Connecticut could separate itself from its neighbors in a big way this year as it considers setting several new standards to ensure reliable electric service. The Two Storm Panel — which will release its assessment next week of Connecticut’s emergency readiness in the aftermath of August’s Tropical Storm Irene and the Oct. 29 nor’easter — […]

Connecticut’s economy crawled out of the Great Recession at a snail’s pace in 2011, and the New Year isn’t expected to bring much change. But while Connecticut’s economic fate rests largely with global factors, economists say state policymakers’ responses to five crucial challenges could shape whether that recovery accelerates, or grinds to a halt. Key […]

After dropping by nearly 4 percent in 2011, Connecticut’s prison population is on pace to dip below 17,000 inmates in early January after hitting an 11-year-low earlier this month, according to the state’s Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division. And former state Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, who has led the division for the past year, […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced today it has forwarded the names of another 10 state employees to agency heads for review in connection with the ongoing food stamps fraud investigation. This brings the total number of state workers still under close review to 44. An additional 29 employees already have been cleared of any […]

While a new report shows Connecticut outspends most other states in terms of legislative costs, an East Hartford lawmaker hopes it will breathe a second life into his Quixotic bid to eliminate jobs by shrinking the General Assembly. Sen. Gary LeBeau said that when the next regular session convenes in February he either will re-introduce […]

Holiday shoppers aren’t the only ones taking a wary look at their credit card balances these days. State government recently undertook its own annual debt review, looking from several perspectives but coming to the same conclusion each time: Connecticut remains one of the most indebted states in the nation. The state entered the fiscal year […]

Defending a plan to collect an extra $50 million per year from students by 2016, University of Connecticut officials said Monday that represents the cost of adding nearly 300 faculty. But another way of describing the extra student costs is that they also match a hole punched into UConn finances in recent months by Gov. […]

The battle over consolidating state government’s watchdog agencies could be headed for a second round in 2012, and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s choice to guide the merger offered a preview this week. David L. Guay, acting executive administrator for the new Office of Governmental Accountability, wrote in a draft report to legislators that he faces […]

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy used Connecticut’s credit card Friday for the last time in 2011, and there were nice gifts for six large businesses, legislative allies and himself. While two of the Democratic governor’s Republican critics charged that Malloy hasn’t really curbed the state’s free-spending ways, the governor noted that Connecticut’s unemployed got a nice present […]

While state officials struggle to fund winter heating assistance, the gap between what Connecticut’s poorest families need to heat their homes, and what they can actually afford, continues to grow, a new study reported Thursday. Operation Fuel, a private, nonprofit agency that expects to help more than 7,000 households keep warm this winter, reported that […]

The state’s largest electric utility insisted Wednesday it could reduce outages by up to 40 percent a decade from now with a 10-year improvement plan that would gradualy add more than $13 to the average residential monthly bill. Connecticut Light & Power Co. unveiled a plan to invest an extra $2.2 billion in tree-trimming, line […]

A progressive tax coalition offered a polite I-told-you-so to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature after New York officials agreed last week to keep their top income tax rate nearly one-third higher than Connecticut’s. Better Choices for Connecticut, a coalition of labor and other progressive advocacy groups, also challenged officials to launch a panel […]

Fed up with unprecedented mass power outages, one on the heels of another? How about last winter’s record-setting snowfall? And don’t forget last summer’s $1.5 billion state tax hike? Then again, Connecticut generally has a temperate climate, high incomes and quality health care, and ready access to recreational and cultural amenities. But before the debate heats up, […]

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. […]