BRIDGEPORT — The body language seemed strained while photographers were briefly allowed in a room crowded with local, state and federal law enforcement called to talk to about street shootings. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy sat next to Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, never quite making eye contact with the mayor whose election he once opposed as an embarrassment to Connecticut.
Bridgeport shootings bring Malloy to Ganim’s side
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut voters to have at least one minor party alternative
Jill Stein, the presidential nominee of the Green Party, qualified Thursday for the ballot in Connecticut, while the state remains one of four yet to certify petitions collected on behalf of the Libertarian candidate, Gary Johnson.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Lembo raises warning flags on new state budget
In his first monthly report on the new state budget, Connecticut’s chief fiscal watchdog warned both about uncertain income tax projections and hefty savings targets — both of which must be met to keep in balance the $19.7 billion budget approved in May.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The Wal-Mart-ization of Connecticut’s support for the disabled?
Concerning shifting human resources from state to private non-profit:
“The legislature’s Program Review and Investigations Committee (PRI) found in 2012 that the price tag for state-operated residential services for disabled adults is $338,000 per year, while the cost for the average community-based residential facility is $129,000.”
Why is it cheaper for nonprofits than for the state? Exactly where is money being saved? If the employees of the nonprofit are being paid much less, with less medical coverage and no pension compared to the state run programs, then nonprofits are no better than Walmart; shifting the burden surreptitiously. How are you saving money?
Posted inPolitics
Malloy raises money, and profile, as head of DGA
WASHINGTON — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is proving to be an able fundraiser as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, but he’s not been in demand as campaigner in a year when many Democrats in hot races have shifted to the right of the Connecticut governor, touting fiscal conservatism, support for welfare reform and even their “A” ratings from the NRA.
Posted inTransportation
Federal rail official: ‘No elevated track’ in Old Lyme; spokesman creates doubt, but later clarifies
OLD LYME — Less than an hour after a top federal rail administrator Wednesday renewed her agency’s promise not to build an aerial rail line through Old Lyme’s historic district, a spokesman for the agency backpedaled on the statement and said it could not be ruled out entirely. The spokesman later amended his comments and reaffirmed the agency’s commitment.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Cry me a river, Aetna
You might be thinking, based on what insurance company CEOs have been saying over the past few weeks, that carriers are awash in red ink because of Obamacare and would surely go bust if they had to keep paying the medical claims of their Obamacare customers for even one more year. You might even be shedding a tear or two for their poor shareholders.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Shifting human services to private sector is good for everyone
As our state faces continued budget difficulties, Connecticut’s nonprofit community providers can help by delivering high-quality social services at a lower cost than the same services provided in state-run government facilities.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Will Hartford’s crisis force a CT property tax overhaul?
With Connecticut’s largest cities sliding slowly toward bankruptcy, will legislators move to correct Connecticut’s heavy reliance on an age-old property tax system?
Posted inTransportation
For Malloy and transportation, the campaign never ends
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy promoted improvements to Metro North two weeks ago in New Haven. Last week, he delivered an I-84 widening update at a construction site in Waterbury. On Tuesday, he visited a CTfastrak station in Hartford to mark the system’s four millionth passenger trip.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The Connecticut income tax is not the problem
Although Connecticut’s tax system certainly needs reform, the income tax is not at the center of its problems. Most of our revenue woes come from system full of loopholes, unnecessary tax expenditures and giveaways. Fixing Connecticut’s tax code to make it more fair, transparent and predictable would do far more to promote growth and fix our budget crisis than any income tax cuts for the powerful.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Above the waves, Connecticut fishermen struggle to hang on
Shifting fish species have Connecticut fishermen in an emotional dispute over how the U.S. fishing system operates. They’re calling, if not downright begging, for immediate changes to fish allocations to save the state’s fishing industry from what many believe is its inevitable ruin. But others in the scientific and environmental communities are saying – maybe not so fast.
Posted inJustice, Politics
CT Supreme Court rules in FOI case involving Ritter, CRRA
A unanimous ruling Monday by the Connecticut Supreme Court in a case involving a prominent lawyer-lobbyist, former House Speaker Thomas D. Ritter, seems to narrow the circumstances when a lawyer’s business or political advice is protected by lawyer-client privilege.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy chats with LePage: ‘He didn’t challenge me to a duel’
A conference of New England governors and eastern Canadian premiers became the awkward venue Monday for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to present incarceration statistics that he says contradict Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s assertions that his state’s heroin crisis is the fault of out-of-state minorities.
Posted inMoney
Towns will craft their own plan to regionalize, ease local tax burden
As state officials increase their warnings that municipal aid may be curtailed in the coming years, Connecticut’s cities and towns will craft their own plan to regionalize services and make local government more efficient.