The recession has not been kind to law schools. The triple threat of rapidly rising tuition, crippling student debt and shrinking prospects of landing a high-paying job right away have resulted in a 30-year national low in law school applications. Connecticut’s law schools have not been immune to this dramatic shift and have responded by […]
Grace Merritt
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Mirror forum: Young people often lack right skills for CT’s job market, panel says
West Hartford — Thousands of Connecticut college and high school students looking for jobs upon graduation each year are either lured away by the glitter of big cities or simply don’t have the work-ready skills or the entrepreneurial inclination to land a job. But there are plenty of jobs out there if these millennials look […]
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Connecticut senators urge VA not to force 23 veterans out of rest homes
Connecticut’s senators Wednesday urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to reconsider its order to kick 23 veterans out of rest homes in Hamden, West Haven and Waterbury, where they have been living for 12 years. The department notified the veterans last week that it would no longer pay for their nursing home care as […]
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Activists protest plan to move female inmates from Danbury prison
New Haven – Standing before the thick columns of the federal courthouse on New Haven Green, community and religious activists held a protest Tuesday, saying they wanted to speak for the silent women behind bars in Danbury. Taking turns at a bullhorn, the activists warned that plans to transfer hundreds of female inmates from Danbury […]
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Concerned about community safety, state closes three halfway houses
Citing concerns about community safety and financial difficulties, the Connecticut Department of Correction announced Friday it would terminate its contract with an embattled Norwalk agency to run three halfway houses in Norwalk and Waterbury, including a 20-bed program for women and children in Waterbury. Norwalk Economic Opportunities NOW Inc., known as NEON, runs a 27-bed […]
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Bonnie Foreshaw granted clemency after 27 years in prison
See correction at bottom of story Niantic – Bonnie Jean Foreshaw, who was convicted of murder when Ronald Reagan was president, was granted clemency today by the state Board of Paroles. Her release date is Nov. 15. She had been convicted of the fatal shooting of Joyce Amos, who was pregnant at the time, near a […]
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As in Connecticut, marijuana legalization spreading across country
Laws and public opinion are shifting on the legalization of marijuana across the country with 40 states, including Connecticut, having proposed or enacted legislation on pot use, according to WestlawNext, an online legal research service. To date, 24 states, including Connecticut, and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use, and another 16 […]
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Federal prison in Danbury to begin transferring female inmates out Monday
UPDATE: Monday WTNH-TV published a report that the partial federal shutdown has delayed the transfer of inmates from the Danbury prison. Over the objection of several senators, the Federal Bureau of Prisons Monday plans to resume its plan to transfer all of the inmates out of the Danbury women’s prison and convert it to a […]
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Connecticut begins to close wide racial and ethnic gaps in prison population
Connecticut has begun to reduce the disproportionate number of blacks and Latinos in its prisons. Since 2008, the numbers of black and Hispanic inmates have fallen by 15 percent each, while the number of white prisoners dropped by a slower 6 percent. The drop is relatively small, but because of policy changes, shifting attitudes and […]
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Connecticut prison population starts to drop after summertime spike
An unexpected spike in the state’s prison population this summer has leveled off, and the population seems to have returned to its overall five-year decline. The number inmates in Connecticut prisons rose steadily every month since April, but dropped slightly for the first time in September and now stands at 17,134, Michael P. Lawlor, Gov. […]
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Task force looks into banning Connecticut pet shops from selling commercially bred puppies
A new legislative task force on puppy mills decided Wednesday it will research and hold public hearings around the state on whether to ban the sale of commercially bred puppies in Connecticut pet shops. During an organizational hearing at the state Capitol, the task force announced it would send a report by January in time […]
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Puppy mill task force getting attention before it even holds first meeting
A so-called “puppy mill” legislative task force is already stirring up a lot of interest from the media and lobbyists before it even holds its first meeting Wednesday morning. The bipartisan task force, which will look into the “inhumane treatment” of puppies and kittens sold to Connecticut pet stores, will hold an organizational meeting at […]
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Malloy order aims to help veterans get jobs, college credit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is hoping to straighten the path for hundreds of veterans who served as medics, truck drivers, plumbers and many other professions in the military only to be told, once they get home, that they need to start from square one. Malloy signed an order Monday that streamlines the process for getting […]
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CT’s multi-pronged approach to reducing recidivism is working
New Haven – After spending years chipping away at it, Connecticut has reduced its recidivism rate to 41 percent, down from 47 percent in 2007. “Six points is a significant drop and makes all the difference to their families,” said William Carbone, executive director of the Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division. The success gave […]
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Former Latin Kings gang leader finds redemption as editor
New Haven – From her desk in her small, sunlit apartment, Beatrice Codianni broke a national news story this summer about the women’s federal prison in Danbury. Codianni’s story, posted on her national criminal justice website, Reentry Central, revealed that the women’s facility was being turned over to house male prisoners, and that the Bureau […]