WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, about a dozen years after he died on a frozen Afghan mountain defending his teammates against an enemy attack, John Chapman of Windsor Locks received the nation’s highest military honor – the Medal of Honor.
Chapman, an airman from Windsor Locks, awarded posthumous Medal of Honor
Posted inPolitics
Waterbury faction wins control of Independent Party line
A judge has given the Waterbury faction of the Independent Party sole control of valuable political real estate: A line on the 2018 ballot that allows it to cross-endorse major-party candidates or choose its own nominees for statewide offices, including governor. The competing Danbury faction plans to appeal.
Posted inPolitics
Line of immigrants seeking citizenship grows as feds grapple with backlog
More immigrants in Connecticut are applying for citizenship, creating a backlog that has led the federal government to send some applicants to New York to process their cases. Advocates say the backlog is, in part, caused by a deliberate slowdown aimed at discouraging new citizens from joining the ranks of fellow Americans.
Posted inPolitics
Sports betting in 2018? The odds are long
Legalizing sports betting in Connecticut this year became a long shot Wednesday after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he has suspended talks with the state’s two federally recognized tribes over a new gambling compact — a recognition that the General Assembly is unlikely to return in special session for a debate on sports wagering.
Posted inNews
New Connecticut Lottery CEO optimistic, despite past issues
The newly appointed CEO of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation may be inheriting an agency rattled by some scandal, but his optimism is not wavering.
Posted inHealth
CT to pay former inmate $1.3M after claims of improper medical treatment
The state has agreed to pay $1.3 million to a former inmate, who claimed correctional staff delayed identifying and properly treating his skin cancer, despite his rapidly deteriorating condition while incarcerated.
Posted inEducation
More Connecticut students are choosing UConn
The number of in-state students who will begin their studies at the University of Connecticut this fall increased by 4 percent this year, with about 74 percent of the class made up of Connecticut natives.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Bridgeport educator: What gives me hope after a terrible year for teachers
After the disappointing Janus Supreme Court decision that eliminated the “fair share” laws that fund teachers unions like mine, thousands of educators from across the country marched through the streets of Pittsburgh to show support for their unions. After a year of blows to the teaching profession — a U.S. Department of Education that focuses less on protecting students and more on its own destruction, federal and state budget cuts, and the heavy, ever-looming threat of violence in the classroom — my heart warmed when I saw my colleagues resisting after yet another attempt to undermine our collective bargaining rights and disregard our voices. Teachers are willing to speak up on behalf unions. But unions will in turn have to show they understand teachers’ most pressing concerns and are ready to speak up for them.
Posted inPolitics
CT Dems say Manafort conviction, Cohen plea, proof of ‘criminality’ in White House
WASHINGTON – Connecticut Democrats on Tuesday said the conviction of Paul Manafort, and the plea deal of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, is proof of “criminality” in the White House, while the president continued to call special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation “a witch hunt.”
Posted inEducation
New GOP-driven effort looks to further school safety reform
With pressures inflicted in part by social media shaping a distinct, rapidly evolving generation of students, a largely-Republican group of lawmakers is looking to update the school safety reforms implemented in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Posted inMoney
Democrats line up to take a swing at Stefanowski’s tax pledge
Connecticut Democrats stepped up their campaign Tuesday to fill in the gaps of Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Stefanowski’s promise to phase out the state income tax over eight years — arguing it would come at a steep cost to local schools, municipalities and property taxpayers.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut is not properly structured for economic growth
Just about everyone accepts that after an unusually vigorous national economic expansion and housing boom, Connecticut remains in the doldrums. It is a national poster child for egregious fiscal and economic mismanagement on a scale rarely seen in post-war America. Jobs are below pre-2008 Recession levels. A major exodus of firms, jobs and residents is underway. By some estimates 20 to 25,000 residents are leaving annually. Most ominous is the unprecedented post-war decline of property values in the fabled Gold Coast where a few hundred thousand wealthy residents provide a third of the state’s revenues serving its 3.5 million inhabitants. People are voting with their boots.
Posted inEducation
Final report on DCF under Malloy and Katz cites progress
Connecticut received Monday what is likely to be a federal overseer’s final assessment of the progress made by the Department of Children and Families during the tenure of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Commissioner Joette Katz, saying the state is closer than ever to ending nearly three decades of federal supervision. But not before the next governor takes office.
Posted inMoney
White House approves disaster aid for towns hit by May storm
WASHINGTON – The White House on Monday agreed to provide some, but not all, of the money the state requested to help the victims of May’s severe storms and tornadoes.
Posted inMoney
CT has a surplus – for now
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced Monday that state finances have been running almost $138 million in the black since the fiscal year began on July 1.