The Senate postponed until Wednesday plans to debate the paid sick days bill.
May 2011
Posted inNews
Himes tapped to help other vulnerable House Dems
Rep. Jim Himes doesn’t exactly hold in a safe congressional seat. He barely wrested the 4th District from Republican Rep. Chris Shays in 2008 and had a tough contest in 2010. So perhaps Himes is perfect for his new role at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee helping targeted Democratic incumbents. Himes has been tapped to […]
Posted inNews
CT rabbi gives opening prayer in Congress
A Connecticut rabbi, Jeremy Wiederhorn of Westport, delivered the opening prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday. Wiederhorn came to the Capitol at the invitation of Rep. Jim Himes, Connecticut’s 4th District Democrat. Himes noted that it was a particularly “propitious” day to deliver the morning prayer. An hour after Wiederhorn opened the House […]
Posted inHealth
Insurance department rejects 35 percent rate hike, approves 10 percent cut
The Connecticut Insurance Department has rejected a request by The American Republic Insurance Company to raise premiums by an average of 35 percent for individual-market health plans, ruling that it would be excessive. The proposal would have affected 81 policyholders in the state. The covered policies are “grandfathered,” meaning they do not have to comply […]
Posted inHealth
State gets an ‘A’ for children’s dental health policies
Connecticut was among seven states to receive an “A” grade for its oral health care policies for children, according to the Pew Center on the States’ annual report card on children’s dental health. The report card ranks states on eight policy benchmarks. Connecticut met six, the same as last year. The state tops the national […]
Posted inEducation
Can Head Start be run for a profit?
Since its creation in the mid-1960s, the federal Head Start program has traditionally relied on non-profit operators to run the early childhood program for low-income children. Now, Sarah Garland says at The Hechinger Report, a for-profit firm has entered the field and is expanding rapidly. New York-based Acelero opened its first Head Start center in […]
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Appeals court skirts opportunity to address student speech rights
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed its decision that high school students can be punished for what they write at home. It also has ignored an important opportunity to clarify student free speech rights in the digital age. It was a sad day for democracy in our schools. In 2007, Avery Doninger, […]
Posted inNews
Appeals court skirts opportunity to address student speech rights
The U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed its decision that high school students can be punished for what they write at home. It also has ignored an important opportunity to clarify student free speech rights in the digital age. It was a sad day for democracy in our schools. In 2007, Avery Doninger, […]
Posted inNews
Mind the GAAP: Malloy meets the CPAs
Dannel P. Malloy may well be the only governor in the country who tries to rev up audiences with references to “generally accepted accounting principles.” But that wasn’t enough Monday, not for the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants. On behalf of 300 of his fellow CPAs, Michael L. Kraten wanted more from Malloy, the […]
Posted inNews
Budget problems may close the ‘open door’ to community colleges
FARMINGTON–Officials of the state’s community college system, a point of entry to higher education for thousands of low-income and non-traditional students, are considering ending the longstanding “open door” admissions policy because of a projected $44.3 million budget deficit over the next two years. “We are caught between two numbers. We cannot afford to take in […]
Posted inNews
Malloy grows comfortable with his interim DOT chief
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy bobbed and weaved a bit Monday when asked about his inability to find a permanent transportation commissioner, but the answer to the question may have been right behind him: the interim chief, James Redeker. Malloy acknowledges he has developed a solid relationship with Redeker, 57, a New Jersey transit official who […]
Posted inNews
Malloy ready to cancel utility surcharge and energy fund raid
A plan to borrow $956 million to help balance the current state budget–to be paid off largely through a controversial surcharge on electricity bills–no longer is necessary thanks to another surge in forecasted state revenues, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration reported. But it remained unclear Monday afternoon what that would mean for the $1.2 million […]
Posted inNews
Malloy revives planning for completion of Route 11
It was given up for dead during the administration of Lowell P. Weicker Jr. in the early 1990s and again in 2009 under M. Jodi Rell, but Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today breathed new life into the idea of completing Route 11. With the blessing of the Federal Highway Administration, Malloy revived planning for an […]
Posted inNews
Unintended consequences: A tax on insurers hits filmmakers
A modest tax increase on insurers seemed to be the least of the Malloy Administration’s fiscal challenges in February. But it triggered a string of unintended consequences that threaten the complicated underpinnings of Connecticut’s emerging film industry: the market value of tax credits. The unresolved dispute over a seemingly minor tax change is a story […]
Posted inNews
State tackles challenge of judging teachers on students’ performance
NEW HAVEN–Sometime next month, Rob Glassman, like other teachers throughout this city’s public school system, will get his own report card. He will be rated on a variety of factors–including the progress of his sixth-grade students–under a complex new system that is being watched closely by educators and policymakers from Hartford to Washington, D.C. New […]