Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed ‘right-sizing’ Connecticut’s correctional system due to a decade-long decline in the prison population.
February 2021
Posted inEducation
Lamont keeps school funding on auto-pilot, despite calls to end ‘funding discrimination’
The move is sure to displease groups that have been calling for a major increase in state education spending.
Posted inMoney
Lamont leans heavily on federal aid to keep taxes flat in CT
Gov. Ned Lamont relies on federal funding and state reserves to balance his new budget without significant tax hikes.
Posted inMoney
Text of Gov. Ned Lamont’s 2021 budget address
Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Senator Kelly, Representative Candelora, members of the General Assembly, Lt. Governor Bysiewicz and the people of the great State of Connecticut. As your governor, one of my top priorities has been to get Connecticut’s fiscal house in order. My first stop two years ago was the state’s budget. For decades, Connecticut […]
Posted inPolitics
In budget speech, a governor caught between a desire for social justice and fiscal restraint
A tension between fiscal restraint and social justice was evident throughout the governor’s budget address.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont to outline fast-track blueprint for recreational pot
Gov. Ned Lamont is proposing legislation that would permit the sale and possession of recreational pot in Connecticut in May 2022.
Posted inMoney
Lamont uses federal dollars and reserves to boost local aid, avert tax hikes in his new budget
While Lamont’s plan provides short-term stability, it also could leave Connecticut with challenges after the 2022 elections.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Why does transportation construction cost so much around here? Labor costs.
Why is transportation construction so expensive in our area? What kind of honor was it when New York City recently surpassed Zurich (one of the most expensive cities in the world) as No. 1 on the most-expensive-place-to-do-underground-construction dishonor roll?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Eliminating nursing home legal immunity from COVID suits is ‘wrong prescription’
With respect, Gov. Ned Lamont, vacating legal immunity for healthcare providers is the wrong prescription. On Feb. 8, the governor reversed his informed, insightful and foresighted executive order protecting health care providers from civil lawsuits related to COVID-related infections and deaths.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut charter schools are not delivering
The latest research into Connecticut’s charter schools found that, in general, charter schools have not delivered on the promise of better outcomes for students and that some charter schools are perpetuating practices that harm Black and Latinx students. This research is especially relevant now that several bills related to school choice and charter schools have been introduced for the 2021 legislative session.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Arts organizations strengthen our communities. Now we’re relying on the community to stay open
The effects of COVID-19 can be felt throughout our communities. For some organizations it has been a grueling but rewarding period marked by opportunity and innovation. For others it has been a year of tough choices, closed revenue streams and a desperate search for funding.
Posted inSteady Habits
PODCAST: Senate leader’s plan includes new taxes on the rich, legal pot, sports betting
John Dankosky talks with Connecticut’s second-most powerful Democrat about possible new revenue to help struggling cities, towns and residents.
Posted inHealth
State memo: COVID vaccine providers should emphasize vulnerable populations
The memo emphasized that COVID vaccine providers must do a better job of tracking race and ethnicity data.
Posted inPolitics
State Rep. Mike France running for Congress
Mike France, a Republican state lawmaker, is running against U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.
Posted inHealth
As problems continue with federal vaccine system, more and more vaccinators turning to other ways to fill clinics
The result is a potpourri of options but a potential lack of coordination.