WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday rejected the Trump administration’s plan to overturn so-called net neutrality rules, which mandate that internet providers give consumers access to content on an equal basis, without favoring some sources or blocking others. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy voted with all other Democrats — and a few Republicans — for the net neutrality resolution.
Blumenthal, Murphy win on net neutrality vote, but House approval unlikely
Posted inCT Viewpoints
To effect change, Connecticut needs to pay legislators a living wage
“Still revolutionary?” Hardly! Connecticut isn’t the least bit revolutionary. But it could be if we stopped preventing good people with good ideas from running for office by making it impossible for them to support their families. There are many different things that we could be doing, but none of it will get done because our legislature is too insulated. There are no new ideas because there are no new people. Why? State legislators in Connecticut only earn $28,000 per year. In one of the most expensive places to live in this country our legislators earn the equivalent of around $13.50 an hour, and that’s only if you pretend they only work 40 hour work weeks.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Remembering Ned Coll … and Connecticut’s shameful segregation
If you were in Connecticut in the late 1960s and the 1970s, you might remember Ned Coll. He was the Hartford activist who, among other things, brought African-American youngsters from the squalid housing projects in the North End of Hartford to private beaches along the shore, which Coll believed should be open to the public.
Posted inNews
Oz & Monte, independents searching for an audience
The candidate is named Oz, so the tornado warning Tuesday might have been a nice touch, a metaphor for a campaign intent on disruption. But it turns out that dire forecasts, downpours and lightning don’t do much to draw a crowd for an independent gubernatorial campaign, even one with an open bar, free appetizers and live music.
Posted inHealth
Dems predict ‘eye-popping’ health premium hikes, blame GOP
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy on Tuesday helped launch a Democratic initiative that blames Republicans for “sabotaging” the Affordable Care Act, leading to sky-high health insurance premiums. Advocates for the ACA predict premiums for individual policies sold on Access Health CT will jump an average of 16.5 percent.
Posted inPolitics
As LG candidate, Bysiewicz’ public-financing bid is complicated
Susan Bysiewicz’ shift Tuesday from a Democratic gubernatorial candidate to Ned Lamont’s running mate creates a significant complication in her quest for public financing of her campaign: The money she raised for governor cannot be easily switched to a bid for lieutenant governor.
Posted inPolitics
Lamont-Bysiewicz: ‘United, we have the best chance’
NEW HAVEN — Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz glossed over scrapes and differences, the way political rivals do when they suddenly pivot, ending their competition for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The task now is to frame themselves as capable of offering a fresh take on governing to a state deeply unhappy with its Democratic governor.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut needs a moratorium on crumb rubber
Health, the environment, and wildlife. These are only a few areas of life that the installation of crumb rubber (recycled tire rubber) on playgrounds and playing fields negatively affects. My goal in this letter is to effectively express the importance of establishing a moratorium on the use of recycled tire rubber (crumb rubber) at municipal and public school playgrounds.
Posted inPolitics
Mary Glassman edges Jahana Hayes for CT-5 endorsement
WATERBURY — On a wild series of vote switches Monday night, former First Selectman Mary Glassman of Simsbury edged Jahana Hayes, the charismatic newcomer encouraged to run by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, to win the Democratic endorsement for Congress in Connecticut’s most competitive district, the 5th.
Posted inPolitics
Ned Lamont forms ticket with Susan Bysiewicz
Democratic gubernatorial contenders Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz have agreed to run together on a ticket topped by Lamont, a move to discourage a primary while Republicans battle in a summer-long nomination fight, sources said Monday. The partnership, hatched over the weekend and confirmed Monday, is likely to get mixed reviews.
Posted inMoney
Supreme Court prompts state to reconsider sports gambling
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for supporters of the legalization of sports betting in Connecticut to make another attempt to authorize this type of gambling in the state, prompting Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz to say they would support a special legislative session to revisit the issue.
Posted inPolitics
Video primer: How GOP culled gubernatorial field in three ballots
Didn’t have two days to watch the Connecticut Republican convention at Foxwoods? Thanks to a video by Ryan Caron King of Connecticut Public Radio (with a little help from CT Mirror), here is the essence of a three-ballot contest for governor in under three minutes. Enjoy.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Evaluating Gov. Dannel Malloy’s tenure
Gov. Dannel Malloy is leaving office as our state’s most unpopular governor in decades having secured Connecticut’s reputation as the most mismanaged state in the nation. For a well regarded mayor and former public prosecutor from our only prosperous city, it is a surprising outcome. What are the lessons here?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Can you throw ‘em out if they’re not in school?
“Take your f…… hands off of me” a young man said to me after I tried lead him out of the hallway from a fight. Think about it. How many times have you heard people complain about the “bad” kids, the young men and women who are the gold medallion award winners for repeated trips to the office? Have you ever thought about how and why this happens?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Congress must act to fix Connecticut’s crumbling railways
The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package recently approved by President Donald Trump and Congress includes much-needed infrastructure funding that could help Connecticut rebuild its crumbling railways. But it is now up to the Appropriations Committees in both the Senate and the House to take the next step by prioritizing more federal funding for critical repairs and upgrades along Connecticut’s stretch of the Northeast Corridor rail system.