Connecticut’s decennial redistricting of General Assembly and Congressional districts seems likely to be fairly tame compared with some states–Texas already has 13 lawsuits pending. But the process has profound effects on politics and government. It also can be mystifying to the average person. Professor Justin Levitt, an expert on election law at Loyola Law School […]
Michael Regan
Posted inMoney
Despite deficit worries, most unwilling to cut entitlements
Although concern over the federal budget deficit is rising, most Americans say preserving Social Security and Medicare benefits is more important than cutting the deficit, according to a new Pew Research Center Survey. Support for the entitlement programs is down from past years, but still strong at 60 percent versus 32 percent who say budget […]
Posted inNews
Federal website shows most, least expensive colleges
High school students and parents planning some college tours this summer might want to check out a new federal website that lists the most and least expensive colleges and universities in several categories. It was created by the U.S. Department of Education under the Higher Education Opportunity Act, and this home page also includes links […]
Posted inEducation
Are employers inflating an ‘education bubble’?
There’s no argument that college graduates have more opportunities and make more money, Daniel Indiviglio says at The Atlantic. And there’s a good case to be made that education is valuable in itself. But should college degrees be as important as they are in today’s economy? Indiviglio says a college degree has become a proxy […]
Posted inEducation
National report finds achievement gap persists for Hispanic students
Although reading and math test scores have improved for Hispanic students and their white, non-Hispanic peers over the last two decades, the achievement gap between them remains substantially unchanged, a new national report says. The study, based on National Assessment of Educational Progress test results from 1990 to 2009, looked at scores of 4th and […]
Posted inNews
Researchers warn of marine species extinction
A new report by an international panel of marine experts says the health of the world’s oceans is deteriorating to the point that we are “at high risk for entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history.” And while warnings of impending ecological disaster abound, this one is particularly worrisome because […]
Posted inNews
Report: Government jobs buoyed Hartford-area economy in recession
Nineteen of the 20 metropolitan areas that fared the best economically though the recession–including Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford–had growth in government jobs, Brookings reports in its latest MetroMonitor. Overall, employment was significantly stronger in the Hartford area during the recession than in the state’s other two metropolitan areas, Brookings said, falling just 1.5 percent from its […]
Posted inNews
Poll finds shift toward more libertarian views
An ongoing CNN poll has produced signs that Americans are leaning toward more libertarian views than in past years, Nate Silver says at FiveThirtyEight, his New York Times blog, as more people express the belief that government is trying to do too much and should stay away from social issues.His analysis is based on two […]
Posted inNews
Will your electric meter start spying on you?
We’re all aware of privacy concerns involving things like electronic medical records, social media networks and on-line financial transactions–but what about your electric bill? Or more specifically, your electricity usage, as tracked by the “smart grid” technology envisioned in the Obama Administration’s new “Policy Framework for the 21st-Century Grid.” That question got some attention at […]
Posted inNews
2012 presidential field: 156 and counting
With seven GOP presidential candidates on stage for the debate in New Hampshire this week and more high-profile potential entrants in the wings, you may be having trouble keeping track. But what about the other 60 or so Republicans who have officially joined the race? As of mid-week, 156 people had filed paperwork with the […]
Posted inNews
Social network sites drawing older users
More than half the adult users of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are older than 35, up from a third just two years ago, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project. The survey of 2,255 adults over 18 also found that use of social […]
Posted inNews
One-party state governments move in opposite directions
One party held complete control of government in 30 states after last year’s elections, John Gramlich reports at Stateline.org, and they moved in markedly different directions during the 2011 legislative sessions. Most of the shift in power went to Republicans, who control the governorship and both legislative chambers in 19 states plus Nebraska, with its […]
Posted inNews
Can non-profit news sites survive?
Across the country, non-profit news sites are springing up to fill the void left by struggling newspapers and other traditional media, Rob Gurwitt reports at Stateline.org. They’re as different as the places they cover, but all face the same question: Can they figure out a way to sustain themselves financially in the long term? Gurwitt […]
Posted inNews
U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear challenge to California’s immigrant tuition law
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to a California law similar to a bill passed in Connecticut granting in-state tuition to some undocumented immigrants. The California law and the Connecticut measure both grant in-state tuition to such students if they complete a minimum amount of their high school educations in state–three years in […]
Posted inNews
High school graduation rates on the rise
A new analysis of high school completion finds that the national graduation rate has reached its highest point in two decades: 71.7 percent for the class of 2008, the most recent year for which data are available, Christopher B. Swanson reports at Education Week. Although completion rates increased markedly across all groups in recent years, […]