The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/)
While universally agreeing to enforce sales tax collections on internet retailers, Connecticut’s gubernatorial contenders continued to battle Wednesday over how to fix the state’s finances and its economy.
BRIDGEPORT — A federal judge will soon determine whether his court should get involved in how the state awards enrollment to students in high-performing magnet schools located throughout Connecticut. At issue is whether the lottery’s algorithm – which is designed to limit enrollment of black and Hispanic students in a school to 75 percent – is discriminatory, and therefore a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
A new television commercial featuring his wife, three daughters and the family dog reflects a shift by Republican Bob Stefanowski toward a softer message, leaving attacks on Democrat Ned Lamont to a Republican super PAC that has boosted its weekly advertising buy in Connecticut’s volatile gubernatorial race.
WASHINGTON – Democratic Rep. Jim Himes is spending more money on the races of other Democratic candidates than he is on his own, while his Republican challenger Harry Arora, raised less than $9,000 in campaign cash this summer. Himes donated to the campaigns of more than 70 House Democrats in the last quarter, the latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show.
The leaders of the state Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness are working now so their plan to fix Connecticut’s finances will be reconsidered after the November elections.
Not being able to afford a home in a suburban community is a common problem for many of Connecticut’s low-income residents, particularly people of color, because of the state’s longstanding and widespread lack of affordable housing. This disparity in the availability and quality of housing is one of the chief forces of division in modern society and both a cause and effect of poverty, experts say. Continue Reading →
WASHINGTON – Jahana Hayes, a political newcomer vying for the 5th District congressional seat, has pulled in nearly $1.3 million in campaign donations since she announced her candidacy in May. Some of that money came from political action committees representing special interests and from those Hayes hopes to call colleagues after the Nov. 6 elections, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Continue Reading →
Democratic lawmakers said Monday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski’s history as the chief executive of DFC Global inextricably ties him to the “unscrupulous, illegitimate practices” of a payday lending industry now barred from doing business in Connecticut. Continue Reading →
In the Hartford region, a difference in philosophies about whether segregation contributes to poor educational outcomes divides parents, educators and lawmakers. Most magnet schools have no problem attracting enough white students from the suburbs to go to school with city kids, but some struggle. This means seats in some schools are left open to maintain diversity – a reality that is causing a rift among neighbors about what should happen next. On Tuesday, a federal judge will consider whether the state must stop considering race when awarding seats. Continue Reading →
President Donald J. Trump, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and violent crime loom large in the latest round of campaign commercials in the race for attorney general of Connecticut, an office at odds with the Trump administration on a broad range of civil issues, but lacking jurisdiction in criminal matters. Continue Reading →
WASHINGTON — Retiring Rep. Elizabeth Esty has given more than $100,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and spent thousands more polling her constituents and posting digital ads that tout her work in Congress, according to her latest filing with the Federal Elections Commission. Continue Reading →
WASHINGTON – An investigation into the Coast Guard Academy’s treatment of minority cadets continues months after members of the U.S. House and Senate pressed the service for more information about racial disparities. The Coast Guard Academy’s poor rates of minority enrollment and graduation have prompted a lawmaker to introduce legislation that would change its admission policies and “culture” regarding minority cadets. Continue Reading →
While the overall health care system in one of the nation’s wealthiest states ranks high, hundreds of thousands of low- and middle-income residents are struggling to afford coverage or seeing their earnings gobbled up by a system with outcomes as disparate as income is in Connecticut. Continue Reading →
More than four years after Navy Lt. Rebekah Daniel bled to death within hours of childbirth at a Washington state military hospital, her husband still doesn’t know exactly how — or why — it happened. Walter Daniel, a former Coast Guard officer, demanded explanations from officials at the Naval Hospital Bremerton, where his wife, known as “Moani,” died on March 9, 2014. He says he got none. No results from a formal review of the incident, no details about how the low-risk pregnancy of a healthy 33-year-old woman — a labor and delivery nurse herself — ended in tragedy, leaving their newborn daughter, Victoria, now 4, without a mom. “There was no timeline, no records of what steps were taken,” recalled Daniel, 39, sitting in his Seattle lawyer’s high-rise office last month. Continue Reading →
It’s the time of year when candidates seem to compete to see who can run the most TV ads telling voters as little as possible. Lately the two major party candidates for Connecticut governor, Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski, seem to be about tied in ad expenditures or on their behalf. Continue Reading →