Former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr.’s endorsement Friday of Mary-Jane Foster in the Bridgeport mayoral race gives the Foster campaign an opportunity to remind voters that Joe Ganim had a lot of help in reviving the city during his tenure as mayor.
October 2, 2015
Posted inPolitics
Murphy to Congress: Hold the sympathy, pass gun law
A press conference to promote a relatively modest gun-control measure became a platform Friday for U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy to denounce the U.S. Congress for refusing to act in the wake of high-profile mass shootings like the one Thursday in Oregon or the quieter daily toll of gun violence in the U.S.
Posted inPolitics
Larson hosts Pelosi, other Dems, at East Hartford bocce tournament
WASHINGTON – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is among a group of House Democrats in East Hartford today to play a little bocce ball for charity – and also raise money for the Democratic Party at a separate event. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, holds the bocce ball tournament every year.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut tobacco farmers eyeing Cuban market
WASHINGTON – Before the Cuban Revolution brought on the U.S. economic embargo on the island about 55 years ago, Cuba’s world-class cigars were often wrapped in special tobacco leaves grown in Connecticut. Connecticut farmers want access to that market again, and Sen. Chris Murphy wants to help them get it.
Posted inPolitics
Sharon Palmer to retire as Malloy’s labor commissioner
The administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is losing its popular ambassador to organized labor: Sharon Palmer, 71, a former teachers’ union president and an AFL-CIO officer, is retiring as labor commissioner at the end of the year.
Posted inPolitics
This Week in Washington
Congress moved at the 11th hour to avert a government shutdown, but it’s only a short-term fix — with a new budget deadline of Dec. 11. Access Health CT CEO James Wadleigh defended the operations of Connecticut’s health exchange to skeptical GOP lawmakers. Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini’s plans to merge with Humana were also scrutinized by a House panel this week.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Some Democrats ready to talk about state worker concessions
Republican state legislators no longer are the only ones talking about an immediate need for new concessions from state employees. The top Democrat on the legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Sen. Beth Bye of West Hartford, confirms that Democrats on her panel have discussed the possibility of worker furloughs to mitigate recent cuts to hospitals and to services for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled.
Posted inEvents
Ticket sales end today for The Mirror’s ‘Small State, Big Debate: Race’ event
Ticket sales end today for The Connecticut Mirror’s annual event, “Small State, Big Debate: Race” on Oct. 6 at Fairfield University. The full event will feature New York Times columnist Charles Blow as the keynote speaker and also includes sessions on criminal justice with discussions on the governor’s “second-chance society” and policy research.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Answering the Pope’s call to end homelessness
In speaking directly to the Christian mandate to house the homeless and in choosing to spend his own time in service to them, Pope Francis challenges us all (Christian and non-Christian alike) to examine what we are doing to shape the response of our communities and our nation in the face of this social issue. In Connecticut, and across the nation, we have much to be proud of, as we steadily advance toward our goal of ending homelessness. Indeed, there is good news to share: Connecticut’s 2015 annual census of homelessness, the Point-in-Time Count, showed the lowest number of homeless people since this annual count began in our state in 2007.
Posted inHealth
Hospitals could face larger cut
The governor cut $192 million in Medicaid funding for hospitals last month, but the actual hit to hospitals could end up being 25 percent higher. The state is holding back additional payments that weren’t part of the cost-saving measure, and the governor’s budget office said decisions about whether to pay them will be “based on whether we have enough money to keep the budget in balance.”