It’s not just the summer heat that’s causing an operational meltdown at the MTA, parent agency of Metro-North and the NYC subways. It’s the years of neglect, under-funding and misplaced priorities that are taking a toll on our vital transit infrastructure. And it’s only going to get worse, as the President of Metro-North has chosen to retire, long before his work is done.
The MTA management meltdown
Posted inMoney, Politics
Sales tax hike, fiscal reforms are chips in budget negotiations
Though moderate Democratic legislators unenthusiastically helped ratify union concessions, the fiscal reforms they want in return may hinge on whether moderates also will tolerate a sales tax increase.
Posted inPolitics
CT business group likes Trump focus on skilled immigrants, but not limits
WASHINGTON — President Trump has embraced a bill that would drastically cut legal immigration to the United States, but it has drawn criticism from labor, business and immigrant advocates who say it would hurt Connecticut’s economy. The legislation has little chance of congressional approval, but has opened a new front in the debate over immigration.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Which will it be: Unequivocal support for Israel or our First Amendment rights?
An alarming paradox has taken shape in legislation before Congress: Our representatives would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights in order to protect the State of Israel. This draconian legislation is H.R. 1697/S. 720, the “Israel Anti-Boycott Act,” is a proposed law that could harshly penalize the free speech of Americans who support the international Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Use new sales tax revenues to exempt Social Security from state income tax
I am disappointed that the General Assembly passed the state employee concession contracts. I believe that may have broken the back of Connecticut. I will state the obvious. The Democrats who voted to pass the contracts have also voted for tax increases to pay for those contracts and for the seemingly unending flow of taxpayer dollars into cities.
Posted inPolitics
GOP quick to define a reticent Wyman as Malloy’s ‘enabler’
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman passed on trying to spin reporters Monday night after her tie-breaking vote in the Senate to ratify a state-employees concessions deal that Republicans are certain to exploit as a wedge issue in the 2018 campaigns for governor and General Assembly. The GOP was quick to tag her as “Dan Malloy’s chief enabler,” a taste of what Wyman can expect if she runs.
Posted inPolitics
GOP congressional candidates willing to swim against political tide
Congressional candidates in Connecticut are bracing for next year’s mid-term elections, which could shift power in the U.S. House and Senate and serve as a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. Former State Rep. Dan Carter, 49, who lost a challenge last year to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, is among those testing the waters for a run against Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty.
Posted inHealth
Access Health scaling back storefronts but seeks to broaden reach
Facing a shortened enrollment period, Connecticut’s health insurance exchange announced Wednesday it plans to scale back its two existing storefronts and redeploy resources to broaden its reach.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The media landscape is a mess, Commissioner Pai
An open letter to Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai: As you have probably noticed our media landscape is a mess. With only five companies owning the bulk of media, especially the news media Americans consume, every day we witness a fragmented message. And it is only going to get worse.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A military response may be our only option with North Korea
The American president has one job: to prevent the detonation of nuclear weapons. Everything else – the economy, the Supreme Court, the environment, Obamacare, the Russian scandal du jour etc. – is irrelevant. Thus, President Trump has three issues he must address: the first is North Korea, the second is North Korea and the third is North Korea.
Posted inPolitics
700,000 CT taxpayers claim a deduction that’s at risk in D.C.
Among the proposals being considered in Washington for reforming the federal tax code is one that would eliminate the deduction that Connecticut taxpayers rely on most — the one for state and local taxes.
Posted inPolitics
Immigrant youth face new threat of deportation
WASHINGTON — Nearly 10,000 immigrant youth in Connecticut who were given provisional legal status under an Obama-era policy now fear an end to the program that shielded them from deportation.
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Posted inEducation
SAT shows large numbers of juniors unready for college or jobs
The test scores were a slight increase over the previous year’s results, but minorities and students from low-income families were far behind state averages. See the results from your city or town.
Posted inMoney
Human services cuts take effect after a month without a budget
After a month without an adopted budget, the first round of cuts to human services agencies across state government took effect Tuesday. Much of the lost funding goes to nonprofit organizations the state contracts with to provide services to the mentally ill, the disabled, the poor, and those leaving prison.
Posted inEducation, Money
Without a budget, Malloy says he will shift state aid to poorer school districts
With the first day of school quickly approaching, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Tuesday he will use his executive authority to shift state school aid from more affluent towns to better shield poor districts from cuts.