Hello friends,

Firstly congratulations and condolences to the Dems who ran such hard-fought races through the Primary last night. While of course we celebrate the winners and their campaigns, the Democratic party as a whole won yesterday because we showed that we can wage vigorous campaigns for the top spots and be united on the other side.  We have an extraordinarily strong ticket going into the fall and are looking forward to working with folks in the 3^rd CD to win Democratic seats across the board.

Meantime, it was a very busy week for Rosa as she returned from Washington for the beginning of the August break:

Rosa hosts Round-Table Discussion on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in West Haven

On Monday Rosa hosted a round-table discussion on providing better mental health access and care to our service-members and veterans with a special focus on Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Folks taking part in the discussion included the Deputy Commissioner of Department of Veterans Affairs for CT John Wiltse, Director of Psychological Health for the CT National Guard Kathleen Saucier, Michael Sernyak, MD and CEO of the Connecticut Mental Health Center, and Professor John Krystal, from the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine who is one of the nation’s leading investigators on the neurobiology and psychopharmacology of PTSD.

PTSD can affect up to 30 percent of Vietnam veterans, 6-11 percent of veterans of the Afghanistan war, and about 12- 20 percent of veterans of the Iraq war. Rosa was interested to hear from those involved about how to improve veterans’ access to care for this illness, best practices and cutting-edge research to improve treatment and how best to support programs that will facilitate such care for Connecticut families.

Communication Workers of America hold a BBQ Saturday to Honor Rosa

Saturday Rosa was honored to attend a barbecue that the CWA local in Hamden held to honor her. Many friends were there from union members to political candidates; Rosa spoke movingly of the sudden loss of great friend Brian Petronella the night before, and of the tragic deaths of the teamsters members earlier in the week in Manchester.  Rosa also was granted honorary membership in the CWA and was presented with her own union card!

Rosa Gets a Union Card from CWA

Rosa Introduces Manufacturing Legislation in Milford

On Friday, Rosa announced her new bill, the Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act of 2010, which addresses the need for new policy solutions to support manufacturing businesses, particularly small manufacturing firms, in order for them to thrive in our economy.  The Manufacturing Reinvestment Account Act of 2010 would enable manufacturing businesses to establish a manufacturing reinvestment account (MRA), similar to an individual retirement account (IRA) to be used for purchasing equipment and facilities, job training, and workforce development.

Rosa announced the bill at Orange Research, Inc. in Milford, a company recognized here and internationally as an innovative manufacturer, and whose employee, Hugh McCann, came up with the initial idea for this type of account. Orange Research makes a range of instruments used by factories, oil refineries, and energy plants across the country and indeed around the world.

Rosa Visits the Massaro Community Farm in Woodbridge

Friday afternoon, Rosa visited the Massaro Community Farm to discuss how the farm is benefiting the local community.

The Massaro Farm is run as a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the surrounding communities with the opportunity to purchase healthful, organic, and locally grown vegetables, fruits, and farm goods. They seek not only to provide our local residents with these agricultural products, but to educate the community,  specially schoolchildren, about smart and local food choices, to donate organic food to soup kitchens and senior centers, and to keep the tradition of local farming alive with new and innovative organic farming methods and energy efficient practices

Rosa Tours Green Energy Plant in North Haven

On Thursday, Rosa visited Precision Combustion in North Haven to learn about the innovative technologies being developed there and to discuss how current legislation proposed by Congress is being designed to put the United States on a path to energy independence, strengthen our national security, boost the economy and job growth, lower fuel prices, and address the issue of global warming.  It’s become clear that when we focus on clean energy technologies such as those developed by Precision Combustion, we are investing in our nation’s future on all these fronts.

“We used to be known as a nation of innovators and we need to become one again,” said Rosa as she toured the facility.

Precision Combustion is a small business that uses clean energy technology to develop and manufacture devices for use in the chemical, energy, aerospace, fossil fuel production and transportation industries. Their industry-leading technology is focused on catalytic reactors, devices which are used to cause chemical reactions between fluids and useful in a variety of applications, including engines. Their ground-breaking work has earned them the highly competitive 2010 Army Small Business Innovation Research Achievement Award.

Rosa Calls for Marine One to return to Sikorsky in Stratford

Later that day Rosa visited Sikorsky Aircraft’s plant in Stratford. She spoke with workers there, toured the factory and discussed the National Defense Authorization Act passed earlier by the House and the American jobs it will both sustain and create. In addition to  providing our brave men and women in uniform with the tools they need to do their jobs while ensuring both they and their families are supported, the bill also authorized several projects and over 100 Sikorsky aircraft for the Army and Navy, totaling over $3.5 billion in federal investments.

In recent weeks, Sikorsky has introduced an electric helicopter called “Project Firefly.” While still a demonstrator, this revolutionary new aircraft is on the cutting edge of green technology and represents the future of aviation. Additionally, the new Sikorsky X2 Technology(tm) Demonstrator recently set an unofficial speed record for rotorcraft, reaching a top speed of 225 knots, nearly 50 knots faster than a traditional helicopter.

Rosa also called for the Presidential fleet of helicopters to be manufactured back at Sikorsky, where it had been until 5 years ago. Recently the contract came up for bid again.  “I will be pushing as hard as I can so that once more that presidential helicopter will be built right here in Stratford, Connecticut.. That is our legacy and they are not going to take it away from us.”

Rosa visits friends in Milford

On Friday, Rosa went to Fowler’s Field in Milford where the Fire Department cooked up some dogs and burgers and Vinnie Carr and his band played for the crowd.  Rosa couldn’t help but get out on to the dance floor…go to our photo album on Facebook..

That’s it for now…stay tuned! Thanks also to those of you who have signed up to volunteer in recent days…we will be in touch with you as September begins to let you know how you can help Rosa!

Thanks again and see you out in the field!

–Chuck