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 […]

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

MIDDLETOWN–A feisty Gov. Dannel P. Malloy parried challenges to his budget from the left and right Tuesday night at the last of his 17 town-hall meetings. But he concluded on a softer note, calling his two-month listening tour an exercise in personal growth for a new governor. “I appreciate so many people across the state […]

Possession of any amount of marijuana in Connecticut now can result in a criminal record and up to a $1,000 fine–but members of the Judiciary Committee voted to change that Tuesday night. Under terms of a bill the committee approved, getting caught with a half-ounce or less–which committee members said is about 30 marijuana joints–would […]

Against the backdrop of the brutal Cheshire home invasion case, the legislature’s Judiciary Committee Tuesday approved a bill that would abolish the death penalty–but only for future crimes. Opponents argued that the prospective nature of the bill–it would eliminate the death penalty only for murders committed after it takes effect–is a tacit acknowledgment that some […]

Policymakers working to reshape the way long-term care is delivered in the state have long criticized what they call an institutional bias: Anyone who qualifies can get Medicaid coverage to live in a nursing home, but getting Medicaid to pay for home care is complicated. To qualify, someone must fit into one of several specific […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy will face his 17th and last town-hall meeting on the budget tonight in Middletown, listening to compliments and complaints. But paying attention to signs waved at him? Not so much. As union members were starting to suspect, it turns out that signs–especially the elaborate messages spelled out by audience members holding […]