Connecticut’s dairy farmers, who were caught in the middle of President Donald Trump’s trade wars with other countries this year, have received little money from a federal mitigation program meant to compensate them for losses. “It’s a drop in the bucket,” said Seth Bahler, co-owner of Oakridge Dairy Farm in Ellington, of the trade mitigation payments.
Conn. dairy farms caught up in Trump trade war
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal calls for hearing on whether Whitaker violated Hatch Act
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal continued his campaign against acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Monday, requesting a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into whether Whitaker violated the Hatch Act, a federal law that prohibits government employees from participating in political activities.
Posted inEducation
Ben Barnes named CFO of higher-education system
Ben Barnes, who has overseen Connecticut’s state finances for eight years as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s only secretary of policy and management, was named Monday as the chief financial officer for the state’s sprawling system of community colleges and regional state universities.
Posted inHealth
As DCF’s Katz bows out, the risky world of child protection awaits new administration
Joette Katz, who served under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for eight years, is resigning next month after what is believed to be one of the longest tenures leading a state child-protection agency in the nation. But it wasn’t always easy. Despite Malloy’s loyalty to her, Katz’s abrasive personality, refusal to back down from controversial decisions, and her decision to march the child protection agency in a new and sometimes perilous direction, resulted in a rocky eight years.
Posted inNews
Elections and holiday over, now it’s time to get re-organized.
With the elections over, (with one notable exception) Connecticut began getting re-organized last week. And it took some time off for the Thanksgiving holiday, too. Early in the week, Gov.-elect Ned Lamont returned from an orientation for new governors promising to assemble a top-notch group of departmental appointees. He and Lt. Gov.-elect Susan Bysiewicz have […]
Posted inHealth
Midwives could be key to reversing maternal mortality trends
The Connecticut Childbirth & Women’s Center in Danbury is a 50-minute drive from Evelyn DeGraf’s home in Westchester, N.Y. Pregnant with her second child, the 37-year-old didn’t hesitate to make the drive — she wanted her birth to be attended by a midwife, not a doctor. DeGraf believed midwifery care to be more personal and less rushed than that delivered by an obstetrician.
Posted inPolitics
Democrats say House must settle Stratford race, not judge
The contested re-election of Rep. Philip Young, D-Stratford, who won a close election in a district where some voters were given the wrong the ballot on Nov. 6, must be resolved by a bipartisan committee of the General Assembly and not by a judge, Young’s lawyer said in a legal brief filed Friday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Block the assault on the Arctic Refuge
The Trump administration is moving swiftly to drill in the pristine coastal regions of the Arctic Refuge, home to polar bears, caribou, grizzlies, wolves, wolverines, muskoxen and more than 130 species of migratory birds, despite the fact that a majority of Americans want to keep this unique ecosystem pristine.
Posted inPolitics
CT Latinos voter turnout signals new political engagement
WASHINGTON – There was a significant jump in Latino participation in the midterm election across the nation, and most likely in Connecticut, too. As more of the state’s Latinos are politically engaged, there are also more calls from that growing community for a seat at the table of political power.
Posted inHealth
School-based health centers take leading role in fighting teen suicide
Although the number of youth in Connecticut who have committed suicide has fluctuated in recent years, mental health professionals who work with teenagers say that depression and anxiety – the typical reasons for suicide – are definitely on the rise.
Posted inPolitics
Gov. Malloy: Thanksgiving — a time to put aside differences
In this, his last Thanksgiving message to Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy says: “I am especially thankful this year to the residents of Connecticut who have allowed me to serve as Governor for the past eight years. Together, we have braved major natural disasters, endured unthinkable tragedy, and recovered from the most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression.”
Posted inMoney
Jepsen sees a path forward from ‘bond lock’ nightmare
Attorney General George Jepsen raised hopes Wednesday that Connecticut can escape an ugly choice tied to its credit card — a choice that involves delaying capital projects or forfeiting the state’s ability to cut debt costs through refinancing.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Let’s not reinvent the budget wheel, we already have a good one
Gov.-elect Ned Lamont will take office in January and on February 6, about a month into his tenure, will present his budget proposal to the legislature and to the people of Connecticut. Except for a few carefully crafted messages during the campaign he didn’t tell us how he intends to address the state’s mounting financial issues, so we have few hints about what he will propose. He is, though, assembling a transition team to help him in this endeavor, getting input from current Gov. Dannel Malloy, and has invited people from all across the political spectrum to advance ideas. In short, he appears to be following in the noble tradition of reinventing the wheel.
Posted inHousing
Fewer homeless in Connecticut, data shows, but problems still persist
While a majority of people sleeping in Connecticut homeless shelters are from the state’s struggling cities, people from the wealthiest towns tend to spend more time in shelters when they do end up there. This is just one of the conclusions that can be drawn from an examination of data compiled by the Connecticut Coalition […]
Posted inPolitics
Better organized Latinos try to shape Lamont administration
One measure of the larger role Latinos are trying to play in Connecticut politics is the creation of a group announced Tuesday that will work with Gov.-elect Ned Lamont to ensure the representation of Latinos in the incoming administration. Eight years ago, Latinos made no similar effort to shape the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.