Tim Herbst, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate, sent a cease-and-desist letter Wednesday to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, threatening legal action should his lame-duck administration try to close on the purchase of land for a controversial State Police firing range at Pachaug State Forest in Griswold. Herbst represents property owners.
Herbst threatens to sue Malloy over Griswold firing range
Posted inPolitics
Lieberman to have ‘advisory role’ in Stefanowski transition team
He hasn’t won the seat yet, but GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski is already tapping people to serve on a transition team, including former Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
Posted inPolitics
Defiance, then apology for anti-Semitic campaign mailer
Republican state Senate candidate Ed Charamut’s defiant defense of a mailer featuring anti-Semitic tropes to illustrate his Jewish opponent, Democrat Matt Lesser, crumbled Wednesday in the face of national condemnation, rebukes by religious leaders and disavowals by some fellow Republicans.
Posted inPolitics
Comptroller’s race centers on who would be a more independent voice for CT
Democratic incumbent Kevin Lembo and Republican challenger Kurt Miller both see the race for state comptroller as a contest to become Connecticut’s chief fiscal guardian for the next four years.
Posted inHealth
ACA enrollment begins as voters say health care is top concern
The sixth open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act begins Thursday, as the future of the health care law, and its protections for pre-existing conditions, has emerged as a top concern for voters across the nation in the midterm elections.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
It is not more guards we need. It is more understanding.
It is shocking that our nation has just experienced the worst anti-semitic attack in our history. One would hope that by this point in time our nation would be so much better than this. Clearly, that is not the case. The Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding calls upon every leader and every person to face up to the meaning of the events in Pittsburgh. The murders at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh make it clear that our country is awash in hatred and primed for violence. This is not the country we want or expect.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Babies don’t vote—we need to vote for them
Election Day is coming up, and adults across Connecticut will be casting their ballots based on the issues that matter most to them. Babies, however, don’t get a say in what comes next. So it’s up to us grownups to vote on their behalf. What we know about the importance of early learning has changed drastically over the years. We used to think that a child’s education started when they entered kindergarten. Then, we began to recognize the value of preschool. Now, thanks to illuminating science on brain development, we know that education starts much earlier.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
We have income tax fever because the real issues are boring
I have to admit that I am confused by this year’s election season income tax fever in Connecticut. I have heard over and over how 2018 is the moment where jobs and economic growth will be the major concern. So my question is: why are we constantly talking about the income tax? What does the income tax have to do with creating jobs? I conducted my own very unscientific research to find companies that would expand or create new jobs and facilities in Connecticut only if the state cut the income tax. I could not find one.
Posted inPolitics
Gubernatorial candidates reprise greatest hits at final debate
The final debate in Connecticut’s volatile race for governor starred Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski, two major-party candidates close in the polls and intent on avoiding mistakes in the campaign’s final week, plus a third-party candidate desperate to show he is not a spoiler, Oz Griebel.
Posted inPolitics
Taking the pulse of the gubernatorial candidates’ views on health care
The three leading gubernatorial candidates share their thoughts on several health care issues, including Medicaid work requirements, an individual mandate, the opioid crisis, the hospital tax and Roe v. Wade.
Posted inPolitics
Quinnipiac: Lamont’s lead over Stefanowski shrinks to 4 points
A Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters released Tuesday shows Democrat Ned Lamont’s lead over Republican Bob Stefanowski has shrunk by half to four percentage points in Connecticut’s gubernatorial race and now sits precariously within the margin of error. Lamont leads Stefanowski, 47 percent to 43 percent, with Oz Griebel at 7 percent.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On the soft bigotry of low expectations in schools
If you were moving into a new area and talking to your child’s new principal who said, “I’m proud to tell you that only 65 percent of our children fail to meet district standards in reading and writing,” how excited would you be about sending your child to that school? Yet, according to Jacqueline Rabe Thomas and Clarice Silber, in their excellent review of where we stand in Connecticut with magnet schools, “Statewide, 35 percent of students were at grade level in reading and writing.”
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Voters! Combat outside campaign spending with critical thinking
Freedom of Speech is meant to safeguard democracy, to protect people’s ability to freely engage in public discourse and govern themselves. But when outside donors (often unknown and untraceable) inject substantial sums to influence my community’s elections, such donors overstep the prerogative of choosing their representatives and encroach upon my community’s process of choosing our own.
Posted inEducation
Five things to know about Griebel’s plans for public schools, if elected governor
The independent candidate for governor spoke with the CT Mirror recently to talk about education. Oz Griebel shared where he stands on regionalization, magnet schools, the length of time students spend in school, and teacher pension payments.
Posted inPolitics
Himes knocks Trump foreign policy, Arora defends it
Rep. Jim Himes and Republican challenger Harry Arora on Monday night presented two different views on how the United States should treat friends and foes around the world.