Lawmakers questioned the commissioner and other top officials of the Department of Children and Families, sharply at times, during a hearing Tuesday on the agency’s actions before a nonverbal Hartford teenager with autism died from starvation and physical abuse earlier this year.
December 19, 2017
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT Dreamers seeking commitment stage sit-in at Murphy’s office
WASHINGTON — Eighteen young undocumented activists from Connecticut staged a sit-in at Sen. Chris Murphy’s Senate office Tuesday, demanding the Democratic lawmaker vote “no” on a must-pass budget bill this week if Congress fails to approve protection for the youths known as “dreamers.” Murphy said he could not make that commitment because it would deprive him of political leverage.
Posted inPolitics
Oz Griebel to open indy run with a Sandy Hook running mate
Oz Griebel, who recently retired as leader of the MetroHartford Alliance and exited the Republican Party, will open an independent campaign for governor Wednesday by introducing his running mate, Monte Frank, a Sandy Hook gun-control activist, former Democrat and immediate past president of the Connecticut Bar Association.
Posted inHealth, Money, Politics
Session for Medicare fix delayed until early January
State legislative leaders Tuesday again delayed their plans to reverse cuts to the Medicare Savings Program in December, but pledged to restore all funds in early January.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Senate, House approve tax plan CT lawmakers call disastrous for state
Updated at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday
WASHINGTON — With Vice President Mike Pence presiding, the Senate early Wednesday approved a massive tax overhaul on a strict party-line vote, deepening the partisan divide in Congress. Connecticut’s Democrats joined all others in their party to vote against the tax plan, calling it a giveaway to the rich that would hurt working Americans.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Trump: Never thought of dropping Gorsuch because of his comments to Blumenthal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted as “FAKE NEWS” a report that he considered pulling the nomination of then-Supreme Court candidate Neil Gorsuch because the judge criticized the president’s escalating attacks on the federal judiciary to Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
If education justice is the goal, don’t follow Massachusetts
Massachusetts, like Connecticut, has long boasted top-performing public schools (“Massachusetts Is Like Connecticut, But Does a Better Job Educating the Poor,” Dec. 11, 2017). Students in both states scored at or near the top on national tests before the start of high-stakes testing. But then, as now, there have been huge differences in academic outcomes linked to race, income, language and disability. These gaps mirror the two states’ large (and growing) gaps in wealth and opportunity, as well as glaring inequities in school funding between rich and poor districts. … Rather than follow Massachusetts’ lead and impose more tests, Connecticut should implement an assessment system using projects and portfolios that promote and measure deeper, broader learning.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Some analysis, please, on tolls versus higher gasoline tax
We need a serious comparison of the costs and benefits of tolls vs. higher gas taxes. Some obvious issues are…
Costs: It should cost next to nothing to raise gas taxes, while tolls might involve significant capital and operating costs.
Equity: It would seem fair that all drivers pay a share of maintaining and improving roads, not just ones using particular highways.
Contribution from drivers from out-of-state: How would the two options compare?
Congestion pricing: Would a toll system really be put at locations that enable effective congestion pricing? Border tolls would not do so. Could congestion pricing really be fair and effective in a state with limited alternative transportation options and limited number of lanes on highways?