Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the Connecticut leader of the NAACP pushed back Monday at Republican opposition to Malloy’s proposed bail reforms, casting them as an overdue blow for racial and economic equality. One GOP leader said Malloy was playing the race card, while another made a counter offer.
Malloy zings GOP on bail reform, gets counter from Fasano
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal raffles D.C. lunch with himself – and Elizabeth Warren
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers have creative ways of holding fundraisers that include seats at sporting events and Broadway plays, but Sen. Richard Blumenthal has stepped up that innovation, raffling off a lunch with himself in Washington, D.C.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Voter registration at the DMV — a train wreck in the making
The state DMV intends to create a system whereby anyone who goes to get a driver’s license or renew one at a DMV office will automatically be registered as a state voter at the same time. The state is responding to a Federal compliance issue, though the s0-called “Motor Voter” law encourages (but does not mandate) voter sign-up at DMV offices. This proposed project seems to me to be a solution in search of a problem, with the final result being a train wreck at the end of the journey for the following reasons:
Posted inMoney, Politics
New rule: Curbing state spending or masking looming deficits?
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy insists recently adopted legislation that restricts how nonpartisan staff report future budget trends — including deficits — will help ensure state spending doesn’t increase “on autopilot.” But the measure places no restrictions on what the legislature can propose or adopt, nor will it prevent legislators from obtaining the material nonpartisan analysts will not be able to publish in one high-profile report.
Posted inNews
CT lawmakers, advocates open to new Puerto Rico bill
WASHINGTON — A rare compromise between the White House and House Republicans on how to help Puerto Rico has received cautious acceptance from Connecticut lawmakers and advocates who had rejected previous congressional efforts to help an island mired in a severe financial crisis.
Posted inEducation
Hartford school chief says budget woes will impact desegregation efforts
WASHINGTON —Hartford School Superintendent Beth Schiavino-Narvaez told a national forum here Friday that city and state budget crises are affecting Hartford’s public schools at a critical juncture in their fight against economic and racial segregation.
Posted inJustice, Money
Number of youths jailed before trial to drop drastically
The number of juveniles incarcerated while they await trial is expected to be cut in half starting Jan. 1, when legislation the governor is expected to sign will significantly limit the reasons a child can be locked up.
Posted inMoney
More than 900 state jobs eliminated since layoffs began
More than 900 state full-time employees have been laid off since the Executive and Judicial branches began downsizing earlier this spring, according to reports issued late this week. In addition, 61 temporary workers have lost their jobs.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Entrepreneurship is alive, well and expanding among Connecticut’s youth
Yesterday, 55 kids from grades 4-12 – winners of the Connecticut Invention Convention (CIC) here in Connecticut — were sent off by Gov. Dannel Malloy, well-wishing parents and others to the inaugural K-12 National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo in Washington, D.C. All sporting their orange CIC competitor T-shirts from the recent finals event at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, and carrying inventions ranging from a next-generation CPAP mask for hospitals to a new piezoelectric shoe insert to stimulate foot nerves for diabetics, these kids represent the best of the future workforce of Connecticut. In D.C., they will be part of a group of more than 260 young inventor and entrepreneur finalists from 15 states, gathered for the first time to celebrate the best of American ingenuity and creativity through invention and entrepreneurship.
Posted inHealth
Five health issues presidential candidates aren’t talking about
In the next few years the nation faces many important decisions about health care — most of which have little to do with the controversial federal health law. Here are five issues candidates should be discussing, but largely are not.
Posted inTransportation
Senate would allow Amtrak to keep profits in Northeast Corridor
WASHINGTON — Congress will fall short of approving the $1.9 billion President Obama sought to subsidize Amtrak’s nationwide operations, but it is, for the first time, moving to rope off money for the Northeast corridor, the only profitable routes for the passenger rail line.
Posted inNews
Some juvenile jail staff forced to work 18-hour shifts after layoffs
Some state employees at the state-run jails for juvenile offenders are being forced at times to work 18 consecutive hours in the wake of 106 layoffs, state officials told the state panel that oversees juvenile justice Thursday.
Posted inMoney, Politics
New CT budget contributes to credit downgrades from Wall Street
The new state budget’s ability to mitigate longstanding fiscal problems got poor marks Thursday on Wall Street as two of the four major rating agencies downgraded Connecticut’s credit ranking — probably boosting borrowing costs in the future.
Posted inMoney
Connecticut jobless rate remained at 5.7 percent in April
Connecticut added 3,500 jobs last month, but the unemployment rate remained at 5.7 percent, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
Posted inPolitics
Ann Brookes will not wage GOP primary in 2nd Congressional
Ann Brookes, who narrowly lost the Republican endorsement for the 2nd Congressional District nomination, said Thursday she will not wage a primary against Daria Novak. The GOP, which last won a Connecticut congressional race in 2006, now looks to be primary-free in all five House districts.