Legislative leaders agreed Thursday to call lawmakers back to Hartford next week to revise, but not “re-litigate” the bipartisan budget passed last month, primarily by changing terms of what Gov. Dannel P. Malloy complained was a flawed hospital tax that could cost Connecticut hundreds of millions of dollars in federal Medicaid reimbursements. The session will provide a modest coda to one of Connecticut’s longest struggles to finalize a budget.
2017
Posted inEconomic Development, Politics
New CT casino falls prey to lobbying blitz and Trump policy
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Interior Department’s failure to act on provisions that would allow the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to open a new casino in East Windsor came after a vigorous lobbying campaign by competitor MGM Resorts International and a change in Indian gaming policy in the Trump administration.
Posted inEducation, Health
State watchdog: Schools keeping too many students home without medical OK
An investigation by a state watchdog agency has found that “high numbers” of children have left public school for medical or mental health reasons – though only two-thirds of the absences had been authorized by the student’s health care provider, as required by state regulations.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The climate report Trump hoped to ignore will resonate outside D.C.
Last week, without comment, the White House published a study officially titled the Climate Science Special Report. Contrary to many statements and positions articulated by President Trump, members of his Cabinet, his surrogates and his supporters, the report clearly states that Earth’s climate is changing, and “it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.”
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT-N is off line! Not exactly, just a little harder to find
Some visitors to the web site of CT-N, the state-owned public-affairs network whose non-profit vendor ceased operations Friday, were greeted Wednesday with an error message or default pages with links to pages promoting real estate and florists. The site still was there, just not at one of the usual addresses.
Posted inPolitics
Congress authorizes big boost in CT defense spending
WASHINGTON — Congressional negotiators on Wednesday finished work on a final defense bill that would boost the number of F-35’s requested by President Donald Trump from 70 to 90 and Sikorsky-made Black Hawk helicopters from 45 to 53. The defense bill also authorized billions of dollars for submarines and other weapons systems made in Connecticut and boosts military pay as well as the number of sailors, soldiers and marines.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
How dogs and cats can get their day in court
In 2016, the FBI started to track animal cruelty, including neglect, torture and sexual abuse, because of disturbing connections.
“If somebody is harming an animal, there is a good chance they also are hurting a human,” said John Thompson, the deputy executive director of the National Sheriffs’ Association. “If we see patterns of animal abuse, the odds are that something else is going on.”
In response to longstanding failures to aggressively prosecute and sentence perpetrators of animal cruelty, I developed a way for lawyers and law students to advocate for animal victims. I believe this approach can solve the problem of under-enforcement of anti-cruelty laws and achieve justice for animals.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats claim ‘huge victory’ in Connecticut municipal races
With no competitive mayoral races in Connecticut’s largest cities, the focus in municipal elections Tuesday turned to the suburbs, where jubilant Democrats made gains on Republican turf across the state in races for local councils and chief elected officers, fueled by an ambitious ground game.
Posted inNews
Local coverage: Links to election results around the state
We are rounding up the results of top-of-the-ticket races around the state and linking to local news stories on those races.
Posted inPolitics
Election results reported by municipalities
Here are unofficial election results from municipal races around the state as posted on the secretary of the state’s election reporting system. The system includes all offices on the ballot but its use by municipalities was optional for this election, so the completeness and speed with which the data are entered is entirely up to each town’s election officials. We also have compiled a list of top-race winners and links to local coverage in a separate post.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Texas shooting leads to move to reform gun buyer background checks
WASHINGTON – Texas shooter Devin Kelly is a prime example of a failure of the the existing gun background check system, and his killing spree on Sunday may bring small reforms. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., says he has a commitment from a key GOP leader to work toward a bipartisan fix to the law that should have prevented Kelly from buying the guns he may have used in his attack.
Posted inJustice
Enfield prison to close as inmate population falls
Connecticut is closing the Enfield Correctional Institution, a prison that opened in 1962 as the Osborn Prison Farm and nearly doubled in size by 1987, the early years of a stunning sixfold increase in a state inmate population that peaked in 2008.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Divisiveness: A weapon of mass destruction
Divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It destroys families, communities, and countries. It’s a plague. It sickens, weakens, and often kills its infected hosts who refuse to realize, until its too late, that their ignorant assumptions of someone or something not of their tribe — the other, the stranger, the religion, or the ideology — can lead to mass social destruction if we put fear and hatred reflexively ahead of listening and understanding.
Posted inPolitics
Larson sees ‘same result’ for GOP tax plan as Obamacare repeal
WASHINGTON — As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. John Larson is on the front lines of Democratic opposition to the Republican plan to overhaul the federal tax code. He says the proposal is especially bad for taxpayers in Connecticut and predicts it will follow the same path to failure as the GOP attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Posted inHousing
Those with crumbling foundations finally may get some help
“The good news is there’s $20 million a year for remediation,” said Lyle Wray, executive director of the Capitol Region Council of Governments. “Obviously, homeowners are impatient and want to get going.”