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By Kerri Provost, March 27, 2013 10:09 am

Part of a coloring/activity book made available to Seder participants. Bad coloring technique, all mine.

One block over the line in West Hartford, Congregation Beth Israel’s presence announces itself much like the Unitarian Society of Hartford and the Cathedral of Saint Joseph do. There’s no quietly blending in with the neighborhood; no way to pass without noticing.

Before the synagogue was here, it was in Hartford. The structure did not move, just the congregation. The original Congregation Beth Israel congregation worshiped at the former North Baptist Church, located at 942 Main Street. After twenty years in that spot, the community moved into a building constructed as a synagogue — Connecticut’s oldest one, actually — and remained there on 21 Charter Oak Avenue until 1936.

As Hartford’s Jewish community moved to the suburbs, the synagogues, one-by-one, followed.

Now, Congregation Beth Israel is the second notable establishment on Farmington Avenue (first, Tangiers) to greet folks as they venture into West Hartford.

Our two most recent visits fall into the category of “special events” rather than that of “routine service,” but no matter. Over the years we have been to CBI for regular services, special events, and going farther back, Music Together.

Many places of worship in this area seem to have embraced the obnoxious trend of bolting front doors, having everyone enter through a door closest to the parking lot. Thankfully, CBI breaks from this by admitting visitors through both the parking lot door and that which faces of main avenue. If the door is locked, ring the bell. “Security measures” seem drastic, but antisemitism is a thing. I’ve personally never had any trouble getting buzzed in.

This is possibly the least flattering view of Congregation Beth Israel, but it’s what you see if entering from the parking lot. The better view is from Farmington Avenue.

Inside, there is a long hall with plenty of doors to choose from. Services have been held in the sanctuary, chapel, and a courtyard outside. For special events, it might not be immediately obvious where to go, since there’s likely lots of activity including children zooming around. Look for a sign or ask.

The restrooms are near the large coatroom.

Visiting a new place can create some anxieties for those who don’t want to stand out as the person doing everything wrong. So, here goes:

CBI asks people to dress respectfully, but I have seen every variation on an outfit show up, from suits to micro mini skirts with Uggs. The latter will get you talked about, but not thrown out. One step up from jeans is always a safe bet.

Nobody is forced to wear a yarmulke. For services, most men do wear them, but this is a Reform synagogue. In other words, there is a lot of tolerance about personal choices. A basket of kippot are near the entrance for anyone — male or female — who chooses to participate in this custom.

Men and women sit together, in case you were wondering.

So, back in February, on one of those cold days that came with a bonus side of drizzle, we headed to CBI for the annual Purim Schpiel. The serious message of Purim is to embrace one’s (Jewish) identity, but mostly, it’s a day for costumes, drinking, eating Hamantaschen, and in this case, watching a campy play.

Friends had been raving about the “new rabbi.” After some prodding I learned that for some this meant the Senior Rabbi, and for others, the Assistant Rabbi. Both are on the younger side. The Assistant Rabbi is a woman.

There have definitely been changes. Continue reading 'Hartford Pew Review: Congregation Beth Israel'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 27, 2013 8:55 pm

March 1

• Dr. Mary Washington will be giving a lecture on Intersectionality and the Reconstruction of Identity and Social Action at the University of Hartford. This will take place at 1:30pm in Regents Commons, located within the Shaw Center of Hillyer. This is free and open to the public. Continue reading 'March 2013 Events'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 14, 2013 5:49 pm

Hartford is no stranger to actions opposing violence, whether that violence is found in Iraq, a suburban town along the New York border, our streets, or in our homes.

Still, the different causes do not typically spill into one another as seamlessly as they did today, with the March for Change directly preceding One Billion Rising.

The March for Change marked two months since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Among those calling for safer gun laws was actor Christine Baranski, who told the 5,500 activists, “even if you have a gun to defend your home or for sport, thanks for supporting commonsense changes.”

Continue reading '“The New, Not-So-Quiet Majority”'»

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By Kerri Provost, January 28, 2013 4:00 pm

For those just tuning in, every month Real Hartford creates a calendar of events happening in the city. This is not intended to be all-inclusive– you’ll note the absence of “Ladies Nite” events. Continue reading 'February 2013 Events'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 16, 2012 5:23 pm

Candles remaining from Friday evening's vigil in Bushnell Park.

Continue reading 'Hartford Mourns with Newtown'»

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By Kerri Provost, October 11, 2012 8:25 am

One street is already closed, with many others to join it on Saturday. The Hartford Police Department’s Traffic Division has released a full listing of all planned closures in Hartford and surrounding towns, along with detour and access routes. Bus routes will also be impacted.

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By Kerri Provost, May 21, 2012 12:17 pm

Bike to Work 2012

Simsbury has had no trouble branding itself: village charm and bicycles. They have infrastructure to support cyclists. Most notable is the visibility of teenage girls on bikes; this is usually the time of life when many females stop participating in physical activities. All of this is great for Simsbury, but recent developments in Hartford may give the little town some competition for the title of the only Bicycle Friendly Community in Connecticut– maybe not this year or next, but soon.

Improvements to bike infrastructure were written into One City, One Plan — Hartford’s Plan of Conservation and Development. These improvements include providing of parking facilities; connection of neigbhorhoods to parks, shopping, and employment; and investment in “bike lanes, wide shoulders, wide outside lanes, and multi-use trails.” The POCD through 2020 also focuses on complete streets and reducing the dependency on single occupancy vehicles.

Next to the $5 million appropriated for the iQuilt plan in the fiscal year 2012-13 budget, $300,000 for citywide bike lanes is nothing. For FY 2011-2012, $50,000 had been appropriated for lanes. Continue reading 'Stealing Simsbury’s Thunder?'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 19, 2012 11:22 am

Miguel Cardona, Susan Marks (Superintendent of Norwalk Public Schools), and Gary Highsmith (left to right)

“We have a bad way of looking at things, that what gets tested is what gets taught,” Gary Highsmith, said at an education forum on Thursday. Highsmith is the Principal of Hamden High School, where he said students are taught things that are not tested, such as arts and music.

At a forum about inclusive housing policy and its impact on education, it seemed both incongruous and inevitable that the conversation would include the buzzwords of reform and accountability.

The forum — “Connecticut’s Achievement Gap: How Housing Can Help Close It” — held at the Lyceum explored the philosophy of housing policy as school policy, focusing on “Montgomery County,” a single example.

An inclusionary zoning policy — mixing housing affordable to those at different income levels — was adopted in Maryland’s Montgomery County (suburb of Washington, D.C.) in 1974. Heather Schwartz, a policy researcher with the RAND Corporation, conducted a longitudinal study from 2001-2007 of students in public housing who attended schools with very low-to-moderate poverty rates and those who attended schools with a moderate-rate of students living in poverty. Additionally, the moderate-level poverty schools received more resources, enabling smaller classes and more academic supports. The study found that while students in public housing at both types of schools scored about evenly for the first few years, students attending the schools with a low-to-moderate poverty level outscored their peers eventually. Students were placed randomly in these schools, taking out the option for more involved parents to steer their children into the “better” schools.

This study — and the speakers at the forum — failed to address some variables. Continue reading 'Student Transiency and Concentration of Poverty Tied to Academic Success'»

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By Kerri Provost, June 1, 2011 2:36 pm

Lack of imagination is what creates limitations for people. We observe this in folks who see cities as mere expanses of concrete and asphalt. These are the ones who have trouble viewing anything as a success if it lacks the structure of the standard suburban shopping mall surrounded by a sea of parking spaces; predictably, this vision, this type of American Dream, is held onto most tightly by those who spend very little time in cities.They are also the ones who are surprised, if not in out-and-out denial, by the news that urban dwellers can garden. Some people have backyards that can compete with most in West Hartford, Wethersfield, or Newington. Others, like myself, have smaller yards. I like to think of mine as comparable to the “fun size” candy bars– enough to satisfy, but not so much that I feel gross when I’m done with it. Some only have windowsills or balconies to work from, though a way around this is to rent space for something like $25 per year in a community garden. At $25, without needing to fork over anything for property tax or water bills, this is a bargain. After establishing what space one will have, the next step is to plan for how it should look and where you will get your plants from. Phase one and two should probably take up most of your time, but if you are new to an area or just new to gardening, you might be just as lost about phase three (phase four, of course, is planting the goods and then maintaining them). Here is a review of some places in the area to obtain materials for the garden/yard/windowsill.

The Criteria:

• convenience of location: is this in a residential part of Hartford, another part of Hartford, out of town, on a bus line, or way out in the sticks?
• convenience of hours: does this vendor hold normal business hours, times geared toward morning people, or are they open when the planets are all aligned and the moon is in Venus?
• ambiance: no frills? warehouse? an oasis of inspiration? Is this a place that you would visit to linger, even when not seeking to purchase plants? Is this a destination or a quick stop?
• cost: dirt cheap or do they inflate the price of potting soil?
• the goods: obviously, all the above criteria doesn’t matter if the vendor does not have what you need. Is there a wide variety of plants, or just the standards? Are the plants healthy? What do they have besides plants?
• eco cred: selling plants does not automatically earn a person green cred. Are all or even some plants organically grown? Does this vendor use or sell lawn poison? Do they recycle? Do they use earth-friendly pots?

The Contenders: Continue reading 'A Guide to Getting What You Need for Growing Your Own'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 13, 2011 1:57 pm

Kraus (left) and Roberts (right)

To frame anything in terms of war is to approach the situation with a failing strategy. We see this with actual wars, where the outcome is destruction, injury, rape, and death; the economy might get a temporary boost and the “winners” gain results through coercion. Look at the “War on Terrorism.” People and places are being destroyed, but is anything being done to address ideologies of terrorism? Has LBJ’s “War on Poverty” done anything to change the conditions in this country which create poverty? As with all the others, the “War on Drugs” resembles actual wars — lots of casualties, with only a handful of people experiencing real gains.

So, as leadership is stepping away from the decades’ old approach, why are decriminalization discussions still using the outmoded terminology? How we frame any issue is going to color our preconceived notions walking into a discussion;  when I first saw the title of Friday morning’s community dialogue — “The Drug War: Is it time to change strategies?” — at the Mark Twain House and Museum, I had to wonder why this language was still being used, as a shift in strategies has already begun. A quick look at national policy shows a hierarchy of prevention, intervention, and recovery above incarceration. That’s on the  federal level, though. Is any of this trickling down to local efforts to deal with a very real drug problem?

I’m not alone. During the question and response period of the Key Issues Forum, an audience member said that the “terminology is wrong,” citing the same examples as provided above. This man spoke about his experience growing up in a neighborhood where much of the drug trade sprang out of  “middle class values with welfare money.” He said that selling drugs was not about being broke, but due to “self-esteem,” and wanting a certain type of lifestyle. If we talk about this in terms of war, then we would essentially need to declare war  on the culture of conspicuous consumption which has become synonymous with “American lifestyle.” Anyone about to do that is going to get slapped with the label of “socialist.”

Another member of the audience spoke about her child’s addiction. This woman said she was from suburbia. Her child was raised by two parents and was taught to not use drugs, yet the adult child is recovering. How is some declaration of war going to look in this case? Are we going to fight middle class, suburban families?

The terminology is ludicrous.

Jack Cole

For 2011, as of publication, over $15 billion in federal and state dollars have been spent on the so-called drug war; in the past forty years, the expenditure has been over $1.5 trillion. As consumers, we expect something in return when we spend money. According to Jack Cole, a retired officer who spent much of his career undercover in narcotics, the national drug policy has purchased no positive results. Cole — on whom one of the main characters of Flipside is based –  gave a presentation this morning in which he noted that the only statistic to remain the same before drugs were illegal, at the start of the “drug war,” and now, is that of addiction: 1.3% of the population. The percentage of those struggling with addiction may not have changed, but how addiction is being managed is not entirely positive. Mark Friedlander,M.D., Aetna’s Senior Medical Director, said that there is a divide in how people respond to substance abuse treatment; those over 25 have more success, where those under 25 do not respond as well to traditional treatments. Panelist Mark L. Kraus, M.D., described addiction as a “biopsychosocial disease” which is “progressive” and “in most cases will cause premature death.” Cole, of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), echoed this, saying that the organization wants “to treat this as a health problem.”

So, if locking up thousands of people every year has not done anything to reduce the amount of people whose lives are destroyed by addiction, what is there to do? Continue reading 'We’re Still Calling it a War?'»