NEW HAVEN — Former President Bill Clinton focused heavily on the economic agenda needed to heal the nation  in Sunday morning’s rally to build support for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and longtime friend Richard Blumenthal. In a 35-minute address at Wilbur Cross High School, the former president urged a crowd of more than 2,000 Blumenthal […]

Gubernatorial candidates Dan Malloy and Tom Foley both have visions of robust job growth spearheading a rebounding Connecticut economy – but that’s about where the similarities end. As the campaign nears its final month and the jobs debate intensifies, the candidates have spent as much time tearing down their opponents’ plans as they do promoting […]

HARTFORD – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy outlined a new crime prevention strategy Thursday that would put more police officers on the street – and take another option to mitigate major state tax hikes away from Malloy. With the capital city reeling from a mid-morning shooting incident near Whitmore Street that led to the evacuation […]

Technically, Thursday’s debate at the University of Connecticut Law School was between state attorney general candidates Martha Dean and George Jepsen. But given Dean’s relentless attacks on outgoing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Jepsen’s efforts to defend his fellow Democrat, the hour-long forum seemed at many times more like a three-way contest. The two candidates […]

With the potential for deep municipal aid cuts looming less than 10 months away, Connecticut municipalities’ longstanding cry for a new alternative to the property tax could be answered next year at the Capitol. All three of the gubernatorial candidates support giving communities new revenue-raising options. And legislators did important prep work last spring when […]

State lawmakers Wednesday rejected Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s proposal to curtail heating and energy assistance in response to shrinking federal funding, potentially opening a $46 million hole in the state budget. The Appropriations, Human Services and Energy and Technology committees all voted overwhelmingly against the administration’s plan to impose new limits on eligibility and benefits […]

Former Secretary of the State Pauline R. Kezer joined Avon Republican Martha Dean’s effort to become attorney general today, assuming the post of campaign director. Kezer, an Old Saybrook Republican who served as Connecticut’s chief elections official from 1991 through 1994, also waged an unsuccessful primary in the latter year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, […]

While a new academic study finds that New England states can best grow their economies by choosing infrastructure and education investments over business tax breaks, Connecticut’s gubernatorial candidates say it could take a mix to revitalize the state. The report, written by a research professor at the University of Massachusetts Political Economy Research Institute, concluded […]

The state paid more than $31,000 over an 11-month period for calls made on two cell phones missing from a state agency, according to a new report from state auditors. In one case, officials noticed the phone misuse after just a few months–and $3,311 in bills–but apparent inter-agency miscommunication kept the phone from being shut […]

State government’s finances remain in modest deficit two-and-a-half months into the new fiscal year, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s budget office, which reported a $45.3 million shortfall on Monday. The new deficit, which is improved slightly from the $63.4 million gap reported one month ago, is due largely to the same problems being tracked […]

FARMINGTON – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy says Connecticut must stop giving “lip service” to bioscience research, and stem cell exploration in particular, to help grow new jobs and the economy. Though he didn’t commit to a specific state investment, Malloy offered a plan to unite state, federal and private-sector dollars to bolster research efforts […]

State legislators and Gov. M. Jodi Rell used the state’s credit card just two years ago to shore up Connecticut’s long under-funded pension program for teachers. But with the current economy slow to recover and nearly $2 billion in borrowing ordered since June 2009 just to cover government operating costs, the state panel created to […]

Despite Connecticut’s reputation as an expensive place to do business, the state actually boasts some of the lowest manufacturing costs in the nation, University of Connecticut economists assert in their latest quarterly review. Connecticut ranks 43rd lowest among 50 states, and well below the national average, in terms of the total cost required to produce […]

Nearly three-quarters of the men incarcerated on weapons charges in Connecticut are likely to be arrested again within three years, and nearly half serve a new sentence, according to a new study by the state Office of Policy and Management. The report, prepared for the state’s Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission, also found that two-thirds […]

ROCKY HILL — Though many economists say Connecticut is slowly beginning to cover, most businesses here don’t expect to do so until 2011 or 2012, according to the state business lobby’s latest annual survey. The Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s ninth annual Survey of Connecticut Businesses also found poor sales, fears about state government’s fiscal instability […]