Gov. Ned Lamont said it’s premature to commit any of last year’s $2.5 billion surplus to plug holes in federal funding over the long term.
Emilia Otte
Emilia Otte was CT Mirror's Justice Reporter from the spring of 2025 to the spring of 2026. She covered the conditions in Connecticut prisons, the judicial system and migration. She also covered higher education. Prior to working for CT Mirror, she spent four years at CT Examiner, where she covered education, healthcare and children's issues both locally and statewide. She graduated with a BA in English from Bryn Mawr College and a MA in Global Journalism from New York University, where she specialized in Europe and the Mediterranean.
Posted inJustice
CT DOC pauses body scanner rollout in prisons amid concerns over their use
Correction officers appeared to view the scanners as a way to enhance surveillance, while advocates saw them as a means to reduce strip searches.
Posted inImmigration
CT advocates protest arrest of Hartford activist by ICE
Hartford resident Victor Sanchez, member of Make the Road CT and Hartford Deportation Defense, was detained by ICE Wednesday, advocates said.
Posted inJustice
Report: US DOJ has ongoing concerns about education, housing at youth prison
CT’s juvenile prison has made progress in some areas but fallen short in key places following a 2024 federal settlement, evaluators found.
Posted inEducation
CT student loan borrowers face big changes under new federal policies
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed the way people can pay off student loans, and many in Connecticut are concerned about the effects.
Posted inEducation
Southeastern CT lawmakers urge UConn to invest in Avery Point
Investments in housing and academics at UConn’s Avery Point campus are needed to supply workers for the region’s industries, lawmakers said.
Posted inJustice
Drug overdoses in CT prisons raising alarms
The number of overdoses reflects the challenge facing the DOC: keeping illegal drugs out of CT prisons and treating addiction within them.
Posted inEducation
Report: Special education schools fail to provide required services
State auditors wrote that some private special education schools in CT are failing to give students all the services they need.
Posted inJustice
One year in, CT correction ombuds has nearly 400 complaints and no staff
DeVaughn Ward told Correction Advisory Committee hiring was delayed after CT legislature doubled his budget and he shifted his staffing plans.
Posted inImmigration
Democrat lawmakers ask CT judicial branch to ban ICE arrests at courthouses
Senate Democrats asked CT Chief Justice Raheem Mullins to ban ICE from arresting people anywhere where judicial proceedings are taking place.
Posted inImmigration
ICE arrests, deportations in CT up sharply in Trump’s second term
ICE has more than doubled its arrests and tripled its deportations in Connecticut compared to the first half of 2024.
Posted inJustice
FBI reports arrest of 84 violent offenders with ties to CT
‘Operation No Escape’ was part of a nationwide initiative to apprehend perpetrators of violent crime. Nearly all CT arrests were US citizens.
Posted inJustice
Prison official offers to release part of video of J’Allen Jones’ death
An attorney for J’Allen Jones’ family argued that removing any part of the video would leave out critical information about the day he died.
Posted inEducation
CT homeschoolers still fighting regulation in legislature’s off season
Connecticut’s 2025 legislative session ended without any bills coming up for debate. Homeschool families want to keep it that way.
Posted inImmigration
ICE arrests 65 people in CT in four-day operation
The announcement comes after people in Western Connecticut cities warned about increased federal immigration enforcement activity last week.
