The CT Mirror (https://ctmirror.org/author/kphaneuf/page/2/)
Keith, with Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, won first prize in investigative reporting from the Education Writers Association in 2012 for a series of stories on the Board of Regents for Higher Education. The former State Capitol bureau chief for The Journal Inquirer of Manchester, Keith has spent most of 24 years as a reporter specializing in state government finances, analyzing such topics as income tax equity, waste in government and the complex funding systems behind Connecticut's transportation and social services networks. A former contributing writer to The New York Times, Keith is a graduate of and a former journalism instructor at the University of Connecticut. E-mail him at kphaneuf@ctmirror.org.
Connecticut voters will decide the fate of two proposed constitutional amendments, including a legal “lockbox” designed to ensure transportation-related revenues can’t be diverted for other purposes. Continue Reading →
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ned Lamont has slowly eliminated most options to close a major post-election deficit in state finances as he’s tried to convince voters he won’t order major tax hikes. [Updated at 7:15 p.m. with comment from Bob Stefanowski’s campaign.] Continue Reading →
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski has whittled Democrat Ned Lamont’s lead down to 3.4 percentage points, putting the race in a statistical tie, according to a new poll released Tuesday by Sacred Heart University and Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Continue Reading →
The race for governor heated up Monday over a squabble about the state’s minimum wage. Democrat Ned Lamont’s campaign charged that Republican Bob Stefanowski plans to repeal Connecticut’s $10.10 per hour minimum wage — a charge the GOP nominee immediately denied. Continue Reading →
The gunman who killed 20 elementary students and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School a few years after he graduated from the school district showed “remarkable progress” thanks to the special education services he received while in school, according to two former officials from the school system. Continue Reading →
Connecticut’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent Thursday, despite the loss of 500 jobs in September, as labor officials announced August job growth was larger than originally anticipated. Continue Reading →
While universally agreeing to enforce sales tax collections on internet retailers, Connecticut’s gubernatorial contenders continued to battle Wednesday over how to fix the state’s finances and its economy. Continue Reading →
The leaders of the state Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Competitiveness are working now so their plan to fix Connecticut’s finances will be reconsidered after the November elections. Continue Reading →
While the overall health care system in one of the nation’s wealthiest states ranks high, hundreds of thousands of low- and middle-income residents are struggling to afford coverage or seeing their earnings gobbled up by a system with outcomes as disparate as income is in Connecticut. Continue Reading →
Ned Lamont, Bob Stefanowski and Oz Griebel rarely see eye-to-eye. But when it comes to weighing bailouts for distressed municipalities, Connecticut’s gubernatorial contenders share far more in common than not. Continue Reading →
Independent gubernatorial candidate Oz Griebel says his proposal to defer pension contributions to avert a post-election state budget deficit is a risk, but not as extreme as maintaining state government’s fiscal status quo. Continue Reading →
State Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo agreed Monday with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration that Connecticut could be poised to bolster its budget reserves significantly for a second consecutive year. Continue Reading →
Here are the contenders, in chronological order, for the largest state tax hike of the past three decades. Continue Reading →
Quick quiz: Which governor approved the two largest tax hikes in modern Connecticut history? If you answered Dannel P. Malloy you would be in elite company.
You also would be wrong — by any measure. Continue Reading →
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ned Lamont pledged to enhance services along the Hartford-to-New Haven rail line, but neither Lamont nor GOP rival Bob Stefanowski have pledged support for sufficient revenues to finance a major rebuild of Connecticut’s transportation infrastructure. Continue Reading →