Connecticut has among the lowest poverty rates in the country and its median income is rising, though at a slower rate than in all but four other states, new data from the U.S. Census showed Thursday. Meanwhile, the data showed that more than 40 percent of Connecticut’s 18- to 34-year-olds still live with their parents.
September 15, 2016
Posted inEducation
Course change: CT’s only airplane mechanics’ schools stay open
The State Department of Education has reversed its previous decision to stop enrolling new students in the only two schools in Connecticut that train airplane mechanics.
Posted inPolitics
GOP legislative candidates begin push to grab seats this fall
While House Republicans made it clear they would highlight Democratic legislators’ cooperation with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy — whose unpopularity is marked in recent polls — the Senate GOP took aim at Connecticut’s fiscal woes.
Posted inJustice
Wade to withdraw from Connecticut’s Anthem-Cigna review
A lawyer for Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade told state ethics officials Thursday that the commissioner will recuse herself from any role in approving the acquisition of Cigna by Anthem, a deal now jeopardized by a federal antitrust lawsuit.
Posted inEducation
Text of the state’s appeal in the school funding case
Here is the text of the appeal to last week’s decision in the school funding case filed Thursday by the office of state Attorney General George Jepsen.
Posted inMoney
Hartford’s Bronin seeks ally in push for municipal finance reform
With surging debt costs driving huge deficits in coming years, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin urged a state advisory panel Thursday to help him convince legislators to reform the municipal finance system. He also said he may ask state officials to advance the city millions of dollars in education grants to help stem worsening cash-flow issues.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Jepsen files appeal, says Moukawsher school ruling ‘legally unsupported’
Attorney General George Jepsen’s office filed an appeal Thursday asking the Connecticut Supreme Court to conclude that a trial judge embarked on “an uncharted and legally unsupported path” last week in asserting authority over how the state distributes education aid and sets standards for graduating from high school, serving special-needs students and evaluating teachers.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On SBAC test results: ‘We are asking the wrong questions’
The recent release of the latest Connecticut SBAC scores indicates that nearly half of the state’s elementary and middle school students tested last year were not at grade level in reading or math. In this series of questions, we asked Madison School Superintendent Thomas Scarice, an outspoken critic of the SBAC test, for his reaction to the news.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut needs more mental health success stories — and resources
Connecticut needs to commit funding to all community-based programs: housing, peer supports, food pantries, employment readiness organizations, and clinics where doctors, therapists, case workers and pharmacists work together as teams.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
‘Dark poison’ in Judge Moukawsher’s education ruling
Judge Thomas Moukawsher issued a monumental ruling last week in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding v. Rell. Based on an extensive trial that ran from January through June, the judge determined that Connecticut’s system of funding education was irrational and unconstitutional. As to his basic findings, Judge Moukawsher is to be applauded. The excellent decision came, however, with a very dark poison in it. Judge Moukawsher proposed that certain children with severe disabilities be denied a public education.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal, Murphy up for big promotions if Dems take over Senate
WASHINGTON — If Democrats reach their goal of retaking control of the U.S. Senate in November’s elections, Connecticut’s senators have much to gain. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, if re-elected, and fellow Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy will zoom up in seniority much faster than their predecessors.