If you live in Wisconsin, the answer to that question can mean jail time. A cartoonist is facing a felony charge over his faking a legislator’s letterhead for what he called a parody of a press release. Shoulda waited until April 1.
Mark Pazniokas
Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.
Posted inNews
With a new script, McMahon is back on stage
Newington — All campaigns are theater, and none more so than the back-to-back Senate runs of Linda McMahon, a co-founder and former chief executive officer of the marketing and media juggernaut that is World Wrestling Entertainment. On Wednesday, McMahon stepped to a microphone in Bruno Zavarella’s woodworking factory, a precisely angled banner above her head […]
Posted inNews
Key committee embraces Sunday sales, not deregulation
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s sweeping reforms of liquor laws are about to be downsized: A key legislative committee is poised to side with Malloy and lift the ban on Sunday sales, while opposing his call to repeal controls on price and competition. The question now is will Malloy accept the bipartisan consensus reached Tuesday by […]
Posted inNews
State cuts deal with NU over NSTAR merger
Connecticut agreed Tuesday to endorse Northeast Utilities’ merger with NSTAR in return for $120 million in rate relief, $300 million in system improvements, $20 million in open space and a commitment to keep NU’s headquarters in Hartford. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Attorney General George Jepsen and Consumer Counsel Elin Katz announced a deal negotiated since […]
Posted inNews
Legislators not as willing to jump for the governor
Legislators never stopped high-stepping for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last year. The first-year governor chose the course and set the pace, hectoring lawmakers to meet his goals and timetable. To a remarkable degree, they did. Now, legislators are pushing back, signaling that their capacity for controversy and change fall short of the always-in-a-hurry governor’s, especially […]
Posted inNews
Not an endorsement, but Malloy and Murphy to co-host party for Young Dems
Could the gov be edging toward an endorsement in the Senate race? The Young Democrats have posted this Facebook invite: Immediately following the JJB Dinner at the CT Convention Center, please head over to the annual After Party. Join our honorary Co-Hosts, Gov. Dannel Malloy and Congressman Chris Murphy, for food, drinks, and a good […]
Posted inNews
Unemployment dropped to 8 percent in January
Unemployment in Connecticut dropped for a sixth consecutive month in January to 8 percent, the lowest since April 2009. The state now has recovered 35,900 of the 117,500 non-farm jobs lost in the recession of March 2008 to February 2010. The construction industry led the way in job growth, adding 3,200 of the 7,100 new […]
Posted inNews
Environment co-chairs endorse Esty over Donovan in 5th
We don’t report a lot of endorsements. Most are too predictable, and few matter. Not sure if these matter, but they are not predictable: two committee co-chairs endorsed Elizabeth Esty today over House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan in the race for the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District. Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, and Sen. […]
Posted inNews
Irene fraud costs 42 state employees their jobs
The state has fired 27 employees accused of improperly obtaining disaster benefits after Tropical Storm Irene, and another 15 either resigned or retired as they faced disciplinary hearings, the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Monday. The scope of the inquiry has expanded, with another 240 recipients of disaster aid having been identified as […]
Posted inPolitics
Eyebrows raised over GAE not taking up Malloy’s proposal
Eyebrows were raised in various corners of the State Capitol today over the Government Administration Elections Committee leaving Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Election Day registration bill off the committee’s agenda. The panel reported a number of election reforms out of the committee today, but the panel’s co-chair, Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, said she had some unresolved […]
Posted inNews
Mixed message for the deer lobby
Uh, oh. This could be awkward. The Environment Committee’s public hearing agenda today includes An Act Permitting the Possession of Reindeer Year Round and An Act Concerning the Hunting of Deer with a Pistol.
Posted inNews
Sometimes, public policy is deeply personal
The sight of the burly, bearded Barry Williams zipping around the State Capitol complex on a Segway was a vivid first-year memory for Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, who arrived in Hartford in 2005. “All of a sudden, you disappeared,” Hewett told Williams. “And I didn’t know what happened to you.” Williams told Hewett and […]
Posted inNews
Malloy extends olive branch to Cuomo, gets praise from national AFT president
In New York this morning, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy acknowledged he doesn’t have much of a relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “I don’t talk to your governor a whole lot, or he doesn’t talk to me.” But the governor was quick to note to New York reporters that he wasn’t looking for trouble. “I’ve got to […]
Posted inNews
With Simmons as chair, Yankee about to sue Malloy
Former Congressman Rob Simmons is becoming chairman of the free-market Yankee Institute for Public Policy just as it is about to raise its profile by suing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy over a policy expanding collective bargaining. Yankee intends to file suit next week, challenging the legality of two executive orders that provide a path for […]
Posted inNews
Malloy is selling, but teachers aren’t buying
West Hartford — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy came to this high-performing school district Tuesday night to confront teachers who see his education reforms as little more than an overhaul of how educators are evaluated and paid. Malloy was met with hard stares and a few derisive chuckles when he insisted that his proposals to change […]