WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy on Tuesday introduced a resolution that would prevent the United States from launching a pre-emptive strike against North Korea, saying he was prompted to do so by the Trump administration’s increasingly belligerent tone toward Pyongyang.
2017
Posted inJustice
Connecticut alleges massive, routine price-fixing by pharma
Connecticut’s attorney general alleged a far-reaching price-fixing conspiracy by global and U.S. makers of generic drugs Tuesday in a complaint that greatly expands the scope of the lawsuit initiated by his office last year and eventually joined by most other states. “The allegations of our complaint are shocking, and the depth and breadth of the conspiracies alleged are mind-blowing,” Attorney General George Jepsen said.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Acknowledging childhood trauma — a growing movement in Connecticut
Imagine sitting in a room with 360 other people. Now imagine that 95 percent of these people are women. Indeed, the room is filled with chatter, laughter, and anticipation. The room is in a downtown Waterbury hotel and occupied by pre-school and kindergarten teachers, home daycare providers, and administrators. The women, and the handful of men, have come to kick off an important movement in Waterbury: to make early childhood care more aware of and informed about the prevalence and impact of trauma. Specifically, how traumatic experiences influences the lives of the young children they work with.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Murphy needs a chaperone when traveling outside the U.S.
Chris Murphy cannot be trusted, here or abroad, because he puts his own political interests ahead of America. The freshmen Senator from Connecticut needs a chaperone. Chris Murphy just traveled alone to Estonia and Ukraine – two NATO allies. Sen. Ron Johnson (R) could not make the trip. Unfortunately Sen. Murphy took his partisan baggage with him and chose not to stand up for American interests but instead he openly embraced criticism of our country and policies. Standing up for America is not in Chris Murphy’s DNA.
Posted inEducation, Money
Administration, legislators at odds over the math of local aid cuts
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget office says cities and towns stand to lose nearly $55 million in state aid this fiscal year – not the $34 million cut that state legislators were told shortly before voting to approve the bipartisan budget last week. Legislators see it differently.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal, other Dems call for greater protections for Mueller
WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort’s indictment on Monday widened a partisan split, with Democrats, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal, calling for an increased pace of investigation and added protections for special counsel Robert Mueller and Republicans demanding equal effort be spent on a probe of ties between Democrats and the Russians.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Castrating CT-N
As our state lawmakers wrench their shoulders patting themselves on the back for finally writing a budget (four months late), let’s stop for a moment. Put down the champagne and ask ourselves: What really happened here?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s policies cause egregious racial disparities among children
“We all do better when we all do better.” For nearly two decades, the phrase coined in 1999 by the late Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) has reminded us that our nation is strengthened by shared prosperity. Amid escalating conversations around race, immigration, and disparities in outcomes for children by race and immigration status, the idea that our collective future depends on the success of every child is more important than ever.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Tucked in budget: Shorter leash on election watchdogs
Connecticut’s legislators are using the bipartisan budget deal struck last week to do what they could not during the regular session: Require the State Elections Enforcement Commission to dismiss complaints against candidates, including lawmakers, that are not resolved in one year.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT businesses, employees face hikes in health care premiums
WASHINGTON – When the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period for health insurance begins on Wednesday, many individuals who buy their own policies will suffer sticker shock because of a sharp increase in premiums. But the state’s large and small businesses are girding for higher premiums to cover their workers in 2018 too. And they and their employees will face tough choices.
Posted inEconomic Development, Housing
Ortiz: Puerto Rico facing long, challenging recovery — bravely
Jason Ortiz, president of the Connecticut Puerto Rican Agenda, knows how badly Puerto Rico was damaged by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and how important the territory has been to the rest of the United States. He has strong feelings about what it will take to rebuild the island; and in this Sunday Conversation told us how the crisis has brought Puerto Ricans here and on the island together as a people.
Posted inNews
Hallelujah, hallelujah, a budget at last
And, lo, on the 118th day, the assemblage brought forth (on a veto-proof vote) a state budget, and a great sigh of relief spread across the land, and it was good. (For some people anyway.)
Posted inNews
FEMA won’t disclose response plan for hurricane in Puerto Rico
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, citing unspecified “potentially sensitive information,” is declining to release a document it drafted several years ago that details how it would respond to a major hurricane in Puerto Rico.
Posted inHealth
Federal judge denies bid to force feds to resume ACA subsidies
A federal judge has denied a petition to immediately reinstate Affordable Care Act subsidies that President Donald Trump suspended earlier this month. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by 18 states and the District of Columbia.
Posted inMoney
No agreement on how CT-N will survive budget cut
The operators of CT-N, the non-profit television network that’s provided a window on Connecticut state government for nearly two decades, failed in a meeting with legislative officials Friday to agree on a way for the network to survive a 50-percent budget cut.