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.
A back-to-school pep talk from the education chief
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.
Posted inPolitics
Analysts: Manafort departure won’t right floundering Trump campaign
WASHINGTON — The departure of New Britain native Paul Manafort from Donald Trump’s campaign on Friday isn’t likely to help revive a candidate who is plagued by problems, analysts say, but it will tone down distracting noise.
Posted inJustice
CT high court rules UConn wrongly fired employee for getting high at work
The state’s high court has unanimously decided the University of Connecticut was not justified in firing an employee found getting high on marijuana while on the job, a case the attorneys for the state argued would have broad implications for state employees.
Posted inMoney
CT merchants hope sales tax holiday lures out-of-state shoppers
While Connecticut consumers gear up for the 16th annual sales-tax-free week starting Sunday, merchants hope that Massachusetts shoppers — whose home state suspended their annual sales tax holiday — will cross the border.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Grieving father, college leader: Vaccinate for meningitis B
On Sept. 24, 2005, my son Isaac called home to tell his mother he had a terrible headache and felt lousy; chills and a fever. He was a very healthy young man who worked out every day and took pride in how and what he ate. Thinking it was the flu, my wife told him to get some sleep and drink lots of fluids. He called again at 4:16 to report that the headache was even worse and he felt even sicker. His mother re-assured him that it was probably the flu, so get some rest. I agreed with the diagnosis. But it was not the flu. It was type B meningitis eating at his body and brain.
Posted inHealth, Politics
As some quit exchanges, insurers press for changes in ACA
WASHINGTON — Aetna’s decision to abandon 11 state Affordable Care Act marketplaces combined with the shrinking participation of other insurers has prompted Washington advocates to look for new ways to strengthen state marketplaces like Connecticut’s Access Health CT. Republicans, meanwhile, have renewed their calls for the ACA’s repeal.
Posted inEducation
Tests show gains but about half of students still below grade level
About half of the 234,000 elementary and middle school students tested during the last school year were not at grade level in reading or math, state education officials announced Thursday. But a higher proportion of students were at grade level than in the previous year.
Posted inEducation
How did your school do on the SBAC test?
See how your school and school district performed on last spring’s standardized English and math tests, which are formally known as the Smarter Balanced Assessments.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy presses bill that would force release of Trump tax returns
WASHINGTON — Since Donald Trump has declined to release his tax returns, Sen. Chris Murphy is backing a way to make them public – a bill that would force the issue. The effort is part of a renewed Democratic campaign over Trump’s tax filings.
Posted inMoney
CT’s unemployment falls slightly amid July job gains
Connecticut’s unemployment rate dropped slightly to 5.7 percent in July after the state gained 1,700 jobs, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.