea has its detractors. Some doctors are fearful of the drugs’ side effects, including the possibility of psychotic episodes. They also have longer-term concerns: dependency and the drugs’ effect on a child’s developing brain.

No Federal Health Insurance for Young Immigrants Having Their Deportation Delayed

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a letter to state Medicaid directors informing them that certain individuals granted “deferred action” status by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not qualify for Medicaid or State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) benefits.

In 2009, Congress passed a law giving newly arrived immigrant children and pregnant women who were in the country “lawfully” immediate access to health care rather than requiring them to wait the normal five years from entrance to the U.S., as is generally required for other public assistance benefits.

In June 2012, DHS offered undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children the opportunity to delay their deportation (“deferred action”) if they meet certain qualifications (e.g., under age 31 on June 15, 2012 and do not present a risk to national security).

The CMS letter states that because these immigrants would not be considered residing in the country lawfully, as defined by CMS in 2010, they would not be eligible for the federal benefits. Undocumented immigrants are eligible for emergency Medicaid.

First Niagara Receives Top Grades on Report Card

The City of New Haven and Yale Law School’s Community and Economic Development Clinic recently collaborated on a Community Impact Report Card (CIRC). The CIRC ranks New Haven banks on a 100 point scale in 30 different categories, from home loan applications accepted to overdraft fees. It was designed to help (1) consumers comparison-shop the different banks in their community, and (2) banks strengthen their product and service offerings.

According to the CIRC, “the central motivating principle behind the project is the belief that providing consumers with basic information about banking products and services will encourage banks to be more responsive to community needs.”

First Niagara ranked number 1 out of the 11 banks evaluated with a score of 74. First Niagara also received the highest point total in the home loan category. The report cited possible areas of improvement as well, such as extending branch hours beyond 6 pm on weeknights and offering student discounts.

The other 10 banks received the following scores, in descending order:

1. Bank of America (73)
2. People’s United Bank (68)
3. JPMorgan Chase Bank (66)
4. Bank of Southern CT (63)
5. Webster Bank (61)
6. RBS Citizens (tied-59)
7. TD Bank (tied-59)
8. Citibank (tied-56)
9. Sovereign Bank New England (tied-56)
10. Wells Fargo Bank (53)

Hot Report: School Physical Education Requirements

OLR Report 2012-R-0272 summarizes what the state requirements are for physical education classes or activity in public schools.
There is no statutory or regulatory requirement for public schools to provide a set amount of time for physical education in any grade. New legislation enacted in 2012 requires each school district to include a total of 20 minutes of “physical exercise” in each regular school day for students in kindergarten through grade five (K-5). This requirement took effect July 1, 2012.
State Department of Education (SDE) physical education curriculum guidelines recommend that school districts offer physical education in all grades, including minimum recommended durations. But school districts are not required to follow state curricula and the SDE guidelines are voluntary.
Districts and schools must report on students' physical fitness in their annual strategic school profiles. To implement this requirement, SDE requires districts to give fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth-graders an annual state physical fitness test designed to measure their flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, and strength, among other things.
There is no statutory or regulatory requirement for public schools to provide a set amount of time for physical education in any grade. New legislation enacted in 2012 requires each school district to include a total of 20 minutes of “physical exercise” in each regular school day for students in kindergarten through grade five (K-5). This requirement took effect July 1, 2012.
State Department of Education (SDE) physical education curriculum guidelines recommend that school districts offer physical education in all grades, including minimum recommended durations. But school districts are not required to follow state curricula and the SDE guidelines are voluntary.
Districts and schools must report on students' physical fitness in their annual strategic school profiles. To implement this requirement, SDE requires districts to give fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth-graders an annual state physical fitness test designed to measure their flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, and strength, among other things.
For more information, read the full report.

Violent Crime in Households with Children

According to a U. S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) study, one measure of the number of children living in households that experienced violent crime declined from 1993 to 2010.

Using data from the BJS National Crime Victimization Survey, researchers looked at the number of children age 17 or younger who live in households where someone age 12 or older was the victim of a violent crime.  In 2010, about 2.8 million children or 3.9% of all children age 17 or younger lived in such households.  In 1993, an estimated 8.7 million children, or 12.6%, did so. The researchers found that this corresponds with the decline in overall violent victimizations during this period. 

HUD Announces Grants To Help Seniors “Age In Place”

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced $31.3 million in grants to help seniors and individuals with disabilities receive health care, meals, and other supportive services that allow them to remain in their own homes (i.e., “age in place”).

The grants are issued through HUD’s Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator program. Funds are awarded to eligible owners of HUD low-income housing developments for the elderly or disabled and may be used to hire and support a service coordinator. Service coordinators help residents access appropriate home- and community-based services, preventing or delaying the need for institutionalization.

Connecticut received five grants totaling $1,442,129.   

Hot Report: Liability for Dog Bites

OLR Report 2012-R-0459 provides a brief overview of Connecticut law on liability for dog bites. Please note that the Office of Legislative Research is not authorized to provide legal opinions and this report should not be construed as such.

Subject to certain exceptions, Connecticut's dog bite statute (CGS § 22-357) makes a dog's owner or keeper liable for injuries caused by the dog to someone else's person or property. This is a strict liability statute – in other words, it does not require the victim to prove that the dog's owner or keeper (1) knew that the dog was vicious or (2) was otherwise negligent.

A person injured by a dog bite could also proceed under a common law negligence theory. To succeed in such a case, the injured person must prove that the defendant knew or should have known that the dog was vicious. Under the common law, unlike cases brought under the statute, someone other than a dog's owner or keeper could be liable for a dog bite in certain circumstances. For example, the Connecticut Supreme Court recently held that a landlord could be liable for a bite by a tenant's dog if the landlord was aware of the dog's vicious tendencies and did not adequately act to alleviate the known danger.

Unemployment Loans’ Catch-22

In the wake of the 2008 recession, 34 states had to borrow from the federal government to keep their unemployment systems solvent.  And 22 of them, including Connecticut, still owe a combined $30 billion that they will have to pay back.  Although the loans helped the states and their constituents weather the recession, a recent Stateline article examines how they may also be hampering their recovery. 

According to the article, employers, who fund unemployment systems through unemployment taxes, are now paying higher unemployment taxes in order to repay the loans, which could prevent some from hiring.  Also, some debtor states have responded by reducing unemployment benefits, although critics argue that this hampers recovery by reducing the money flowing through local economies.  A few states have issued bonds to pay off their debts, but although they may be able to get a lower interest rate than the 4% imposed by the federal government, they will still have to pay it back.  And to make matters worse, the burden of repaying the debt is keeping states from building up the reserves that could otherwise help them avoid borrowing again.

Hot Report: Stun Guns and Firearms

OLR Report 2012-R-0463 explains why state law prohibits the carrying of electronic defense weapons but not handguns.

Under state law, electronic defense weapons, such as stun guns, are classified as dangerous or deadly weapons. With limited exceptions, the law prohibits people from carrying these weapons on their person or in motor vehicles (CGS §§ 53-206 & 29-38). On the other hand, handguns are not classified as dangerous or deadly and anyone who meets criteria specified in law can obtain a permit to carry them.

Nothing in the legislative history of PA 86-827, which added electronic defense weapons to the list of dangerous weapons, or PA 99-212, which banned the carrying of such weapons, indicates why the legislature thought that these weapons should be more stringently regulated than handguns. But part of the explanation may be that, under the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, firearms have a degree of constitutional protection, which has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether stun guns are entitled to the same degree of constitutional protection as firearms. And we are not aware of any Connecticut court that has considered this issue. But the Michigan Court of Appeals, in a case not binding on Connecticut, has ruled that both the U.S. Constitution and Michigan Constitution protect a citizen's right to possess and carry stun guns for self-defense and the state may not completely prohibit their use by private citizens (Mich. Ct. App. June 26, 2012 (Docket No. 304293)).

For more information, read the full report.

Check Out OLR’s Map Room!

Have you visited our Map Room recently? With links to scores of maps, there are maps relating to every committee, from a map on the Aging page showing the poverty rate for seniors by county nationwide to a map on the Veterans page showing the veteran population in each state.

The map added most recently links aerial photos of Connecticut from 1934 to current Google Map images of the same location and was produced by the University of Connecticut’s Map and Geographic Information Center. It’s a fascinating way to examine neighborhood change. For example, in 1934 the Park River was still above ground in Hartford and flowed through Bushnell Park.

http://www.cga.ct.gov/olr/maproom.asp

Bracing for Impact

Last spring, Discovery TV staged a Boeing 727 plane crash in Mexico’s Sonoran desert to test the effects of a “belly-flop” plane crash on passengers. The test crash, reported about recently by ABC News, found that bracing for impact (placing one’s head down towards the legs and putting hands over one’s head) could help a passenger survive a crash. According to ABC News, a review of the crash test dummies in the plane revealed such things as:

• the front rows held the “fatal” seats;

• dummies not in the braced position incurred spinal injuries from jerking forward;

• sitting upright subjects passengers to flying debris; and

• sitting within five rows of an exit increased the chance of survival.

The chances of being in such a crash aren’t high, though. The article cites a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that found the chance of dying on a scheduled flight in developed nations was one in 14 million.

Hot Report: Summary of Connecticut Case on Eyewitness Identifications

OLR Report 2012-R-0415 summarizes the Connecticut Supreme Court decision allowing experts to testify about factors that may affect the reliability of eyewitness identifications (State v. Guilbert, 306 Conn. 218, 2012 WL 3629569, September 4, 2012).

In State v. Guilbert, the Connecticut Supreme Court held that experts could testify about the fallibility of eyewitness identifications in appropriate cases. The existing rule generally prohibited its use because (1) the average juror was already familiar with the factors that affected the reliability of eyewitness identifications and (2) it impermissibly interfered with the jury's fact-finding role.

Guilbert involved a criminal defendant's claim that five eyewitnesses misidentified him. The trial court applied the existing rule and denied defense counsel's request to present scientific testimony pinpointing factors known to adversely affect the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.

The strength of the scientific findings and bases for other courts rulings allowed the court to reach conclusions on the admissibility of evidence concerning a number of factors.

For more information, including a summary of the majority opinion, read the full report.

Empire State shooting sparks questions on police shot accuracy

In the recent shooting near the Empire State Building in New York City, police officers fired 16 shots in a gunfire exchange with the shooter.  Of those 16 shots, 10 of them hit the shooter.  This “hit ratio” was almost twice as good as the department’s average.

According to a 2008 analysis of NYPD firearms discharge data, officers hit their intended target about 34% of the time.

There have been other studies conducted on police marksmanship.  However, one critic notes that these studies often fail to account for real life factors such as light, distance, and whether the target is moving.

New Online Judge Evaluation System

Starting next March, the Judicial Branch will expand its current system of lawyers’ evaluation of judges, by introducing an online component.

As explained in the September 10, 2012 edition of the Connecticut Law Tribune, the current evaluation system involves paper questionnaires given to attorneys who (1) go to trial or (2) are involved in hearings lasting at least an hour.  The new electronic questionnaires will supplement the current system.  The online questionnaires will be given in certain high-volume courts (such as those handling arraignments), to attorneys who (1) handle at least three matters to disposition before the same judge during a six-month period or (2) make an appearance in a case with a judgment after trial.  

The current questionnaires ask attorneys to rate judges on 13 criteria, such as their impartiality and knowledge of the substantive law.  Two new questions are being added: one on the judge’s ability to settle before trial, and one on the judge’s fairness and equity to people based on their gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.

According to the article, one of the goals of the expansion is to increase participation in the evaluation process; the paper evaluations’ response rate is 50% to 65%

The full article is available in the Legislative Library. 

Medicaid Audit Cost Five Times More Than It Recovered

Over the past five years, a federal program to fight Medicaid fraud has cost the U.S. at least $102 million in auditing fees while identifying less than $20 million in overpayments, Government Accountability Office investigators have found.  The majority of the audits conducted by the National Medicaid Audit Program’s Medicaid Integrity Group were discontinued, produced low or no findings, or were put on hold. More than 2/3 of 1,550 audits of state records since fiscal year 2008 identified $7.4 million in possible Medicaid overpayments.   

Audits of state Medicaid records were stopped in February 2011. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has reportedly reassigned the auditors to work collaboratively with states’ own audit activities.  This arrangement requires state Medicaid officials to identify health providers or industries they think federal auditors should target.  There are reportedly 137 collaborative audits underway.

Hot Report: Siting Correctional Facilities

OLR Report 2012-R-0453 summarizes the laws regarding siting prisons and other correctional facilities. While there is no specific statutory process, there are some requirements that apply to particular types of facilities or locations. For example, 2010 legislation required the Department of Correction (DOC) and the Judicial Branch's Court Support Services Division to establish site evaluation criteria for evaluating proposals for a facility housing beds for sex offenders returning to the community. Another statute (CGS § 18-87l) bars the New Haven Armory from being used to house prisoners.

According to DOC, the decision on where to locate a correctional facility would be a multi-agency effort, involving input from the departments of correction, administrative services, and construction services; the Office of Policy and Management; and the governor's office. They would work together to find a suitable location. One of the principal challenges would be finding a community willing to host a facility.

For more information, read the full report.

State Election Law Changes

Wondering how Connecticut’s election laws compare with those in other states? A recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office provides a national survey of state election laws pertaining to voter registration and identification requirements, early voting, and no-excuse absentee voting. The report also examines changes to state laws in these areas that occurred within the last 10 years.

Among the report’s highlights were that (1) 31 states require all eligible voters to show identification (but not necessarily a photo ID) at the polls on Election Day and (2) 35 states and Washington, DC allow either early voting or no-excuse absentee voting (or both). Of the 31 states with identification requirements, 18 of them enacted those requirements within the past 10 years.

Inexpensive Designs for Housing Homeless People

Solutions for solving the homelessness problem reflect how one defines that problem. For some, it’s all about getting homeless people off of park benches or other public furniture. For others, it’s about immediately meeting the basic human need for shelter. A recent issue of Web Urbanist presents 14 innovative, low-cost design concepts that “meet the needs of disadvantaged people living in our own communities, and ensure that the situation is only temporary.”  Below are some examples:

Paul Elkin’s Mobile Design Shelter Homeless people who prefer to remain on the move could benefit from this portable, low-impact, water-tight structure that resembles a miniature RV.  As the photos show, it contains fold-away furniture, a mattress, a toilet, and a kitchen.	Photo: WebUrbanist
Zo-Loft Architecture and Design’s WheelLY Recycled Homeless Shelter This unusual Italian import safely stores one’s belongings during the day and expands into a tent at night. It’s made of rolling aluminum frames fitted with two polyester tents made of recyclable or recycled materials, and can hold up to 250 pounds of personal items.	Photo: WebUrbanist
Tina Hovsepian’s Cardborigami Folding Portable Homeless Shelter As its name suggests, origami principles inspired the designer of this portable emergency shelter. As the pictures show, “it starts out as a flat package and expands into a sort of paper tent.” Made of recycled cardboard, it’s lightweight, sustainable, and naturally insulated. The designer’s not finished, though. She plans to make it waterproof, fire-retardant, and more comfortable.	Photo: WebUrbanist

Retail Clinic Usage Increases Dramatically

According to a recent Health Affairs study, retail clinic visits increased fourfold from 2007 to 2009. Data was obtained from MinuteClinic, Take Care, and Little Clinic, the nation’s three largest clinic operators. Most clinic users had health insurance (70%), however almost 2/3 did not have a primary care physician.

The study attributes convenience and after-hours accessibility as possible drivers of this growth. Approximately 44% of visits were on the weekend or weekday evenings when physicians’ offices are likely to be closed. The number of visits peaked in October and November, mostly due to visits for flu vaccines.

Despite the dramatic increase in retail clinic visits, they still make up a small percentage of overall visits in outpatient settings, including emergency departments and physician offices.

Report Says Property Tax Breaks to Lure Businesses are Mostly Ineffective

States and towns across the country, including Connecticut municipalities, use property tax incentives to drive economic growth by encouraging businesses to locate and expand in their communities.  But a recent study by the Lincoln Land Institute suggests that there is little evidence that these incentives are effective economic development tools. 

Achieving development goals with incentives can be particularly difficult because property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses.  As such, they are easily outweighed by factors such as differences in the wages and skills of local workers, proximity to suppliers and consumers, and transportation costs.  In addition, as the use of property tax incentives becomes widespread across a metropolitan area, the advantage gained by one municipality is often canceled out when matching incentives are adopted by others in the same region.

The study’s authors offer the following recommendations to increase the odds that property tax incentives will help communities reach their development goals:

1. Restrict the proliferation of property tax incentives by limiting their use in the communities where they are most needed.
2. Require that tax incentives be approved by all affected jurisdictions, including regional economic development organizations.
3. Penalize rather than subsidize localities that use property tax incentives.
4. Publish information on incentives and conduct assessments.

Could Bear Hunts Come to Connecticut?

The Connecticut Mirror reports that Connecticut’s environmental officials may be considering a bear hunting season as a way to control the state’s increasing bear population.  According to the article, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) says there are currently several hundred black bears in Connecticut and “the population is expected to double every five to seven years.”  DEEP investigated more than 350 reports of damage by bears last year and the state is “now spending a quarter-million-dollars a year responding to concerns” about the bear population.  DEEP reportedly continues to research the issue and is working on a bear management plan. 

Agency representatives say it could take two more years before DEEP is ready to recommend a bear hunting season.  For more information about bears in Connecticut, see DEEP’s website.