Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith said her agency is continuing to upgrade its reporting, but also is hamstrung by fiscal limitations and by a lack of information-sharing requirements throughout state government.
Lawmakers press economic development officials for more details on incentives
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Workers want the Connecticut Retirement Security Program
Despite misleading claims by opponents, including CBIA, the Connecticut Retirement Security Program (CRSP) is not a state-run retirement plan. In fact it is a private sector solution to a growing retirement savings crisis. Employees who invest in these voluntary and privately-run portable Roth IRA plans face no more risk than any other IRA investor, which includes me and, I am sure, many CBIA staff and business owners.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Sometimes diapers are the solution to maternal depression
A federal task force is recommending increased screening and treatment for postpartum depression, a serious illness that puts one in seven new mothers and their infants at risk. Getting these women appropriate help and support is critical. Sometimes that means therapy – but not always. There is a strong association between maternal depression and not being able to afford a basic material need — diapers, a Yale study done in cooperation with the National Diaper Bank Network showed. Moms in our study ranked diaper need as more stressful than food insecurity.
Posted inPolitics
Stefanowski’s last employer is barred here. Does it matter?
Bob Stefanowski made sweeping changes while running a scandal-ridden payday lending company, his last job before running for governor of Connecticut. Now, voters have to decide how impressed they should be about Stefanowski’s role as a change agent for a company whose products, even the ones improved on his watch, are still illegal in the state he wishes to lead.
Posted inJustice
Kavanaugh accused of sexual misconduct at Yale
WASHINGTON – A former Yale classmate has accused Supreme Court nominee of Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, according to a story posted by the New Yorker late Sunday. Kavanaugh denied the accusation, calling it “a smear, plain and simple.”
Posted inHealth
As states try to rein in drug spending, feds slap down one bold Medicaid move
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have denied an attempt by Massachusetts to negotiate prices for about 1 percent of the highest-priced drugs and stop covering some of them. CMS rejected the proposal, saying Massachusetts couldn’t do what it wanted and continue to receive the deep discounts drugmakers are required by law to give state Medicaid programs. The development has implications for the rest of the country.
Posted inNews
The Kavanaugh allegation dominates the week
A sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh dominated the national news last week and brought into stark relief the differences between how men and women – and Democrats and Republicans — view the controversy and the broader and politically tricky issue it represents.
Posted inPolitics
Legislative leaders tighten sexual harassment policy following survey
Findings from a recent survey of those who work at the state Capitol show that nearly a quarter of respondents have experienced sexual harassment, spurring legislative leaders to expand the scope of the General Assembly’s sexual harassment policy and tighten some of its protocols.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Yale Law professors call for ‘neutral’ probe of Kavanaugh sexual assault accusation
WASHINGTON – As the partisan tussle over the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court continued Friday, Yale Law School faculty weighed in with a letter asking that the FBI or another “neutral factfinder” investigate an accusation that the nominee sexually assaulted another teen at a high school party decades ago.
Posted inEducation
Lamont wants to make college free for vets. Here’s how much that would cost.
Ned Lamont promised this week to make college free for veterans attending the state’s public colleges by subsidizing the school fees they must pay. He just didn’t say who, exactly, would foot the bill.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Help protect the climate and create jobs with a transportation lockbox
This November, voters will have an opportunity to ensure that Connecticut has the resources needed to modernize our transportation system. Voting “Yes” on the Transportation Revenue Lockbox Amendment will protect funding for repairing our state’s roads and bridges while expanding access to public transit. Those investments will help reduce the traffic congestion that costs commuters time and money and chokes our cities with harmful pollution.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
An arbitrary metric stifles honest comparison of candidates
The notion that poll numbers should determine gubernatorial debate participation is contrary to the best interest of Connecticut voters and the use of that metric should be abandoned immediately. Political debates represent the best opportunity for candidates to meet on a level playing field. Expensive media buys, particularly television ads, offer no chance for side-by-side comparison. Valid rebuttal only results when all candidates can respond publicly in a singular forum.
Posted inTransportation
The electric car comes of age, right when we need it
Imagine you’re mired in heavy traffic on I-95 on a steamy summer day, with plenty of time to study the car ahead of you. Something puzzles you about it, but you’re not sure what. After staring for a long minute, you realize — aha — that it has no tailpipe. You are tailing a Tesla — an electric car. If you’ve not yet had this experience, you soon will.
Posted inHealth
CT docs say health information exchange would help fight opioid epidemic
As Connecticut residents continue to die from opioid overdoses at an alarming rate, several doctors agree that being able to share health records electronically across the entire state would help fight the epidemic. But a system to accommodate that sharing remains elusive.
Posted inMoney
Malloy finally catches an economic break in his final budget
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy may be enjoying more economic good fortune during his last year in office than he did in the first seven years combined. State income tax receipts tied to Wall Street continue to surge, potentially leaving Connecticut with $2 billion in reserves 12 months from now.