Monthly Archives: January 2025

Traffic Cameras Win Council Approval

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Middletown Chief of Police Eric Costa speaking at the Jan. 27 meeting of the Public Safety Commmission.

After the public showed strong support for Automated Traffic Enforcement Safety Devices at Middletown’s January 27 public information meeting, the Common Council voted unanimously on February 3 to approve the use of traffic cameras. We thank all who signed the Jonah Center petition last February and those who emailed the Common Council to express their support of this step in making our streets safer.

Chief Costa said the department had identified the following 4 locations in the city where ATESDs would make a significant improvement to public safety: Continue reading →

We’re Hiring – Summer Field Workers Needed

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Water chestnut work parties are fun, social activities. They are also a hands-on opportunity to save an ecosystem from being choked to death by floating invasive plants that damage habitat for fish and birds.

The Jonah Center is seeking to fill 4 part-time seasonal (May – August) field work positions to remove invasive water chestnut plants in the Floating Meadows. The positions are 1 Field Work Coordinator and 3 Field Workers. Continue reading →

Slow Global Warming and Save Money – Make a Power Move in 2025

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Wild fire on Lamentation Mountain, Berlin Connecticut, summer 2024
Home solar panels installation. Photo by David Illig, Creative Commons License.

What does the clean energy transition have to do with you?

A lot more than you may think. We see “natural” disasters on the news more and more frequently. We know why it’s happening and many of us know the heartbreak of friends and relatives that have been impacted by extreme, sudden events. We all pay a heavy price for this accumulated damage.

The big picture:

  • Costs – “Burning fossil fuels cause[s] around $500 billion in losses every year– from property damage to government spending on recovery, construction-surge inflation, and power outages.”*
  • Solutions – Saving the planet is now more cost effective – “Every $1 invested in resilient infrastructure can yield $4 in benefits. Getting to net zero is a more than $12 trillion business.” *

The local picture:

These costs and solutions trickle down to each of us in our homes.

  • The costs impact our taxes, insurance premiums, and many goods and services.
  • The solutions can help us save money and time while doing what’s right for the planet. According to Energize CT, over 1,000 households in Middletown have participated in the Home Energy Solutions (HES) program (2001-Oct.2024), With over 20,000 households in Middletown and Portland, there is an enormous opportunity to use this program more fully.

While we can’t control what happens at a national level, each of us can make an impact by taking action in our lives for a healthier community.

Continue reading →

Moving Toward The Jonah Center’s Future

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A Message from Krishna Winston, Jonah Center Board President

As a Jonah Center follower and, we hope, supporter, you may have noticed two things.

First, our advocacy and work on behalf of the natural and human environment has grown wider and deeper over the years. Tree-planting, sidewalk improvements, planning and construction of multi-use trails, home energy efficiency, climate action, removal of invasive aquatic plants, litter cleanup, and waste reduction have all been significant areas of effort. Add to that John Hall’s leadership in keeping track of and intervening to affect legislation, policy, and action—or lack thereof—locally and at the state level, and the myriad tasks involved in administering a non-profit organization of any size.

Second, in 2024 the Jonah Center celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The Center has gained an enviable reputation as a responsible, engaged, and effective representative of multiple environmental interests. Our founder, John Hall, now admits to being twenty-one years older than he was when, at the age of 56, he got us started on this venture. The scope and complexity of the Jonah Center’s work has grown primarily as a result of his indefatigable volunteer labor over the years, and he recognizes that the time has come for him to begin stepping back and turning the burdens—and the rewards—over to leaders who will be appropriately remunerated for maintaining the organization’s momentum.

Recognizing these realities, the Jonah Center applied for and received from the City of Middletown a Community Development Block Grant of nearly $25,000 that will fund two part-time employees from January through August of this year. We are seeking funds to take us beyond this initial period. John Hall remains very much involved as we make the transition to a new phase in the life of the Jonah Center,

The Jonah Center  Board of Directors has hired John Shafer as Associate Director, and Kristen Colombo as Community Organizer and Advocate. We are very excited about the skills, experience, and enthusiasm they bring to our organization. Continue reading →