April 13, 2011

Quote of the Week “This has been good for me and my growth as a person, someone who aspires to be a good governor.” — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, concluding his 17-stop listening tour

As a boy growing up in Connecticut, Jamie Merisotis absorbed his parents’ message about the value of higher education–a message he brought back to his home state Wednesday, along with a warning. In building an educated workforce, Connecticut is slipping, said Merisotis, one of the nation’s leading voices on higher education. “Today, other states are […]

A new report by the legislature’s non-partisan budget office says a proposed bill that would give in-state college tuition rates to undocumented students won’t necessarily increase higher education costs–but it isn’t likely to persuade opponents of the measure. “I don’t believe that there is no cost,” said Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, the ranking Republican on the […]

A legislative plan to tax the state’s two active nuclear power plants could threaten jobs, send the wrong message to businesses and lead to higher electricity rates, lawmakers, municipal officials, business and labor leaders and the operators of the plants warned Wednesday. “This targeted, seemingly vindictive initiative would undermine and destabilize an entire region of […]

WASHINGTON–The federal spending deal, reached by top congressional negotiators on Friday to avert a government shutdown, would shrink emergency heating assistance for the poor. It would slash high-speed rail funding. And it would trim the Army Corps of Engineer’s budget, jeopardizing dredging projects in Long Island Sound. That’s the bad news for Connecticut, spelled out […]

Pat Scully’s got a new gig. And no, it’s not as the fifth starter for the Sox.

The House soundly rejected a jobs-related bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, on Wednesday. It didn’t even really get a full-fledged vote. Instead, Republicans squashed it in a procedural motion. And that’s about as good as it’s going to get, now that Murphy and the rest of Connecticut’s U.S. House delegation is in […]

There was so much attention paid in the 2010 Senate contest to Republican Linda McMahon’s profligate spending, that we somehow missed this little gem: a $97 expenditure by businessman Merrick Alpert, an unsuccessful contender in the race, on a “Chicken costume.” What did Alpert need a chicken costume for? Well, it has to do with […]

Despite major increases in state spending on corrections, recidivism rates were largely unchanged nationwide between 1999 and 204, a new study by the Pew Center on the States says: More than four in 10 offenders returned to prison within three years of release. The rate varies significantly among states, however, ranging from 61.2 percent in […]

Another day, another announcement in the 5th Congressional District. Dan Roberti of Kent, who formed a candidate committee weeks ago, announced his candidacy today for the Democratic nomination. “As I watch the mess in Washington unfold – with Republican threats to shut down the government, end Medicare, and hold our economy and middle class jobs […]

A progressive coalition’s campaign to nudge Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly towards a bigger tax increase and a new 8.95-percent tax bracket for multi-millionaires quickly was branded a non-starter Wednesday. The legislature is likely to adjust the governor’s tax plan by adopting a slightly more progressive income-tax structure than Malloy’s top rate […]