On the last weekend before voters go to the polls, the same question gnaws at down-ballot candidates from both parties. Are their presidential nominees a help or a hindrance to them? Many say they don’t have a handle on exactly who will turn out on Tuesday.
Clinton-Trump battle overshadows CT’s down-ballot races
Posted inHealth, Money
‘There’s a lot of anxiety:’ Mental health system braces for more cuts
So far, the impact of cuts to the state’s mental health system has been mixed, those involved say. Some agencies have absorbed reductions, while others have reduced hours, cut staff or closed programs. But nearly all expect that the cuts they’ve already faced are just a start.
Posted inPolitics
A look at the latest news from CT Senate battleground districts
The battle for control of Connecticut’s state legislative chambers is in its final days. Here are the latest headlines in the Senate battleground districts.
Posted inPolitics
Pentagon-Lockheed fight over F-35 price doesn’t extend to Pratt
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin differed this week over the price of the a ninth batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but Pratt & Whitney, which makes the engines for those planes, has successfully negotiated contracts for that lot and the next.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The CT spending cap as written: ‘An unmitigated disaster’
The purpose of the spending cap should be to limit taxation on Connecticut taxpayers. But as written, it actually cost the state jobs, undermined tax revenue, and surely raised taxes on Connecticut taxpayers. OMG. How did that happen?
Posted inCT Viewpoints
How Progressives can invest in future elections on Nov. 8
Voters are disheartened, with polls showing much dislike for both Trump and Clinton. But to paraphrase Michelle Obama, even as this presidential race has brought us “low,” we can still go “high” by effecting change beyond 2016. We have an opportunity to contribute to a more representative, democratic electoral future by considering other presidential candidates —“third parties”– who represent important populist issues neither Trump nor Clinton do.
Posted inMoney
What cuts in the next state budget could look like…
State agencies have offered the governor’s budget office options as it prepares a 2017-18 state budget proposal. Among those made public so far: State residents could be charged a new $10 vehicle registration fee every two years to support state parks; prisons could incarcerate 1,100 fewer people; mosquito and tick management programs could be scaled back; and state funding of tax breaks for elderly property owners and renters could be reduced.
Posted inHealth
CT exchange officials considering big changes to stay viable
Among the ideas Access Health CT will explore: Allow insurers to offer plans with narrow provider networks, restrict coverage for people who sign up after the enrollment deadline, and consider eliminating the lowest-cost, high-deductible bronze plans.
Posted inPolitics
Bridgeport throws Joe Ganim an anniversary party
BRIDGEPORT — Mario Testa leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and counted the room. The last of the state’s old-school Democratic bosses saw 250 men and women at a couple of dozen tables, not a bad turnout for what Testa called a last-minute, multi-purpose affair: a Democratic fundraiser and pre-election pep rally on the first anniversary of Joseph P. Ganim’s election as mayor. “I’ll be honest with you,” Testa said. “There was no arm-twisting.”
Posted inPolitics
In CT Democrats’ new campaign ad, money is the message
With a new ad and press conference, Democrats made the corporate and billionaire backers of a Republican effort to gain seats in the Connecticut House an issue Thursday. The GOP called the effort a disingenuous gambit to distract voters from the state’s economic failings under a Democratic governor and legislature.
Posted inPolitics
Get all your election coverage at our Election Headquarters
We’re your headquarters for Connecticut election news and results, interviews and analysis. Beginning today and through Election Day, the Connecticut Mirror will keep you up to speed on the state’s elections with a special site dedicated to that purpose.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Koch brothers, others seek to quash tax break that aids CT fuel cell industry
Connecticut’s fuel cell industry, one of the most robust in the nation, is up against a powerful coalition that includes the Koch brothers and other conservative interest groups who want to end an important tax break for the industry.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
When righting school funding wrongs, remember charter schools
In his historic and sweeping decision on Connecticut’s broken school funding system, Judge Thomas Moukawsher announced something we have been shouting from the rooftops for years – many of Connecticut’s kids are not getting the education they deserve and was promised to them under law. They’re languishing. Their rights are being violated. It’s unconstitutional, it’s unfair and finally it seems people have woken up and are taking notice.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The real war on women in Connecticut
Donald Trump’s atrocious war on women has been on full display, but there’s another war on women that takes place inside our Capitol every legislative session. Big business lobbyists, and the Republicans they now indirectly fund, routinely fight the right of women to achieve equal pay and fair workplace policies that keep women in the workforce.
Posted inEducation
Turmoil greets new teacher training program in CT
Hoping to increase the number of minority teachers working in urban districts, the Connecticut State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a controversial private program that fast-tracks would-be teachers toward certification.