Though Connecticut’s overall economic health remains higher than that of most states, the last recession dramatically expanded the income gap that sparked the Occupy movement, both in Hartford and nationally, according to a new report from the University of Connecticut. University economists, who released the latest issue Monday of their quarterly economic journal, also warned […]

Studying Connecticut’s tax system can be as exciting as reading the phone book — and it takes just as long. There are dozens of credits, exemptions and other breaks, some dating back decades, spread across more than 10 different taxes with a combined annual value topping $5.4 billion. It would be nice, Comptroller Kevin P. […]

In a parting shot from the last recession, the state budget spending cap will clamp down tighter over the next few years than at any other time in its history, state fiscal analysts are warning. But the cap no longer is the fiscal bogeyman it was when it was enacted two decades ago. And Gov. […]

Every community in Connecticut would have a select region safeguarded against power outages and containing shelters, public safety, groceries and other crucial services under a strategy outlined Wednesday by the state’s top environmental official. In his first testimony on the recent storms that caused record-setting outages, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Daniel C. […]

Connecticut Light & Power Co. was unprepared for the 809,000 outages it faced after an unprecedented Oct. 29 snowstorm, an independent assessment concluded Friday, noting that CL&P’s “worst-case scenario” plan offered little guidance for outages beyond 100,000 customers. In a report delivered to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and a state study panel, Witt Associates of […]

There was plenty of inconvenience, but no real threat of a fuel shortage in the days following both last October’s nor’easter and Tropical Storm Irene, industry experts told a state panel Wednesday. But if Connecticut were to face a major hurricane similar to the one that struck in 1938, emergency fuel supplies could be exhausted […]

Three months after the largest state budget deficit in Connecticut history was resolved, the budget remains modestly in the black — for now. But budget analysts both for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly put a big asterisk next to surplus figures Tuesday, warning that could change quickly — for better or for […]

Now that state legislators have closed the largest budget deficit in Connecticut history, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration has a new challenge: Fix a state employee pension system on a collision course with fiscal collapse in about two decades. Office of Policy and Management Secretary Benjamin Barnes, Malloy’s budget chief, presented the challenge Tuesday to […]

Connecticut consumers recovering from what has become the single-largest online shopping day of the year — informally called Cyber Monday — might want to take a second look at their receipts. Because regardless of a new statute designed to force online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes, many still don’t do it for different […]

State lawmakers are raising new concerns about Department of Energy and Environmental Protection staffing after a new audit concluded that the former administration allowed millions of dollars in federal funds owed Connecticut — some dating to 2001 — to go uncollected. The same audit also found that the former Department of Environmental Protection improperly wrote […]

Connecticut’s economy recovered faster than the nation’s in 2011, an uncharacteristic development that could continue in 2012, according to the latest analysis from the University of Connecticut’s economic think tank. But the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis also reported Friday that the new bioscience initiatives and the New Britain-to-Hartford busway launched by Gov. Dannel P. […]

Those who care for Connecticut’s residents and those who look out for its trees faced a similar problem during last month’s nor’easter that crippled power for more than two-thirds of the state. State and local government agencies as well as private-sector groups may be focused on a common issue, but do little to help each […]

The former top executive of Connecticut Light & Power Co. popped back up on the media grid Friday — one day after his resignation was announced — but only to indicate that he wouldn’t be discussing his departure. “While I appreciate that the media may be interested in speaking to me about my decision to […]

Connecticut Light & Power Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey D. Butler resigned Thursday afternoon as the state’s largest utility battles waves of criticism over its handling of nearly 1.6 million power outages from two recent storms. Butler had defended CL&P’s response both to an Oct. 29 nor’easter and to Tropical Storm Irene in […]

Northeast Utilities won’t wait until it has replaced Jeffrey D. Butler as president of Connecticut Light & Power Co. to begin upgrading its storm response capabilities, NU’s top executive pledged Thursday. The state’s largest electric utility also will begin exploring possible upgrades to its strategic, maintenance and communication functions even as awaits a preliminary independent […]