Ironically, one of the arguments against recently proposed criminal justice reform makes a strong case for reform of Connecticut’s sex offender registry. A listing on the sex offender registry can be a life sentence. There is no distinction between a sociopathic serial offender and a teen who makes a one-time mistake. Further, we believe all low-risk individuals should never make it on the registry.
Connecticut’s sex-offender registry needs reform, too
Posted inNews
Insurance mergers face hurdles, increased opposition
WASHINGTON – The CEOs of the large health insurers hoping to close on historic mergers are telling investors and the public the deals are on track, but there still are a number of hurdles, and increasing opposition, to the deals.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Obama: ‘We will not give in to fear or turn against each other’
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered flags lowered to half-staff Sunday as Connecticut joined President Obama and the nation in mourning the murders of 50 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, an act of terror and the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Some Democrats quickly called for Congress to strengthen measures aimed at preventing gun violence.
Posted inEducation
A stalemate in desegregating Hartford schools
A Superior Court judge Friday gave the state another year to figure out how to desegregate the schools thousands of Hartford children attend, though Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said later in the afternoon the state is under no obligation to move much beyond currently required levels of integration – 47.5 percent of Hartford’s students.
Posted inHealth
Sharkey calls for Wade’s recusal, but Malloy sees no conflict
House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey became the first Democratic leader Friday to call on Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade to recuse herself from ruling on Anthem’s merger with Bloomfield-based Cigna, the commissioner’s last private-sector employer before joining the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. The governor said he sees no conflict.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy: No regrets for remarks that infuriated Bernie Sanders
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy strained Friday to avoid escalating his profile as an irritant to Bernie Sanders and a potential impediment to Sanders’ eventual endorsement of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. He said he did not regret his criticism of Sanders, only that the senator took exception.
Posted inHealth
CT regulators give final OK to sale of Manchester, Rockville hospitals
State regulators gave final approval Friday to the $105 million purchase of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospitals by Prospect Medical Holdings, a for-profit company based in Los Angeles.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal, Murphy split over boost in defense spending
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy split this week on whether to boost military spending by $18 billion – allowing the Pentagon to increase its purchase of Connecticut-made weaponry – without raising the amount of money spent on domestic programs as well.
Posted inPolitics
With mixed feelings, labor makes its endorsements in CT
The debate was raucous and raw, and two old friends drew angry opposition. But the Connecticut AFL-CIO eventually agreed Friday on dozens of endorsements of Democrats for the General Assembly and Congress.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut woman is Muslim, American, and breaking barriers
As an American Muslim mother of two, being born and raised in the suburbs of Connecticut to a typical middle-class family, I’m really as American as they come. As a Muslim, I follow the religion of Islam. I’m not talking about the Islam that’s portrayed on TV, but the true Islam which teaches “love and loyalty to one’s country as a part of faith.” Of course, as a Muslim who follows the true teachings of Islam by reading the Holy Quran, it’s hard for me to understand why society fears me.
Posted inNews
Stadium fiasco threatens novel renewal idea
The controversial delays and added costs at Hartford’s new minor league baseball stadium not only put the 2016 Hartford Yard Goats baseball season on life support, it threatens what could be the city’s boldest renewal effort since the Front Street project began in the 1990s.
Posted inMoney
CT agencies told to start planning for big cuts for 2017-18
A few weeks after balancing the state budget entirely with spending cuts, the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is already warning state agencies to start planning for big reductions in discretionary spending in the following two fiscal years.
Posted inNews
BIA says Schaghticoke petition is lacking
WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Indian Affairs on Thursday said a petition for recognition from the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe is incomplete, missing four key elements that would allow the application to move forward. “The department finds your recently submissions of material…do not meet the requirements for a documented petition,” the BIA said.
Posted inMoney
Malloy vetoes tax breaks passed on final night of session
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed two bills Thursday, siding with municipalities on one that would have allowed 100-percent property tax breaks in perpetuity for non-profit and for-profit arts entities. The other would have enhanced legislative oversight over economic-development incentives, and Comptroller Kevin P. Lembo called that veto “deeply troubling.”
Posted inPolitics
Angry, yet pragmatic, CT AFL-CIO assesses role in 2016 elections
The Connecticut AFL-CIO vented Thursday at Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Democratic legislators, but the labor federation will convene again Friday, probably to endorse some of the same Democrats accused of betraying labor on the state budget. The reason is a labor report card: The best-ranked Republicans have lifetime scores of 60 percent, lower than the worst-ranked Democrat.