What’s happening in this liberal suburb is a reflection of land-use decisions playing out in wealthy suburbs across the state.
Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
Jacqueline was CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter, and an original member of the CT Mirror staff, joining shortly before our January 2010 launch. Her awards include the best-of-show Theodore A. Driscoll Investigative Award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists in 2019 for reporting on inadequate inmate health care, first-place for investigative reporting from the New England Newspaper and Press Association in 2020 for reporting on housing segregation, and two first-place awards from the National Education Writers Association in 2012. She was selected for a prestigious, year-long Propublica Local Reporting Network grant in 2019, exploring a range of affordable and low-income housing issues. Before joining CT Mirror, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.
Posted inEducation
Lamont administration: Connecticut is first in U.S. to close digital divide for K-12 students
While Connecticut has provided laptops and internet access to everyone, data shows students learning online miss twice as much school.
Posted inHousing
HUD ‘perpetuating segregation,’ Hartford families claim in lawsuit
The policies that keep poor residents in impoverished areas are the subject of a lawsuit filed by 10 local families.
Posted inHousing
In recovering urban areas, homeownership makes all the difference
Five years ago, the neighborhood was largely blighted. Now, a playground sits on a cleaned-up lot.
Posted inEducation
Homeless students missing twice as many school days this year
There has also been a 3% drop in K-12 enrollment this year, largely due to the pandemic.
Posted inPolitics
Not just Trump. Connecticut Republicans make suburban zoning an election issue.
The message: urban cities would take over housing development in suburban towns if Democrats are elected.
Posted inEducation
UConn halts free tuition program amid surging budget deficits
Citing gaping deficits caused by the pandemic, UConn announced Wednesday it is discontinuing its free tuition program after one year.
Posted inEducation
Almost all K-12 students in CT now have internet access. What’s the plan for seniors and others without school-aged families?
Residents use computers at the UConn Library at the Hartford Public Library’s downtown branch before the pandemic. Public access to the computers has been interrupted at this library and others during the pandemic. Residents use computers at the UConn Library at the Hartford Public Library’s downtown branch before the pandemic. Public access to the computers […]
Posted inHousing
CT’s balkanized housing laws are the subject of a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration
A federal lawsuit claims a new rule will make it harder to challenge unfair housing practices in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Posted inHealth
During the peak of the pandemic, deaths in Connecticut increased by 55 percent. COVID-19 accounted for almost all of them.
COVID-19 accounted for almost all of the 55% spike in the number of deaths during the peak of the pandemic.
Posted inEducation
Community colleges will largely drain their reserves with no state bailout or union givebacks in sight
Connecticut’s state universities and community colleges are in fiscal crisis because of a pandemic-related enrollment drop.
Posted inHealth
CT eases COVID restrictions on restaurants, churches; Birx says they’re not main cause of spread.
The visit occurred the same day Connecticut relaxed its restrictions, and the day the state issued alerts in eastern Connecticut.
Posted inEducation
Governor takes a bow for students logging on. Data doesn’t back it up
Gov. Ned Lamont says online education during the pandemic is a success, but he isn’t comparing analogous information.
Posted inEducation
‘Budget crisis’ at community colleges, state universities, prompts request for $69 million bailout
The Connecticut State College and Universities are in ‘critical’ financial condition, President Mark Ojakian says.
Posted inEconomic Development
Motel-dwellers aren’t considered ‘homeless enough’ to warrant state help
The state doesn’t track adults living in motels, but one out of every 950 students last school year were living in a motel.
