Conn. Attorney General Questions Sony Playstation Data Breach

            

HARTFORD -- Attorney General George Jepsen today alerted consumers to a data breach, which may affect as many as 77 million users, in the popular entertainment console Sony PlayStation's online network.

 

Sony has confirmed the compromised data may include a wide range of personal information such as user names, addresses, birth dates, e-mail addresses, account login data, and potentially credit card information. In addition to video game playing, Sony's network can also be used to access other entertainment networks such as Netflix, Facebook and Twitter.

 

In a letter to Sony, Jepsen asked for more details about the extent of the breach, what third-party products may be affected, and the steps the company is currently taking to protect its users.  He also expressed concern about whether Sony promptly detected and alerted customers about the breach.

 

"In this era of increasing reliance on technology, it is vitally important that all entities entrusted with nonpublic personal information employ the highest levels of data security," Jepsen wrote.

 "I expect Sony to work with and protect any consumers harmed as a result of this breach, and will review Sony's efforts to protect private information."

 

Sony first detected an intrusion on April 20 and reported it as a network outage. On Monday, five days after the initial intrusion, Sony analysts confirmed the actual data breach. The company alerted customers Tuesday that their personal data may be at risk.

 

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Fitzsimmons is representing Jepsen in this matter.

 

Editor's note: Information here is from a press release

Leading Advocates for Liberal Politics Talk at Yale about Reclaiming the Left

NEW HAVEN —Three leading advocates for a progressive political agenda will discuss the future of the Left in American politics in an open forum at Yale on Wednesday, April 20 at the Yale Law School auditorium, 127 Wall Street, at 4 p.m.
 
The panel will be headed by six-term Governor of Vermont, former head of the Democratic National Committee, and one-time presidential hopeful Howard Dean and editor of The Nation magazine and well-known television political pundit Katrina vanden Heuvel. Yale professor Jacob Hacker, author of "Winner-Take-All Politics" and most noted champion of the "public option" in health care reform, will lead the discussion. Rounding out the panel will be Yale junior Daniel Hornung, president of the Yale chapter of Roosevelt Institute, the national undergraduate progressive political organization.
 
No press credentials or prior registration is required, but members of the news media are advised to arrive early for this first-come, first-seated event.

Editor's note: This is a Yale news release.

Consumer affairs news

By Register Staff
State Insurance Commissioner Thomas B. Leonardi has issued a cease and desist order against three out-of-state companies who have been marketing health insurance products to Connecticut consumers without proper license to do so. The order also names an individual who allegedly aided and abetted in the solicitation of those unauthorized plans.
“This order serves notice to these companies and any company that tries to skirt state regulations that we will find you and hold you accountable. Consumers must have the protection of health care plans backed by licensed entities that are regulated and monitored closely by the state Insurance Department. That protection includes having covered claims paid by the insurer in a timely manner,” Leonardi said.
The order has been issued against:
North Carolina-based Metropolitan Business Alliance, LLC doing business as the National Association of Business Leadership (NABL); New Jersey-based Hudson Valley Consultants (HVC), doing business as CEO Club Benefits; Kevin Dunn, of Montville, N.J., NABL president and managing consultant of HVC.
The Commissioner said the companies, which have largely marketed over the Internet, have 30 days to provide to the department a list of all Connecticut consumers who have enrolled in these unlicensed plans. According to the order, the department may also seek civil penalties.
“We have rigorous requirements for companies to market their plans in Connecticut and there are no exceptions, no shortcuts. Health insurers must be licensed by the department before they can take a dime from consumers,” Leonardi said. “If consumers have any question whether the company they are doing business with is licensed, we urge them to check our Web site or call our Consumer Affairs unit.”
The order requires that the companies immediately stop any and all solicitations, including Internet solicitations, sales or negotiations of health insurance or health discount programs in Connecticut and to Connecticut consumers.
The companies have the right to a hearing before the department and have 30 days to request a hearing before the Commissioner. If no hearing is requested, the facts and findings of the order will be deemed final.
The cease and desist order comes on the heels of a consumer alert issued this week by the department that identifies several unlicensed or unauthorized entities that have been known to market health insurance, limited medical plans or medical discount cards through Web sites, by phone, e-mail and by fax.
The following is a list of unlicensed or unauthorized entities that may be selling health insurance products in Connecticut:
Metropolitan Business Alliance LLC; United States Contractors Association; United States Contractors Trust; Viking Administrators, LLC; Association of Independent Managers; Integrated Insurance Marketing, Inc; AIM Health Plans, Inc; Insurance Resource Group; Venture Support Group, LLC; Southeast Insurance Advisors, LLC; Wilshire Holding, LLC; and World Wide Family Benefits Association, Inc.
To determine whether a health insurance company is licensed to do business in Connecticut:
Call the Department’s Consumer Affairs Team at 800-203-3447
Ask a Question through the Department Web site at www.ct.gov/cid
Verify a license through the Web site at: for a daily updated list of licensed insurers at http://www.catalog.state.ct.us/cid/CLIC/VerifyLicense.aspx





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Malloy picks Madison resident as Conn. comissioner

By Register Staff
HARTFORD — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has named Terrence W. Macy of Madison to serve as commissioner of the Department of Developmental Services.
Macy has been executive director of SARAH Tuxis Residential & Community Resources since 1990.
In making the announcement, Malloy said: “As everyone knows, I spend a great deal of time talking about our citizens with developmental and intellectual disabilities, the community providers who serve them, and the need for state government to be a better partner to both.
“This is an agency that many people don’t know much about. I’m hoping that will change. Caring for some of the neediest in our society is a moral obligation government has, and should have.”
Malloy often talks of the teachers and family members who helped him over the years to deal with his dyslexia.
At SARAH Tuxis Residential & Community Resources, Macy has led efforts to provide support to people with disabilities along the central Shoreline, focusing on direct care and creating environments where individuals with disabilities thrive, the prepared announcement said.
He was responsible for administering a staff that grew from 42 to 300 and has since become one of the largest providers of individual supports of any state Department of Development Services-funded agency.
Macy is known for developing a culture of collaborating with community partners to expand creative support systems, including the development of innovative and individualized supports for seniors, the statement said.
“Understanding the fiscal reality both the state and country face, I’m hopeful that my experiences in partnering with community private and public providers in a quest to expand creative support systems while generating efficiencies will allow these programs to be maintained in an efficient and cost-effective manner,” Macy said.
Macy previously worked seven years at DATAHR Rehabilitation Institute (Ability Beyond Disability) as director of vocational services and director of residential services, developing training programs, training staff in new work skills development programs, and increasing services for people with autism and traumatically brain injured adults.
Prior to that, he held several leadership positions in the public sector in Ohio. He began his career working at the Hartford Regional Center in the recreation, education and residential programs.
The Department of Developmental Services serves more than 19,000 people with intellectual disabilities, including more than 4,000 infants and children.
Terry Edelstein, president of the Connecticut Community Providers Association, said he is looking forward to working with Macy to convert services in institutions to community settings; to restructure rates for day programs and residential services; and address the impact on service delivery with the continued freeze in residential reimbursement.

Municipal leaders to gather for CCM Day at the State Capitol

Municipal leaders from the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the statewide association of towns and cities, will assemble for a CCM "Day on the Hill" on April 13; and CCM-member local leaders will conduct a news conference on Governor Malloy's proposed state budget at 11:30 a.m. this Wednesday in the State Legislative Office Building, Room 2D, according to a statement.

Featured speakers scheduled for the news conference are:

n  Frank Chiaramonte,  First Selectman of Harwinton and Vice President of CCM

n  John DeStefano, Mayor of New Haven

n  William Finch, Mayor of Bridgeport

n  Pedro Segarra, Mayor of Hartford

n  Ryan Bingham, Mayor of Torrington

n  Scott Jackson, Mayor of Hamden

 

The speakers will be joined at the press conference by mayors and first selectmen from across the state. Municipal leaders will then be talking with their state legislative delegations during the day as part of CCM Day on the Hill activities.

 

"Municipal leaders will be assembling at the Capitol on Wednesday morning to let state legislators, residents. and businesses know that Governor Malloy's  proposed state budget is a good one for towns and cities and their property taxpayers, " said Jim Finley, CCM Executive Director and CEO, in the statement.  "While not perfect, it is a budget that protects most municipal aid, diversifies and expands municipal revenues, and is remarkable in the context of a $3.2 billion state  budget deficit. Alternatives to Governor Malloy's proposed budget would not be municipal-friendly."

 

LIEBERMAN ISSUES STATEMENT ON CHINESE ACTIVIST AI WEIWEI

WASHINGTON, DC-Senator Joseph I. Lieberman. I-Conn., issued the following statement about the detention by Chinese authorities of artist and activist Ai Weiwei:
"The detention and "disappearance" on Sunday of Ai Weiwei, one of China's most prominent artists, is profoundly concerning. It also fits squarely into a broader disturbing pattern of repression by Chinese authorities against dozens of human rights lawyers, journalists, and other members of civil society over the past two months. Numerous Chinese citizens like Mr. Ai have "vanished" into a legal limbo in recent weeks or have been held in extrajudicial detention, while others have been arrested and charged with "inciting subversion of state power." The Chinese government has also taken its longstanding restrictions on Internet freedom to absurd new lengths, including apparent disruptions to Gmail service and censorship of words such as "jasmine."
"The Chinese government's crackdown on citizens exercising their universal human rights is inconsistent with its international commitments and represents a clear violation of the rule of law. At a moment when people across the Middle East are peacefully demanding fundamental freedoms and accountable self-government -- joining the democratic wave that has spread, over the past forty years, from Latin America to East Asia to Central Europe -- the Chinese government's repressive actions against its citizens seem both out of touch with the rest of the world and incompatible with the values that define global leadership in the 21st century.
"I commend and thank the State Department's spokesman for calling for Mr. Ai's immediate release. I urge senior officials in the Obama Administration to repeat this call in the days ahead. I also hope the Administration will work with our allies and international partners to make clear to the Chinese government that Mr. Ai's release, and that of other Chinese citizens who have been unjustly detained, disappeared, arrested, and jailed, is a matter of serious international concern."

Doctors and Nurses Speak out for Paid Sick Days

HARTFORD -- Led by Senator Edith Prague and Representative Peter Tercyak, a group of doctors, nurses and public health experts held a press conference in the Legislative Office Building in support of legislation to establish a basic workplace standard for paid sick days.

 

"When people lack paid sick days, they often skip making the kind of regular doctor's appointments that keep people healthy over the long term. Without the flexibility that paid sick leave gives workers, too often people postpone small problems until they become big ones, and we all pay a price for that." said Dr. Steve Smith, treasurer of the National Physicians Alliance.

 

Research has found that employees without paid sick days are more likely to delay or forgo the kind of preventive care that experts agree improves health outcomes and lowers costs. Surveys have found that workers without paid sick days are roughly twice as likely to use emergency room services because they couldn't get time off work.

 

"When you delay a doctor's appointment, your problems get worse. A melanoma can turn into full blown skin cancer, or a bad cough into bronchitis," said Representative Peter Tercyak, who is also a Registered Nurse. "When a school bus driver or a fast food employee on HUSKY ends up in the emergency room instead of in the doctor's office, that's a cost we all bear."

 

Since many low-wage workers lacking paid sick days use HUSKY for their health insurance, their increased healthcare costs are born directly by taxpayers.

 

"When parents lack paid sick days, their children suffer too," said Sandi Delack, President of the National Association of School Nurses. "Every day, there are sick students who should be at home resting or seeing their doctor. Instead, they are at school because their parents can't afford to miss a day of work. Those kids are spreading illness around the classroom"

 

One study found that five times as many parents without paid sick days report taking their child or a family member to the emergency room because they were unable to take time off work.

 

"During the H1N1 outbreak, 8 million Americans came to work while infected with the swine flu virus, and they infected another 7 million people," said Barbara Simonetta, a nurse who is President of Connecticut Health Care Associates. "Any policy that discourages people from seeking timely medical care and encourages ill, contagious workers to come to work must change."

 

Workers without paid sick days are heavily concentrated in service sector jobs that require a high level of public interaction, like waiters, home healthcare providers and school bus drivers, creating a significant public health risk when those employees come to work sick. One recent study published by the Journal of Food Protection found that one in eight food service workers reported coming to work sick twice in the last year, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. The study also found that workers with paid sick days came to work sick much less often.

 

A new study by the Economic Policy Institute found that the cost to businesses of a paid sick leave policy is minimal -- far smaller than some opponents of the legislation have claimed. The study's key finding is that the cost to an employer of providing paid sick days amounts to just 0.19% (less than two tenths of one percent) of sales, on average.

 

"This is our year," said Senator Edith Prague. "With the support of our Governor, this is the year to win for paid sick days for hard working families across Connecticut."

 

Legislation to create a basic workplace standard for paid sick days has passed out of the Connecticut General Assembly's Labor Committee. The legislation would require large businesses with 50 or more employees to allow employees to earn up to 5 paid sick days per year. This year, advocates say they are cautiously optimistic because of the support of Governor Dan Malloy.

 

Editor's Note: This press release is posted only as a public service.

Parents take issue with Malloy plan for Connecticut tech school control

By Pamela Mcloughlin
Register Staff
pmcloughlin@nhregister.com
MILFORD — Hundreds of parents gathered in the Platt Technical High School cafeteria recently to object to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to shift control of the state’s technical schools to the municipalities where they are located.
School officials stopped short of calling the recent gathering a rally, but it had a pep rally tone, with speakers that included Jerry Clupper, executive director of New Haven Manufacturers Association, Joe Grabinski, a union leader from Sikorsky Aircraft and state Rep. Paul Davis, D-Orange.
Malloy has said his plan would decrease the state’s budget deficit and improve the quality of state technical schools, but those are fighting words at Platt, where test scores outdid most of those in surrounding local school districts and it has the distinction of having been named a Vanguard School a few years ago.
One of those opposed to a change in control is Parent Faculty Organization President Gerri-Lynn Konwerski, who along with her husband and daughter, are graduates of Platt. She also has a son who’s a junior at the school.
“I just think it’s a bad idea because the towns are having problems,” with budgets and won’t know how to run the schools, she said.
Konwerski said Platt has a successful and unique learning environment and she fears that would change under local control.
She said her daughter, Rebecca, was an average student when she started at Platt, then soared academically because having shops was perfect for her individual learning style and kept her engaged.
“These kids are employable when they get out of here,” she said.
Principal Gene LaPorta trumpeted the school’s successes, as a screen in the background showed images of students engaged in special activities that conveyed school spirit. LaPorta talked about high test scores, Platt’s unique formula in achieving those scores and how, “despite a tough economy and a lingering recession,” students are getting jobs in their fields before and after graduation.
Klupper, there on behalf of manufacturers who value Platt graduates, said although manufacturing in Connecticut has changed, it’s still “one of the most important parts of our economy,” and companies desparately need highly skilled workers.
Grabinski, of Sikorsky Aircraft, which developed a partnership with Platt under LaPorta’s leadership, said Platt produces some of his company’s finest workers. He gave the example of a 16-year-old girl in Platt’s plumbing program who mastered a job at Sikorsky in three days under the guidance of a Teamster mentor.
Davis, who became a legislator after a 34-year education career, said he takes “special pride” in Platt.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to support this school,” Davis said.
He said the proposal doesn’t appear to be popular among his colleagues in the General Assembly and he urged parents and opponents of Malloy’s proposal to contact their state representatives and be heard.
“If it’s not broke, don’t mess with it,” Davis said.
If the legislature adopts Malloy’s plan, four schools would be transferred to local control July 1. Four more would make the switch in July 2012, and the rest would be turned over by July 2015.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Widlitz honors Roses for Autism

State Rep. Patricia Widlitz, D-Branford, Guilford,  presented an official state citation Monday to the Roses for Autism organization for its significant contribution to the autism community of Connecticut.

Roses for Autism, located at Pinchbeck’s Rose Farm in Guilford, provides training and employment for individuals on the autism spectrum. Started in 2009, Roses for Autism is the first business endeavor for Growing Possibilities, a nonprofit social enterprise founded by Ability Beyond Disability that is dedicated to growing independence in the business world for individuals with autism and other disabilities.

Widlitz said the Connecticut General Assembly citation was given to Roses for Autism in recognition of “The vision you brought to fruition by creating this innovative program that provides countless opportunities for people with autism and other disabilities, the chance to learn new skills while gaining their independence through meaningful employment in the business world.”

“We commend you for opening the door and breaking down barriers for individuals who are challenged each day,” Widlitz said.

Pinchbeck's Rose Farm had been a Guilford institution since 1929 and with 150,000 square feet of greenhouse space they were once the largest rose farm in the United States. But state-side businesses have found it increasingly difficult to compete with blooms imported from South America. By 2008, Tom Pinchbeck, third generation owner of the farm, was going to have to close their doors.
Then along came Jim Lyman, who, with a son on the autism spectrum whom he wanted to see live a rewarding life, and a background in agriculture, had an idea how to put the two together. From this was born Roses for Autism, an innovative program that provides skilled labor for agriculture and the opportunity for those on the spectrum to learn the necessary skills to function in the workforce.

In May of 2009 the organization Roses for Autism took over the daily operations of the farm. Today, of the twenty or so employees currently working there, approximately 65 percent are on the spectrum.
With Tom Pinchbeck still the head grower at Roses for Autism, once again one of the two 50,000 square foot greenhouses is fully operational for growing. The 32,000 rose bushes planted there will produce close to a million blooms.

In addition to the roses being available for purchase at the farm at 929 Boston Post Road, Guilford, Widlitz said people now may buy them at http://www.rosesforautism.com/ or call (203) 453-2186.
“Buying roses from the Pinchbeck farm is a wonderful way for the community to make a contribution to this important endeavor,” Widlitz said.

Widlitz presented the citation as part of the kickoff Monday to the 7th Annual Autism Advocacy Day at the State Capitol.

Autism, a condition that affects as many as one in every 110 children in the United States, is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders.

In the photo: Pinchbeck and Widlitz showcase a variety of roses as Tom Fanning, second from right, holds an official state citation and Jim Lyman, r, looks on.

Editor's note: This unedited press release is posted here as a public service.

SustiNet health insurance bill analysis released: Read it here

By Register Staff
HARTFORD — The long-awaited analysis of the proposed SustiNet health insurance bill was released by the Office of Fiscal Analysis late Monday evening and said the cost of administering it is was under $4 million in 2012 and $6 million thereafter.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has been wary of supporting it without knowing the cost and has questioned the quasi independent status of the proposed board that would run it. The SustiNet report projected savings from economies of scale and health delivery systems that pay providers for outcomes, not the number of procedures, with an emphasis on preventive medicine.
SUSTINET

Sec. of State Denise Merrill: Voter Registration Deadlines Approaching for May Municipal Elections

Secretary of the State Reminds Voters in Towns with May Elections they have Until April 18th to Register by Mail, April 25th to Register in-Person

Hartford: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today reminded eligible voters in 14 Connecticut communities holding municipal elections on Tuesday May 2, 2011 voter registration deadlines are fast approaching.  Adult citizens in these communities who wish to vote can register by mail as long as their registration cards are postmarked by Monday, April 18th.  Voters also have until Monday April 25th at 8:00 p.m. to register in-person at their local Registrar of Voters office.

“With so many key decisions to be made by our local governments this year, it is imperative that voters do their part in choosing the municipal leaders they feel truly represent their interests,” said Secretary Merrill.  “The voters in the communities holding municipal elections in May should make sure their voices are heard by registering to vote by mail no later than April 18th, or else fill out their voter registration materials in person by 8:00 p.m. on April 25th.”
Polls will open from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for the Municipal elections on Monday May 2nd, 2011 in the following communities: The towns of Andover, Bethany, Naugatuck, Union and Woodbridge, the Boroughs of Bantam (Litchfield), Danielson (Killingly), Fenwick (Old Saybrook), Jewett City (Griswold), Naugatuck, Newtown, Stonington, Woodmont (Milford) and the City of Groton. The majority of Connecticut’s municipalities will hold primaries if necessary on September 13, 2011 and a General Election for municipal candidates on November 8, 2011.

Editor's Note: The press release is posted here unedited as a public service.

Welcome to CT DOME

Meet the multi-media journalists who will bring you news about Connecticut, its government and the issues that make an impact on the lives of all residents to the Nutmeg State.

They are Angela Carter

and Mary O'Leary