Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration scaled back its deficit forecast Tuesday for the current fiscal year, citing additional savings in the Judicial Branch and in fringe benefit costs.
Malloy administration says cost-cutting has reduced CT budget deficit
Posted inNews
Murphy touts passage of his anti-propaganda bill
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Tuesday that passage last week of a bipartisan measure he co-sponsored will strengthen the U.S. government’s ability to track and combat disinformation and propaganda overseas, especially by Russia.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Eligibility cuts to childcare subsidies penny wise, pound foolish
Last week, parents, childcare providers, and legislators gathered in Hartford to discuss the crucial role childcare plays in supporting Connecticut’s economy. The forum was held in response to recent news that the Care4Kids childcare subsidy program, which helps low-income families pay for childcare, will be closed to almost all new applicants. The message of the forum was clear: childcare is a critical component of the state’s economic infrastructure. Removing access to childcare for thousands of Connecticut families will cost the state more money than it will save.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Time to reconsider the Electoral College
I had the honor —and it was a true privilege— to preside over the vote of the 2016 Electoral College in Connecticut. Inside the state Capitol, the event was filled with the solemnity that such a process deserves. Outside a handful of protesters picketed a practice that some are calling undemocratic. In any other year, I might have joined them.
Posted inPolitics
Talks stall, then resume over how to run a divided CT Senate
Negotiations over how to share power in an evenly divided Connecticut Senate progressed over the weekend before being suspended Monday as Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven, broke away to prepare for a kidney transplant Tuesday at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Posted inNews
In subdued ceremony, Connecticut casts its electoral votes
Seven electors dropped signed paper ballots into a wooden box in the state Senate on Monday, casting Connecticut’s seven Electoral College votes for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, the Democrats who carried the state, won the national popular vote and lost the presidency.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
Should we widen I-95 in Connecticut?
Gov. Dannel Malloy wants to widen I-95 to alleviate traffic congestion and has commissioned a $1.2 million study to support the idea. But I found a similar study from 2004 that looked at the idea and rejected it for a number of reasons. Why are the governor and CDOT re-studying the same issue and spending valuable tax dollars to do so? Because the first study rejected their widening idea completely and they don’t like that answer.
Posted inHealth
Pharmacists offer overdose-reversing drug, but say demand muted
Some customers thank Ed Schreiner for making naloxone available at his pharmacy. The bin with brochures about the drug, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, is often empty. But since last year, only about a dozen people have asked Schreiner to prescribe the drug. Other pharmacists said they’ve been similarly surprised by the low demand, given the state’s ongoing opioid crisis.
Posted inHealth
St. Francis to test marijuana as alternative to opioids
The study will be the first state-approved research on medical marijuana, part of a law passed this spring that grants immunity under state law to those participating in approved studies.
Posted inPolitics
Rep. Srinivasan is a candidate for governor in ’18
Connecticut Republicans have a declared candidate for governor in 2018: Dr. Prasad Srinivasan, an allergist elected six years ago to the state House of Representatives, filed papers Friday creating a gubernatorial candidate committee.
Posted inNews
Navy boosts projections for Virginia-class submarines
WASHINGTON — The Navy on Friday sharply increased its projections for how many Virginia-class attack submarines it needs from 48 to 66 – opening the door to boosting production to three subs a year. “It’s the first time the Navy has taken a new look at submarines since 2004, and it’s long overdue,” said Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District.
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Fed plan for Northeast Corridor rail includes new shoreline route
Updated at 5:20 p.m.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration on Friday released its ambitious vision for an overhaul of Northeast Corridor railroads, a plan that would create a new route through Old Lyme and other shoreline towns and upgrade the rail line from New Haven to Hartford and Springfield, Mass. Connecticut officials immediately vowed to fight realignment of the shoreline route.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A practical solution to funding special ed in Connecticut
Every student who walks through the doors each morning at one of Connecticut’s more than 1,300 public schools has their own unique skills and abilities, as well as their own needs and challenges. But despite their differences, each of these students has something in common: the right to a quality, equitably funded education. For Connecticut’s more than 74,500 students who need some type of special education service, this right is particularly important.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT works on a new energy strategy as old one misses the mark
The three-year update to Connecticut’s Comprehensive Energy Strategy, underway now, faces dramatically changed energy, environmental and political landscapes that raise questions about whether the first strategy, with its focus on natural gas, may have partially wasted the last three years.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal says Senate may reject some Trump cabinet picks
WASHINGTON – Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions may not be able to win Senate approval, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday.