Connecticut has more of 3- and 4-year olds attending preschool than every state except New Jersey, according to the College Board’s annual progress report. While the state also ranks near the top in the percent of black and hispanic students having an early education, many more caucasian students have an early education. Almost 10 percent […]
December 14, 2011
State’s face is red (not green)
When the U.S. Green Building Council — the folks who brought us the LEED certification system for buildings — released its inaugural list of “Best of Green Schools” Connecticut with its fuel-cell and solar-powered schools was notable by its absence. What’s worse, who’s the sponsor for the USGBC’s Center for Green Schools, which oversaw the awards and other […]
STOCK Act clears Lieberman’s committee
We’ll see if it gets anywhere, but the Senate’s Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted 7-2 today for the STOCK Act, the bill barring members of Congress from trading on inside information. It is a measure suddenly popular after a “60 Minutes” expose. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, the chairman of the panel, said the […]
School Arrests Bring New Scrutiny, Reforms
Hundreds of children in Connecticut schools are being arrested for behavior that, in an earlier time, most likely led to them being sent to the principal’s office. A story by the Connecticut Health Investigative Team — at c-hit.org — reports that data collected by the state’s judicial department show that more than 700 arrests were […]
Governor cool to DeStefano plan to let non-citizen residents vote
Gov. Dannel P. reacted cooly today to an idea recently floated by his 2006 rival for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, to allow non-citizen residents to vote in local elections. “It’s not an idea that I’m particularly comfortable with,” Malloy said. “I think there are obligations that run with citizenship, and […]
Murphy hits Lowe’s for dropping sponsorship of ‘All-American Muslim’
U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, is leading a congressional charge against Lowe’s, the home-improvement chain, for dropping its sponsorship of a reality TV show following Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan. Sponsors of the show have taken heat from a conservative group in Florida. With U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th, and 28 other members of Congress, […]
Malloy wants strong casinos, ‘aggressive lottery’
Empire City Casino, a new look for a century-old harness-racing track in Yonkers, N.Y., now has 5,300 slot machines to entice some of the gamblers who used to speed by on their way north to Connecticut’s tribal casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Rhode Island has new casinos in Lincoln and Newport, offering thousands of slots […]
Malloy refuses lawyer’s call to slow Irene disciplinary hearings
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy brushed aside a lawyer’s complaint today that his administration was moving too quickly against 24 state employees suspected of fraudulently obtaining disaster aid after Tropical Storm Irene. “The reality about Connecticut’s government is it routinely moved too slow, if at all, particularly in incidents like this,” Malloy said. “I think what […]
Utility puts price tag on better safeguards against power outages
The state’s largest electric utility insisted Wednesday it could reduce outages by up to 40 percent a decade from now with a 10-year improvement plan that would gradualy add more than $13 to the average residential monthly bill. Connecticut Light & Power Co. unveiled a plan to invest an extra $2.2 billion in tree-trimming, line […]