Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Friday vetoed a bill that would have prohibited him or future governors from cutting education-cost sharing grants to cities and towns as a means of addressing a budget shortfall that develops during the fiscal year. He also allowed a bill to become law without his signature, a first for the governor.
Malloy vetoes ECS bill, declines to sign health measure
Posted inNews
Connecticut legislators balk at on-line betting on sports
The Connecticut General Assembly is unlikely take up on-line gambling when it returns in special session to consider legalizing sports betting — viewing betting by smartphone as a concept that needs deeper study and public input, legislative leaders said Friday.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
UConn Health must correct ‘blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars’
Over the past few months, multiple situations have come to light unveiling a pattern of failures at UConn Health that have severely damaged the public’s trust in your institution. We have seen blatant misuse of taxpayer dollars, failure to implement basic oversight, and apparent disregard for your core responsibilities to the state and people of Connecticut. I am writing today to ask UConn Health to commit to rebuilding public trust.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Former Speaker: Megan’s law good policy, but sometimes misused
I want to commend Tom Condon for his May 21 piece (Sex offender registry: More harm than good?) chronicling Connecticut’s sex offender registry, and for raising some provocative issues around the registry’s evolution and consequences. As chief sponsor of Connecticut’s original Megan’s Law, let me say first — unequivocally — that I believe the state’s sex offender registry is good public policy, constitutionally sound, and has done far more good than harm.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The calculus of dumbing down community college math
I challenge the validity of the transfer of credits for the course Calculus III from Connecticut community colleges to the University of Connecticut. Generally speaking, the standards associated with the teaching of the Calculus III (multivariable) course at Connecticut community colleges are very low. The community college classes do not teach the “essential” Fundamental Theorems of Multivariable Calculus – Gradient, Green’s, Stokes and Divergence. They are called fundamental for a reason! These four theorems set the foundation for Maxwell’s Equations.
Posted inPolitics
Santos, early out of the gate for Esty’s seat, has tough race ahead
Manny Santos, a former Marine and the state Republican party’s endorsed choice to break the Democratic deadlock on Connecticut’s representation in Congress, hopes to win Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s seat with a traditional GOP message of lower taxes and fewer regulations. But he first has to beat other Republicans who want the party’s nomination instead.
Posted inPolitics
Seldom retiring, Betty Gallo is quitting nonetheless
On every hot-button issue of the past four decades, Betty Gallo seemed to have a client, dogging legislators on behalf of the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, the Innocence Project and a long roster of other advocacy groups, taking up causes that often traveled the arc from Quixotic in one session to law in another. No more. Gallo says the 2018 session was her 41st and her last, ending a remarkable run as the lobbying voice of progressive politics in Connecticut.
Posted inNews
Students, teachers bear witness to Malloy’s signing of bump stock ban
Students spearheading the effort to reduce gun violence in schools joined teachers and activists Thursday to watch Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s sign a law making Connecticut one of only a few states to have made the use of bump stocks illegal.
Posted inNews
Interior relents on Connecticut casino deal
Without explanation, the Department of Interior said Thursday it has reversed course and is accepting at least one of the two gambling amendments necessary for the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes to jointly construct a casino in East Windsor. The tribes still face obstacles, including a promised legal challenge by its competitor, MGM.
Posted inHousing
HUD’S Carson to visit Willington to view crumbling foundation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson has accepted an invitation from Sen. Chris Murphy to come to Connecticut and take a first-hand look at the damage to homes that have crumbling foundations made of tainted concrete.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Questions about Connecticut’s economic challenge — and answers
Connecticut’s ailing economy is a constant source of discussion and disagreement, so here are a few frequently asked questions about it and one researcher’s answers.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Where we stand today: The wins and losses for women in Connecticut
As the legislative session came to a close on May 9, the General Assembly passed several bills to safeguard the health and safety of women in Connecticut and combat the gender wage gap. But lawmakers fell short on critical opportunities to advance women’s economic security.
Posted inJustice
In prison, ‘Reimagining Justice’ — and a governor’s legacy
CHESHIRE — In a century-old maximum security prison, a “60 Minutes” news crew recorded visitors mingling Wednesday among inmates and correction officers in a re-purposed cellblock, participants in a criminal-justice experiment that seems destined to become the praised legacy of an unpopular governor, Dannel P. Malloy.
Posted inAnnouncements
Elizabeth Hamilton named new Connecticut Mirror editor
Elizabeth Hamilton, a 20-year veteran of Connecticut newsrooms and a published poet, has been named editor of The Connecticut Mirror and The Connecticut News Project, Inc.
Posted inPolitics
Shannon Kula, a Democrat, declares for Esty’s seat
Shannon Kula, a former U.S. Senate aide, on Wednesday became the third Democrat, all women, to announce a run for the open 5th District Congressional seat, making a late entrance that will require her to petition for a place in the August primary. She faces a deadline of June 12 to gather signatures from two percent of registered Democrats in the district.