While all of Connecticut’s gubernatorial candidates say they want more concessions from unionized state employees, the reality is the next governor will have little leverage to force negotiations until his third year in office. So, how do you cut a state budget dominated by personnel expenses if you can’t eliminate personnel?
Despite no leverage, candidates promise labor concessions
Posted inPolitics
Parkland students bringing campaign for gun law changes to Newtown
When a busload of Parkland, Fla., high school gun control activists arrives in Newtown on Sunday, they will be completing an emotional tour of 50 cities, some the sites of the nation’s grisliest mass shootings, in an effort to create political change. Besides influencing public opinion, the students are also seeking to register young voters who will help their cause.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut needs a new kind of comptroller — with business sense
What exactly does a comptroller do? It’s probably the question I’m asked most often on the campaign trail, but the truth is that the office of State Comptroller has the potential to be one of the most important, influential public offices in state government. Why? Because the economic crisis that Connecticut faces today has its […]
Posted inHealth
Wade: State law bars sale of Trump’s ‘junk’ short-term health plans
The Connecticut Insurance Department has determined state law prohibits the sale of skimpy “short term” plans that are being promoted by President Donald Trump as a cheaper alternative to Affordable Care Act coverage. “Connecticut already has the necessary statutory consumer protections in place to prohibit ‘junk plans,’” said Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade.
Posted inPolitics
Stefanowski invites reporters to listen, not ask questions
If a candidate holds a press conference and leaves without taking questions, is it a press conference? Don’t ask Bob Stefanowski.
Posted inHealth
First human milk depot to open in Greater Hartford this month
John Dempsey Hospital will open the first human milk depot in the Greater Hartford region on Aug. 30, giving moms with an oversupply of breast milk a local place to donate.
Posted inNews
As needs continue, prices rise, state contribution falls
The New London Homeless Hospitality Center is lucky that donations have risen lately, because the state’s contribution has fallen since five years ago.
Posted inNews
How to stop squeezing nonprofits and their clients
The task for caring for society’s most vulnerable citizens was first taken on by churches, then by towns, and now primarily by the state. So how can the state maintain its commitment to those with developmental disabilities, mental health or addiction issues and other conditions in difficult budgetary times? There are ideas out there…
Posted inNews
He’s among 1,800 on the waiting list for a place to live
Twenty-seven-year-old Dan Fiorentino has a job, a supportive family and a passion for the Boston Red Sox. But because he has Down Syndrome, there’s no telling when he’ll be able to live on his own.
Posted inPolitics
A cautious end to a long season of GOP gubernatorial debates
The five Republican candidates for governor navigated their final pre-primary debate Wednesday by staying in well-established lanes, broadly sketching approaches to stabilizing Connecticut’s finances and growing its economy, while carefully dodging potential distractions like gun control and abortion.
Posted inHealth
Panel: Women would retain right to abortion in CT if Roe v. Wade is overturned
If the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established women’s constitutional right to abortion were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, women would still have that right in Connecticut where it was codified into law decades ago, participants in a state discussion panel said Wednesday.
Posted inJustice
State high court: No immunity for religious institutions from employee discrimination suits
Connecticut’s high court has unanimously decided that private religious institutions in the state are not immune from lawsuits for discrimination and, like other employers, they must litigate those claims before the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
Posted inPolitics
O’Neill accuses DuPont of breaking federal disclosure laws
WASHINGTON — Mud began to fly Wednesday in what was a quiet GOP primary race for Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s seat, as the Ruby Corby O’Neill hit fellow Republican Rich DuPont for his failure to file a financial disclosure form or say he stands by the content of a recently released cable ad, as federal law requires.
Posted inJustice
Blumenthal: Dems have FOIA’d Kavanaugh White House documents
WASHINGTON – Democrats have opened an new front in their battle to obtain a mountain of documents from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh tenure in the White House by filing Freedom of Information Act requests for that information, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
From tipping point to turnaround
We hear every day that the national economy is strong. Not true here. Connecticut has been left out and left behind. Across our state, people are struggling. Businesses are leaving. Job opportunities are scarce. Home values are falling. Spirits are down and trust between citizens and Hartford is broken. This once vibrant New England leader is on life support. November’s election will determine whether we continue to sink or begin to revive our economy and restore hope. We are at a tipping point, and only Republicans can bring us back.