About a year ago, The Center for Public Integrity in Washington enlisted 50 journalists, including me, in a massive project measuring the degree to which state governments were accountable, open to public scrutiny and susceptible to corruption. To my surprise, Connecticut ranked second, next to New Jersey, as the most transparent of all 50 states. […]
May 17, 2013 @ 12:00 am
Posted inNews
Blumenthal will help push to reduce sexual assault in the military
Reacting to a week of shockingly bad news about sexual assault in the military, Sen. Richard Blumenthal announced Friday that he is pushing to reform the military judicial process and provide more support for victims. “This crime is underreported and under-prosecuted in the military and I am going to be proposing reforms along with colleagues […]
Posted inNews
Census Bureau under fire from the right
Washington -– As the U.S. Census Bureau collects information about housing from Connecticut residents in the next few months, the agency faces trouble in Washington. The sequester, or across-the-board federal spending cuts, are digging deep into the agency’s budget and conservative Republicans want to gut or eliminate many of its programs. That’s making a broad […]
Posted inNews
Fed economist says state can shave big dollars off towns’ spending
Connecticut can reduce the cost of municipal government dramatically over time, but it won’t happen unless state leaders pave the way, a top economist with the Federal Reserve Bank said Friday. Yolanda Kodrzycki, vice president and director of the reserve’s New England Public Policy Center in Boston, also said other states particularly have cut costs […]
Posted inNews
Hundreds of kindergarten students suspended from school
It started with a report to the state’s Office of the Child Advocate that a child had been expelled from preschool. Jamey Bell, the child advocate, saw no reason why a child that young should be suspended, and wanted to know how widespread the problem was. She also had learned that a 7-year-old had been arrested […]
Posted inNews
Testimony: Donovan’s biggest money men had stake in legislation
New Haven – The two biggest fundraisers for then-House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan’s 2012 congressional campaign were Harry Raymond Soucy and Mark Masselli, men with significant financial interests before the General Assembly, a campaign official testified Friday. Soucy, according to previous witnesses, was responsible for delivering checks totaling $27,500 from donors trying to ensure that […]
Posted inNews
Water bill could help Connecticut in navigation, flood protection
The Senate voted this week on a water resources bill Connecticut lawmakers hope will clear the way to fund dozens of projects in Connecticut, including the dredging of New Haven Harbor, 18 beach erosion projects along the coastline and hurricane barriers in Stamford, New London and Pawcatuck. In a rare display of bipartisanship, the Water […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Town leaders treated to partisan spat at Capitol
Leaders of small towns may have headed to the state Capitol this week to lobby legislators not to cut their state funding, but what they got instead was a front-row view of legislative leaders bickering over the state’s budget crisis.
Posted inHealth
State getting more mental health first aid trainers
Thirty people will receive training next week to become instructors in mental health first aid, a program that helps participants learn to recognize signs of mental disorders and help others get professional help. Those instructors will then offer mental health first aid training in communities across the state to people who have regular contact with […]