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A Hartford Superior Court judge opened proceedings today in a case that could determine if Susan Bysiewicz, the Democratic front-runner in the race for attorney general, is legally qualified to hold the office. Without objection from attorneys for Bysiewicz, Judge Michael R. Sheldon accepted the Connecticut Republican Party as an intervenor in the case, meaning […]

Hoping for a second chance at millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for school reform, state lawmakers enlisted the help Thursday of education groups whose views are often at odds. In a hastily called press conference, the co-chairmen of the legislature’s Education Committee assembled the unusual coalition to help the state rewrite a school […]

State legislators want to know about tuition changes at public colleges and universities before they are approved, but higher education officials warned Thursday that could create a political and procedural nightmare. “Be very careful, because you’re walking on ground that could become quicksand,” Chancellor David G. Carter of the Connecticut State University system said. Officials […]

After being rebuffed during her late November attempt to cut town aid, Gov. M. Jodi Rell steered clear of that public relations minefield in February, proposing no reductions to major grants in her budget plan for the coming fiscal year. But less than four weeks later, despite virtually no change in an already dismal deficit […]

Connecticut education officials will rewrite a massive school reform plan in a second attempt to win federal stimulus funds after failing to make a list of finalists Thursday in a state-by-state competition for the money. The U.S. Department of Education listed 15 other states and the District of Columbia as finalists for their reform proposals […]

G. Kenneth Bernhard of Westport resigned today from the Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board over campaign contributions he made in violation of state law. “I have had a few days to consider recent events…It is apparent that my service will be a distraction to the important work that the Board does for the people of our […]

A key state legislator said Thursday he has the votes to override a veto of proposed legislation that would limit the governor’s authority to cut the budget of the state’s Judicial Branch. The measure also would restore $6.1 million in cuts that otherwise would force the closure of three courthouses and nearly a third of […]

Connecticut’s hospitals are wary of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s plan to reinstate a 10-year-old tax on revenues, rejecting the administration’s claim that overall payments to the industry would remain constant, although individual hospitals would experience gains or losses. An official with the Connecticut Hospital Association also said that numerous spending cuts also proposed in the […]

Legislative leaders were lukewarm at best Tuesday in their reception of Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s latest deficit mitigation plan, but they were even vaguer about when – or even if – they would adopt any plans to erase state government’s deficit before the regular General Assembly session ends on May 5. “We’re intending to pass […]

Magnet schools, charter schools and technical schools all have become popular options for many Connecticut families, but those schools rely on a financial structure that is “broken, unfair, and inadequately funded,” says the state’s top education official. State Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan will ask the State Board of Education today to find ways to fix […]

Officials from Connecticut’s two casinos said Tuesday that the Rell administration’s proposal to launch a Keno game would violate their exclusive rights to operate “casino games” in the state and jeopardize a revenue-sharing compact that means millions of dollars to the state each year. But state officials say Foxwoods and and the Mohegan Sun thought […]

The lineup promised fireworks: Linda McMahon, a WWE executive who has acted in wrestling melodramas; Peter Schiff, a CNBC pundit with a rabid following; and Rob Simmons, a former congressman, soldier and spy. But for 60 minutes Tuesday, constrained by a televised debate format that discouraged confrontation, the three Republican U.S. Senate candidates found agreement […]

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley Gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley distanced himself today from fellow Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell, saying he does not support her Keno gambling proposal or her proposal to use $100 million of state dollars to lend to small businesses. The Greenwich businessman also criticized Rell, whom he called a good friend, for allowing the […]

With state aid to towns stagnant at best for the near future, a panel of 46 Democratic state lawmakers proposed Wednesday to increase the hotel tax in the state from 12 to 15 percent and give the revenue to cash-strapped towns. The estimated $20 million in annual revenue the tax increase would generate would help […]