April 2011

Sen. Richard Blumenthal has joined the ranks of self-funded candidates–those who use their own money for all or a substantial portion of their campaign treasury–albeit unintentionally, according to his latest campaign finance report. Blumenthal lent his 2010 Senate campaign slightly more than $2.5 million, of some $8 million spent. He was forced to reclassify most […]

Surrounded by jewelers and their lobbyist, Senate President Pro Tempore Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, patiently listened to complaints about a proposed new luxury tax. He nodded sympathetically. Then he shook his head. No, Williams said, he is not interested in revising the tax package that was approved last week by the Finance, Revenue and […]

Connecticut Democrats are resurrecting the ad book, a fundraising tool banned for use by state candidates as part of the campaign finance reforms passed in 2005. The Democrats are selling space in ad books to be distributed at the 63rd annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey fundraising dinner, where Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will be the keynote […]

One of the big unknowns about the federal health reform law is how much is will really do to control costs. Some Democrats say the law includes tough provisions that will “bend the cost curve,” while others say it didn’t go far enough to really tackle spiraling health care costs in the U.S. That’s the […]

An employee of a Greenwich Porsche dealer called Sen. Bob Duff yesterday at 5:53 a.m. to complain about the proposed luxury tax on, among other things, expensive cars. That went well.

A week after lawmakers reached a compromise that leaves SustiNet backers short of their goals, leaders of the push for the proposed state-run health plan told supporters that the fight isn’t over. House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, one party to the compromise, told the crowd that their goals would be achieved. “We’re going to open […]

The co-chairs of the legislature’s Energy Committee Wednesday introduced a scaled-back version of their plan to tax electricity producers on the basis of how the power is generated, but their new proposal drew little enthusiasm from legislative leaders and the Malloy Administration. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Democratic leaders already have agreed on a budget […]

The Malloy Administration and co-chairs of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee have reached agreement on a plan to consolidate the Connecticut State University System, the state’s community colleges, the on-line Charter Oak College and the State Department of Higher Education beginning this July. The consolidation was part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy‘s budget proposal, but […]

WASHINGTON–With gas prices surging past $4 a gallon in Connecticut, members of Congress are in a high-speed race to address their constituents’ pain at the pump. Sen. Richard Blumenthal is calling for a wide-ranging federal investigation of the oil and gas industry, raising questions about market manipulation and price gouging. Rep. Joe Courtney is urging […]

Transit planners and advocates admired Dannel P. Malloy as the mayor of Stamford, and they are optimistic about him as governor, despite–or perhaps because of–his inability to find the right transportation commissioner nearly four months after taking office. “I’m glad he’s taking time. We’ve had so many commissioners over the last half-dozen years, let’s finally […]

The Roger Sherman Liberty Center, a new conservative think tank and training center, is putting out a call for lawyers for a possible legal challenge of the state budget — if it is adopted and implemented with an assumption of eventually obtaining $1 billion in labor savings. “The Governor is not a king, and the […]