The clash over labor costs intensified Tuesday at the state Capitol. While one panel split over a proposal to boost the minimum wage, labor groups rallied against changes to the prevailing wage law.
Battles over labor’s wages heat up at Capitol
Posted inCT Viewpoints
In support of state income tax exemption for Social Security benefits
Only 12 other states tax Social Security benefits. Nearby states including Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania do not tax these benefits, and in some cases do not tax other retirement income as well. We need to make Connecticut a more affordable state so that our seniors can stay here.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
New farmland harvest – solar energy – creating political sparks
Two well-intentioned environmental polices – one encouraging more renewable power and the other the preservation of farms and forestland – are colliding. They are pitting farmer against farmer and environmental interest groups against one another, putting state departments at odds, and raising the always explosive issue of private property rights versus state policy.
Posted inHealth, Politics
DeLauro at the border: Trump’s immigration plans ‘inhumane, anti-American’
WASHINGTON – Rep. Rosa DeLauro traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border Monday to slam President Trump on his plans to crack down on undocumented immigrants — measures he is expected to move forward on this week through the signing of new executive orders. “A policy that separates families is an inhumane policy,” DeLauro said.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Malloy’s school funding plan does not go far enough
For more than two centuries, Connecticut has been colloquially known as “The Land of Steady Habits.” But our state’s tradition of arbitrarily, illogically, and inequitably funding its public schools is a bad habit Connecticut desperately needs to break. Unfortunately, Gov. Dannel Malloy’s recent budget proposal does not go far enough to address the fundamental flaws […]
Posted inPolitics
As Trump moves on immigration, ‘Dreamers’ hope they’re not the next target
WASHINGTON – As the Trump administration moves to crack down on undocumented immigrants, more than 8,500 youth in Connecticut, known as “Dreamers,” who were given temporary legal status, are hoping they won’t be next. “There’s a lot of fear in the community,” said Lucas Codognolla of Connecticut Students for a Dream.
Posted inHealth
Insurance coverage mandates would face more analysis under Malloy proposal
The prospect of requiring health insurance plans to cover specific treatments or services is an annual debate in the Connecticut General Assembly, often pitting patients who faced problems against critics who say mandates raise insurance premiums. Now the governor wants to change the process – a proposal that’s drawn both praise and opposition.
Posted inEducation, Health, Money, Politics
Angst over trains, guns, money, health insurance and Russian spies
Own a gun? Have health insurance? Seen any spy ships off the Connecticut coast? There were concerns over those items and more throughout the week.
Posted inCities & Towns, Money, Transportation
Griebel on the business climate: ‘Confidence must be restored’
R. Nelson “Oz” Griebel, longtime chief executive officer of the MetroHartford Alliance, has been active in state, regional and city public policy for nearly two decades. He chaired the state Transportation Strategy Board and ran, unsuccessfully, for governor in 2010. Now, as the governor and General Assembly resume debate on the state budget and massively under-funded retirement benefit programs that threaten Connecticut’s fiscal future, Griebel sat down to talk with The Mirror.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Betsy DeVos’s first week at the U.S. Department of Education
After a bruising confirmation fight, Betsy DeVos has taken the helm at the U.S. Department of Education. Here’s what you should know about the protests, gaffes, and policy shifts that have marked her first few days on the job.
Posted inJustice
In Connecticut, calling for help carries risks for domestic violence victims
Sanna Dilawar is one of hundreds of Connecticut women arrested each year along with the men who assault them under a procedure known as “dual arrests.” In Connecticut, data for the years 2011 through 2015 shows that dual arrests have taken place, on average, in 18 percent of all episodes of such violence that result in an arrest.
Posted inHealth
Treatment gaps persist between low- and high-income workers
Low-wage workers with job-based health insurance were significantly more likely than their higher-income colleagues to wind up in the emergency department or be admitted to the hospital, in particular for conditions that with good primary care shouldn’t result in hospitalization, a new study found.
Posted inHealth, Politics
At Berlin forum, residents tell Larson to repair ACA, fight repeal
The forum was part of a national effort by congressional Democrats to hold town hall-style meetings in an attempt to showcase the importance of the Affordable Care Act and demonstrate significant opposition to repealing it.
Posted inHealth
In legal soap opera, Cigna and Anthem trade charges of sabotage
WASHINGTON – In a vicious legal battle laid out in court papers unsealed Friday, Cigna accuses Anthem of undermining its business by stealing confidential information and soliciting its customers. Anthem counters in a rival filing that Cigna worked to sabotage the companies’ proposed merger after its executives were not promised the positions they wanted in the merged company.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy: Choice is modernize or close aging XL Center
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Friday that a $250 million plan to overhaul the aging XL Center in downtown Hartford is a blueprint to modernize an arena that has reached the end of its useful life, not a long-shot bid to bring NHL hockey back to Connecticut -– even if a would-be NHL ownership group is looking at Hartford.