The number of Connecticut high school students who used vaping products, such as e-cigarettes, doubled from 2015 to 2017, according to a new study released by the state Department of Public Health.
Number of CT high schoolers vaping doubled over two years
Posted inJustice
Henning, Birch push for a new trial in decades-old murder case
Pointing to false testimony by famed state criminologist Henry Lee, two men who have spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder they steadfastly insist they didn’t commit asked the state’s highest court on Thursday for a new trial.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Call to candidates: Let’s make Connecticut No. 1 in mental health services again
Connecticut has long been a national leader in how we view and deliver mental health and substance use disorder treatment. We have been at the forefront for many years of legislation known as “parity” that puts these health conditions on equal footing with physical health. Our roots in this field go all the way back to the grandfather of mental health reform, Clifford Beers, who was from New Haven and founded the first-of-its-kind nonprofit that became Mental Health Connecticut in 1908 before founding Mental Health America a year later. In 1913, Beers also founded what is now known as the Clifford Beers Clinic in New Haven. But in recent years, our status as a leader on this issue has begun to slip.
Posted inPolitics
Sniff around campaign finances with our new database
By the end of August, candidates for state offices ranging from state representative to governor reported raising more than $40 million and spending around $30 million in the 2018 election cycle. Today, CT Mirror is launching CT Campaign Cash, a database tool to ease inspection of those receipts and expenditures.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont’s contributions to his own campaign: $12.1 million
Democrat Ned Lamont contributed $8.2 million to his gubernatorial campaign last month, bringing his total investment to $12.1 million since launching his candidacy in January, according to a campaign finance report filed Wednesday night.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal seeks FTC probe of Google
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Google over revelations that the company not only exposed private data of Google+ users to outside developers, but also failed to disclose the data leak for months.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont, Stefanowski on opposite sides of wide gender gap
Republican Bob Stefanowski and Democrat Ned Lamont are waging an asymmetrical fight for the votes of women in Connecticut’s race for governor, one in which Republicans are trying to keep voters tightly focused on the state economy and Democrats are making broader appeals over state and national issues.
Posted inJustice
Cheshire Correctional Institution participates in livestream prison reform conference
CHESHIRE — Standing inside a century-old maximum security prison auditorium as cameras live-streamed a conference on Connecticut’s prison system reforms Wednesday, Corrections Commissioner Scott Semple told those assembled that the event reminded him of watching the ripple effect from throwing a stone in a still pond.
Posted inHealth
Justice Department approves CVS-Aetna merger, with conditions
WASHINGTON –The Justice Department on Wednesday cleared CVS Health Corp.’s planned $69 billion merger with Aetna Inc. after the companies agreed to divest a Medicare prescription drug plan sold by the Hartford-based health insurer. Consumer groups, however, continue to oppose the deal.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont leads Stefanowski by 8 points in Quinnipiac poll
A Quinnipiac University poll of likely voters released Wednesday found a huge gender gap fueling a 47 percent to 39 percent lead for Democrat Ned Lamont over Republican Bob Stefanowski in a volatile Connecticut race for governor, with independent Oz Griebel garnering 11 percent.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Immigration, what happened to valuing humanity?
Whether you are liberal or conservative, Democrat, Republican or independent, most all of us would agree that comprehensive immigration reform is long overdue in this country. With a Congress unwilling or unable to tackle this need for many years, the issue persists unresolved. With that said, another issue has emerged in our new political climate that challenges our American value of respect and humane treatment for all people.
Posted inHealth
More than half of CT health care systems in the black in 2017
Nine of the 16 health systems in Connecticut ended 2017 in the black, according to a report by the state Office of Health Strategy. Collectively, the systems took in about $14.2 billion in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2017. After expenses, this left about $580 million — a 4 percent total margin.
Posted inNews
With RGA helping Stefanowski, the TV air war is roughly even
For $5,500, a 30-second spot promoting Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont will air on 60 Minutes this Sunday, part of a weekly television buy of more than $500,000 that dwarfs the $150,000 in time purchased by his Republican opponent, Bob Stefanowski. But Stefanowski’s presence on television is supplemented by more than $300,000 in spending this week by a super PAC.
Posted inPolitics
Immigrant-turned-millionaire Arora challenges Himes
WASHINGTON– The race for the 4th District congressional seat pits political novice Harry Arora, a Republican who says he backs most of Donald Trump’s agenda, against a Democratic incumbent, Rep. Jim Himes, who has the political winds at his back.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The snake oil salesman in the White House
Last week, I was shocked — shocked, I say – to read the story about President Donald Trump’s fortune. It turns out he is not a billionaire. He got his money from his father, has declared corporate bankruptcy at least six times and may be guilty of tax fraud. Trump Taj Mahal Casino, Trump Castle and the Trump Plaza Hotel in New York City – bankrupt. Trump University – con job. Trump steaks, Trump airline and Trump vodka – failures. He is, in fact, such an incompetent businessman that I wouldn’t trust him to manage a lemonade stand unless his daddy was there to hold his hand.