A group of high-profile attorneys have put Connecticut at the center of a decades-old debate over whether the federal government is responsible for ensuring that children in the U.S. are provided a quality education.
CT to be a test case for education rights under U.S. Constitution
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, others who helped sales of EpiPen, want probe of price hikes
WASHINGTON — Like other lawmakers who are now calling for an investigation of the massive price hikes in price hikes of EpiPens, Sen. Richard Blumenthal backed legislation that encouraged schools to stock the auto injector that delivers a drug that counters the effects of a fatal allergic reaction.
Posted inEducation
NLRB ruling boosts Yale grad-school union drive
Graduate student teaching assistants at Columbia University won a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board Tuesday that may inject new life into the decades-long quest to unionize their contemporaries at Yale.
Posted inEducation
Ojakian, saying CSCU needs stability, wants to stay at the helm
“You can’t have a president every one or two years and expect that you’re actually going to provide the best service to students and to our state,” President Mark Ojakian said during a recent wide-ranging interview in his Hartford office. “You just can’t do that.”
Posted inPolitics
CT says it’s on track to end chronic homelessness by year end
WATERBURY — Connecticut is on pace to eliminate chronic homelessness by the end of the year, the state’s top housing official said at a press conference in Waterbury Tuesday.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Call it corporate welfare or investment, Malloy says it pays off
NEW HAVEN — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gave an upbeat assessment Tuesday of what Connecticut is getting for the $256.6 million in direct state assistance he’s given to some of the world’s biggest and richest corporations, investments often made in the face of genteel blackmail — the knowledge another governor may be waiting with a competing offer.
Posted inHealth, Money
Parents of disabled urge Malloy to scrap privatizing group homes
Parents of intellectually disabled adults expected to be transferred from state-run group homes to private care reacted Tuesday with a mix of anger and appeals for compassion.
Posted inPolitics
Looney says response to failing kidneys ‘very gratifying’
NEW HAVEN — Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney joined Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at a downtown press conference on economic-development policy Tuesday, a reminder he does not intend to curtail his schedule as he awaits a kidney transplant. He says he is weeks or months away from needing dialysis.
Posted inPolitics
CT defense industry hurt by Congress’ inaction on spending bill
WASHINGTON – Connecticut lawmakers are facing a major obstacle in their attempts to boost the number of helicopters, airplane engines and submarines made by the state’s defense contractors: greater than-ever congressional gridlock over the defense budget.
Posted inEducation
A back-to-school pep talk from the education chief
As students begin heading back to school next week, the state’s education commissioner on Monday congratulated district leaders for the gains they have made so far and challenged them to close the state’s stubborn gaps in achievement between minority students and their peers.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Bloodshed that saves lives
Since the tragic 9/11 terrorist attacks that stripped the sacred lives of too many Americans, we Muslims have unfortunately been the target of blame and persecution. Yet, amid both injustices, our Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, led by the peaceful Khalifa of Islam, chose to respond by the teachings of Holy Quran which encourages working together in goodness and righteousness.
Posted inPolitics
Challenger Carter steadily attacks, but Blumenthal remains aloof
WASHINGTON — The campaign tactics of Sen. Richard Blumenthal and his Republican challenger, state Rep. Dan Carter, are as different as they can be in politics. Blumenthal has largely ignored his challenger, while Carter is waging a death-by-a-thousand-cuts campaign, launching a blizzard of attacks.
Posted inMoney
CT trucking firms get big diesel tax break this summer
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature grabbed plenty of headlines this spring by not hiking state taxes, a huge drop in a crucial state fuel tax this summer has garnered less attention.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Malloy releases funds withheld from CT watchdog agencies
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration relented Friday in its controversial battle to cut the budgets of state government’s autonomous watchdogs — as it has other agencies’ budgets — to help balance Connecticut’s finances.
Posted inEducation
State: CT’s 2 largest school districts violate special education laws
The two largest school districts in Connecticut are not providing students with disabilities with the education federal and state laws require, the Connecticut State Department of Education has determined after long investigations.