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.
The media landscape is a mess, Commissioner Pai
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.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The 1 percent tax on restaurant meals is a bad idea
There is a shortage of good ideas at the Capitol this summer as lawmakers try to put together a budget for Connecticut, but there is no shortage of bad ideas. One of those bad ideas is a plan to allow cities and towns to levy a new tax on restaurant meals as a means to increase tax revenues to municipalities. There is no rhyme or reason to this concept, it is just another random scheme to help lawmakers pay for the promises they have made in the past to get themselves elected.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Community colleges move the people and can move the state
I am not forgetting about or unsympathetic to the state’s demanding financial situation and the complex challenges of addressing the projected shortfalls in the next biennial budget. At Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC), we know about increasing pressures to meet the needs of our constituencies while available funds keep decreasing. I say proudly that NVCC has remained in the black during each of the past nine years.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Even with Obamacare’s survival, a shakeup in CT healthcare system threatens
WASHINGTON – Even though the U.S. Senate failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, some Connecticut residents might lose subsidies that would help pay their premiums while others could see sizable increases in their premiums or a smaller choice of plans.
Posted inPolitics
Ganim to sue over bar to public financing of campaign
Bridgeport Mayor Joseph P. Ganim intends to file a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court challenging the constitutionality of a law that bars convicted felons like him from seeking public financing for a potential run for governor in 2018.
Posted inMoney, Politics
After day of drama, Senate Democrats unite to back concessions
On a tie-breaking vote by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, the Senate gave final approval Monday to a state-employee concessions deal after Democratic leaders mollified three dissenting colleagues with a promise to make a good-faith effort for fiscal reforms.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On concessions deal: Why the same powerless position?
As Connecticut senators vote on a labor “concessions” deal, the irony is that even greater savings can be achieved without any deal at all. Gov. Dannel Malloy claims to have extracted $715 million in wage savings over two years through a “wage freeze.” Yet, without any deal, he could achieve $770 million in wage savings. The simple truth is that wages can only be raised by contract. No contract, no raises.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The state employee concession agreement is not just legal — it’s moral
The state House of Representatives took a significant step July 24 toward solving Connecticut’s fiscal crisis by ratifying a concessions deal with the state workforce. The State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) agreement now heads to the state Senate for further consideration. If passed by the state Senate, the savings achieved by this historic deal are substantial and unprecedented.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
How clean energy can help save Connecticut’s budget
As the state’s budget battle continues, debate over cutting costs and raising revenue has not focused on a promising strategy – ramping up clean energy efforts to grow our way out of the budget problem. Deploying solar and increasing building energy efficiency cuts air pollution, reduces energy costs, creates jobs, and stimulates the state’s economy – all while putting more tax revenue in state coffers. We can help plug the budget gap by strengthening our clean energy economy. The two work together. What we absolutely should not do is raid clean energy funds.