Sen. Ed Meyer Seeking Input Prior To Irene Hearings

State Sen. Ed Meyer, D-12th District, is seeking public input from the residents of his district on their experiences, both good and bad, before, during and after Tropical Storm Irene.

In addition, the General Assembly has established new Facebook and Twitter accounts to solicit public input in advance of the planned Monday, September 19 meeting between legislators and utility, phone and cable executives, and the Monday, September 26 public input session.

“People are eager to tell their stories, and these social media sites will allow them to do that,” Meyer said in a prepared release. “The shoreline was hit very, very hard by the storm. Nearly every house and business was without electricity for five to eight days. There are a lot of stories to tell.”

The September 19 session will begin at 9:30 a.m. with representatives of CL&P, UI and municipal utilities, followed by municipal representatives and officials from telephone, cable and wireless utility companies. That session will conclude at 4:30 p.m.

Meyer--whose district includes Madison, Branford, North Branford, Durham, Killingworth, and Guilford--said his goal is to "seek accountability for the enormous damage and inconvenience that was suffered."

 On September 26, members of the public will have the opportunity to appear before the committees beginning at 9:00 a.m., followed by union representatives and the electric utility companies. Members of the public will have an additional chance for comment before the hearing closes in early afternoon.

For those who cannot attend in person, Senate and House Democrats have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts at www.facebook.com/AfterIreneCT and twitter.com/AfterIreneCT to accept public comments and suggestions about their experiences with the storm and Connecticut’s readiness for and response to it.

The hearings can be seen live on CT-N, The Connecticut Network, at:  http://www.ctn.state.ct.us/.