Immigration Issues Panel Forum

A forum on immigration issues will be held Saturday, May 2, at Housatonic Community College.

Sponsored by HCC and the West Indian American Association of Greater Bridgeport (WIAAGB), the forum will feature a panel discussion geared towards answering audience questions about immigration issues.

The panel includes Linda Murray, director of immigration services at the International Institute of Connecticut; immigration attorney Robert Maresca of Bridgeport; attorney Margaret Jordan-Addo of Hartford and Middletown, and attorney Rahul Chakravartty of Bridgeport.

The event, to be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Rooms A101a and A101b in Lafayette Hall, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The college is located at 900 Lafayette Blvd., less than 150 yards off I-95 (Exit 27) and Rte. 8 (Exit 1) in downtown Bridgeport, one block from the Arena at Harbor Yard.

Raw Milk, Pro And Con, Where To Find

“The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage.”
- Thucydides

Many people have never even touched a cow or even seen one being milked. So the current controversy in Connecticut over raw milk legislation goes largely unknown by an urban population.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture is sponsoring a bill (see details of Bill No. 6313 here) presented to the legislature in 2009 which would ban the sale of raw milk in retail stores in Connecticut and/or require extensive additional milk testing at the licensed producers' expense.

In 2008, a young boy who consumed raw milk became ill due to e-coli bacteria tainted milk and spent 16 days in the hospital. The rare occurance raised concerns that the general public may choose to purchase raw milk over pasteurized products. The aim is to include a label about the potential risks of raw milk.

It all boils down to choice. Using a cell telephone is illegal while driving a motor vehicle - that moving metal box may impact public health. Peanut butter that was improperly handled by direction of a large company's management is in the news daily. Mortgage loans based on unsound finances were choices made by business, and results are rippling across the economy.

Don't want raw milk? Don't buy it. To make up your own mind on pros and cons of raw versus processed milk, see this link.

Raw milk producers in Connecticut are listed at www.realmilk.com.

F. Philip Prelli, the state's agriculture commissioner, said the agency has made changes to an early version of the bill that include require the state to pick up the tab and oblige farms to cover the cost of testing if there's an outbreak.

Sales of raw milk are legal in 28 out of 50 U.S. states, according to A Campaign for Real Milk, a project of The Weston A. Price Foundation of Washington D.C. "If you include the states which permit the sale of raw milk for animal consumption (implying that human consumption is feasible) then the total is 33 out of 50 states, which is two-thirds. In some of the remaining states (such as Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin) raw milk is available through cow share programs."

In Connecticut, raw milk sales are legal on the farm and in retail stores. In order to operate legally, farmers must obtain producer permits and raw milk retailer permits from the State Agriculture Commissioner. Additionally, they must obtain a milk dealer license from the public health board of the town or city where their farms are located.

The state Milk Regulation Board has issued a regulation on the quality standards for retail raw milk. The state does not charge any fees for the testing required to ensure the quality of the milk. Notwithstanding the quality standard regulation, towns and cities have the power to ban the sale of retail raw milk. At the present time, only two towns have done so.

State representative's direct contact information can be found at http://www.house.gov/writerep/ - and refer to Raised Bill No. 6313, An Act Concerning Raw Milk.