Introducing bold reforms or enforcing standards to aid struggling students in poor districts have largely stalled at the state Capitol or the State Department of Education amid conflict over policy, local control or whether resources are adequate. Fourth of seven stories.
Troubled schools on trial: Who’s in charge? State vs. local control
Posted inHealth, Money
39 percent of parents affected by HUSKY cut still in program
Four months after a major change in Medicaid eligibility for poor parents, 39 percent of those initially expected to lose Medicaid coverage are still in the program and 16 percent have coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange. The health care coverage status of another 42 percent is unknown.
Posted inMoney
Malloy, unions strike deal to stretch out spiking CT pension costs
Updated at 3:50 p.m.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced a deal Friday with state employee unions that would allow Connecticut to dodge a fiscal iceberg by holding down annual pension costs otherwise set to spike over the next 16 years.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Troubled schools on trial: Building boom, pensions lock in big costs statewide
School construction costs, coupled with well over $1 billion the state must contribute each year toward teachers’ pensions, mean about 40 percent of the state’s annual education spending is locked in for years to come. Third of seven stories.
Posted inPolitics
Himes seeks to curb Trump’s war powers
WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Himes is on a quest to rein in President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to take the United States to war, shifting that authority to Capitol Hill. “For decades Congress has wimped out on its authority to declare war,” he said.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal tells Sessions to abstain from voting on his own confirmation
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Thursday told Sen. Jeff Sessions, President-elect Donald Trump’s candidate to be the next U.S. attorney general, that he should not vote on his confirmation – or that of other cabinet candidates.
Posted inPolitics
Controversial labor PAC disbands, refunds cash to unions
Labor United for Connecticut, an independent expenditure group that came under fire for an attack ad in October, disbanded this week after refunding more than $100,000 to member unions.
Posted inPolitics
U.S. House approves stopgap bill that helps CT defense industry
WASHINGTON — Connecticut lawmakers on Thursday helped pass a stopgap spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown – and ease the way for the confirmation of retired Gen. James N. Mattis as the next secretary of defense – but there’s trouble in the Senate.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Don’t shift Connecticut’s unfunded liability problem onto our children
Eroding revenues, red ink and poor fiscal management continue to undermine Connecticut’s state budget. Unaltered, the present approach will make it increasingly difficult, even impossible, for our children and future generations to have a state government that fulfills its fundamental and constitutional duty to provide for a healthier, safer and more equitable society. … But the problem is about to get far worse.
Posted inEducation
Higher ed board gives Ojakian 3-year extension as president
Mark Ojakian, who took over as the leader of the state’s largest public college system amid turmoil last year, has won something his predecessors were unable to achieve – a contract extension from the system’s governing board. The extension brings no raise in his $335,000 salary.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
A new fiscal year worse than last, but we can still fix Connecticut’s mess
Connecticut began 2016 with more structural deficits coupled with a refusal by the majority to address the size and burn rate of our bloated state government. Instead, they blamed our chronic fiscal problems on a “new economic reality” — i.e., more political spin and another pusillanimous excuse for failed leadership. Indeed, despite record high state tax receipts over these last few years, extracted by our record high tax increases, we still have not kept pace with spending.
Posted inEducation, Justice
Troubled schools on trial: A broken formula for state aid
To fix the formula, legislators would have to decide whether there is inequity in how state aid is distributed to towns, simply a lack of money, or both. Any major change would mean huge fiscal consequences and political battles. Second of seven stories.
Posted inPolitics
Linda McMahon is Trump pick for Small Business Administration
Linda McMahon, the WWE co-founder and two-time Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut, was named Wednesday as President-elect Donald J. Trump’s choice as the administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Senate approves Murphy mental health bill
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy had a significant win Wednesday as the Senate gave final approval to a bill that included his legislation to overhaul the mental health system. “For all the downsides about this job, this is one of those moments that keeps you coming back,” he said.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers torn between funds for subs and waiver for Mattis
WASHINGTON – A stopgap measure to fund the federal government would allow work to continue on a new Connecticut-built ballistic missile submarine while also expediting the controversial nomination of retired Gen. James N. Mattis as the next secretary of defense, posing a tough choice for Connecticut’s lawmakers.