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Talking Transportation: Next Stop Penn Station?

February 14, 2012 By Jim Cameron

There’s discussion again about bringing some Metro-North trains directly from Connecticut into New York City’s Penn Station. But will it happen?

As with many good ideas that seem so easy, this one also has been studied thoroughly and found to be problematic in a number of respects. Governor Rell floated the idea in 2007 but it went nowhere, aside from an experiment by NJ Transit to run trains from New Haven to the Meadowlands.

Here are the reasons that daily commuter service isn’t yet possible:

INADEQUATE EQUIPMENT: As any commuter on Metro-North can tell you, we don’t have enough seats for existing service to Grand Central let alone expansion to new stations. It’s standing room only in rush hour and on weekends.

ELECTRICITY: Our existing fleet of MU cars cannot take a left turn at New Rochelle and head over the Hells Gate Bridge onto Long Island, then hang a right, in through the tunnels into Penn Station. The old cars’ overhead power catenary system operates under a different voltage than Amtrak. And in third rail territory on Long Island, even our new M8 cars use a different kind of shoe to contact the third-rail power source. The 2009 experimental direct train from Connecticut to Giants Stadium in New Jersey was actually run with New Jersey transit railroad equipment which was only available because it was on weekends.

CAPACITY: Even if we had the cars with the right electrical equipment to make it over the Hells Gate Bridge and through the tunnels to Penn Station, there’s no room in the station… that the station is full-up serving Amtrak, the Long Island Railroad and NJ transit. If and when the $6.3 billion East Side Access project bringing some Long Island Railroad trains into Grand Central is completed (many years from now), says the MTA, there might be room for Metro-North trains to access Penn Station.

CUT LIRR SERVICE? Recently the MTA has hinted they might run some Metro-North trains into Penn Station, but it would have to cut Long Island RR service. You can imagine the push-back that got, pitting one set of commuters against another. (See more on our Facebook page).

Whatever the decision, it won’t be made by us here in Connecticut. Once again, Connecticut is being told by the New York MTA what our transportation future will be. Connecticut still has no say in the matter… not even a voting seat at the table, either on the MTA or the Metro-North boards.

Connecticut may be the MTA’s largest customer, hired by CDOT to operate Metro-North trains in our state, but when it comes to important decisions, like expanding rail service to Penn Station, the MTA is clearly in control.

Years ago Governor Rell acknowledged the inequity in this position, and promised to fight for a seat on the MTA board. But nothing happened. Nor has Governor Malloy said anything about this unfairness.

So, just why is a New York agency still in charge of Connecticut’s transportation future?

JIM CAMERON has been a Darien resident for 21 years. He is Chairman of the Metro-North Commuter Council, a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM, but the opinions expressed here are only his own. You can reach him at CTRailCommuterCouncil@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct

Filed Under: News, Transportation

Talking Transportation – Congress Tells Commuters…“Drop Dead”

January 16, 2012 By Jim Cameron

Jim Cameron - Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council

Back in 1975 when New York City was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, then- President Ford declined to offer help and the NY Daily News’ headlinescreamed “Ford to City: Drop Dead”.

Well, last month the US Congress said about the same thing to us users of mass transit. In their quagmire of inaction, bickering and partisanship, they let expire an important tax benefit to commuters: whether you drove or took mass transit, you used to be able to spend up to $230 a month in pre-tax dollars to fund your commute. But by not acting to extend the law, that benefit dropped to $125 a month for riders of mass transit but increased to $240 a month for drivers’ parking expenses.

What? Commuters who ride the train / bus /subway get screwed but drivers get a benefits hike? Yes, friends, it’s all true and you have Congress to thank.

This isn’t a red-state / blue-state issue. I see it as a “gray state” victory, the gray states being those paved with asphalt that have scorned mass transit. Meanwhile, big city riders of the rails get penalized.

There’s something egalitarian about mass transit… millionaires riding in the same smelly Metro-North cars as blue collar workers. People of color actually mingling with white folks! It’s like we’re all in this together, sharing space, giving up our individual liberties (smoking, singing, traveling exactly when we want) for the greater good (less highway congestion, air pollution, saving money).

People in the gray states don’t understand that. Theirs is a culture of selfishness: my car, my space, my right to travel where I want and when, to heck with you. Oh yeah, and the right to have free parking (or at least subsidized, as under this bill).

Connecticut commuters welcomed the New Year with a 5.25% fare hike on Metro-North (with similar fare hikes to come the next two years), thanks to the Malloy administration seeing rail riders as an easy target for “revenue enhancement”. So losing this federal tax benefit is just adding insult to injury.

The Federal government doesn’t do much in terms of our commuter rail. They didn’t pay a penny for the new M8 cars. They don’t set the fares, determine the station parking rules or set the timetable. All of those are state functions.

Sure, the feds did kick some Tiger III grant money to Stamford for station work, but aside from that, nada.

That’s why Senators Blumenthal and Lieberman are trying to restore this federal tax benefit, the one thing they can do to help us commuters. They’ve been flooded with angry letters. Their bill (S-1034) has 10 co-sponsors but so far hasn’t won support from their colleagues who matter, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Not a lot of commuter rail in Montana and Utah, eh?

Time will tell if Congress can fix this mess. I’m not optimistic, despite the best efforts of our Connecticut delegation.

JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 21 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. You can reach him at Cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct

Filed Under: News, Transportation

Talking Transportation: The Malloy ‘Tax’ On Commuters

October 5, 2011 By Jim Cameron

If a mugger came up to you on the street and said “I’m going to poke your eyes out!”, but then he only kicked you in the groin, would you think better of him?

That’s what Metro-North commuters are asking themselves now that CDOT has decided on 15.25% fare hike spread over the next three years instead of the 16.4% hike first proposed. Are we supposed to be grateful?

To their credit, CDOT held eight public hearings around the state to gauge commuter response to their plan. Hundreds turned out, 99% of them saying there was no justification for a fare increase in light of worsening service. But having asked the public for their views, the CDOT chose to ignore them.

Mind you, this fare hike is not really coming from the CDOT. It’s actually a creation of Governor Malloy and his budget team.

At every monthly meeting over the past two years the CT Rail Commuter Council asked CDOT if there were plans for a fare increase. Each month they said “no”, until this spring during the budget process.

When the Governor’s concessions package was initially rejected by state employees, Malloy came out with “Plan B”, a painful collection of service cuts and fee increases (including a fare hike) that hit everyone in the state. That got the state workers to reconsider and eventually they agreed to concessions and avoided layoffs. But when the unions said yes, “Plan B” didn’t go away, especially the Metro-North fare hike.

So these fare increases are not to cover the cost of running the railroad but to balance the state budget. What they amount to is nothing less than a “tax” on commuters, an attractive target with few alternatives.

Our fares are already the highest of any commuter railroad in the US. Now they’ll be even higher. Even the railroad’s own computer models suggest these higher fares will reduce ridership.

There are plenty of ways for Metro-North to save money without a fare hike, like collecting all the tickets on the trains. For years the CT Rail Commuter Council has been asking the railroad to get conductors to do their job. By their own estimates, the railroad acknowledges millions of dollars in lost revenue from uncollected fares.

Instead of collecting all the tickets, the railroad adopted new rules which make tickets expire sooner, leaving many riders with tickets that are now worthless. Buy a ten-trip ticket and it’s worth zero in six months if you haven’t used it. Meanwhile, passengers board trains at Stamford every day and get a free ride to Bridgeport because conductors aren’t doing their job. Their free ride is paid for by those with tickets.

Remember: Metro-North works for the CDOT. Why the state chooses to look the other way while the railroad abuses passengers in this way is a question best answered by Governor Malloy, the CDOT’s boss.

At a time when the state should be doing all it can to create and keep jobs in the state… and keep taxpayers from moving to NY or NJ… it’s astounding that Governor Malloy chooses instead to make the cost of commuting more expensive, not less.

This fare hike is just another nail in the coffin of Connecticut’s economic growth.

JIM CAMERON has been a Darien resident for 20 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. The opinions expressed in this column are only his own. You can reach him at CTRailCommuterCouncil@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct

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Filed Under: News, Transportation

A new face for a new future

May 27, 2011 By John LaPlante

I recently read an astonishing news story about a surgical first in the U.S. It was datelined Boston.

Dallas Wiens, 25, a construction worker in Texas had been given a new face at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Not a simple face lift, which is common now. He got a total face transplant.

The surgeons had removed the face of another person—dead, of course—and sewed it onto his face. No word what the donor had died of or who he was. The operation was done for the best of reasons. To give him a new life. A better future.

Now about this man in Texas, Dallas Wiens. He was severely burned in a power line accident in 2008. He lost his eyesight and his face was turned into a horrendous nightmare. He looked so awful that it’s easy to think he might have thought of ending it all.

A plastic surgeon in Boston came to his rescue. In fact, it took a whole team. The operation lasted 15 hours and was enormously complex. They gave him a new nose, new lips, new eyebrows, new cheeks, new skin. They had to make everything fit right. And they had to connect all the muscles and nerves that make facial features move and that convey sensation.

The surgeon, Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, had had to wait until a face came along that would be a good match. Finally he located one. The tension of it all can last long after the operation. The body can reject the transplanted pieces.

Nothing on our body identifies us as clearly as does our face, of course. Many of us feel it important to change it, in little ways and big ones. Often for good reasons. We get a new hairdo. We dye our hair. Get a wig or a toupe. Grow a beard. Change the color of our eyes through contacts. Get tattoos. Re-shape our eyebrows or shave them and paint on new ones.

Tan our cheeks under the sun or under a machine. Or we lighten our skin a shade or two to pass more easily in our race-sensitive society. We Botox our wrinkles away or have our nose straightened or our chin pushed in or pushed out..

Sometimes for nefarious reasons. It may get done because somebody wants a new identity to escape the clutches of the law. Some people have their finger tips changed, for instance. Different tips mean different fingerprints.

It’s surprising how much surgery gets done to change how we look. We make our breasts bigger or smaller. Have body fat sucked off. Convert our sexual parts to male or female.

We are familiar with many transplants. I remember the first heart transplant—in South Africa. Sorry, I don’t remember the name of the surgeon, or the patient, a man. Surprised that I don’t remember. That was front-page all over the world, of course, and that was only right.

Many other transplant surgeries were developed. Some are routine now– lung transplants, kidney transplants, other organ transplants, hair transplants, even hand transplants. As we know, these parts are taken from one person and placed in another or moved from one of the body to another. Skin and fat, for instance.

Sadly nothing could be done to restore Mr. Wiens’ eyesight.

It was just a year or two ago that I read of the world’s first face transplant. What drama! A new face was put on a woman in France whose face had been horribly damaged. Of course that was headlined all over the world. Apparently she has recovered and is enjoying her new face. Let’s hope so.

These two face transplants were done to make these two people look better. Be more comfortable in the presence of their loved ones and families and even strangers. Make it possible to earn a living in plain view again—not having to find a job that keeps them out of sight.

Reading this story about Mr. Wiens, I immediately flashed back to a man who could use such an operation. A woman, too. Honest — if I had a face like those two poor souls, l’d high-tail it to Dr. Pomanac, too.

They had truly hideous faces. The worst faces I have ever seen. My sister Lucie felt the same way. She was with me.

It was an evening six years ago in Shanghai. We were there for the wedding of a Chinese friend, Wu. The two of us were on a Metro train heading downtown. The rush hour was over. There were just a few passengers on board. Lucie and I were sitting on a bench facing the center aisle, which ran through the car.

I heard the door on the left end of the car open and I looked up. A woman was entering from the car behind ours. I was shocked. She had no nose. Just a gaping hole where it was supposed to be. No lips. Awful. No eyebrows. Yes, I was shocked. So was Lucie. It was terrible. Impossible to describe how bad.

As she approached, she had a cup and held it out to this passenger and that one. She was begging.

Right behind her came a man. Just as hideous. No nose. No lips. No eyebrows. Hideous. He was doing the same thing, begging.

They made their way so quickly that I had no time to react. No opportunity to dig into my pocket for money if I wanted to. Lucie reacted the same way. We followed them with our eyes as they moved past us. They had good-looking bodies. Athletic and fit. In their 30’s, it seemed. Appeared to have no problem. But very few people gave. The two disappeared into the next car. Must have been ready to cry with disappointment.

Right away Lucie and I turned to one another. “What was that all about?!” I said. She shook her head. “No idea. But how awful!”

My words shot out. “I never, never saw anybody like that before.” The awe was all over her face. “Me, either. Two monsters.”

The next morning we kept our appointment with Wu. He had come from his office to have lunch with us. He is an engineer–the international marketing director of an electronic products company. He and I met seven years ago in Africa. We’ve been friends ever since.

The minute I could, I brought up the two monsters. Yes, monsters. It’s the word that said it best. I told him the story. Lucie kept supplying awful details.

I said, “What was all that about, Wu?”

He had grown up in Shanghai. If anybody knew, he would. I was eager to hear it all. Lucie was all ears.

He shook his head. “I have heard of such people. But I have never seen any. There are not many.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“I have heard stories.”

“Please tell us!”

“There are parents who do this to their children. When they are young. They do it with acids. Maybe with a knife.”

“How awful. But why?”

“The parents need money. They want their children to go out on the street and beg. To become professional beggars. People will be horrified and will give. Will be merciful. But John, you said not many gave. Maybe it does not work.”

We were disappointed, of course. What a story. The parents. The life of these children. Their terrible life now approaching horrified people and begging.

I had it on mind all through lunch. I’m sure that when he left, Wu passed on our story to everybody he ran across. Such an awful story. So incredible.

As I read Mr. Wiens’ story, I imagined what the last two years must have been for him, so disfigured. And I imagined what these two poor folks working the Metro riders in Shanghai would go to to get a decent new face from a surgeon like Dr. Pomanac .

Can you imagine how good Dr.Pomahac and his team must feel to have accomplished a miracle like that?

Oh, one more thing. Dr.Pomahac said that Mr. Wiens would not look like he used to, and not like the unidentified donor. He would look somewhere in between.

That’s appropriate. His new face is giving him a new life. A new future. Wonderful. Why shouldn’t he enter it happily and excitedly with a nice new—and different–face?

Maybe a clever surgeon will find a way to give him new eyesight. Maybe by transplanting new eyes into him. Don’t rule it out, as crazy as it sounds.

I hope so.

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Filed Under: News, Senior Moments

Career Column 11: Seismologists, Hydrologists, and Meteorologists

April 28, 2011 By Karen Goldfinger

Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and floods. The news has been full of these problems and their disastrous consequences lately. It seems that we need help on planet Earth. Seismologists study earthquakes, hydrologists water patterns, and meteorologists weather patterns. I am hoping that talented and dedicated people will choose these fields and work on improving techniques for predicting extreme weather, earthquakes, volcanic activity, and so forth, making the world safer for all of us.

Seismologist

There is a great description of the work of seismologists, put together by a Canadian organization, Eco Canada, here: www.eco.ca/_student/PrintableProfiles/87.pdf. Briefly, seismology is the scientific study of the movement of waves through the earth. It is typically associated with studying earthquakes but has other applications, especially in the oil and gas industry. The work essentially involves analyzing and interpreting data from records of earth tremors (seismic records), developing methodologies to improve data interpretation, and communicating findings. A seismologist might set up equipment and collect data in the field or in a laboratory, create specialized maps, and prepare scientific reports.

Seismology is a subfield of geophysics, a branch of earth science concerned with the Earth’s physical processes. Careers in the oil and gas industry are open to individuals with undergraduate degrees in related fields, such as math, physics, or geology, but a master’s degree in geophysics will open up more opportunities. A doctorate is necessary for those interested in a research career. For everyone in the field, high level computer skills are important as is coursework in math, physics, and geology.

Hydrologist

Hydrologists study the movement of water through the earth, using specialized techniques and sophisticated instruments. They tend to specialize in either groundwater or surface water. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), hydrologists “examine the form and intensity of precipitation, its rate of infiltration into the soil, its movement through the Earth, and its return to the ocean and atmosphere”. They often work in the field, and they are needed in the United States and internationally to serve government and industry. Hydrologists at the doctoral level often work in universities as researchers and educators.

There were only about 8100 hydrologists employed in the United States in 2008, according to the OOH. It is expected to be a fast growing field, however, with excellent prospects for those with a master’s degree and field work experience. Hydrologists will be needed to assess building and hazardous waste sites and to deal with issues such as rising sea water and water conservation. Hydrologists typically study in graduate programs in geological sciences (geosciences), environmental science, physical geography, or engineering. The University of Connecticut, for example, offers MS and Ph.D. degrees in geological science that includes coursework relevant to hydrology, through the Center for Integrative Geosciences. Wikipedia has a very thorough description of the field, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrology.

Meteorologists

Meteorologists, also known as atmospheric scientists, study the physical properties of the atmosphere, the air covering the earth, and how those properties affect the environment. They predict weather patterns and climate trends using complex instruments and computer models, working for the federal government, private consulting firms, or radio and television stations. They work at weather stations, sometimes in remote areas, and in offices and broadcast studios. Entry level meteorologists for the government often hold a bachelor’s degree, but they have completed very specific coursework in math, physics, and atmospheric sciences. The field is small and, although expected to grow, job prospects are likely to be best for those with master’s degrees who want to work in private industry.

There are many other narrowly defined fields in atmospheric and geological sciences, each employing relatively small numbers of specially trained individuals. For example, you can be a geochronologist (“use the rates of decay of certain radioactive elements in rocks to determine their age and the time sequence of events in the history of the Earth”), a geomorphologist (“study Earth’s landforms and landscapes in relation to the geologic and climatic processes and human activities, which form them”), or a mineralogist (“study mineral formation, composition, and properties”) among many other possibilities. These fields and several more are described here: www.agiweb.org/workforce/brochure.html.

If you are not afraid of math, science, and computer modeling, don’t mind getting dirty (doing field work), and are interested in the physical properties of our environment, a career in the earth or atmospheric sciences could be fantastic. There is often funding available for graduate training at both the master’s and doctoral levels. Salaries are good, if not great, and job prospects seem to be stronger than in many other fields, including other scientific fields, with opportunities in government, industry, and academia in the United States and internationally.

Career Resource

There are some helpful tips for applying to graduate school in the sciences here: http://envsci.science.oregonstate.edu/graduate/future/tips_applying_grad_school, in an article prepared by the Oregon State University Zoology Department. I think it’s on target. The advice includes: Focus on programs that offer a good fit with your academic and professional interests, and faculty members in the program who might serve as mentors, rather than focusing on a particular school. Apply for fellowships, because if you are awarded a fellowship you will increase your chances of acceptance at a program of your choice by a large margin. Your undergraduate program should have listings of fellowships you can apply for. Contact potential mentors (faculty members you might want to work with) and visit programs you have an interest in. Work hard on your essay (the article offers some detailed advice about the essay) and choose references who are familiar with your academic work, especially your involvement in research.

Karen Goldfinger, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Essex, Connecticut. She specializes in psychological assessment for clinical, educational, and forensic purposes and has a special interest in career assessment. She and two partners recently established KSB Career Consultants, LLC to provide on line career consultation for clients in Connecticut and New York. Contact her with questions, comments, or suggestions for the column at karengoldfinger@comcast.net.

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Filed Under: Career Column, News

Talking Transportation: Who’s In Charge of Our Transportation Future?

April 4, 2011 By Jim Cameron

Is anyone guiding our state’s transportation future? One wonders.

Three months into the Malloy administration, we still don’t have a Commissioner at the Department of Transportation. Yet, the Governor is pushing legislation to eliminate the Transportation Strategy Board just a decade after its creation.

It’s clear that we are far from solving our transportation mess, so it’s disconcerting that no individual or advisory board seems to be in charge.

We’ve had five Commissioners at the DOT since Jodi Rell became Governor, the most recent leaving last July under the cloud of an alleged scandal. So why the lack of a firm hand on the tiller of this 3,400-employee, $725 million capital budget agency?

Well, first, who would want the job? The CDOT has careened from scandal to cost-overrun, from investigation to calls for reorganization. It’s the agency we love to hate. So it’s no surprise that Governor Malloy’s national search for a new Commissioner has turned up empty so far.

The last Commissioner, Joseph Marie, came to Connecticut after a national search and made tremendous progress at rebuilding morale in the agency. His candor was refreshing. His experience on the rail side (having just designed and built Phoenix’s light rail system) was hailed as a turning point in the agency previously dominated by highways veterans. His deputy Commissioner, Jeff Parker, was similarly well versed and widely respected.

But when Marie was forced to resign amid unproven allegations of sexual improprieties… without so much as formal charges or investigations… Parker took over only to leave last month, impatient at the new Governor’s inability to give him the full title or replace him.

Why then, with the CDOT in limbo, does Governor Malloy want to eliminate the Transportation Strategy Board? At least that body had the mandate of taking a longer-term view of a 20-year plan for rail and road, airports and ports.

Created in 2001, the TSB was complemented by regional advisory TIA’s, or Transportation Investment Areas, including “The Coastal Corridor TIA” (on which I have served since its creation). With input from the TIAs, the TSB issued its first recommendations in 2003 in a comprehensive report prioritizing long overdue investment in transportation, including ordering new rail cars for Metro-North.

There were updates in 2007 and 2011 as the body explored the links between transportation and economic development.

The first TSB Chairman, Oz Griebel, went on to run for Governor. His successor, businessman Kevin Kelleher, missed many meetings and didn’t seem engaged in the TSB’s ongoing work. A third Chairman, Bruce Alexander from Yale turned the TSB into a debating club, achieving little.

On one important policy issue, tolls on our highways, the TSB did a terrible job. Unable to come to any consensus on this crucial traffic mitigation and funding source, they did what everyone previously has done with transportation: they called for another study. But the resulting report was so jumbled, offering nine different alternatives, that choosing among them was impossible and political suicide.

It didn’t help that then-governor Rell had rejected any tolling idea even as the million dollar report was being written. Neither did a series of public hearings held by the TSB around the state when the report was issued. The agency sought public comment without any explanation of the study or its proposals.

At the hearing in Norwalk only a handful of TSB members were present (with Chairman Kelleher again absent) to listen as 50 uninformed residents spouted the same old objections to tolling. What a waste.

The tolling issue has not gone away. Nor have questions about how we will fund mass transit with an ever-dwindling gasoline tax. We still don’t know if Bradley Airport should be sold or continue to be run by the state… or when we’ll replace the crumbling Stamford rail station garage. How about delays on the M8 cars due to the Japanese quake? New highway spending, repair on hundreds of decrepit bridges, so-called ‘high speed rail’ from New Haven to Springfield, development of our ports, overdue expansion of rail station parking… none of these issues seem closer to being addressed without leadership.

So as the TSB is legislated into oblivion and the Commissioner’s office at the CDOT continues to be occupied by Acting and Interim-titled placeholders, just who is watching over our state’s transportation future?

JIM CAMERON has been a Darien resident for 20 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council. But the opinions expressed here are only his own. You can reach him at Cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct

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Filed Under: Old Saybrook, Transportation

Career Column 10: Working in Human Resources

March 17, 2011 By Karen Goldfinger

According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), job prospects for human resource managers are expected to grow much faster than average, by 22 percent, in the coming years. Revisions to safety standards, changes in health care regulations, labor relations disputes, and increased training needs due to technological advances are expected to contribute to a healthy demand in the field. A bachelor’s degree in human resources, industrial-labor relations, or related areas (especially business administration with relevant coursework) along with an internship would be ideal preparation. A liberal arts degree will need to be supplemented by internship or work experience and a business background. To advance in the field, a graduate business degree with a concentration in human resources or labor relations, or a master’s degree in human resource management, is essential in some settings.

To enter the field without a business background or experience, a graduate degree in business or human resources and an internship will be very helpful. However, counselors could become employee assistance professionals, lawyers could become compliance officers, and accountants could become compensation and benefits analysts without much additional education. In addition, an employee may be able to transfer into the human resources department of his or her company when there are openings.

Hiring the right employees, reducing turnover, increasing productivity, and following complex employment laws are challenges for every corporation. Human resource generalists have a hand in all of these functions in a company and more. Human resource specialists, usually employed by large corporations, focus on a narrow area such as compensation, benefits, training, development, recruitment, or labor relations. A third group of human resource professionals work as consultants to firms that outsource their human resource management needs.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), an important professional organization in the field, has an excellent website (www.shrm.org). Among other things, it identifies and describes several disciplines in Human Resource Management, including Leadership, Human Resources Technology, Safety and Security, Compensation, Labor Relations, Benefits, Diversity Management, Ethics and Sustainability (ethics includes a lot of legal and regulatory issues), Employee Relations, and others. It seems there may be something that interests everyone, making it an exciting field to explore.

Most human resource positions are a good fit for individuals who are project oriented with an interest in directing, persuading, and helping others and creating and following routines. Strong oral and written communication skills, good teamwork and leadership capacities, knowledge of human resource functions, a business and finance background, confidence, flexibility, and a high energy level are important for success. Those who work hard, deal with people well, and show management potential can move up the career ladder.

Human resource jobs at the management level pay well, about $95,000 annually. However, they may not pay as well as other, more business oriented, positions in some settings, because they do not generate profits. Compensation and benefits managers seem to earn a little more than training and development managers. An experienced benefits administrator should earn about $65,000 annually, while an experienced benefits analyst will earn about $95,000. (A benefits analyst has responsibility for researching and evaluating benefit plans, in addition to administering them.) Assistants in these fields, who work under managers, earn closer to $50,000 annually. (All salaries are based on medians in Hartford, Connecticut, as indicated on salary.com).

SHRM has a helpful brochure that describes the field and how to position oneself to enter it. It can be found here: www.shrm.org/Communities/StudentPrograms/Documents/07-0971 Careers HR Book_final.pdf. A more complex view, for business students, is offered by the University of Michigan School of Business at www.bus.umich.edu/StudentCareerServices/resources/CP10HRChangeMgmt.pdf.

Career Resource

www.collegeboard.org is the website for the College Board, a not for profit organization that administers SAT’s and other exams. The website offers extensive college planning tools for free. You can search for colleges by location, major, cost, size, setting, and other factors. You can also find all kinds of information about a specific college, from average SAT scores to sports that are offered and housing options. Take a look!

Karen Goldfinger, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Essex, Connecticut. She specializes in psychological assessment for clinical, educational, and forensic purposes and has a special interest in career assessment. She and two partners recently established KSB Career Consultants, LLC to provide on line career consultation for clients in Connecticut and New York. Contact her with questions, comments, or suggestions for the column at karengoldfinger@comcast.net.

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Filed Under: Career Column, Old Saybrook

Career Column 9: Helping People in Need (Without Going to Graduate School)

March 1, 2011 By Karen Goldfinger

With the recent controversy about public employees and the impending budget cuts for health and mental health care in Arizona, I was thinking that there will always be people who can’t manage well without some extra help, whether it is funded by the state, the private sector, families, or charitable organizations. Whether they are challenged by developmental or physical disabilities, dementia, or serious mental illness, some people rely on others for a little or a lot of everyday support. People who help others with everyday tasks are called human service or social service assistants, and according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), the job prospects in this field are not just good, but excellent.

OOH notes that social or human services assistants “provide services to clients to help them improve their quality of life. They assess clients’ needs, investigate their eligibility for benefits and services ….arrange for transportation….and provide emotional support.” As might be expected, they also have to keep records and report to supervisors. Employees in this field might be called case management aides, social work assistants, community support workers, mental health aides, community outreach workers, client advocates, childcare workers, or similar titles.

In Connecticut, a job as a social service assistant typically requires an Associate’s Degree in Human Services and experience or a Bachelor’s degree in a related field, although some may be open to individuals with a high school diploma.

These kinds of positions can be a step towards graduate school and a professional degree in a social service field, such as social work, counseling, or psychology, or they could be a step towards a career in health care administration or a management position for a non-profit. For some people, though, these positions are long-term and a way to make a living. Unfortunately, social service jobs don’t pay very well, although some positions have more authority and offer salaries at a higher level and others offer the opportunity for overtime or shift differentials. The most recent data (2009) indicate that wages in Connecticut for workers in these categories are higher than they are in many other parts of the country, with the median salary listed as $40,000, but job prospects are not projected to be quite as strong as they are elsewhere.

Clearly, these kinds of jobs are not for everybody. Some positions are physically demanding and potentially hazardous. (Before taking a job, it would be a good idea to find out, and verify, what steps the employer takes to keep workers safe.) Some require working long shifts, or evenings, weekends, or nights. The best candidates will be comfortable doing routine tasks and helping and directing other people. They will be good communicators as well as responsible, understanding, and patient. They also may need to pass a background check.

Recent social services assistant job openings in Connecticut include multiple positions in residential treatment, providing support for individuals with developmental or psychiatric disabilities in group homes or supported apartments, and some that are more along the lines of case management, for example, helping clients access medical benefits or advocating for families. Related jobs include mental health aide in a psychiatric hospital, teaching assistant in special education programs, therapy aide in a behavioral treatment program, or rehabilitation aide in a rehabilitation hospital.

Careerbuilder.com lists these and related positions under the category of non-profit/social services. It would be a good place to start a job search. However, job titles for these positions are quite varied, and you will have to use a number of different key words to do a thorough search. You can try searching for human service assistant, social service assistant, case manager, therapy aide, mental health worker or for some of the other titles listed in the OOH noted above. Large social service providers and hospitals also list openings on their own websites. You might want to do a job search regionally, looking for employment opportunities at all of the social service and treatment facilities within a geographical area. You could also do a job search with a focus on a particular group of clients, such as the elderly, people with developmental or psychiatric disabilities, or troubled children. Find out which agencies in your community serve people you are interested in working with and start your search there. (You can ask for help at locating this information at your local public library. Also, there is a long but not necessarily up to date list of DCF licensed “child caring agencies and facilities” here: www.dir.ct.gov/dcf/Licensed_Facilities/listing_CCF.asp.)

For training, most community colleges in Connecticut offer programs in human services. Make sure that the program you choose provides experience as well as coursework, because experience will be key to getting a job, especially if you don’t have a Bachelor’s degree.

Career Resource

Idealist.org (www.idealist.org) lists volunteer positions and jobs with non-profits in the United States and abroad. Its mission is to connect “people, organizations, and resources to help build a world where all people can live free and dignified lives.” In addition, in the Idealist Career Center (www.idealist.org/info/Careers) you will find free, downloadable, book length information about careers in the non-profit sector, as well as tips and exercises to help you choose a career path. Take a look.

Karen Goldfinger, Ph.D. is a psychologist in private practice in Essex, Connecticut. She specializes in psychological assessment for clinical, educational, and forensic purposes and has a special interest in career assessment. She and two partners recently established KSB Career Consultants, LLC to provide on line career consultation for clients in Connecticut and New York. Contact her with questions, comments, or suggestions for the column at karengoldfinger@comcast.net.

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Filed Under: Career Column, Old Saybrook

Talking Transportation: CDOT Thinks We’re Stupid

February 25, 2011 By Jim Cameron

The CT Rail Commuter Council’s “Winter Crisis – Commuter Summit” last week was a big success. Dozens of commuters turned out to share their horror stories about trying to ride Metro-North this winter… no heat, no information, no seats and in many cases, no trains!

Metro-North and the CT Dept of Transportation made the usual excuses and apologies, which placated few… “we’re doing the best we can”… ‘it’s not our fault the trains are so old”… and the classic, “be patient, the new M8 cars are coming.”

All of these are true. But it was in trying to explain the many delays in the delivery and testing of the new M8 cars that things got heated.

As any reader of this column knows, we’ve been waiting since 2005 for new cars to replace our decrepit fleet. Designed and built by Kawasaki, the new M8 cars look great. But they’re 15 months late into service with no real explanation as to why… or when they’ll be ready for passengers. It was time for answers.

The CT Rail Commuter Council, a creation of the legislature, has neither a budget nor much power. But the one thing state statutes say is that we may request “and shall receive” any assistance we want from the CDOT in understanding what’s going wrong with Metro-North operations.

So, to get to the bottom of the M8 delays, we requested that CDOT bring to our meeting someone from Kawasaki and from LTK (the consultant that’s been paid $27 million to oversee the M8 testing program). To our dismay, they refused. No explanation, just a “no”.

We turned to Governor Malloy’s office for help, but they didn’t even return our phone calls. So much for the first test of the Governor’s promise of open, transparent government.

Why the cover-up? What do CDOT and the Governor know about the M8 delays that they wanted to keep the experts away from our questioning? What are they hiding?

At our meeting on February 16th we submitted a list of 32 specific questions about the M8 program and got few replies. But among the facts we did learn:

The testing program has been underway for a year.
The cars are showing not just “software problems” but hardware issues as well.
Kawasaki doesn’t get paid until the cars prove they can work.
The mandatory 4000-mile test run of the prototype cars has been started and restarted several times as new problems were identified.
Metro-North still thinks they can fix the M8 problems and get as many as 80 into service by the end of 2011, two years behind schedule.

When a commuter asked the Interim-Commissioner of the CDOT why he wasn’t speaking specifically about the identified engineering problems with the M8 he was told that “people wouldn’t understand” them. In other words, because we’re not civil or electrical engineers (though many commuters are!), the CDOT thinks it better to just explain away this $866 million railcar as having “software problems”.

I told the Commissioner that I found his attitude insulting and condescending. Commuters on Metro-North are not stupid and we don’t need to have things “dumbed down” to be understood.

The CT Rail Commuter Council has done what it can to find the truth about the M8 delays. We’ve sent our questions along to the Transportation Committee of the state legislature. Maybe they can get some straight answers.

JIM CAMERON has been a Darien resident for 20 years. He is Chairman of the CT Metro-North / Shore Line East Rail Commuter Council, and a member of the Coastal Corridor TIA and the Darien RTM. The opinions expressed in this column are only his own. You can reach him at Cameron06820@gmail.com or www.trainweb.org/ct

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Filed Under: Old Saybrook, Transportation

CT Watchdog: Beware Counterfeit $100 Bills

February 14, 2011 By admin

Most of us would gladly accept $100 bills, especially from banks. Sasha Suto of Glastonbury is not sure after her experience with Bank of America’s West Hartford branch.

Suto went to the nation’s largest – and frequently criticized bank – on Jan. 31 to cash a $900 check that had been made out on a Bank of America account. She received 9 $100 bills and promptly took them to her credit union, Franklin Trust, also in West Hartford, where she attempted to deposit them.

The clerk checked all 9 bills with a special pencil and found that when she drew a line across one of the bills it turned dark instead of yellow, a sign that its counterfeit.

The clerk refused to deposit the bill and suggested to Suto that she take it back to the Bank of America branch.

At Bank of America a clerk ran her pencil over the bill and also found that it turned dark. The manager told Suto that she would have to confiscate the money and turn it over to the Secret Service – as federal law requires. The clerk who told Suto to take the check to Bank of America was reprimanded.

That was fine, Suto said, “but can I have another $100 bill since I got the bill from there in the first place 15 minutes earlier?”

Absolutely not, Suto was told, since the bank had no way of knowing that Suto didn’t slip another bill in her pile.

That is when Suto contacted me and I contacted Bank of America, which claimed that it thoroughly checks all $100 bills and there is no way Suto could have gotten a counterfeit bill from them.

At that point I didn’t know who to believe. While normally banks don’t pass out fake bills, it does happen, as Chase was caught red handed last year trying to falsely blame a customer for a bad $100 bill.

So I figured I would test Suto and asked her to file a written complaint against Bank of America with the West Hartford police. If she did that I was going to assume that she was either a complete idiot or on the level.

Suto did file a written complaint and West Hartford police – who had not been told about the counterfeit bill from the bank – started their own investigation. At that point I was comfortable that Suto was telling the truth.

West Hartford Police Chief James Strillacci was not sure. He said that his department was investigating a rash of fake $100 bills being passed in West Hartford.

He said that on Jan. 30 a bad check was passed at a gas station and $900 in bogus bills were passed at Price Rite. Another case had also just came in.

The tale does have a happy ending. Suto was called by Bank of America last week and was told that the Secret Service determined that the bill was legitimate, it just had some kind of coating on it.

She went back to the bank, refused a $100 bill and instead walked out with five $20 bills.

Suto says she doesn’t blame Bank of America, but she hopes the bank does not pass the $100 bill off again on someone else who will also have a problem with it.

Bank of America said its policy is not to inform local authorities when a counterfeit bill is received and only contacts the Secret Service, which she assumes contacts local police. I suggested that the policy be changed.

You can reach The Watchdog at George@connecticutwatchdog.com and he will answer as many emails as he can. Please check out his site, www.ctwatchdog.com for comprehensive consumer, health, finance, media, internet, computer, travel and education tips.

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Filed Under: CT Watchdog