As angry teachers protested, the Hartford Board of Education voted Tuesday to ask the State Board of Education to change a contractual guarantee of seniority job rights, a provision that officials say disrupts the teaching staffs of the district’s many specialized magnet schools. “It is a necessary step in order for high-performing schools to survive the […]

Linda McMahon, a political newcomer spending her personal fortune on campaign commercials and mailings, has taken a 10-point lead in the Republican race for U.S. Senate, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal continues to hold wide leads in matchups with each of his three Republican rivals: McMahon, former […]

With a House vote expected later this week, Connecticut voters disapprove of health reforms, 48 percent to 40 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. But the poll found 70 percent believe that Congress should keep trying to pass a health reform bill, with the heaviest support coming from Democrats (88 percent) and […]

Anticipating a huge crash in state funding, municipal leaders urged legislators Monday to expand their ability to levy taxes and fees, particularly through a regional sales tax surcharge. But while members of the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee agreed communities need new revenue sources, lawmakers from both parties expressed fears that Connecticut could be left […]

The nation’s largest online retailer threatened Monday to end its advertising relationships with Connecticut businesses if the legislature enacts a new measure to collect sales taxes tied to Internet transactions. And though Amazon.com did not disclose specific numbers, the head of a California-based marketing association that represents the online giant estimated nearly 2,000 Connecticut businesses – […]

Rep. Antonio Guerrera, co-chairman of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, set out to require installation of seat belts on all school buses now, but he’s satisfied with a compromise that will have every child buckled up sometime around 2024. “This was a huge, huge move,” the Rocky Hill Democrat said Monday after the committee approved the […]

An overflow crowd, including a parade of schoolchildren that marched past lawmakers, left little doubt Monday the General Assembly is under pressure to reform Connecticut’s public schools this spring. Dozens of spectators jammed a hearing room and hundreds of students, parents and educators filled the atrium of the Legislative Office Building while legislators heard hours […]

Public universities may soon be required to inform state legislators before they approve tuition increases under terms of a bill overwhelmingly voted out of committee Tuesday. “It’s appropriate for us to have this information,” said Sen. Mary Ann Handley of Manchester, co-chairman of the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, before the vote. The proposal […]

Democrats on the State Bond Commission blocked funding Tuesday for a new public health lab in Rocky Hill, prompting charges from Gov. M. Jodi Rell that lawmakers don’t want the long-planned construction to begin until after the November elections. Rell, a Republican, also said the 5-5 vote that blocked release of $69.4 million in bonding […]

Gov. M. Jodi Rell said that the chairman of United Technologies Corporation told her today that his company is under pressure from the federal government to move its manufacturing from Connecticut to lower-cost states. Rell said she called UTC chairman and chief executive Louis Chenevert about his company’s complaints to Wall Street analysts about the […]

Thousands remain with out power following this weekend’s storm, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced today the state is investigating the response from the two largest electric companies. “I’m concerned about the response in the first hours of the storm,” Rell said during a press conference, noting that almost 40,000 customers remain without power. Rell […]

A bill that would require public hearings and disclosure of data justifying health insurance rate hikes was approved by the legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee today on a 14-5 vote. “It’s needed,” said Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, Jr. of Woodbridge, co-chairman of the committee, following the vote. The proposal was launched last year after […]

The legislature’s Transportation Committee backed away from a proposal to immediately implement electronic toll collection at major state border crossings, but directed the Department of Transportation to study the idea. Rep. Antonio Guerrera, D-Rocky Hill, had been pushing for tolls to open immediately at seven state border locations, but said he did not have the […]

A 2008 New York law that has sparked a growing feud between states and online sales giants such as Amazon.com is being considered by Connecticut’s legislature as officials scramble for new dollars to close growing budget deficits. But while taxing Internet sales could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, efforts by other states to […]

Connecticut failed in its first try to win millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for school reform, but its second attempt could lead to some of the most significant changes in public schools in years. The legislature’s Education Committee will hold a public hearing today on a dozen bills on school finance, teacher evaluations, […]