The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/)
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy took a softer tack Thursday in his continuing critique of the Republican budget now on its way to his desk, saying he was offering “constructive feedback” and vetting of a plan whose passage late last week caught lawmakers, legislative analysts, the press and public by surprise.
Labor groups and advocates for Connecticut’s cities rallied Thursday outside the Capitol, urging Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to veto a Republican-crafted budget they argued would hurt workers and students.
In an early stumble in his campaign for governor, Middletown Mayor Dan Drew admitted “an error in judgment” Thursday and apologized to city employees for obtaining a mailing list from the city that his campaign used to solicit contributions.
Neither Republican nor Democratic legislators’ latest budget plans would spare Connecticut from grappling with another massive budget deficit two years from now, according to nonpartisan analysts.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy Wednesday called the Republican budget a “hot mess” that deals a body blow to education in Connecticut. One Republican responded by questioning the governor’s grasp of reality. Another says UConn’s president needs to stop “bellyaching.” It does not bode well for budget talks Friday.
A two-building state office complex in downtown Hartford was dedicated Thursday in the names of Gov. Ella T. Grasso and Lt. Gov. Joseph J. Fauliso, friends and political allies over long and storied careers in Connecticut politics. Continue Reading →
Huge questions over how state aid for schools and state colleges ultimately will fare will be a critical focus of Democratic and Republican leaders as they grapple with reconciling their vastly different state budgets. Here are the critical differences in funding for schools and colleges that Democrats and Republicans must resolve. Continue Reading →
Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, says she is grateful that she never ran for state office in the days before Connecticut’s public financing system, when a major portion of fundraising took place in Hartford and was geared to collecting checks from lobbyists and their clients. But that didn’t stop her from voting Friday for a budget that would repeal the system. Continue Reading →
Attorneys general from 39 states, including Connecticut, have broadened an investigation into whether pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors have played a role in the opioid epidemic. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen called it a “dramatic expansion and coordination of the investigations.” Continue Reading →
MGM Resorts International launched a glitzy new campaign Monday to expand into Connecticut, an effort that curiously coincides with the Trump administration, at least temporarily, halting the state’s two federally recognized tribes’ from building a casino in East Windsor to compete with a new MGM resort in Springfield, Mass. MGM is backed by mayors of New Haven and Bridgeport. Continue Reading →
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy reaffirmed his opposition to the new state budget Monday and urged all sides to compromise on a new one. The Democratic governor said he probably would have to accept some proposals he opposes — and the Republicans would, too. Continue Reading →
Because candidates of color are less likely to get over the certification hurdles, states that have bet on improving education by “raising the bar” for entering teaching risk excluding teachers of color even as there has been heightened attention on the lack of diversity in the teaching profession.
It was a week of suspense and anxiety, followed by a flurry of more suspense and more anxiety, followed by a night of high political drama — and promise of a veto — yet Connecticut is still waiting to see what a feverish effort to pass a state budget will produce. Continue Reading →
Many experts say the disasters around Houston and along the crowded coasts of Florida reinforce the urgent idea that resilient infrastructure is needed more than ever, particularly as human-driven climate change helps drive extreme weather. Continue Reading →
Republican legislators sent their first state budget proposal to the governor’s desk in decades early Saturday morning, capping a strange day that didn’t move Connecticut any closer to a new fiscal plan, but raised new questions about the balance of power at the Capitol. Continue Reading →