When Gov. Dannel Malloy first proposed slashing the state’s contribution to a program that helps AIDS patients get antiretroviral drugs, Shawn Lang was panicked. Lang, director of public policy for the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition, feared the loss of that funding–about $600,000 annually–would leave many low-income HIV-positive patients without access to life-saving medications. But after […]

It almost sounds too good to be true: State budget officials, who already saw revenues surge by nearly $400 million over the past month, now say anticipated savings in retired worker health care costs have grown by some $100 million in the same period. And though Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo said his office was somewhat […]

Remember the Pentagon Papers? First published in 1971 after being leaked by anti-war activist Daniel Ellsberg, the once top-secret history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam have been the subject of innumerable news articles, several books and are even available online. And next month, the documents will be officially released by the U.S. government. The fact […]

Sen. Joseph Lieberman was the only Connecticut lawmaker to vote “yes” on a four-year extension of the Patriot Act yesterday. The anti-terrorism measure gives broad and controversial powers to law enforce officials. One provision, for example, gives the FBI the authority to continue using roving wiretaps on surveillance targets, while another allows law enforcement officials […]

After putting it off for two years, the General Assembly has agreed to fully fund the state’s share of a health plan that covers 33,000 retired teachers and their spouses, easing fears that the plan would run out of money. The new state budget for the next two years includes $51.5 million to cover the […]

Ed Reilly of the Iron Workers Union interrupts hearing. Hearings on the near-perennial proposals to revamp the UConn Health Center tend to draw doctors, university officials and hospital administrators, with testimony about the university and area hospitals. This year, as lawmakers considered Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s $864 million renovation and expansion plan, a good portion […]

With less than two weeks remaining in the 2011 General Assembly session, key lawmakers and officials in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration are optimistic about the prospects for creating a new quasi-public authority to operate Bradley International and the state’s five smaller airports. A bill pending on the Senate calendar would create a new nine-member Connecticut Airport […]

A year ago Meredith Inkel faced a difficult decision: Go on working at a low-wage job so she would qualify for welfare or go back to school and be cut off from the state’s cash-assistance program. The single mother of six children decided to go back to school so she could eventually get a better […]

With strong support from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, the Senate voted 18 to 17 Wednesday to pass the nation’s first state mandate on private employers to offer paid sick days. It now goes to the House, where passage is expected. The bill, which passed with only one Republican vote, has a limited reach, applying to […]

With Wednesday’s announcement of a new round of federal Race to the Top grants, this one aimed at early childhood education, Connecticut education officials say they plan to pitch a new package of reforms and hope they have better luck this time around in landing the money. “We better start filling out that application now,” […]

WASHINGTON–Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced a sweeping veterans’ assistance bill today, making his first solo legislative foray on an issue that has earned him both deep constituent support and intense political heat in the past. Blumenthal’s first official piece of legislation is wide-ranging, designed to tackle four intractable issues: unemployment, health care, homelessness and the bureaucratic […]

It will be something of a homecoming on Tuesday at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund when Bryan Garcia becomes its new president. But it’s looking more and more like the fund he worked at in several capacities from 2000 to 2006 is about to undergo a substantial transformation. The Fund was founded in 2000 to […]

A second measure designed to streamline state government advanced late Tuesday as the Senate voted to merge several agencies for the disabled and a rehab program for injured workers into a new social services bureau. The legislation also freezes general Medicaid rates for nursing homes and care facilities for the developmentally disabled, suspends cost-of-living adjustments […]