WASHINGTON–Sen. Joseph Lieberman was among the most vocal proponents of U.S. military action in Libya. Rep. John Larson was one of the first to raise sharp questions about that mission. As the Libyan conflict now stretches past the two-month mark, the two men agree on at least one thing: Congress needs to make its voice […]

A bill aimed at preventing a repeat of last year’s Election Day fiasco, when polling places in Bridgeport and a half dozen other communities ran out of ballots, is headed for the governor’s desk. The bill approved by the state House of Representatives in a 117-26 vote requires local registrars to inform the Secretary of the State […]

It’s not just Connecticut: Public employees across the country are facing changes in their health benefits as strapped states and municipalities try to balance their budgets, Melissa Maynard reports at Stateline.org. The changes range from small scale–Oregon workers will not longer be covered for wart and bunion removal–to more significant changes such as Connecticut’s proposed […]

Even before the results were in for New York’s special congressional election, Rep. John Larson was crowing about the outcome for Democrats. “This will be an incredible event for us,” Larson said Tuesday morning, as voters in that state’s 26th District were headed to the polls. “We should not be in a position to win […]

Is Sen. Joseph Lieberman trying to spread his conservative foreign policy gospel before he retires? Politico reports this morning that the Connecticut independent is mentoring a group of freshman Republican senators on defense and foreign policy issues, giving them hawkish advice and counsel. Not surprisingly, Lieberman’s press office sent it out as a “must read” […]

After an eight-hour Republican filibuster, the state Senate Tuesday night passed a bill providing in-state tuition at public college and universities for undocumented students and sent it along to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who said he intends to sign it into law. “They’ve earned their spot… I think this is a compassionate law trying to […]

As state officials use the waning days of the legislative session to flesh out the new budget, they’ve spent countless hours discussing weighty issues, from agency consolidations to social program standards. And then there are matters like cow chip Bingo. “Even though these may sound comical to some people, they’re in the bill because they are […]

The state House of Representatives adopted the first in a series of measures Tuesday designed to implement the new $40.11 billion biennial budget, ordering new policies to drive down prison populations, ordering several agency mergers and passing several costs onto cities and towns. The Democrat-controlled House voted 93-52 to approve the measure following a more […]

A possible decision to end open enrollment at the state’s community colleges might represent a philosophical change, officials said Tuesday, but in fact a lot of doors have been shut at some campuses for the last few years. “It’s already happening,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday, referring to students’ being shut out of overbooked […]

Chris Healy, the outspoken and quotable Republican state chairman, intends to inform the GOP State Central Committee tonight he will not stand for re-election when his term expires June 28. “It’s the greatest job anyone could have, and I’ve been blessed to be given that chance,” Healy said today. “It’s time to let new leadership […]

The new state budget adopted earlier this month shifts dramatically away from the recent trend of diverting fuel tax revenue for non-transportation uses. But with a $300 million hole still to be patched in the first year of that new budget–and the potential for much larger gaps if a tentative union concession deal flops–Gov. Dannel […]

Since he became insurance commissioner in March, Thomas B. Leonardi has worked to dispel the public perception that the agency is unfriendly to consumers. He stresses that the mission of the agency is to protect consumers and touts communication strategies–a revamped website, a Facebook page, Twitter–that make it easier for people to learn about and […]

Food safety and nutrition programs would get the ax under a proposed Republican spending proposal for 2012 agriculture programs. The draft legislation includes $973 million for food safety and inspection programs–a cut of $35 million from fiscal year 2011 levels. Nutrition and anti-hunger initiatives, such as the food stamp program, would get $90 billion-about $2 […]