
The 2024 UI Trade Interns join UWUA members/UI line crew, including Moses Rams (center) at the Trumbull Training Yard in July 2024.
United Illuminating
The 2024 UI Trade Interns join UWUA members/UI line crew, including Moses Rams (center) at the Trumbull Training Yard in July 2024.
As the 21-year president of the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 470-1 and a 35-year veteran of United Illuminating, developing the current and future front-line union workforce of Connecticut’s utility companies is one of my most important priorities.
As Connecticut relies even more on the electric grid for everyday uses, developing a front-line workforce that is up to the task of maintaining it, executing plans to improve it, and restoring our customers quickly during its outages is becoming even more essential. That requires us to identify young people, including students, who can succeed in this critical field. By identifying them early, we can ensure they get the very best hands-on training and internships to set them up for success.
That’s why UWUA Local 470-1, United Illuminating (UI), and UI’s parent company Avangrid are proud to have partnered to build one of the first internship programs in the country that develops the skills of high school students to succeed as future front-line utility workers. Through this work, we’re doing more than investing in the future of Connecticut’s energy system. We’re also doing the real work of equity, leveling the playing field so all the communities we serve have an opportunity to build a stable, rewarding career path at an electric utility.
The internship program that UWUA, UI, and Avangrid have now unveiled in its second year offers a 10-week paid internship for rising seniors who attend trade high schools in UI’s local service area. It’s an on-the-ground training program in utility lineworking, where members of UI’s line crew teach students how to climb poles, use lineworking equipment, operate a bucket truck, identify solutions to power outages, and much more, all with safety top of mind.
Our team spent much of this past school year visiting trade high schools across the UI service area and recruiting students for the program. No matter if we were at Bullard Havens in Bridgeport, Emmett O’Brien in Ansonia, Eli Whitney in Hamden, or somewhere else, it was clear students were hungry for the opportunity we were presenting.
In a culture where college is often the first — or even the only — choice presented to high school students, we’re offering another path for the ones who may be better suited for a career in the trades.
Was building this program a simple process? No. It took several years of planning between UWUA, UI, and Avangrid to bring the trade internship program to life. It took hours of collaboration, brainstorming, time-intensive meetings, and presentations to all our leaders before there was complete confidence that a real, effective, hands-on training program for 17- and 18-year-olds could be done safely.
But as we continue to push onward with our second year of this program, and as we are now considering even more opportunities with other schools and organizations to teach our essential skills to the next generation, I can say one thing with certainty: it’s worth it.
In a culture where college is often the first — or even the only — choice presented to high school students, we’re offering another path for the ones who may be better suited for a career in the trades.
We don’t care where those students grew up, what they look like, or what language they speak at home. Come to the UI Yard any morning of the week, and you’ll see diversity in action, as all of us — men, women, Black, white, Hispanic, you name it — get ready to get the job done for our customers. This internship program shows young people first-hand that no matter who they are, they’re just like us, and they have a chance to build a tremendously bright future for themselves and their families. That’s leveling the playing field. That’s equity.
And while it’s certainly a benefit to students, it’s a great opportunity for all of us, too. After all, the team of lineworkers who supervise them, as their role models, are encouraged and inspired to be the best versions of themselves, and company management can demonstrate to all their stakeholders, including Connecticut policymakers, that we at Avangrid and UI are fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I’d also add that it’s a boon for Connecticut, which reaps the reward of having a local union workforce trained up in a 125-year-old company based in and serving our state.
State policymakers can be an asset and resource to build incentives for more businesses to say “yes” to the important work of building equity through hands-on internship programs. One thing’s for certain, it will be a team effort: neither government, nor unions, nor businesses can do this work alone. But the example we’ve set in south-central Connecticut shows that a little partnership and a lot of hard work can go a long way as we build the front-line union workforce of tomorrow.
Moses Rams is the President of the Utility Workers Union of America Local 470-1 and the Chief Line Crew Leader at United Illuminating (UI).
HVRHS sophomore Wyatt Bayer will suit up for the Mountaineers' varsity baseball team.
FALLS VILLAGE — With the arrival of warm weather, so too comes a new season of athletics at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
The Mountaineers will field teams in five different sports for the spring season: baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis and track and field.
Baseball gets the varsity season started with a scrimmage March 31 at home against Wolcott Technical High School. The Mountaineers will be coached by Bobby Chatfield this year. The last time most HVRHS varsity players took to the diamond was in August 2024 when Housy Juniors won the Babe Ruth League District 4 Northwest Connecticut summer baseball championship.
With a surplus of baseball players this year, junior varsity baseball returns to HVRHS. The JV boys, coached by Russell Sears, will get the season started April 5 on the road against Shepaug Valley High School.
Softball starts April 5 as well with a home game against Shepaug Valley. Coaches Pete Foley and Kaleigh Selino led the team to a 13-9 record and a trip to the Class S tournament last year. The Mountaineers will need to establish a new hurler on the mound after graduating star pitcher Anne Moran in 2024.
Boys and girls tennis begins April 7. The boys, coached by Jeff Tripp, will travel to Lakeview High School for the first meet of the season. At the same time, the girls, coached by Don Drislane and Mo Kirby-Dore, host Lakeview on the newly refinished courts at HVRHS.
The lacrosse season begins with a rematch of last year’s Western Connecticut Lacrosse Conference girls championship game. HVRHS, coached by Laura Bushey, will travel to play the reigning champs St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol April 9. St. Paul defeated HVRHS 13-12 in a riveting league final last May.
Track and field is set to start April 22 with a home meet against Lakeview High School. HVRHS, coached by Alan Lovejoy, has a number of decorated athletes returning to the track this year including Kyle McCarron, Ava Segalla and Anthony Labbadia, each of whom competed in the CIAC State Open meet last June. Many more returning runners and jumpers gained state-level experience last year at the CIAC Class S meet in May.
Fans of fine art filed into the Sharon Historical Society’s gallery on Saturday, March 15, for the opening reception of student works from the Northlight Art Center in Amenia, New York.
Northlight was founded in Sharon by Pieter Lefferts in 2010 and later moved to Amenia. This is the 14th year of the annual student exhibit.
“It’s an invitation for people who may never have thought that they might be included in an art exhibit,” said Lefferts about the show that includes 34 works created by a dozen artists. Lefferts added that visitors will see a range of abilities and individual expression.
“I like to draw out innate expression,” Lefferts said. Lefferts said there were 34 pieces as he had hung them all the day before.
Several works on display were inspired by local subjects. For example, Kathleen Kulig’s “Grand Dame of the Orchard” depicts an actual old apple tree found at a friend’s home.
“I’ve actually picked apples from that tree,” Kulig said.
Kathleen Kulig with her “Grand Dame of the Orchard” painting.Leila Hawken
Artist Cathleen Halloran’s acrylic on paper painting titled “Eleven Eleven” is a loving remembrance of her dog, Maddie, whose death was imminent as Halloran created the painting, an expression of her subject’s magnificent spirit.
Variety is evident in artists’ ages, mediums, experience and subject matter.
“It’s always a pleasure to see how the artists grow every year, a fascinating variety,” said Historical Society President Chris Robinson as he dished out the wine and other beverages in the reception area.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the historical society, although not all works are for sale. The exhibit will be open until Friday, May 9, during historical society hours. For additional information, go to www.sharonhist.org.
Coinciding with the gallery show, the Sharon Historical Society’s current exhibit is worth a visit. Titled “Family Collections,” the exhibit shows collective Sharon memories found in the artifacts left by ancestors, remembered now in part by what they left behind. Each is a clue to the town’s historic past, spanning two centuries.
Tess Marks as Little Sally and Jackson Olson as Officer Lockstock in the Housatonic Musical Theatre Society production of "Urinetown."
Last week’s Housatonic Musical Theatre Society production of “Urinetown” featured strong performances and superb choreography.
The remodeled auditorium at Housatonic Valley Regional High School made a big difference as well. New seats were a welcome addition, and the increased technical capability meant that the show was flawless from a production point of view.
The difference was so noticeable that director Christiane Olson thanked the taxpayers of Region One for supporting the recent school improvements project in brief remarks before the start of the matinee performance Saturday, March 15.
Katelin Lopes and Andy Delgado were powerful as the star-crossed lovers Hope Cladwell and Bobby Strong.
Jackson Olson got a lot of laughs with his deadpan take on Officer Lockstock, often in tandem with Tess Marks’ wide-eyed Little Sally.
The entire cast hit all the right buttons, not the easiest thing to do with a show that contains multiple layers of satire.
The orchestra, led by Tom Krupa, was rock solid.
And Amber Cameron’s choreography was seamless. The cast looked like they’d been dancing together all their lives.
Race Brook Lodge
Tucked away on Under Mountain Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts, The Stagecoach Tavern dates back to the mid-18th century and offers fine dining in an enchanted setting. It also serves as the portal into the Race Brook Lodge, which harbors unique spaces for entertainment, lodging and wellness.
Intimate outdoor gathering areas are illuminated by strings of lights. A cluster of mid-century bungalows can be rented by guests who come to spend the weekend and attend concerts and retreats, which typically take place in the barns farther back in the woods.
This magical vision springs from the mind of David Rothstein, who purchased the property in pieces between 1990 and 2000, a continuation of his idea to create a place where like-minded people can congregate to enjoy cultural happenings in an idyllic setting.
Before acquiring the Race Brook Lodge, Rothstein, now 90, managed The Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, the premier outdoor music venue in the Berkshires during the 1970s, which he purchased with his former wife, Nancy Fitzpatrick, whose family owned the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge.
In its heyday from 1970 to 1979, The Music Inn featured a who’s who of iconic performers of the era like Ike & Tina Turner, B.B. King, James Taylor, Muddy Waters, The Byrds, Ravi Shankar, Joan Baez, Van Morrison, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, The Eagles, Lou Reed, Bonnie Raitt, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Cliff, Toots & The Maytals and The Allman Brothers.
“Music Inn was the last outpost of the counterculture, which had evolved as a result of the groundbreaking evolution of jazz as the first integrated music genre that ultimately paved the way for Rock ‘n Roll,” Rothstein said.
Race Brook barn at nightLety Marcos
This history goes even deeper. Prior to the Music Inn, the buildings were known as the Berkshire Music Barn, and featured performers like Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Mahalia Jackson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, Thelonious Monk and the Modern Jazz Quartet. The property also featured The Lenox School of Jazz, The Lenox Arts Center, Toad Hall Moviehouse, and The Great Riot Alley Memorial.
As a student of modernist architect Louis Khan, Rothstein absorbed Khan’s ideas of “open frame” or a space without barriers. It’s a concept he used at the Music Inn that carries on at Race Brook.
Race Brook’s music programmer, Alex Harvey recalls how he came to do a retreat with Qi Gong master Thomas Drodge and noticed a Louis Khan poster on the wall. He spent a morning and afternoon talking with Rothstein about art, performance and community in a way he’d been dreaming about for a long time.
“When I saw the poster, I asked David about it. He told me that he was one of Khan’s assistants, and he actually drafted some of the buildings I’d studied. So, before I knew he had the Music Inn, he was a superstar to me,” Harvey said.
Harvey also met the current proprietor Casey Fitzpatrick — David and Nancy’s son — and the two hit it off, realizing they shared a common interest in global music. Armed with a deep Rolodex, thanks to his many years as a performer and ethnomusicologist, Harvey soon began programming shows at Race Brook.
When booking, Harvey looks for artists who can offer something beyond the typical performance.
“We had Alash, who are one of the more renowned Tuvan throat singing ensembles,” Harvey said. “With their energy, they change the weather of the room. It’s a participatory feeling. I loved reading the reactions online; was it a concert or a ritual? That’s what we’re interested in.”
“We have Beausoleil coming up on April 5. When they start playing, you feel transported to a hooch house in Eunice, Louisiana. They create a sense of place, and that’s what really excites me,” he added.
Sunder Ashni singing at Dia de los Muertos.Lety Marcos
There are regularly scheduled programs, like Jazz brunches every Sunday, and at times Race Brook Lodge is open to other groups who book shows like the recent “Almost Spring Weekender” a DJ’d house party produced by Edo Moore.
Ideally, Harvey books fully immersive weekends with music, workshops, and enjoyment of the spaces, whether hiking nearby trails or inside the barns.
“One of my favorites is the Dia de los Muertos weekend which has an open mic to the dead,” Harvey said. “It’s art as a form of medicine and healing. It’s kind of like Brooklyn Academy of Music meets Esselin.”
For elevated musical and wellness experiences in an idyllic Berkshire setting, Race Brook Lodge offers something for everyone. See their site for information on all that they offer: rblodge.com